Not a very long ago, I start tracking what people have been searching that leads to my site. I put down 100 search terms below. There are more than 13,200 search terms.

You can go to this page to see full results.

1 The Death of Ivan Iiych story written by Leo Tolstoy
2 deaf in korea
3 wayne betts jr funny
4 "flat panel TV" "best time to buy"
5 whitetail snowboard
6 no sound from rebuilt mini ipod
7 Lenovo Opti Desktop PC
8 blackberry pearl cannot hear
9 cool quotes + This too shall pass
10 free calvin & hobbs snowmen wallpaper
11 significance of white blackberry pearl
12 sushi asl
13 wayne betts jr. deaf
14 honda civic ep hatchback review
15 auto life expectancy bmw 325i
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Does anyone know how long has the website been down?

He posted on his old blog that it would be up on October 26th, 2007. He’s definitely the top deaf blogger because if you type deaf blogger into the google search, his blog would come out first on top.

By looks of it, it appears that he forgot to renew his domain registration and that somebody has taken property of the domain. If that’s the case, hope he can get his website back without paying a lot for it.

Awesome! finally a website showing Google maps and captioned movies.

Looks pretty good to me and updated.

Kent Schafer, former student at ISD and now a webmaster at idhhc.state.il.us, sent me an article link to ISD’s increased enrollment number. It’s a refreshing news because ISD has been on the decline for as long as I can remember. It peaked at almost 500 students thirty years ago but now half the number at 252 students.

I was browsing around ISD’s website and read the letter by Superintendent Marybeth Lauderdale who was my old English teacher and an academic bowl coach.

She wrote:

I’m touched to see this example she used to explain that ISD isn’t really an institution. It’s a boarding school just like Tiger Woods’ learning center or Harry Potter’s boarding school. We had a conversation not too long ago and I was telling her that I watched Tiger Woods’ interview in a documentary video and I learned that he found a school called Tiger Woods Learning Center to provide a place for students with multi-cultural background and kids whose families couldn’t afford to send to private schools. So, that made me realize that deaf schools aren’t really an institution and are more like boarding school where students with similar background go to. She thought it was a great idea and used it in her Superintendent’s letter. Cool!

My alma mater, Illinois School for the Deaf, got published in the Jacksonville Journal-Courier about how ISD is seeing an increase in enrollment numbers. I think it’s got to do with the technology and more information available through the web.

ISD sees enrollment boom by Darrin Burn.

Rachel Sweigart heard the wrong words at the wrong time. Or maybe it was simply one word too many.

There wasn’t one particular incident at her high school in Somonauk, said her mother, Arliss. But one day, the normally stoic 15-year-old came home in tears and Arliss and Scott Sweigart knew it was time for a change.

Rachel will soon attend the Illinois School for the Deaf, and she will be one of 46 new high school students there this year. There are 63 new students overall.

“Deafness is a low-incidence disability, if you want to call it a disability,” said ISD Superintendent Mary Beth Lauderdale. “Very few people have it. Fifty-three percent of deaf students are the only deaf kid in their school. They are looking for other kids like them.”

The Sweigarts recently visited ISD and Rachel was impressed, but told her parents she’d think about it. By the time they got back to their town about 30 miles south of Dekalb, she’d decided to go.

The Sweigarts did not know about ISD. Public schools are supposed to inform parents of deaf or hard-of-hearing students of all the options for their children, but Ms. Lauderdale said it sometimes doesn’t happen.

“The dad got on the Internet and typed in ‘deaf school’ and found us,” she said.

ISD is allowed by law to passively market itself — brochures in audiologists’ offices, for instance — but it cannot recruit.

The school is more than equipped to handle the influx of 63 students, said Director of Student Life Randy Shearburn. Thirty years ago, the school had close to 500 students. With the new arrivals, it now has 252. ISD is searching for a new algebra teacher, Ms. Lauderdale said.

So, if it wasn’t for the Internet, the Sweigarts wouldn’t have found out about ISD. The web is the way to go.

I wrote a blog about my experience at ISD. You can read it here.

Someone linked my blog to her ‘Stumbleupon’ and she described that she and her husband own a coffee shop in Greensboro, NC!

I am born deaf in Japan. I came to USA for achieving dream since I found out that Mss. Heather who is deaf was honored as miss America. Now My husband and I own a cozy coffee shop for 2 years. I teaching American sign language and my husband teaches Japanese language at coffee shop. Also, I am looking for people who love to enjoy vacation, and share information how to get 3 things, money and time and health for vacation.

