A Day of Writing with Manda (and Ben)

Today is a day off from my normal grind. Don't get me wrong, my grind is not normal, nor is it actually very grindy. It is just my typical work which is interpreting. My day today contains none of that and all of this. By "this" I mean writing.

Presently I am sitting at the local library writing at a small table with an adorable desk lamp facing my life partner Ben. (Click here to see his very own blog about writing and things.) He's kind of the champion of my own personal story. I may be the protagonist but I would just be the 'tagonist without his pro. He really helped me to see who I am, embrace it, and go forth into the world completely unabashed.

I digress.

Today we are writing, so I thought I would tell you what that looks like.

We went to a local coffee shop at first. I do love coffee shops. There is an air about them, maybe it is the smell of freshly-made coffee, maybe it is the sights and sounds of other people hard at work or visiting friends (or in some cases sales people trying a bit too hard to sell a pitch). Regardless of the reason, coffee shops make me pleased almost instantly. Today was not that day, though. We got there and it was all wrong. There was not a proper table with outlets to be sat at. There were people all around but they had the wrong aura (for lack of better and more scientific reasoning) and the baristas working were hardly friendly. Lastly, and somewhat most importantly, it was HOT. Yes CAPITAL H-O-T "hot" and that is not, by any means, an exaggeration.

Today in our lovely town it is a whopping 84* with a sexy 75% humidity which makes it hard for any regular person to remain dry of their own perspiration. It's downright gross outside. So we escape inside with hopes of something more reasonable and find, much to our chagrin, that inside is the same as outside. So we left.

We then were pulling out of the parking lot and looked into each others dreamy, albeit steamy-glassed, eyes and both said "How about a library?" in unison. The decision was made, and now you have an idea of why we are life partners, because we think on the same wavelength pretty much constantly (also he is VERY funny and the way to my heart is through laughter).

So now we sit in a library, and I am working on my novel and he is working on his... novel or blog or both? I am uncertain, because while we sit here across from one another, it is with headphones on and once in a while glancing up at the other to remind them that we do indeed feel their presence and love them fully, and then back to our own work. My headphones emit noises of "Film Scores" which is by far my favorite music to write to as it contains no words and is chock full of emotion. The current song is Magneto's theme from X-Men First Class which happens to be one of my all time favorite themes--but that's for another blog post.

So I bid you adieu on this fine Blog Monday. Having fully avoided my manuscript for the past 20 minutes while writing this out. I am hopeful that when I revisit my novel in progress, the knots I was dodging will have worked themselves out completely on their own. (Haha I can dream, can't I?)

Thanks for your readership, as always. I send this off with much love and adoration for you all.

Manda B. Mitchell
Singing off.

Dear Caller-A Letter from a Video Interpreter

Dear Caller, 

I have known you since you first turned on your first video phone. I remember how excited you were to make a call to your mom using your hands, how baffled you were at the simplicity of filling your own prescriptions through the press of a button. I remember, with more joy, the first time you made a mobile call. It was awkward for us both as you tried to figure out the best position for your phone hand. Signing one handed never felt so strange, I am sure. I have to admit, I was polite the first time and didn't want to embarrass you, I saw more of your nose hairs than your hands. We figured it out though, didn't we? And now you make calls from the grocery store, mall, park, doctor's office, and sometimes to test my cardiac health you make VP calls from your moving vehicle. Nothing says equal access quite like mobile VP, in my opinion.

Caller, I remember when you got your pet. They were so sweet and cute. We called every single one of your family members to tell them all about it. You were so excited and held your pet up for every VI to see, with pride. I remember all the calls we made to the groomer and the vet. I remember thinking of you and your pet when I would see someone walking their dog or petting their cat in my everyday life. One of the hardest days of my job was the day I had to call and tell you your pet had died. I am so sorry that you received that news. I am so sorry that I am the one  who had to deliver it. But, at the same time, I am so glad you didn't have to hear it alone, and I am so very thankful that you let me in to even the most intimate and trying moments in your life. 

