The Graduate

Can't believe this day has finally arrived.  Years of hard work went into getting to this point. 

The ceremony was great.  Each kid was able to say a few words after being handed the diploma and just prior to turning the tassel, and Charlie told how opportunity for the deaf in China was non-existent, but that here he really had the opportunity to do anything.  It was very touching.  

The thingies on the mortarboard, by the way, are karate kickers.  Each of the graduates decorated the cap in some way, so of course his had to be karate-related.

 

Charlie's the first one in the back row.

 

The Man in Black

The big night--Charlie's black belt test! He is so loved--not only did the family come out to cheer him on, but some of his deaf friends from school showed up, as well as his English teacher and his bus driver.  (He's had the same bus driver for 5 years now, and they're quite fond of each other!) 

It was a very entertaining evening, and he came out of it with his black belt.  In fact, all 5 of the brown belts testing for black passed, which made it a really good night, because they all know each other and train together for this goal, and if any one of them doesn't pass, it's a bit of a bummer for the others on an otherwise happy night.  Tonight the whole group passed, and each of them got a white zig-zag on their black belt (called a zebra) indicating that they are "provisional" black belts.  That means there is one section of the test that they have to repeat because the judges want to see some refinements in that area.  Charlie's provisional was in fighting.  He fought really well, but they want to see better control.  So, he will test again in August (right before leaving for college!) to try to get his provisional lifted to get rid of the zebra.  

It might have a white stripe, but the belt is BLACK!!!  Charlie is the first and only deaf black belt in Tompkins Karate Association. 

Congratulations, ChinaBoi.  I know this is a life-long dream of yours, and you've proven once again that DEAF CAN. 

Acceptance and then some...

Charlie finally accepted the advice of his IEP team and realized accounting would not be a good career field for someone who can't sit still for very long.  Once that realization set in, it wasn't such a big jump for him to decide that he should focus on getting admitted to RIT (again) rather than pursuing Gallaudet, since RIT is known for its technology majors. 

Today, Charlie got his acceptance packet from RIT/NTID.  He's been accepted and is hoping to major in electrical engineering.  Yes, I know that could change--he may well come out with a degree in computer science or whatever.  But the big point is:  CHINABOI IS GOING TO COLLEGE!!

There was an extra little tidbit of news in that packet as well:  He was awarded the President's Scholarship.  That's $10,000 divided over 4 years.  That's a thrill!

Now we've got to get busy applying for other scholarships, seeing what other help we can get.  He will have some support from Voc Rehab, but we don't yet know how much, but given how expensive RIT is, I know it won't fully cover it and we're going to have to come up with a good bit ourselves somehow.  

College-bound.  OMG.  My baby is going to college.  Far away.  I think I'm about to start hyperventilating...

Preliminary Report

Today was a big day--the black belt prelim. Charlie has to pass the prelim in order to be allowed to take the full black belt test in February, so tonight he had to give them a taste of what he's got. 

Since about October, ChinaBoi has been going to karate classes nearly 5 nights a week.  He has to go around visiting different instructors in different cities to get feedback, and he needed to get signatures on his candidacy papers from five of the judges who are on the black belt panel, which means they are 3rd degree black belts or higher. 

He got his five signatures in time, and two of them were from sixth-degree black belts, so he was happy going into the test. 

He passed the prelim, and I was told afterwards that the vote was unanimous in his favor.  So now he has one more month of grueling classes and preparation and nail-biting. 

C'mon February.  We're ready for the suspense to be over with!

Driving me crazy!

Interesting day today.  We went and got our taxes done this morning and then had a 1 p.m. appointment to take Charlie for his driver's test.

Yeah, I said driver's test.

We went to the IHOP just 5 minutes away from the Beltsville MVA for lunch in between those two appointments, and left there at 12:30 for the 5-minute trip so we'd be in plenty of time and so we could try to figure out who/where the interpreter was.  (It's sometimes a challenge for the interpreter and client both to figure each other out.)

