I Want to Live–Captioned Version

Dear Bill Creswell:

Thank you.  Thank you.  And thank you, again.

Back in June, I wrote a post over at Disaboom about how frustrated I was to navigate through You Tube videos without captions.  I shared one of my favorite songs and posted the lyrics in the blog. 

Along came Bill Creswell.  He left a comment:

“Don’t forget, I take requests at billcreswell.wordpress.com.  “My tagline is captioning the internet one video at a time” :)  I have this one in my  ”queue”.

Time went by and the two of us became busy.  Yesterday, I found a wonderful post over at Bill’s blog– news that You Tube was enabling a captioning feature for users to add captions to their videos:

You Tube Adds Captioning Feature

So I left a comment and asked Bill about the John Denver feature and wondered if it was captioned.

Bill delivered. 

And so today, I want to share one of my favorite songs with my readers.  It is a John Denver song called, “I Want to Live.” Captioned.

add your captions on TubeCaption.com

http://www.tubecaption.com/watch?v=iuB3_HLcFfk&vcId=473

Thank you, thank you, Bill for all the work you do. It is very much appreciated. May you have a wonderful weekend!

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Dave Freeman–A Man Halfway to His Goal

Dave Freeman.

Does the name ring a bell?

It didn’t for me.  But yesterday, while reading the Chicago Tribune before dinner, I saw an article titled “Author of Quirky ‘100 Things’ Guide.”

Dave Freeman co-authored the book, 100 Things to Do Before You Die with Neil Teplica.  In the book, the two of them listed exciting travel events; and together, they had done about half of them. 

But yesterday, I wasn’t just reading an article– I was reading his obituary.  Dave had slipped and hit his head on a glass ledge in his home.  He was only 47 years old.

The New York Daily News reported that Freeman “really did live a full life.”

Freeman had run with the bulls in Spain. He’d hung his boots in an ice hotel in Finland. He stood beside the 400 stainless steel poles that make up the Lightning Field in New Mexico. And he made sure not to miss India’s Maha Kumbh Mela in 2001, a Hindu pilgrimage that happens only once every 12 years.

Considering that the book was written in 1999 and that Freeman completed half of the 100 things– I would say that he did indeed, lead a pretty full life.

US Magazine has a quote shared by Freeman’s father:

According to his father, Freeman was famous for saying, “‘We’re going to the future. Do you want to come along?’ It always made everybody laugh.”

How about you?  Are you going to the future?

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Tags: Inspirational Stuff by DeafMom
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Vote for the New Southwest Airlines Blogger!

Colleen Wainwright should be Southwest Airline’s official blogger.

First, let me make it clear that Colleen has not handed over money for me to say this.  However, when she flies into Chicago after becoming the official Southwest Airlines Blogger, I expect that she’s going to take me out for a nice, thick steak at Morton’s Steakhouse. 

So go view the video and vote.  Colleen has included a transcript for the deaf and hard of hearing viewers:

COLLEEN: I’m Colleen Wainwright and I’ve got friends all over the country!

JACK LYONS: I’m from Baltimore and I want to meet Colleen!

CHRIS ERENETA: I live in Oakland and I want to meet Colleen!

COLLEEN: That’s right: Internet friends! And they wanna meet me!

ANGIE & FRIENDS: We want to meet Colleen!

COLLEEN: That’s why I should be the new Southwest Airlines Blog-O-Spondent.

(UKULELE MUSIC BEGINS UNDER)

DAVID ECKOFF: Hey, send Colleen to Atlanta!

SCOT DUKE: Send Colleen to Dallas!

JON DEAL: I have been stalking Colleen for years now.

COLLEEN: Think about it: all those nerds, blogging all about
Southwest, to all those potential customers?

PAM SLIM: Fly Colleen to Phoenix.

MIGNON FOGARTY: Send Colleen to Reno!

@EffingBoring: Please send Colleen to New York.

COLLEEN: It’s a PR bonanza!!!!

PETER SHANKMAN: I run HARO, for God’s sake.

COLLEEN: 1200 people on Twitter alone. And I got a boyfriend who plays
the ukelele!

(CUT TO SHOT OF THE BF PLAYING UKULELE)

COLLEEN(VO): (OVER SHOTS OF KAREN PUTZ, LAURA MONCUR, A COFFEE MUG)
Look at all these fine people! Do you want to disappoint them?

COLLEEN: I mean, come on, it’s like I was born to do this job.

PETER: Everyone will be happier. I think you should do it.

CHRIS points to Oakland on his shirt.

COLLEEN: Come on! Give an old broad a job!

As you can see from the video, Colleen is perky, peppy, and talented.  Not bad for an old broad.  But Colleen isn’t really an old broad, except when you compare her to young, peppy, skydiving people like Peter Shankman.  And by the way, the HARO owner is in the video and has put his stamp of approval on Colleen’s vote.

