Photo by: Richard McCarthy

Today I had the privilege of meeting Barbara Digiovanni, known to most of us as “Barb Digi,” creator of the Deaf Progressivism blog. Plans were made via mutual friends and we connected in person while Barb was out here on the West Coast. Before she came to my office where we had planned to meet, I felt a little giddy! It was almost like meeting with a celebrity of sorts! We both giggled at this later.

What a super person Barb is! She’s as sweet as she is lovely. And she is as intelligent and passionate in person as she appears on her vlog. The only really surprising thing about Barb was that she is taller than I thought she was. I guess we all look a little different on camera. Otherwise, she is just as wonderful in person as she is in her vlog.

We found ourselves talking as if we were high school friends sharing the latest “who’s who.” We talked about various vloggers and bloggers, the reasons we began vlogging and the pro’s and con’s — including vlogging being a hobby, a form of entertainment, a forum to share our passions and a place to lose ourselves and kill the time. We also lamented about the habit-forming addiction potential, the lack of movement and exercise and the extra pounds that are also a potential reality. Ugh! We talked of vloggers we liked and those we didn’t, our families, our jobs, our loves and ourselves. We even talked about shopping, earrings and shoes! It was like connecting with an old friend! All this from vlogging at DeafRead! Whodathunk?!

Meeting Barb today made me look back at why I began v/blogging, and how v/blogging at DeafRead has opened my personal and professional circle. I have made new friends in cyberspace that I would have never had the opportunity otherwise to meet, further collaborated with colleagues who are fellow v/bloggers, and connected with old friends with whom I thought I had completely lost touch!

The fact that we all v/blog or comment, sharing pieces of our personal selves, our homes, our yards, our families, our thoughts and opinions, our language, culture and world view, our frustrations and coping skills, our sense of humor, our sexual orientation and gender identity, our anger, our passions, our hopes, and our d/Deaf, hard of hearing, late-deaf and deaf-blind lives, — really brings us into each other’s intimate universe.

As comments are made on each other’s v/blogs, we not only learn more about one another’s perceptions, but we learn more about ourselves — who we like, who we don’t, who we resonate with and who rubs us the wrong way, who we draw toward and who we pull away from. This is how the connections and relationships develop through our d/Deaf v/blogging and commentaries. This is how we make friends or foes in cyberspace. When d/Deaf v/bloggers meet in person, it’s a rich experience, unlike any other common or first time introduction.

The reason I started blogging was because my husband had started his own blog, Wanderings, a couple of years ago. He had been enjoying it as a hobby and had been earning a little money off the ads there as well. I thought perhaps I could start my own blog since I had already written material about becoming deaf, in hopes to one day publish a book. I was ready to try a few posts. About the same time, I had reconnected with my old friend and former co-worker, Amy Cohen-Efron, creator of “Deaf World As Eye See It.” It was Amy who lead me to DeafRead, and once she did, I couldn’t stop bugging my husband to help me set up my own blog. So as a Christmas gift, my husband, Brent, who is a web content developer/editor, set me up with my own blog.

I knew Amy Cohen-Efron back in the 90’s when we both worked together at the Washington School for the Deaf. Amy was the School Psychologist there and I was one of the School Counselors. Our work was directly connected as we helped to assess and guide students toward greater well-being. Over the 7 or 8 years we worked together, I got to know Amy in a way that was personal as well as professional. She was a power-house from day one, a mover and a shaker! It does not surprise me that she is still one of the most respected and outspoken forces in the Deaf community today. I have always known Amy would do great things. She always has. I felt privileged to know and work with her.

Years passed and we both moved on to different states. But fate and VP’s brought us back together one day and we had a wonderful couple of days catching up. It was back in the late fall of 2006 that Amy told me about her involvement with DeafRead. After visiting some of her earlier vlogs, I became hooked. Not soon after, I joined the ranks of DeafRead and become and blogger and then a vlogger. Amy will always remain a shining star in my eyes. I still feel honored to know her. We all do!

In the spring of 2007, my paths crossed with Virginia Beach, a.k.a.: Ocean, the author of Deaf Pagan Crossroads, via DeafRead. I took an interest in the content of her posts and found her paying attention to my own newish blog at The Ear of My Heart. After leaving comments on each others’ posts, we recognized a kind of kindred spirit connection between us. Then out of the blue, Ocean wrote a post about my blog called The Spiral of Friendship, and waved a light in my direction. It was humbling to be sure. It wasn’t long before we were exchanging VP numbers and getting to know one another long distance. To this day, we still call regularly. I cherish this new friendship made in cyberspace. Ocean is one of my favorite people. Deep, intelligent, creative, open-minded, honest, quirky and loyal. Lucky me.

