As we make the journey of our lives, it is not uncommon to find ourselves needing to put aside certain things in order to make other things better. In situations like these, it is okay to give up doing that one thing.

I started the Journey Inside My Mind blog in January 2002. I started the podcast in August 2005. This project, like so many others, has been highly experimental and without much more of a purpose except to provide a vehicle for me to be introspective and explore things creatively. I always wanted to be a DJ ever since my Dad showed me how to splice tape together and make mixtapes myself.

When I started the podcast in August 2005, I did it to get some things out as well as to promote some independent music I found myself enjoying. For awhile the show came out weekly. After some time the show came out less frequently as other things began. In 2009 only 9 official episodes – including this one – have come out. I expect the same to be the case in the future. While I have posted several “Another Rest Stop in the Journey” audio posts – which has made it easy to keep in touch, I find myself at a crossroads.

In the past year, you have shared with me as I’ve mentioned New Media Cincinnati and How I Got My Job.  Both of these projects, as well as my ongoing search for employment, are making it difficult to make this show the best it can be. I think it’s time for me to focus my energy and efforts where I think I can make it count.

Through this blog and podcast, I’ve been able to make some great connections with others, and these have carried over into other areas, both online and offline. I’d like to say thanks to the Association of Music Podcasting (AMP) for their support and encouragement. I’d also like to say thanks to the 5 of you who have remained subscribed to the feed, either by email or podcast subscription (*wink, wink*). I’m not going to start naming off names, because I know I will undoubtedly forget someone.

So, let’s consider episode 122 (mp3, 29:43, 27.3 MB) the last official podcast episode over here until further notice. And remember, we’re not saying goodbye here. The journey itself will continue; just not so much on this blog and podcast. So let’s just say, “Good journey.”

Please check out howigotmyjob.com and newmediacincinnati.com
Connect with me: http://danieljohnsonjr.com/main/about

Thanks for listening and being a part of the journey!

Daniel Johnson Jr
Cincinnati, Ohio

Songs played (via Music Alley):

Firefox AK, “The Draft”
Rising Sun, “The end of days trilogy (Day 1. Beginning)” (in background)
Natalie Walker, “Waking Dream”
Derek K. Miller, “You’re the Big Sky (Rock Guitar Instrumental)”
Bill deRome, “The ending before the beginning”
Kevin Reeves, “Shine”

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“All I want for Christmas is new hearing aids.”

So said our 12-year old daughter Keisha last month as we began thinking about the holiday season here in 2009.  Keisha’s had her current hearing aids for over four years, and they are showing their age and losing their effectiveness. In addition, she’s had a growth spurt has outgrown her current earmolds.

Background

A little bit of background might be helpful here.  Keisha was born just before infants started being checked for hearing loss, so we didn’t find out that she had bilateral sensorineural hearing loss until she was about 3 years old. She currently wears Phonak BTE (behind-the-ear) aids in both ears, along with FM receivers. The FM receivers enable teachers to speak into a special microphone so that Keisha can hear over the rest of the room noise.

We’re still learning how to communicate and often have communication breakdowns associated with living with hearing loss. In addition to her aids, we use some sign language, lip reading, and handwritten notes. Keisha prefers to communicate orally, but her hearing loss has left her with the need to get speech therapy to make sounds she cannot hear.

Audiologist – Take 1

We received a referral from the insurance company to an audiologist, so that he could test Keisha’s hearing and make a recommendation for new aids and make new impressions of her ears so that new earmolds could be made.

Yesterday afternoon we met with the audiologist, and he noticed quite a buildup of wax in her ears. There was so much so that he couldn’t get a good reading when he measured the air pressure against her eardrums and didn’t get any response. He referred us to an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist) in the same building and we made an appointment for this morning.

Otolarygologist (say that 3 times fast!)

The ENT appointment was pretty quick, because he just needed to remove the wax from Keisha’s inner ear, and more gently than with any tools the audiologist could have used.  The suction tool is very similar to what dentists use. It was kinda gross to hear and see, but it was necessary. He actually pulled out a piece of cotton that had been up near Keisha’s eardrum.

LESSON LEARNED: Do NOT use cotton swabs in the inner ear. They only push the wax further into the inner ear.

We asked the ENT how Keisha could best keep her ears dry, especially since she puts her aids in after getting out of the shower. In the past, leftover moisture, when she puts her aids on, has led to an ear infection (“Swimmer’s Ear”). The ENT recommended a small capful of isopropyl alcohol in each ear when coming out of the shower to dry off the inner ear.

