On Friday, June 28, 2000, I started a backpacking trip on “Snowmass Trailhead.” I thought that it would be easy and very rewarding, however I soon found out the truth. I was already tired when I found out about the three passes we would have to go over; the Nameless Pass was about 13,000 feet high, the Willow Pass was about 12,600 feet high, and finally the Buckskin Pass was about 12,733 feet high!

The first night I camped out at East Snowmass Creek. I had warm spaghetti for dinner that night. After a long night, I woke up to a beauty. I was able to see how far I had gone including the rivers we crossed. It seemed like I was on a magnificent island filled with beautiful green trees, colorful flowers, and cool shady areas. After breakfast, I started toward the nameless pass, hoping that I would make it in the shortest time possible. After a while, I found out that a camper, Jenny, wasn’t feeling well because she was dizzy and felt nauseous. We gave her full support and hoped that she wouldn’t try to convince the staff (Anthony and Carolyn) to let her go back. She slowed us down and made me think negatively, but I was stubborn because I really wanted to climb over the pass and get it over with. I just wanted the trip to be over, until I arrived at the pass.

I was beyond touched. I didn’t care about the future, the past, anything. I was totally fascinated with the scenery. I saw everything a bird would be able to see. It didn’t look like an island anymore; it was a piece of heaven now. After I screamed for joy, I headed down the mountain, toward Willow Lake.

We set out tents there and I fell asleep under the stars until Cass woke me up to help me in the tents. There was supposed to be a meteor shower on one of these nights, and this one wasn’t it. The next morning everyone (Mike, Cass, Mary-Pat, Adam C., Jenny, Carolyn, Anthony) went swimming except for me, I was too tired to swim and the water was too cold for me.

Later it started getting hotter, so I allowed my hair and feet in the shallow part of the water. Mike and Jenny came over and sat down on the rocks. Everyone else went separate ways. Carolyn went up a mountain with out her whistle and water because she wanted to conquer her asthma problem. After a long while, I started getting worried because Carolyn hasn’t come back and I couldn’t see her anywhere. So I told Jenny to tell me if she hears anything. All of a sudden she claimed that she heard something from where Carolyn was.

Mike hurriedly woke up Cass, Mary-Pat, and Adam and put his shoes on. I ran to Anthony and told him everything, and grabbed the first-aid kit and headed up the mountain. Adam was already near the top, Mike was in the middle with me, and Anthony rushed past everyone and beat Adam to the top. Jenny was back at the campsite waving an orange poncho, which I had no idea what it meant. When I finally got to the top, I found out that Carolyn screamed for joy because she climbed that mountain with no problem. That “scream” caused Jenny to think she was hurt or so.

I wasn’t mad at Carolyn, I was happy that my team (group) was able to respond quickly, using great teamwork and communication skills, to anything that might happen! At that moment I was proud to be there with that group. After a delicious dinner including Smores, I fell asleep in my warm snug sleeping bag.

The next morning I woke up to a smiling sun that encouraged me to get up and ready for the day hike that was prepared for us. I eagerly volunteered to be the leader for the day because I wanted to be first to at least one of the passes. Luckily I was the first one to Willow Pass.

The view was beautiful too, but I was nervous because I had to go down a very steep side. When I got to the bottom, my group headed toward Buckskin Pass. When I arrived at the start of the pass, I was shocked at how long the trail was. It seemed like miles to me, but I didn’t care because I wanted to touch the glittering snow on top of the pass.

When I got to the top, I saw another group coming up on the other side. Mike, Cass, and I yelled and went down there to give support to tired campers and carried sick or injured people’s backpacks. When I finally reached the top again, I saw how beautiful nature could be! I saw many trees surrounding a giant clear lake, which was named, “Snowmass Lake.”

After a chat and a short lunch with the other group, my team headed to the lake. We ran out of water so Cass and Mary-Pat pumped water to share with others until we got to the lake. When I finally got to the lake, I had to go down a steep hill to pump the water for dinner. However, I slipped and fortunately grabbed a branch that prevented me from sliding down the hill. Unfortunately, the branch broke and I slid all the way and almost flew off a 3 feet cliff and into the lake, until I grabbed a tree trunk out of no-where.