What was that about the best-laid plans of mice and men?

There was an accident in between us and the MVA, a really bad one.  It had Rt. 1 completely shut down for over 1/2 hour, involved about 15 pieces of emergency equipment.  By the time we got through, we were late for the 1pm appointment, and they had said they were booked solid, so if you're more than 5 minutes late, you won't get in.  We almost threw in the towel and turned around to head home based on that.  Y'all know how MVA can be, right?

Now, before going further, I have to give my little opinion about MVA.  People always ask me why I go far away to MVA to either Beltsville or to Annapolis, instead of just using the local one in Glen Burnie.  I have yet to ever have a good experience in the Glen Burnie MVA, and my theory on that is that it is down in a dark, dreary basement.  There is very little natural light in that place, and it makes the workers grumpy and depressed.  I've never seen a cheerful worker in that place.  Some of you may have had a different experience, and I'm willing to accept that they may be cheerful every day of the year except the ones that I am there; I'm just stating my personal observations over the years.  However, the Annapolis and Beltsville MVA offices are bright and open, lots of windows, and the people there seem to have a much better disposition.  It's worth the extra drive to me to do business with people who are happier in their work. 

Anyway, we decided to stick with it on the premise that maybe some of the other people trying to get there for appointments would be stuck in the same mess we were, and if we got there ahead of them, they *might* still take us.

By the time the accident cleared, we were 18 minutes late walking through the door.  The lady at the counter apologized and said the interpreter waited her 15 minutes, and left right on the dot.  (Funny, I was told to always wait at least 20 minutes to half hour, especially since I'm getting paid for 2 hours just for showing up.  I'd love to know who that was, but maybe it's better that I don't...)  She would still be willing to let Charlie process in for the test, though, even though he's late.  (See what I mean?  If we'd been late at Glen Burnie, they'd have booted us out the door!)

That means ChinaBoi has 2 choices--reschedule the test for another day with an interpreter, or take it without one.  They can only use interpreters from a certain agency that contracts with MVA, so I can't interpret for him. 

He decided to go for it. 

We get out in the car and get in line with the other cars for the test.  The line was 2 hours long. 

Y'all know how to tell if someone has passed or failed, right?  If they pass, they end up parking the car in the parking lot and walking back to their loved ones waiting by the tables.  If they fail, the examiner is behind the wheel when they come back from the road portion of the test. 

During the 2 hours it took to inch our way up to the head of the line, we saw fail after fail after fail.  Only one pass.  ChinaBoi was a quivering bundle of nerves by the time we got up to the front.  When the guy who came out to pre-inspect the car for the examiner realized that Charlie was deaf and didn't have an interpreter, he went back to talk to the examiner.  He came back out and confirmed that they couldn't let me interpret, but said they were going to go ahead with the test anyway, the examiner was making up some flashcards and would be out in a few minutes. 

The guy came out and introduced himself and his trainee, who would be riding in the back, and I watched as he did the inspection (they order the new driver to turn on the turn signals, headlights, 4-way hazards, blow the horn, turn on the wipers, etc.).  The guy was communicating really well with Charlie with gestures.

They finished the inspection and the guys got in the car with Charlie at the wheel and took off.  I watched as Charlie went through the parallel parking and the 3-point turn.  Then they took him out on the road, out of sight. 
 
That's when I realized I'd been holding my breath.  For a really, really long time.  As long as he was in sight, I felt a telepathic bond, like I was controlling the car with him.  But once he was out of sight, I felt helpless, and the butterflies set in. 

Thirteen minutes later, they came back.  We were a little worried when we saw the car back so soon, because they had said 15 minutes.  Charlie was still at the wheel, so I figured a pass, but when he got out and I signed to him (from a distance) asking, he just shrugged his shoulders and said he didn't have a clue.  The examiners waved us to come out to the parking lot for a conference.  That was a little worrisome....

