December 12, 2003
Same New Neighbors, Different Day ...
Well, Terry has us pegged. We would not have Clarissa out in the street by herself. The little girl rang the bell and said her house was locked; no one was home. She had such a sad look on her face. We let her in and she & Kristin began playing with the Nintendo 64.
Terry called around 3:45 and nonchalantly said, "You can send Clarissa home now."
How nice.
I said, "Terry, what's going on? Clarissa came home and found the door was locked. No one was at home."
She said defensively: "We left the door open for her. She was to come into the house and wait for us. We can't always tell if we'll be late. I still need to get my urine test to find out what is wrong with me."
Blah blah blah.
Meanwhile, they've been adding decorations and trimmings to the house. The house looks great ... but if Terry is sick, why hasn't she had her urine test yet? It doesn't make sense.
I told Terry that we didn't mind if Clarissa came over but we'd really like to know ahead of time.
Again, she said the door was open for Clarissa. Terry said Clarissa locked the door herself.
?????
I don't understand why she isn't more concerned for the welfare of her kids, especially Clarissa. I would think that she'd call someone once she figured out she'd be late. She's got my number. I'm sure she's got Flo&Bob's. Why wouldn't she think to ask someone to watch out for her daughter? In a way, it's like neglect or abandonment ... at least, I think so.
So what kind of mother will Clarissa make? Maybe Terry hasn't thought that far ahead. Maybe she never will. Maybe Terry's mother treated her the same way when she was little. So maybe Clarissa will leave her own child alone in an empty house for a couple of hoursl
Ho ho ho. 
PAST: What would you consider your first real accomplishment in life? We're talking about something you put real, conscious effort into, here.
I would say my first accomplishment was becoming a good interpreter for the deaf. I did put a lot of real conscious effort into my sign language classes. I went from knowing little to no skills. I really wanted to communicate with my parents, Aunt Betty & Uncle Bob, and other deaf people. I went into interpreter training mentorship (I guess you?d call it that) to see if I could do it competently. I could! I was really proud of myself when I went before the Registry of Interpreters? Committee, passed the tests, and became a certified interpreter.
PRESENT: What are you working on now that you're hoping to have accomplished soon?
Ha. Well, I guess I will say my stories. I hope to finish one ? soon. It would be better to say that I will do it but ? eh.
FUTURE: What accomplishment would you like to be remembered for? (Hint: This is where you could get away with making up something delightfully improbable.)
I have a real answer here! I?ve been a mentor for young interpreters in various skill levels. I felt really good that they asked to work with me because they said I gave constructive criticism and didn?t belittle or demean them for mistakes. So I would like for people to remember that accomplishment ? that I was effective at helping young interpreters become better signers.