As I got up to my feet, I noticed that I had a scratch on my back so I had to go make someone else go pump the water. That made me happy because I was tired. The next day, the group walked faster than average because we wanted to get to the Trailhead’s Parking Lot that will show that we were finished.

Carolyn was falling behind, fell twice, and blew on the whistle for us. However Jenny’s hearing aid was low on battery so no one could hear it. Luckily Anthony decided that we should wait for her, and when she finally came, we felt bad for her because we didn’t slow down for her. However Anthony thought that Carolyn told him to ignore her so that’s why we didn’t wait for her. But when we saw shining cars lined up, we all ran to the lot because we were so happy that we would have a hot shower soon. Thankfully BJ let us come back to camp a day early.

As the van pulled away from the parking lot, I looked back to where I had hiked on, and felt proud of myself. I smiled at the mountain and I think I saw them smile back too.

Dawn rised over the horizon
Silence screamed in the soilder’s ears
The general ordered station and preparations
Soon, the time will come
The moment to determine the future and the
Destiny of America
Swiftly the indians hollered over the hill
Leaving a mark in the sun
Everyone prepared for the moment of truth
The warriors slowed to a steady gallop
The chief went out
As the general went forward
As they placed each other’s hands in
Friendship

“It’s ours!” declared Palestine,

“Never!” argued Israel.

“Then you will die,” whispered Death,

“Let there be peace,” begged Hope.

“Follow me,” cried Greed,

“No! Belong to me,” exclaimed Jealousy.

Dark clouds settled over lighting and thunder

Innocence quaked with apprehension

The earth shook throughout the confrontation

Hidden fear climbed to the surface as

Anger permeated the humid air

Blood blinded curious eyes

Dust settled over the horizons

Promise cleansed the souls

Shame exposed ghastly intentions

The oasis within an arm’s length

Fell in cold reality

Decayed life buried in hatred- forevermore

I wrote this poem when I was 9. :)

Deaf Nature

I can not hear
I only can hear when
The leave dances around me in the wind
But I can not hear

I can not hear
I only can hear when
The trees sign for me in the wind
But I can not hear

I can not hear
I only can hear when
The wind swirls around me
But I can not hear

I can not hear
I only can hear when
The water below me rushes to follow the wind
But I can not hear

Remember...
I can not hear...

So my new job has a retreat in Clearwater, Florida this week. I’m looking forward to all the fun things we’ll do. I got the itinerary from our travel agent. I’m flying United Airlines. Oh joy.

My flight was supposed to leave at 6 a.m. from Santa Barbara today. Means I had to get up at 3 a.m., get ready and drive a hour to the airport and check in at 4:30 a.m. If you don’t know, it’s impervious that you check in and go through security at least 90 minutes before your boarding time. We must not be late, especially in a small airport like this… 10 people is a lot of people that’ll take up a lot of time.

Finally, I check in. TSA is late so I have to wait before I can drop off my bag. 10 minutes later, a scrawny guy shows up in his navy blue TSA jacket. He takes about 10 minutes to get ready and finally struggle to lift my 50 lb bag onto the inspection belt.

Baggage dropped off. Head to the café to grab some breakfast. They’re closed. Of course, who serves breakfast at 4:30 a.m.? My stomach is growling. *growls*

Proceed through security. No problem.

Sat in the gate area for 45 minutes. Finally I get to board. I get to my seat and realize I can’t find my driver’s license. Chit! *search search search* *search frantically* There you are, you little sucker! It was hiding in the deepest pocket of my laptop bag. *relieved sigh* Sat down and buckled up.

30 minutes go by. Lights come on and blinds me from my dream of paradise. People are getting up and leaving. After asking around, I find out our plane has a mechanical issue. Great… at least they found out before we were on the air. Delay is only a hour they say.

*growls* Café still closed. It’s 7:13!

The same friendly attendant I had earlier beckoned me to the counter. Perhaps she heard my stomach, uh-oh. Find out that the plane isn’t delayed, it’s canceled. Well geez… She tells me the best replacement they have available for me is at 8 p.m. tonight and I won’t arrive in Tampa until 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. After unsuccessfully drilling her for better options, I said, “book it.”

