Dogs and More Dogs

Friday night, I decided to volunteer at Rescue Denver for their Rescue Runway event. It was one of the coolest fundraisers I've ever been to. It wasn't ritzy, which I'm not a fan of nor was it lame. Being a dog lover helps at these events (obviously) since the whole point of organizations such as this one is to help pets get adopted in this case dogs.

They were all adorable. I wanted to take every single one of them home. Meet and Greets started out the night where everyone could see the dogs and the VIP could pet and get to know them. Volunteers also got this privilege. There was a kissing booth, which I personally thought was genius! A french bulldog with the cutest ears was in there when I walked up.

To end the night, they had a fashion show. Students from the Art Institute of Denver designed the clothes on the models and dogs. It was a unique idea and the whole night went splendidly. Overall, it was a lot of fun and I'm glad I let my selfishness/generosity win out over whether or not I should volunteer for this organization's event. Meaning, I was homesick for my dog Buddy which is the top reason why I decided to volunteer. The other reason was to help out a worthy organization.

As far as I know, there were two dogs that got adopted that night. One of the people in charge said that many sign the adoption papers later when they are prepared to take the dog home. Such a fun way to spend a Friday night!

  

My Obsession

Those who know me well, understand that I have quite a few obsessions. One of them being -- STAR WARS! The Denver Art Museum has had an exhibit since January called the Power of Costume - featuring Star Wars. It was so neat to read about how they came up with the different pieces of clothing and then why they chose certain materials for each character.

The coolest thing we saw was the cooling system under Chewbacca's costume. That wasn't even made until the prequel. The first three movies (4 - 6) the man wearing it suffered greatly under many pounds of yak hair - that's what they used to make his costume. So cool!

Even though I've seen the Star Wars movies a thousand times, it didn't occur to me that C3PO was a costume. Not sure why. Maybe because I knew that R2D2 wasn't a costume - it was remote controlled. The man wearing that, hated it! It was so unnatural for him and I could see why. In all the movies, he could only move so fast and remember to move like a robot. On top of being out in the desert for a lot of it -- made it worse I'm sure just like the man inside Chewbacca.

Sometimes we watch movies and just don't think about what the actors are going through. I'm guilty of that too. Since volunteering at WIN-TV, I have become more aware of camera angles and room panning -- things like that. The characters though, I don't really think about it nor their clothing/costumes. I can clearly see why Star Wars was and is such a phenomenon. Everyone, from the director to the actors did such a fantastic job making the movies believable.

Sara Covic

Friday night, I went to the Rocky Mountain Deaf School in Denver and met my first Deaf author! I have never been so excited in my life. It's just like meeting someone of color whom I look up to. I still wish I could meet Michelle Kwan or Derrick Coleman, but who knows if I'll ever get that chance. That night, I met someone who inspired me to the core.

Those who know me have seen my passion for writing. It is something I enjoy doing in my free time as well as in the classroom. My mind is always coming up with a new plot. I can never seem to focus on one story -- it's always multiple. I asked Sara two questions, "Why do you like to write?" and "What advice do you have for beginning writers?" I've only been published a handful of times and none of them as awesome as the book she wrote that won many awards titled, "Girl at War." Hearing how she came up with this book, the process and the many hurdles she had to overcome, I became inspired and driven to continue writing no matter what.

Sometimes as a writer we can feel dejected and lonely because it is quite a lonesome career. Sending out your work and getting a thumbs down is not anyone's favorite moment. However, we artists are used to that. We have to push through the thousands of rejections in order to get that one solid YES! Being Deaf is hard enough living and working in the hearing world, but to also have to constantly see the words, "We regret..." at the top of many emails and letters can be overwhelming.

She told me to never stop reading, imagining or writing everything and anything. I hope I stay the course and never let others tell me "I can't."

She ended with, "The world needs your stories, The world needs more Deaf stories." Her words couldn't be closer to the truth. There are so many people in this world both hearing and Deaf that could use our stories. It just might help them find who they are and learn what the Deaf community really is about -- not just the Hollywood version. Writing is a part of me like the skin on my bones. I. Will. Not. Stop.