Audiologist, Take 2

Back at the audiologist’s office, Keisha went in for her hearing test. I liked watching the program he used, and we could see when Keisha pushed the button to indicate she’d heard a sound. After this, he tested the air pressure in her ears and got a satisfactory response; i.e., nothing was blocking them, no fluid was built up behind them, and her eardrums were not perforated.

How Keisha Hears

After this test, we went to a room, and he put Keisha’s audiograms up on a screen. We asked him to demonstrate what Keisha’s hearing was like. First, he played a woman speaking normally to give us a baseline.  Then he played the audio through a filter to mimic Keisha’s hearing loss in her right ear. It was very muffled, and I could barely pick out some of the words.  Then he played the same audio through a filter to mimic Keisha’s hearing loss in her left ear. I could barely make out any sound at all.

I looked at Keisha and felt like crying. This was the first time in my life that I’d been able to experience what her hearing loss is like. Even now, as I type this, I’m feeling emotional.

In Color or Black and White?

Keisha has described not being able to hear effectively as experiencing the world in black and white.  When she’s able to use hearing aids effectively, she said it’s like she’s able to experience the world in every color. We can definitely tell a difference in her mood and personality. She definitely shines when she’s able to hear.

Waiting for the cost

We got a recommendation for the best hearing aids that will accomodate Keisha’s type of hearing loss. Now we’re waiting on the insurance to tell us how much all of this will cost us.  We are certainly not in a position, given my unemployment, to pay for these out of pocket.  I’m guessing that, with the cost of new ear molds and aids, it could be upwards of at least $3200 total. How much of that we’ll be expected to pay we’ll know for sure soon.

Conclusion

The most moving part of today was being able to experience, to a small extent, what life is like for our only daughter without her aids. I can understand more clearly how valuable and important having good hearing aids is to her. I’m a bit nervous about the potential cost, but I’m also hopeful that we’ll be able to raise the money somehow.

UPDATE!

We got word back from the insurance company. With the discount we’re getting on the aids, including audiological services and new ear molds for the aids, we anticipate the total cost to be about $4000. That’s a lot of money to come up with, for sure.

But then again, what if 400 people gave us $10? Or 200 people gave us $20? Not quite as overwhelming, necessarily. We’re going to look at other ways to get the money, but I thought I’d put this out here, since many of you have asked about how you can help.

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Tagging Daniel Johnson Jr from October 2009 New Media Cincinnati Second Saturday

In episode 121(mp3, 45:29, 41.8 MB) of the Journey Inside My Mind podcast, take a walk with me as I provide an update on what’s been going on since the last time we got together.

• Complete shownotes and additional episodes at http://journeyinsidemymind.com
• Use the Contact page to get in touch (music submissions, private comments, etc.)
• Some of the music in this episode came from Music Alley
• The Journey Inside My Mind is a proud member of the Association of Music Podcasting

Breakdown:
00:04 Pre-credit sequence
01:12 SONG: The Lions Rampant, “Let Us In! (Come On)”
03:52 What’s on the show; walking outside, recording with Griffin iTalk app
06:44 SONG: A Band Called Quinn, “DIY”
10:37 Job search update, JSFG job fair, iCAN workshops, StrengthsFinder, networking
18:59 SONG: Kelly Richey, “No More Lies”
22:53 New Media Cincinnati Update: 2-yr anniversary, NMC/NMD, final of 2009 coming
30:23 SONG: Bradley D, “How To Fall”
34:30 PROMO: How I Got My Job
35:08 How I Got My Job, media appearances, my unique call to action
41:55 SONG: Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband, “Banjo Boy”
44:53 Post-credit sequence

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In episode 120 of the Journey Inside My Mind (mp3, 01:01:16, 56.2 MB), we celebrate four years of podcasting. Since it’s the 120th episode, that means a Super Mix of music from artists played on the show over the past four years!