*growls*

Oh, that was a late April Fool’s Joke. The best available one is really at 6 a.m. tomorrow and I won’t arrive until Tampa until 9 p.m. *sigh* What choice do I have? “Book it.”

My schedule now consist of: flying from Santa Barbara at 6. Flying from Los Angeles to Denver. Denver to Tampa. Arrive at 9:15 p.m. By then I’ve already missed half of the orientation.

*growls*

I page my supervisor. He laughs. I laugh too.

Now I’m walking to baggage claim. Get my suitcase and realize, they charged me for it. Go back to the counter and wait another 15 minutes in line. Finally, I get to the counter and it’s the same friendly woman. Oh joy. I explain. She said bring the receipt back tomorrow and the fee will be waived. My feeling, it’s not going to be waived…

Now I’m sitting here in the lobby… waiting to see if my ride will return and get me. Worse case scenario: she doesn’t. I sleep on the bench in here like the traditional California bum. *growls*

The café just opened. There’s a line. *sigh* *growls*

The joys of flying United Airlines. : ) I’m ready to do it all over again tomorrow morning at 3 a.m.

*growls*

Patron anyone?

While most people fear the idea of when the world stop spinning, it came to me as a complete relief.

I was born severely deaf with approximately 80 db hearing loss in both of my ears. I was able to utilize hearing aids my entire life and developed a fond appreciation for music (Spice Girls, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Green Day to name a few). In December 2002, I was stricken with severe dizziness for a week. On the last day I woke up with a water-logged feeling in my ears. I put my hearing aids on and thought they were broken as I could not hear a thing no matter how high the volume. After verifying that it still worked by making the hearing aids whistle until my mother came running in the room screaming at me to turn it off, I shrugged off the “hearing blockage” as a temporary one. After a week, I grew concerned. My hearing has not returned to normal and my dizziness persisted.

I remember at one point I was taking a history exam when I asked my teacher to permit me a visit to the nurse. I stood up and nearly fell until a nearby classmate grabbed me. I was so dizzy I could not stand up. The nurse said my eyes were moving left-and-right on its own (I was not able to control my eye movements). I remember feeling vertical and horizontal spinning of the world as well as a “wobbly floor.” My family and I were utterly confused and helpless. Multiple visits to hospitals and specialists served no purpose as everyone could not pinpoint what exactly was happening to me. A hearing test showed that I had profound hearing in my right ear and my left ear was spared somewhat. A hearing aid became useless to my right ear.

Over the years I would get sporadic dizziness. In January of 2008, I was hit with another severe case of dizziness where I was not able to get out of bed for a month. I woke up another morning to the same water-logged feeling to my left ear. Sure enough, I loss more hearing in my left ear. I was profoundly deaf in both ears now with about 110 db hearing loss. Hearing aids became a paperweight and a reminder of how much I missed music.

Since then, I would have dizzy spells that would last a day or a week. It was driving me nuts because it was interfering with my school, my social life, and my job. I would sleep constantly to avoid the spinning of the world. Then the world stopped spinning.

In February of 2010, I did a week-long juice fast. After the fast was over, I felt great. I never felt better. I realized that my light-headedness and dizzy spells went away. I kept waiting for it to come. It never did.

A juice fast is designed to cleanse your body. Obviously I had some sort of toxin in my body that was causing the years of torture for me. I experimented by separately introducing elements that I would normally use before I did the juice fast. Then I got hit with another severe dizzy spell where my best friend had to drive my car and me home.

It was all because of birth-control.

You see, I started birth-control around sophomore year of high school (2002) because of PMDD. I stopped the birth-control in January because I wanted to start avoiding chemicals and man-made materials. The juice-fast helped clean out the toxins that were left in me. I started birth-control again two weeks after the juice-fast and I was constantly dizzy for two days until I made the possible connection. I stopped the birth-control and the world stopped spinning.