Then the guy said he passed, and had actually been the best test he'd seen all day.  He did advise that Charlie work on starting to slow down a little sooner when he has a stop coming up, said he had a tendency to get up near the sign before braking, but other than that his test was great.  (Guess that explains why they were back 2 minutes early, huh?)

BIG group hug, jump-up-and-down party.  Then back in to actually do the paperwork to get the license. 

One more surprise left, though.  After Charlie got his mitts on his brand-new license, we followed him out to the car and watched him get in.  He looked at me and motioned me to come on, get in, let's go!

I told him I'd rather ride home with Rick, and we had to make a stop on the way for an errand, so we'd just see him at home when we got back.  The look on his face!!!  He just could not believe he was going for a solo flight already! 

Of course, by the time Rick and I got home, ChinaBoi was nowhere to be found, so of course I had my first case of hyperventilation wondering what happened.  Turns out he decided on a whim to stop off at the library and get an armload of books.  Not a bad activity for the first solo, but we did have a talk about keeping mom informed on his whereabouts when he's not going to arrive when expected.

That's when he dropped the little bomb on me that a friend wanted to throw an impromptu party for him to celebrate, and he wanted to stay over (he's on spring break, after all....).  Please, please, please???

Wow, that didn't take long.  I'm starting to feel the empty nest syndrome creeping in. 


Did you know that deaf people in China aren't allowed to drive? 

Big Day, Tough Decisions

Charlie came home from school this afternoon saying he'd made a decision and wanted to know if I was going to be mad about it.  He has decided to stay at MSD-Frederick (his high school) for an extra year in order to focus solely on English.  Having taken the ACT test several times now and not gotten his English scores up where they should be for college, he is worried that even if he gets accepted for college, he would be unable to succeed because his English is still not up to snuff.

Mad?  ME???  I raised this as a possibility to him over a year ago, and he got majorly pissed off at me for even suggesting it.  Any time I mentioned it, he would go into a snit, so I eventually just shut up.  Now that he has come to this decision on his own, he's worried that I will be MAD?  No way!!

I think it's an excellent decision. 

So, having settled that, I went outside to collect the mail from the box.  There is a big white envelope from RIT/NTID with big orange letters stamped on the front saying "You're In!!!"  It's addressed to Charlie. 

I wasn't sure if this was something to do with that Explore Your Future that he had this past summer or whether it actually had something to do with his college application, since he had applied to both RIT/NTID and Gallaudet during the course of the school year, so I hovered a little while he opened his mail. 

CHINABOI WAS ACCEPTED TO COLLEGE!!!

He is not planning to accept the slot this year--he is standing by his decision to stay at MSD for another year of schooling and to get his ACT scores up.  Furthermore, he really wants Gallaudet (we haven't heard from them yet). 

But it is exciting to know that, even with scores that weren't quite up to snuff, he was already accepted.  That means that he will be even better positioned next year after getting some more focus on English and raising his scores.  There is no doubt about it now--ChinaBoi is gonna go to college!

There is just no way he could possibly have dreamed of all this 6 short years ago when he was living in that orphanage.  No way. 

But sometimes the dreams you DON'T dare to dream can come true, too. 

Congrats, ChinaBoi!!!  Mommy is SO proud of you. 

Wedding Jewelry

Charlie's jewelry-making skills are really coming along very nicely.  He has made a number of truly elegant necklace/earring sets for my mother, and his name is getting out there.  He now does not only beading, but chainmaille, fine silver chains, and pearl silk knotting.  Recently he was commissioned to make a necklace/earring/bracelet set for a wedding.  Pearls are really hard to photograph for some reason, so thanks to my mom for getting some decent shots of this set before he had to hand it all over to the bride (who was thrilled!)  Here's the results: 

Full set

Necklace and Earrings

Necklace - back clasp mother-of-pearly inlay

Bracelet clasp - mother of pearl inlay