Another vlogger who caught ahold of me was Jill Lestina, wife of John Lestina, the author of the “ABC… Always Be Cool” vlog. I had been enjoying John’s ABC vlog for several months and was thrilled to see the vlog where he introduced his wife for the first minute and then was scooted out of the picture as she took over! Something about that vlog tickled my funny bone and made me more curious about this fun-loving couple. I came to find out that Jill had already made some videos of her own at her other website, “A Course In Miracles Television.” After poking around there for a while, I knew I had found another kindred spirit. Jill is simply amazing and has great humility and depth. I decided I wanted to know her more. Through e-mail, we agreed to share VP numbers and played phone tag until we finally connected. Though it was a short call, it was such a nice one, and I got to see John as well. Again, I felt a little star-struck. It’s funny — after seeing someone on film, it’s like knowing a celebrity in a way. Talking with Jill confirmed my belief about her. She is spirited, optimistic, wise and playful — a happy-shiny-people kind of person. I look forward to connecting with her more. Jill, if you’re reading, call me!

I soon found that some of my favorite v/bloggers lived in my neck of the woods. Mike Schmidt, author of “Oh I See,” for example, whose signed Beatles tunes are the coolest I’ve ever seen, lives in the same town. Mike and I continue to leave comments on each others’ posts from time to time and we stay in touch through exchanged e-mail. I expect our paths to cross very soon as the deaf events in our area are bound to bring us into the same location. I get a kick out of Mike’s wry sense of humor. He’s one of my favorites!

Recently, I attended the San Francisco ASL Festival because I knew that fellow v/blogger, Carl Schroeder, author of ASL Stroytelling Theatre and Kalalau’s Korner from Hawaii, was to perform there. I had become interested in Carl’s Dragon Stories and was hoping he would perform one that I could share with my son and husband who came along with me. With camera in hand, my husband captured this first meeting as I embraced Carl as if I’d known him for many months. It was kind of funny at first because, while Carl has been out there vlogging for a while, I’m possibly a third-wave DeafRead vlogger and not nearly as well-known. I didn’t think that Carl might not know me. A little arrogant of me, I’m afraid. Yet, Carl’s arms were welcoming as we exchanged hugs. Still, it took him a few minutes to figure out just who the heck I was! I could see this in his eyes.

“Carl! Carl! Hello! Carl!”

Carl’s response? “Blonde! Blonde! Hello Blonde!”

“Carl, we finally meet! You’re the reason I came today!”

“Me? Me? You came for me?” said Carl, polite and humbled.

“Yes! Yes! I’ve seen your vlogs and I’m a fan of your Dragon Stories! I brought my son hoping you will tell a Dragon Story today!”

“Yes, yes! I plan to tell a Dragon Story….” (pause — thinking ‘where have I seen this person before?’) “Yes! Yes! Now you look familiar! I think I’ve seen your vlogs before. Yes.” (Carl smiling more relieved — you know, that kind of smile you get when you finally figure out the name of the person whose name you forgot for the first half of the conversation….)

Carl and I chatted about the whether (it was a breathtaking day!) and about his performance time and permission to film him. “Only if you promise to make a vlog about it,” was Carl’s light-hearted answer. And I did. (Click here to see more…)

When I first began blogging with DeafRead, I was contacted by Ella Mae Lentz, creator of Ella’s Flashlight, who had asked if we could get together and chat about the post I had written entitled, “Embracing Deafhood.” Her words were encouraging, nothing to fear, and I felt very honored. We set up a couple of meetings, but our schedules never had us in the same place at the same time and we had to postpone. Months passed and then Ella contacted me again, asking if I’d like to collaborate with her on a blog post. Boy! I was bouncing around the room! I mean — Ella Mae is Ella Mae Lentz! This is the woman whose pictures are in the ASL books I used when I was a freshman in college. She was like a movie star to me. Here she was, asking me… ME … to join her in a blog post! I almost did a flip!

Ella’s home was near my work so we were able to work out a day when I could drop by after work was done. I was so excited and admittedly, a bit nervous. While I had met Ella several times in the past (her mother works as our agency’s housekeeper), our connections had never had us shoulder to shoulder. When I arrived at her home, I was at first a little star-struck. I mean, this is Ella Mae! But it took maybe 30 seconds for Ella to make me feel comfortable, and I was just blown away at how laid back and easy going she is in person. While she is definitely a big name in the Deaf world, she is also a beautiful and humble spirit. I felt comfortable in her presence and left with feelings of mutual respect, a warm heart and head held high. (Thanks Ella.)