But please, fast forward past the part where you find me asking Southwest Airlines to fly Colleen to Chicago.  Because you see, I don’t like to be on camera.  But because I like Southwest Airlines (seriously, that is one airline that really rocks!) and I really dig Colleen and her snarky writing style, I agreed to put myself on camera.  All because I want all of the Southwest Airline customers to be entertained when Colleen becomes their Official Blogger. 

So come on people, go vote for Colleen!

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Welcome Back to the Blogosphere, Joanna Young!

When Karen Swim sent me a message asking if I would help welcome back Joanna Young today, I didn’t hestitate to say yes.  Karen, along with Robert Hruzek, Brad Shorr and Daniel Smith conspired together to create a big welcome back for Joanna.

When I was at the SOBCon’08 earlier this year, Joanna came bounding over and said a big hello.  She sat down and spent some time chatting with me.  It was the first time I had ever met anyone from Scotland, and it was a pleasure to get to know her more at SOBCon’08.  The photo at the left is the two of us with Phil Gerbyshak, the guy who urges us to Make it Great!

Joanna is a writing coach and she gives out writing tips over at Confident Writing.  She’s an amazing writer.  I love popping over to her blog and learning from her.  Her posts make me think. 

Joanna disappeared from the blogosphere for two weeks while in the middle of moving to greener pastures on the west coast of Scotland. 

Joanna, hon, we’ve missed you.  But time to get back to work in making the rest of us confident writers!   

So welcome back, Joanna!

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Tags: People You Should Know by DeafMom
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The Power of Visualization and the Power of a Number

People are always asking me why the number “22″ is so special to me.  Before I explain why, let me ask you this: have you ever had a goal that was so burning bright that you just HAD to accomplish it?

I started waterskiing when I was nine years old.  My father came home with an old, yellow boat.  Just like that.  Out of the blue.  He didn’t even discuss boat ownership with my mom.  Included with the boat were a pair of wooden water skis and a ski belt.  A belt, mind you.  None of those fancy molded water ski jackets.  Just a floatation belt.

My father took my mom, sis and me out to a local lake in Indiana one evening.  None of us knew anything about waterskiing.  I don’t think my father even knew much about running a boat, much less pulling a skier.  I strapped on the skis and I was hooked.  I liked waterskiing.

I was eleven when my parents bought the place on Christie Lake.   Dad got rid of the yellow boat and bought a cute little red boat.  After a few years of waterskiing and learning to slalom, I had a burning desire to learn to barefoot.  I kept watching the guys (including my  brother) zip around the lake on their bare feet.  There weren’t any other girls barefooting on the lake.  I picked up an issue of Waterskiingand discovered that there was a book by John Gillette called Barefooting.  I used my allowance and sent away for the book.

I read the book from cover to cover.  I also set a goal: that I was going to barefoot by the end of that summer.  I had just turned sixteen that August.

The first time I tried it, I planted my foot in the water and kicked off the ski.  Wham!  I tried again and again over several days.  I kept slamming into the water.  I decided to try a different method with a kneeboard.  I dragged my Mom to the local boat shop and begged her to buy a kneeboard.  It was $109– a lot of money back then.  I came home and tried out the kneeboard. The first several tries didn’t work.  I was really frustrated.  I went home and felt really discouraged.

That night, I lay awake trying to figure out why I couldn’t do it.  I closed my eyes and suddenly visualized myself completing each step in the book.  I imagined how great it would feel to have the board drop away and the water beneath my feet.

The next day was August 22.  The day that I finally learned to barefoot.

So the number 22 has stayed with me since then.  Not so much because of the accomplishment, but because of the lesson behind it–the power of visualization.  If you can see yourself accomplishing something, you can do it.  I use the number 22 to remind me to stay on track, to visualize what I want to accomplish.

How about you?  Have you ever used visualization and had it lead to success?  Do you have a special number that reminds you to accomplish something?

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Tags: Christie Lake Adventures, Inspirational Stuff by DeafMom
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Wordless Wednesday–Backyard Sunset

The view from my backyard, right over the fence.

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Tags: I Can Take Pictures! by DeafMom
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Once Upon A Time… I Started Blogging

On a fine summer day, two years ago in July, I sat down in front of some blogging software. Blogger, it was called. “Why don’t I start my own blog!” I said to myself. I figured it would be nothing more than an online journal where I could entertain my family and my friends.

Blogger prompted me to select a name to be part of the www.—–.blogspot.com domain. I wanted something unique, something easy to remember and something that would stand out.

“Putzworld!” I said to myself. “There’s not too many people out there with a last name like Putz!”

And that’s how www.putzworld.blogspot.com was born.

Ok, so that wasn’t exactly a brilliant move back then, but you have to admit, it was memorable, wasn’t it? Who forgets a Putz?

In the last two years, I’ve been having fun with this blog. I’ve been able to share bits and pieces of my life, such as my family’s story of discovering a deaf gene, or how about some waterskiing memories and the fun of raising my kids.   When I had the drive-thru window closed in my face and service denied at the Bolingbrook Steak ‘n Shake, I shared the frustration here on this blog and it spread to many other websites and blogs.

