The Time Is Not Right. . .

Ugh. This is that time of the year when we perform the annual ritual of setting our clocks forward an hour. Only this year it happens three weeks earlier than usual. Daylight Savings Time really does me in. I'm lucky if I can drag myself out of bed at my usual time. Maybe I will be acclimated to the change before it happens again in the fall. . . I don't handle change very well and it takes me a while to make the transition. *sigh* This week I've had to go in to work earlier than usual because my supervisor is on vacation for spring break. Which meant I had to be at work before 7:30 a.m. to run the *start of the day* programs before my coworkers showed up. But, my body still thinks it is 6:30 a.m. which means I am getting up at 4:30 a.m. at the old time (or 5:30 a.m. DST) to get ready for work! Steve gives me a hard time because he changes time zones on a weekly basis when he travels and says it's only ONE hour. But one hour makes a difference to me!

I still like to call *Time of Day* in the mornings to hear the recording and practice my auditory skills. (You can find it under TIME in the white pages of the phone book.) On Monday I noticed that time on the recording was an hour off but figured it would get fixed since this is the first year we've changed the clocks earlier in March. This morning I checked it again and it said "The current time is 7:30 a.m." instead of 8:30 a.m. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me so I asked my coworker to call and listen to the recording. He said the time was still off an hour so I was hearing it correctly.

So, according to my body and the *Time of Day*, the time is not right!

I'm still hearing great with my two implants but am ready for my *tune-up* tomorrow. My new ear has gotten quieter these last few days, which tells me it is time for a new "map". The changes that I've experienced with my second implant have been subtle and very nice. Hearing out of two ears is awesome and two ears are doing the work instead of one. Tonight as I drove home in the rain, I could hear the raindrops on the car AND understand the music on the radio at the same time. Before, one processor would do the work and the loudest sound (the rain) would be dominant over what I was trying to hear (the radio), for example. Apparently when two ears are working and hearing at the same time, there is a *cancellation* process going on in the brain and the sounds are balanced out somehow.

Had dinner last night with Dawn at the Chop House in Knoxville. Background noise still aggravates me but not as badly as it did before with just one implant. We talked for over two hours!

Had lunch today with my A/V therapist, Susie. It was great to see her again. I'll be making an appointment soon to have my hearing tested and see if I need more A/V therapy with my new ear. Gave her my last two hearing aids and she said they will be used. We'll get a reciept for a tax deduction next year. I've given away five hearing aids in the last 12 months. . .but it feels good knowing that someone else will be able to use them.

My car is still in the shop. It has been there for almost four weeks now. They found a few extra things wrong with it when we called two weeks ago and said it would be another two weeks.

My vertigo is just about gone. I still have my *moments* but not as frequently or as badly as before. I've been going to exercise classes at the gym and struggled in the beginning with the floor exercises, especially when I had to move or look from my right side. But, it has gotten better and my balance is coming back. I just have to make sure I focus my eyes on something.

The puppy is still here and gets sweeter by the day. No one has called to claim her and she still doesn't have a name. But she will when our neighbors adopt her next week when they return from vacation.