I have also connected with Jon Savage, creator of Jon’s ASL Vlog, via VP and have a funny story to tell about those calls. I had finally decided I wanted to have a higher quality video on my v/blog, so I began poking around for more information. I had printed out Oscar the Observer’s information about his recent upgrade to QuickTime and set out to decipher it. I was impatient though, so I dropped an e-mail to Joey Baer, well know for Joey’s ASL Vlog, whom I haven’t met yet in person, but who also lives near me. Joey had contacted me earlier when he found out we lived nearby and we had talked of connecting in person sometime soon, but we haven’t done so yet. Joey is a very busy person and we both have families with kids keeping us on the go. But I know our paths will cross soon. Anyway, via e-mail, I began to pick Joey’s brain a little about making a more crisp, clear vlog like he does. He was very open to helping me along, but was going out of the country for a while to vacation with his family. He said he’d help me when he got back. But I was still impatient.

No problem, I simply knocked on Taylor Meyer’s door. Taylor, who is the man behind TaylerInfomedia, author of Y3, one of the DeafRead designers and human editors, and who has produced a slew of other websites benefiting the deaf community, was very eager and willing to help and gave me the time needed, but when we learned he and I have different operating systems, he connected me to Jon Savage, whose system was like mine.

Jon and I finally connected via Video Phone, which was a real kick! During our first call, we were proudly showing off our wives, husbands and kids to one another in the TV screen. Once we both felt we were all properly introduced and welcomed, Jon got busy trying to help me get over the first learning curve with setting up QuickTime. He was so sweet and very dedicated, staying with me on the line well into the late hours of the night. My number was the last one in his VP, I imagine, as he finally went off to bed.

Here’s the funny part: The next morning - a Saturday - you know, the day when you’re supposed to get to sleep in — I was awakened with the VP flashing. Actually, I had just gotten up, but the sleep was still in my eyes. Anyway, at 8:00am, I get this call from “Jon Savage.”

“Oh! Gee! I’m still in my jammies! Do I answer? I have bed hair! I have morning breath! Wait, Jon can’t smell my morning breath! What am I thinking?! Just answer the phone!” (My pet peeves about VP calls — good for another v/blog post!…)

I pulled up my PJ’s around my neck making sure nothing was hanging out, smoothed out my roughed-up bed hair and anwered the phone. To my surprise, Jon’s 5 or 6-yr-old daughter, Renny’s face was looking at the screen. A quick smile flashed across her teeth, and then slowly, she began to sink down until only the top of her head was showing in the camera on my TV. I had to chuckle!

“Hello,” I waved. Nothing. “Hello, hello, hello?” I waved again. But the little head kept getting lower and lower until it disappeared at the bottom of my screen. However, the connection between our VP’s remained on. I had a full view of one of the bedrooms through the hall way! Ha! I didn’t know if Jon’s daughter could see me or not. I could see she was still in her PJ’s too and I bet mommy and daddy were still asleep.

But hey! “This is the lady on the TV last night who showed me her boy while dad showed me off too! This is kind of cool…”

I signed again, “Is your daddy home? Is he calling me? Does he know you’re calling me?” Click! Boop! Dark screen. Ha. I hung up and laughed a belly laugh! I turned to tell my husband what had just happened when not 30 seconds later, “Jon Savage” was calling me again! This went on for 8 calls within about 4 minutes. It was just the cutest thing in the world! No worries. I’m a mom. I’m very kid-friendly! I had a good laugh and shared this story with Jon and Talyer via e-mail. Kids will do the darndest things…

I have also met with friend and colleague, Julie Rems-Smario for lunch, and via e-mail and VP just to gab about the latest vlog, blog, topic, comment, or cyber-bully! We’ve have had some great laughs and some serious discussions about our impressions of who and what is out there in this strange new world of Deaf cyberspace and in the fields of Deaf advocacy. It’s fun to have someone watching and reading v/blogs and comments along with you, someone to laugh with and someone to discuss things in an intelligent way.

I have had such a good time jabbering with other DeafRead readers and commentators over the past 9-10 months. I have met a precious group of people who I have grown to admire and look for. There are still many faces I want to meet in person! I feel like we all become more than just a face or an opinion in a box. With some, I feel a certain kinship. I know this because I feel a sense of sadness when some of my favorite v/bloggers disappear for a while. Whether they are super busy, on vacation or taking a break, I come to miss them. But when we d/Deaf v/bloggers finally meet, it’s so much fun!!

DCARA (Deaf Counseling Advocacy and Referral Agency) here in San Lendro, CA has recently announced that they will be hosting the next v/bloggers conference in February, 2008. I’m stoked! This is in my neck of the woods and I’m sure to be there! Will you?

PS: How did I do for name dropping, Amy?

Posted by LaRonda on Tuesday, July 10th, 2007 at 9:19 pm.