For 8 years, I was helpless. Doctors and specialists could not even pinpoint what the heck was causing all these troubles. Ironically, they were the one providing the cause. I am never going to consume man-made medicine and/or chemicals that could be found in food or personal care products. It’s amazing how much these chemicals truly affect our body and corporations keep being involved with their money-making schemes to feed us chemicals that are actually bad for us! But we also have take responsibility for enabling them to do so.

I looked on-line and found one interesting website: http://www.hearingcenter.com/httpdocs/info_files/sudloss.html. The website said that hearing loss can be caused by, “drugs such as birth control pills and antibiotics that are toxic to the ears.” It even encouraged people to stop taking birth-control if hearing loss occurred. I took two different types of birth-control over the years and they both shared only two ingredients: ethinyl estradiol and magnesium stearate. I am currently in research of these specific chemicals.

Nevertheless, I am forever grateful that I have a normal life again. I was able to purchase a newer and more powerful model of hearing aids that lets me hear music again. But everything is different. Sounds are muffled (like if you were hearing things under water) and distorted. I’ve been retraining my brain to identify sound the way I used to. I’ve finally been able to enjoy the Red Hot Chili Peppers again…

If you have any similar experience or research that can help- please e-mail me at k.murch@yahoo.com immediately.

• Don’t have to listen to your Mom or anyone else. ;)
• Free College (in Texas at least)
• Handicapped Parking (of course you gotta respect the people who needs it more than you)
• Free money (although that never worked out for me)
• Center seats in a movie theatre (the manager will actually usher people over so we have the best sounds)
• Get out of tickets when you’re pulled over (they either feel sorry for you or don’t want to pay for interpreters in court, which can be VERY expensive)
• VIP sections at concerts
• Speedy services at hospitals, doctors, and other appointments (they don’t want to pay interpreters overtime)
• Peaceful sleep (rain, crying babies, noisy neighbors, or screeching cats don’t wake you up)
• Focused at a task (environmental noise don’t distract you)
• Discounted cell phone services (what use are those minutes to you?)
• You don’t have to answer the phone at work (unless you have a business vp)
• Videophones!
• Get to talk to your friend in ASL about the hearing people who are staring at you and they have no idea. (teehee)
• All music sounds great to you
• Majorly discounted ski lift tickets
• When we say “shh”, every one shhhhs
• and more…

If you can think of another one, comment please! :D

Our world is collapsing fast. What many of us do not realize is that we are the one making it collapse. We have the power to change our world and change our future by the choices we make and the attitude we hold. Since I was a kid, I have been taught to respect nature and to preserve my future as much as I can. However, I am one person. It is impervious that we all adopt a healthy attitude and work together to improve the environment and our future. Here are some ways we can affect our future:

By What You Eat

Many people don’t realize that one of the best ways to improve the environment is by voting every time you take a bite or drink. Watching Foods, Inc. and Fast Food Nation is a good way to realize the stronghold major multinational corporations have on what we eat. About 90% of all the foods in supermarkets have chemicals or unnatural/genetically modified ingredients that greatly affect our health, other animals, and the environment.

Amazingly, corn is the second main culprit. This is ironic in the manner that corn is supposed to be one of our food groups and a vegetable that nourishes us. Corn has been modified in so many ways that we do not realize that it is in almost everything we consume, even diapers. Corporations have figured out how to take advantage of corn to design crap food in a manner of taste, texture, smell, and other factors that gets us addicted. High fructose corn syrup, sucrose, maltose, and other ingredients are all made from corn and are genetically modified.

Now you’re curious. What is the first culprit? The answer: humans. It is only because of humans that we have allowed the corporations grow in size and power. It is only because of us that our food is modified in ways that is against our natural evolution and does more harm. Corporate are even suing local honest-working farmers that are trying to provide all-natural foods to the local community. They even control the farmers’ business and profits!

