June 5, 2012

• Ears.

  I found this post in my gmail drafts saved back in early January. It’s actually quite pointless and I’m unsure why I felt the need to write it but it was written, so I’m posting it.

  -------------------------
  Growing up, I was that kid that was infuriated when parents did their kids work. It was usually around science fair time when this really peeved little Bethany off. My projects may not have been fantastic but at least they were MY projects. I can't help but think of Brian Regan's Cup of Dirt.

  Now, I never did the solar system or at least I don't think I did. One of my most clever science fair projects was seeing which gum lasts the longest, which turned into a perfectly good excuse for me to chew gum during classes as it was against school rules. Clever, I know.

  One year, I did this sweet project on the human ear. For whatever reason, ears fascinated me and kind of still do. I've always thought of doing a photography book on different ears, different ages and such. Alas, it has only ever been a thought and probably always will be. The idea of asking people if I can take a picture of their ear seems…strange. I digress, I wish I still had that project. Not only did I sculpt an ear, I hand drew a very detailed human ear. I'm not much of a free hand drawer but I took pride in that drawing. I'm sure the reason it disappeared was simply because it was a drawing of an ear. As much as people would think it weird to photograph an ear, who wants a drawing of an ear hanging on the wall?

  Growing up, I was the kid always wearing the giant headphones. You know the completely un-cool, un-hip, honker headphones. The kind that are only cool if you're professionally mixing music, not riding on the bus with all the other kids who were hiding the fact that they are listening to music when they shouldn't be. Another Algoma rule. My headphones were unhideable. 

  Even if I wanted to wear normal ear buds, the hardcore fact was I couldn't and still can't. Why? Because I have a small antitragus and tragus.

  

  The two essential parts of the ear that hold ear buds in, I was given minuscule ones. I always thought it was just me that after a couple minutes of wear, my ears would physically hurt or I attempted not to swallow in certain ways which moved my ears resulting in the ear buds falling out. Or I'd lean up against something as to help keep them in but that can only be comfortable for so long. Or maybe I just had sensitive ears.

  Those people that run with them in. That will never be me because they'd never stay in. Ever. 

  Ask Lisa. One Christmas or Birthday, she made it her goal to find headphones that would work with my tragus issue. To not avail. We eventually settled on something.

  During work, I usually listen to music with the right ear bud in to be subtly listening. My left side is to anyone that would approach, so I am still able to hear if someone comes to my cubicle without them having knowledge I've got music playing in my other ear. Anyway, I'm not sure where I
  got the buds but they seemed to be doing the job. They had the different size cover options, like most do in today's world. I used the smallest, which seemed to work pretty well. One day, Grandma came in the office and without thinking I stood up and snap.

  A clean break.

  
  I was genuinely saddened. I mean really. You know that moment when your heart drops and you wish you could take back the last 4 seconds, then have to tell yourself, “it’s only a possession.” I wish I was kidding. I was that sad. They probably only cost me $10. $20 at the most. It wasn’t that I loved them, it was simply because satisfied that I found headphones that worked for me ears. Of course, I don’t remember where I purchased them. I almost told Grandma she owed me but thankfully the filter between my brain and my mouth kicked in (normally it doesn’t) and I didn’t.

  I tried purchasing new headphones right after the fact. I couldn’t find the same kind.

  

  Neither of these worked. Stupid ears.

  ------------

  And this is where the post ended. Probably because I had no ending point in mind, so I gave up on the post and finding headphones. Which is
  fine now…I really have no need for headphones. I don’t listen to music at my new job, well MY music – I am obligated to listen to the most torturous Pandora station known to man kind. And what’s worse is it’s everyday – the same station and I swear the same “songs” …my next goal is to figure out how to make my Bluetooth play music through my phone. My hair can cover that up but in my past attempts, I’ve not been able to figure it out. At this point, my sanity depends on it.

   

  Well, I still didn’t wrap it up this up well but it's a post about ears - so thinking I would in the first place is kind of a dumb assumption. Sorry if you read this.

  • 1:28 pm
  • 2 Comments