Along the way, the blog became a little bit of something more. I met so many wonderful people, both online and face-to-face as a result of this blog.  Every morning, I get the chance to Twitter to hundreds of people.  It’s like having a virtual water cooler conversation– something that I don’t normally have access to when conversing in groups without an interpreter.

The blog opened up some writing opportunities for me. I worked for a writing company for a year, dipping my toes into a whole new kind of writing.  I went to work as a copywriting freelancer for a real estate company, and lasted through just one project and a tiny grammar mistake before I was kindly “let go.”  I still see that real estate company looking for copywriters all the time.

Last fall, out of the blue, I was contacted by an employee of a new, soon-to-be launched website, Disaboom. Would I come and write for them, they wanted to know. I’ve been writing for Disaboom since they launched and I regularly write feature articles for the site.  Having my own blog also led to writing for Parenting Squad and the Chicago Moms Blog.  My recent article at Chicago Moms Blog, Camp is Over, It’s Back to the Real World, was syndicated in several newspaper websites.  I also have another blog that focuses on deaf and hard of hearing people in different Jobs, Careers and Callings.

So here it is, two years later and I love writing more than ever and I plan to continue this blog for many more years.   So I’m turning to my readers to learn more about you.  What brings you here?  What keeps you coming back?  Is there something you’d like me to share more of? 

Let’s talk!

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Tags: Uncategorized by DeafMom
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Yes, It’s My Birthday–You Want to See My Present?

A special thank you goes to all of you for the many Tweets, emails and Facebook comments that everyone left today. Terry Starbucker even sang “Just the Way You Are–” virtually, of course. I’m a sucker for that song.

The hubby apparently forgot my birthday early this morning before he went to work. He remembered around 9:40 this morning, when he sent a text message. He came home for lunch and left a nice note in front of the computer. My friend Beth took me out to lunch and we did dinner with the in-laws.

This morning, I was tweeting about my favorite birthday cake, the Red Velvet cake. That cake is a staple in my family and my Mom has made it for many, many birthdays among my siblings and the grandkids. I promised Genevieve Hinson a peek at it:

Those of you who read this blog faithfully (what do you mean you don’t?  Subscribe, baby!) know that I bought myself the ultimate birthday present recently.  For those of you who don’t know, let me tell you about my present.  It’s a big, gleaming hunk that I can wrap my legs around and ride.  It has different speeds and even accessories that allow me to decide when it goes fast and when it goes slow.  

Oh no, no, no–get your head out of the gutter.

Here’s my new toy:

  I figure it’s a lot more satisfying than having an affair.  John Edwards should have bought one.

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Tags: It's All About Me, Uncategorized by DeafMom
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Summer is Flying By

Ah, it felt good to unplug this week. 

I took the kids back up to Christie Lake on Sunday to grab the last full week up here.  My cousins came up from Missouri  again and my husband’s friend and his kids joined us on Wednesday.  Mike and his kids only planned to stay two days, but it’s Sunday morning and they’re still here.  We are sitting in the kitchen having omelettes and getting ready for a final boat ride before we head home.  That’s the lure of lakeside living–good food, good friends and lots of fun.  It’s hard to leave.

Yesterday, for the fun of it, we drove around the lake to see the few homes that are up for sale.  Housing prices on the lake have soared in the last five years.  We stopped at a house that was priced at $900,000 last year and is being offered at $649,000 this summer.  It’s a beautiful piece of property but the house looks like it will require some work to update it.  Also up for sale is a pair of houses that my friend Tammy rented for several years.  The two tiny houses perched on a very tiny lot are going for $349,000.   There’s also another small ranch home up for sale for nearly 300 grand.

There’s even a beautiful lot for sale for…are you ready for this….$345,000.  This lot is on the same part of the lake that my two brothers owned land many years ago.  They bought the lot for ten grand back then and sold it a few years later for a very small profit.   It’s hard to believe that land has soared that much in price but Christie Lake is a private lake, one of the few private lakes in Michigan with no public access. 

For the last couple of years, I have been talking about buying a jet ski.  I started looking at used ones earlier in the summer.  I came close to purchasing a few of them, but someone else always beat me to the offer.  “Why don’t you look at a new one?” the hubby suggested.   I stopped at Leader’s Marine in Kalamazoo on the way home from dropping off a Redbox movie and looked at the new ones.  Sea Doo was running a special with low cost financing and a $800 gas card.

I went to talk to Dick, a 74-year-old neighbor who owned pretty much every toy there is.  He had some ski lifts sitting in the water and I wanted to see if I could buy one.  They’ve gone through three used jet skis.  The most recent one was purchased by his son earlier in the summer and it was already out of commission just a few weeks later.  I was apprehensive about buying used vs. new.  I was leaning toward the new Sea Doo, mostly because it had a key that wouldn’t let a user go over 35 mph.  I could use that for the kids to keep them from going full speed at 50-60 mph.

“Life is short, go buy it!” Dick said.

Life is short.  How many times have I said that to other people?

And that’s how I ended up buying a Sea Doo for my birthday.

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Tags: Christie Lake Adventures by DeafMom
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