I urge you to stand up and take control back. Some ways you can gain back control and contribute better to your body, animals, and the environments are:

• Go local! Boycott big corporations and support local businesses and farmers’ markets. Most of the time the farmers’ market are healthier because of less or no pesticides and hormones and the food is transported in less miles (meaning less gas and oil used).  The cons are that some foods may not be in season and slightly higher. But it’s well worth the investment.
  • Find your local farmers’ market at: http://www.localharvest.org/
• Honor Meatless Mondays! While many people are not yet comfortable with the idea of vegetarianism, going vegetarian once a week can truly help cut the environmental costs of raising meat. Try learning a new vegetarian or vegan meal every Monday and have fun with your family! If you can, go vegetarian for life!
  • Find vegetarian meal ideas at: http://www.goveg.com, http://www.vegweb.com, http://www.vegetariantimes.com/
  • Pledge to go vegan for 30 days at: https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2055
  • Check out my favorite meat substitute brand, Quorn, at http://www.quorn.us/ You’ll be amazed at how tasty their mea’ts are!
• Choose organic or humane! Organic products are still not strongly regulated by the FDA. However, ensure your foods are as organic as possible and do not include any of those preservative and hormonal craps that contributes to diabetes, obesity, and other diseases. Also, choose meats, dairy, and eggs that are obtained directly from humane farms. Some farms take very good care of their animals and ensure their comfort and well beings before humanely slaughtering them or taking their products. These farms also avoid hormones and encourage the natural growth of all of their animals.
  • Check out this organic food database at http://www.organicfooddatabase.net

By What You Put On Your Skin

We all use personal products to refresh ourselves, make us smell good, or make us feel prettier. What most of us realize is that these topical products we consume are not effective. Profits have driven corporate to developing products that give us the illusion they actually reduce fine lines, cellulite, or make our lips bigger. The God-honest truth is that we are what we eat. If we continue to eat junk food and not fresh fruits and vegetables, we will age faster and look worse each day. No matter what so-called scientists say, we cannot eliminate cellulite from a lotion. Cellulite is there because there are additional fats that cannot be sorted smoothly around your legs or butt. It’s because of what we eat! So stop spending extra hundreds of dollars on those so-called appearance enhancing products and start investing in a healthy diet and exercise plan. You will see a huge difference from using those products to a new diet and exercise plan. Guaranteed.

Furthermore, these products contain unnatural ingredients that are produced in a way that is not good for the environment and are honestly not good for us. For instance, in almost all shampoos, you will see an ingredient with “sulfate” in it. That one ingredient contributes to pollution in the air, toxins in your body, and even cancer. I dare you to look up the other ingredients and be amazed at how toxic they really are for us. We continue to put these ingredients on ourselves in hopes of looking better! How hypocritical is that?

The sad truth is that the majority of these products are produced by mega corporations like Johnson & Johnson, Proctor and Gamble, Colgate, Unilever, SC Johnson, and more. These corporations test on animals without regard to the fact they have cheaper and humane alternatives. Bunnies are forced to suffer eye tests (they have no eyelids), rats are forced to ingest chemicals, and other animals endure torturous methods for the sake of consumer safety. Your dog or cat could be abducted by Class B Dealers and sold to these corporate for animal testing as well. The ridiculous thing about this is that there is a cheaper and more humane alternative that actually provides more accurate results. Companies like Proctor and Gamble do not want to switch because they are comfortable with the system and do not see the need to switch. In turn, our costs are driven up and our animals are suffering for nothing.

What you can do about these issues:

• Go natural! Boycott major corporations and turn to local businesses or all-natural products. By doing so, you will ensure that there are less toxic chemicals in these products and you are not contributing to unnecessary animal testing.
  • Find out what chemicals and brands are toxic to you in this wonderfully extensive and up-to-date database: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/
• Complain! Write to the major corporations that makes your favorite products and urge them to switch to all-natural products and stop animal testing now and forever. If enough people complain and vote with their dollars, the corporate will have no choice but to change their methods. Hopefully, they then will improve their respect for us, animals, and the environment.
  • Find out who do or do not test on animals: http://www.caringconsumer.com/
  • Learn more about animal testing at: http://www.hsus.org/animals_in_research/animal_testing/ or http://www.peta.org/actioncenter/testing.asp

There are other ways you can help the environment and your future including watching what you wear, drive, and what attitude you hold towards the world. More information coming soon!

The glass ceiling is finally falling off in pieces. More and more women are becoming successful and respected in today’s society. However, people are still using  femininity as a crutch and some of our actions are not exactly helping us. The following points are some guidelines I live by when I work, especially when working with men. Your actions should always emphasize your value to your team and your employer.