Breakdown:

00:00 Teaser
00:17 Association of Music Podcasting
00:26 The Longest Journey
00:38 The Wylde Bunch, “Yeah Yeah (Stomp the Bleachers)”
03:42 What happens when a man goes through his own portal?
03:55 Catching up with Daniel Johnson, Jr. Intro to the episode. Other stuff.
11:33 Butterfly Catchers, “Wake Up (2006)”
16:02 Black Lab, “River Of Joy”
20:23 “You drop the bomb on me, baby”
20:29 The Reverse Engineers, “Mercury in Retrograde”
25:21 46bliss, “In A Long Time”
29:38 Shout-out from Jennie and Keisha
30:10 Shout-out from Drew LaPlante
30:20 Drew LaPlante, “I Believe In You”
33:58 Shout-out from Sophia Ramos
34:08 Sophia Ramos, “Kill Your Pain”
37:39 “Recommended by dentists who chew gum”
37:45 Kelly Goodlad, “January”
42:36 Shout-out from John Buehler
42:41 The Subways, “I Want To Hear What You Have Got To Say”
46:03 Shout-out from Keisha
46:11 Josh Woodward, “Adventures of the Deaf Dreamer”
50:02 “No iPod Required”
50:07 “Message from Jennie (you know the woman)”
50:34 (De La Vega) Ivy League, “Breathe”
56:03 “Released under Creative Commons License”
56:13 Matthew Ebel, “Downtown” from the album “Goodbye Planet Earth”
1:00:57 Ending credits
1:01:20 “Make it a great day!”

Other links mentioned during the episode:

• My Virtual Business Card/Social Media Resume
• How I Got My Job

As always, you can get in touch via the Contact page.  To call in a voicemail comment, please dial +1-513-373-4442 and be sure to let me know up front that it’s a comment for the show, so I can be sure to send it directly to voicemail.

*The Journey Inside My Mind is a proud member of the Association of Music Podcasting. Please check out their weekly podcast, AMPed New Music Weekly and follow AMP on Twitter. 200th episode coming up in October 2009!

Some of the music in this episode came from Mevio’s Music Alley.

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Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my Mom’s birthday, and it gives me a lot of joy to share how much I love and appreciate her.  Naturally, if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here.  Happy Birthday, Mom!

For most of my life now, we have lived hundreds of miles apart from one another, yet we remain very close. It’s nothing for me to contact her through GoogleTalk or call her on the phone.  She is a great Nana to our daughter Keisha, and Jennie, Keisha, and I really loved when she lived with us some years ago.

Domestic Violence Awareness

My mom’s experience with domestic violence and abuse is a strong motivating factor in my passion in promoting domestic violence awareness.  She has publicly shared her story on her own blog, and, in honor of her special day today, I would love if you did me a favor and read her story. She wrote it in two parts.

It’s graphic. It’s not for the faint of heart.

She would say it’s only by the grace of God that she is alive.  But, and I think she’d agree with me, by sharing her story, it might help someone else in a similar situation.

Once again, my Mom is a hero to me. She is a survivor. My respect and love for her grows every day. I am proud to be her son. Read this and you’ll understand why.

• Why doesn’t she just leave? Part 1
• Why doesn’t she just leave? Part 2

Related posts you might be interested in

• Domestic Violence Awareness: Social Media Release
• One Voice Domestic Violence Community Awareness Walk, Part 1
• One Voice Domestic Violence Community Awareness Walk, Part 2
• One Voice Domestic Violence Community Awareness Walk, Part 3
• One Voice Domestic Violence Community Awareness Walk, Part 4

Update:Some people have asked how to make a donation. Feel free to do so here. I sincerely appreciate your support!

Something totally random
about the words streaming
from my head
from a tired mind
longing for the rest that
comes once the eyelids
close

Inspired words perhaps
from the heart
as an overflow
inspired by creative
sounds and music
and thoughts

These words uttered
so quickly as in a spurt
have been laid down
without abandon
finished when done.

– Daniel Johnson, Jr., 2009

Photo credit, Stuck in Customs

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In preparation for this weekend’s 4-year anniversary episode of the Journey Inside My Mind podcast, I’ve gone through the comments made on this blog, and have produced this list. It was compiled from the MySQL database that powers my Wordpress blog, with the query:

SELECT DISTINCT `comment_author` , `comment_author_url`
FROM wp_comments
ORDER BY `comment_author` ASC

After cleaning up the list in Excel, I’ve got this of everyone who has commented and has left a link. Thank you to everyone who has been involved over the past four years or more:

• Andy K
• Breanna Gaddie
• Dave Delaney
• Doctor Anonymous
• Hairstyles Watch
• jimi lee
• John Buehler
• Lois
• minimumspecs
• MoochChaCha
• Much To Do About Nothing, the Blog
• nFriedly
• Rich Palmer
• salguod
• sierra
• UK Solicitors
• Vicki

I think I’m going to try this out for my other blogs as well.  Thanks also to Chris Penn for the idea.

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