I remember the first time I saw the inside of your office instead of your home. Placing highly technical conference calls for you has always been a pleasure of mine. Many people in the interpreting community would argue that Video Interpreters don't see the same level of challenges as a community interpreter does, I beg to differ. Thank you for filling me in on all of the technical terms you would be using. Working together, as a team, really made the call so much more efficient for both of us. By the end I felt accomplished and proud that you had kept up with your peers because of our teamwork. Another perfect example of equal access and how VRS really helps you achieve that. 

Caller, I know that there are times when I am less than stellar. As a human I can't possibly be on my A-game all the time. I know you don't know that my husband just lost his job or that my relative just passed away. I know that it is not your fault that the previous five callers were irritated as well. I know that we all have good days and bad days and I am just grateful that you give me second chances and understand that I am here to provide the very best service I possibly can for you. You make my day, honestly. I love this job and I could not ask for anything more than to provide you excellent quality customer service for all of your calls. 

I could go on for days. I spend 36 hours of my week in a cubicle interpreting phone calls for you and other callers. Some are super happy calls, some are super sad. Some calls are the best experiences of my life and others are just another call. Some callers like to thank me for my work, and others prefer to just hang up. Every call is important. Every caller is important. I work for you. Thank you so much for helping me every day to be a better interpreter and, more importantly, a better person. 

With so much thanks and love, 
Manda-your VI 


This letter is to no one and everyone. I felt an urge today to write a thank you note to my callers because I get to be a part of their lives on even the most intimate of moments. I feel so blessed and grateful every day to have the opportunity I have to provide a service to the deaf and Hard of Hearing community. I am also so grateful that I was shown the path so early on. Being an interpreter is really so valuable to me.

Also, I am grateful to ZVRS for being the best employer I have ever had. To some people it may just be a job, but to me it is a family. I care so much about my colleagues and my consumers, both hearing and deaf.

Thanks for reading.

Much love,
Manda

I Live for Love-A Poem

I live in a world without boundaries. Anyone can communicate at the drop of a hat. There's no name or face to what we say, so we say what we want when we want to even when its intended to hurt another person. Due to anonymity we aren't held accountable for who we impact. 

I live in a country without respect for others. A place where our neighbors  cannot be our friend because of the color of their skin, for their shape or much worse their beliefs which differ from our own. In a country where promises mean nothing and we owe debts to everyone around us but are  unable to pay.

I live in a state stuck in the past. Never changing never growing always doing the same thing we've always done.

I live in a city that falls asleep at 6 p.m. Because that's the way it's always been so that's the way it always will be there's no reason we should change.

I live in a neighborhood full of houses that all look the same. The same families, the same car, the same dog, and children, the same houses.

I live in a house that is not unique, that does not represent who I am or where I have been.

But maybe...

I live in a house of my own which is more than most people can say. I have a roof, and I have food and I have walls keeping me safe.

I live in a neighborhood where people still wave and ask how your day was.  They'll give you a hug if they find out it was bad. Where they know the names of your children and watch out for them as if they were their own.

I live in a city that closes at 6 p.m. but continues to leave a fire in the hearth for a visitor who might come knocking, and is always welcome.

I live in a state that is stuck in the past but has a higher success rate than most other states and a lower unemployment rate than the rest of the country. Although we are a bit behind and shell shocked with change, we are trying our best to catch up.

I live in a country that tries to fight for freedom and to do what's best. With so many wonderful, wonderful people hopefully one day soon we can bring an end to hate.

I live in a world without boundaries. This means that we can help more people than we ever could before. It means we can lend a hand to anyone across the globe without batting an eye or traveling even a mile. We could help each other, we can love each other; and that's what this is about, love.

Any negative can be a positive. Hidden beneath our complaints and unhappiness lies gratitude and peace.

I am committed to gratitude. I am committed to ending the hate. I send out love to everyone I know, and everyone I don't know. I want to spread peace and love and happiness everywhere I go, regardless of race, or color, or religion, or belief, or country, or gender, or sex. None of those things matter, you're human I love you.

Love is the most powerful tool we have. If we can just love one another, we can make it through anything.

Manda 10/20/13