Use assertive language. I highly recommend Phyllis Mindell’s A Woman’s Guide to the Language of Success: Communicating With Confidence and Power. This book and one tough college professor really helped me shape my communication skills to be more assertive and get the response I want. While there are small issues that affect the effectiveness of our communication skills, the key is using assertive language.

Many women use passive language that makes them sound weak and incompetent. “Since it was raining outside, we couldn’t do the shoot,” is an example of passive language. To make it assertive, we emphasize the subject before the verb. Like my professor used to say, “follow subject-verb-phrase” (SVP). “We (S) couldn’t do (V) the shoot because it was raining outside (P)” shows the subject before the verb and shows that the team is taking the responsibility for not being able to do the shoot. Limit the use of passive language to when it is a part of a strategy.

You can find more ways about how to make your communication skills more effective from Mindell’s book or http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/style.html. Remember that you cannot change your habits overnight and becoming an assertive speaker will take time. I am still working on mine!

Get to the point. Cut all the bull, skip the fillers, and just say what you are trying to say. Which of the following statements sounds more effective at getting the message across?

“Oh, I was thinking about that earlier. What happened was that Bill didn’t tell me that I was supposed to get the numbers together for the Smith proposal and that we had a meeting today. So I rushed all night last night to get these numbers. I was so stressed out and forgot about this project. I’m so sorry and I will look into it and try to turn it in to you as soon as I can.”

“Not yet. I will have this project complete and on your desk in five minutes.”

The second statement is much clearer and allows you to take responsibility and the initiative to get the problem solved. The listener really does not want to hear your excuses. They want results. We make ourselves sound weaker when we go on and on with things that don’t really impact the message. This is one way men are able to downplay our skills and use our skill of gab against us. If the listener wants more details, s/he will ask for it. It is also rather embarrassing when someone may think, “what the hell is she talking about?” Improve your effectiveness by getting to the point.

Take control. Some of us may get upset because our boss did not assign us as the leader of a project or you find yourself often asking for more responsibilities. We go home wondering why the boss doesn’t realize the value of your skills and let you become the star of the team. The most likely reason is because you’re not taking control. You don’t want to walk in the office with a crown and cape and announce yourself as the queen of the team. You want to build relationships with your team members where they feel comfortable with you as a leader and take every opportunity to showcase your skills. Take initiative and never apologize for taking the opportunity away from someone else. However, always be humble and respectful. When you complete the task successfully, don’t dish out all the credit to the others. Focus on your key strengths and give your boss another reason to love you even more.

Speak up, don’t back down/apologize. Think like a man. Ok, I’m stereotyping here. ;) When you are an expert in your field and you work hard, you deserve every cent of the raise you are asking for and you deserve to be heard as part of the team.  Don’t apologize for being right or downplay your impressive knowledge. Showcase your skills and be proud of them. Do your research and have supporting facts to back your words and actions. Know what you are doing and you can’t lose.

Do not take anything personally. Work is work. People are people. You know the truth and you know how you can contribute. Don’t let words or actions stop you from what you do best. By crying or getting emotionally upset about something at work gives men an opportunity to distract from your skills and devalue your contributions. If you need a break, take it discreetly and return with the same pep you had before.

Learn to love the word “bitch”. Strong, independent, and confident women are often stereotyped as a “bitch”. Men do so to draw attention to the fact that we are a woman in a “man’s world.” Women do that because they are jealous. Sad, but bluntly true. We cannot change the opinion of those who stereotypes us as such. What we can do is ignore these stereotypes and continue being the role models we can be to those who look up to us. We also must stay focused on the task at hand and showcase our skills even more. When I hear the word bitch, I think “Beautiful, Intelligent, Talented, and Charming Hell of a woman!”I also let karma take care of itself.

Most of all, be you. No one is like you and you bring a unique aspect to the team. Your contributions are valuable, no matter how small. Never forget this and love who you are. If your employer or team don’t see your value, then it is not worth working for them. Find a job that fits who you are and where who you are fits with their culture. Never change for anyone else but yourself.

Go you!