Written sometime in 2002., “Back to the Future” was my fave childhood movie about a young guy who goes back in time with a flying car. The best chilldhood movie ever made.

When the 747 Boeing finally put its wheels on the ground, I made a sigh of relief and stretched out my legs, finally moving after 4 hours of immobility. The plane slowly crawled as it looked for a gate to hug. Gazing through the window and thinking quietly, I wondered if this was really where my ticket stub stated. “Incheon, Korea. Arrival time: 3:37 pm.” If so, I had traveled roughly 7,000 miles from the other side of the world, 14 hours non-stop flight straight from Chicago, U.S.A. The plane paused and I waited to see if it finally stopped this time. Indeed, it stopped and passengers started to get up. I got up and reached for my North Face backpack in the overhead and stood impatiently as the line slowly made its way out of the plane. My hands began to sweat as I held my backpack and with almost every step, my heart started to beat faster, then into a pounding rhythm. I took a big breath and focused on where I was supposed to be going.

Any doubts of actually being in Korea were immediately put away when I saw the airport signs in Korean and couldn’t understand any of them. I followed a crowd of passengers as my guide to the baggage claims area and waited for my luggage to emerge. As I looked around the huge void and noticed that the airport wasn’t as crowded as many of the major U.S. airports were. I had expected a full traffic of people but here, only passengers were waiting to pick up their luggage.
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I’d like to share the passing of my grandmother who died peacefully at one o’clock am, Sunday the 18th of November, 2007.

“Madeline F. Kester, 77, of Chatham, IL died Sunday, November 18th, 2007 at St. John’s Hospice. She was born February 3rd, 1930 at Friedheim, MO to Ben and Edna Moore Kayser. She married Harold Wilbur Kester in 1948; he preceded her in death in 1999 as well as her parents, 3 brothers and 3 sisters.

Mrs. Kester, a registered nurse was last employed at Memorial Medical Center where she worked for 18 years. Prior to becoming a nurse, she worked 15 years at the Warren-Boynton State Bank in New Berlin, IL. She graduated from Perryville High School and Perryville School of Practical Nursing, Springfield College, and St. John’s School of Nursing. She was a Member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Chatham and a Memorial Medical Center volunteer.

She is survived by her son H. Wayne (wife Pamela) Kester of New Berlin, grandson Nathan Kester of Mountain View, California, and sister Nell Kieninger of Pocahontas, MO.

Her family will greet relatives and friends from 9 am, until time of services at 10:30 am Tuesday, November 20 at St. John’s Lutheran church, 1225 N. Main, Chatham. Revs. Clarence Rogers and Thomas Philips officiating. Burial at Chatham Memorial Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the St. John’s Lutheran Church in Chatham or the American Heart Association.

Staab Polk Memorial Home, 201 S. Main, Chatham, IL is serving the family.”

She was a dear grandmother to me who gave her unconditional love and support. I thank her for all my success.

Right now, I’m sitting in a hospital room watching my grandma on her deathbed and it won’t be very long before she’s not here with us anymore. This hospital is pretty nice; it has a flat panel tv and a wifi. With a wifi connection and my awesome faithful macbook, I can do prettty much anything like doing my work or typing this entry.

My grandma suffered a massive stroke last Saturday night and my mom asked me what’s exactly a stroke, so of course, I turned to Google to seek out some answers. Here’s what I found:

Stroke is a type of cardiovascular disease. It affects the arteries leading to and within the brain. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood (and oxygen) it needs, so it starts to die. Xarelto can cause strokes as well, if you or a loved one has been affected by this drug check out the class action info and see if you could have a legal lawsuit against xarelto.

So that results in a brain damage and brain’s the most critical organ that controls everything in our bodies. Once we lose that, we’re not that much different to a vegetable. (more…)

I just got flown in to Illinois to see my only grandmother who suffered a bad stroke and it appears that she will not ever regain consciousness.

I want to share feedback that Southwest Airline is the best, most deaf-friendly airline that I’ve ridden on. They don’t do seat assignments, just A, B, or C group but that doesn’t matter as they will let deaf passengers go in first. All you have to do is to tell them that you’re Deaf.

I was able to find a voucher for only $325 and booked the next soonest available flight and got in Illinois the next day. So, even if you use the best flight search engine like kayak.com or websites like Expedia.com or Travelocity.com, I guarantee that you won’t find the same deal within that short amount of time.

Another cool thing about Southwest Airline is they don’t do stupid late fees, so if you missed your flight, no problem, just wait for the next flight at no extra cost or fines.

Those are enough reason that I will become their frequent miles member and apply for the card.

Thank you, Southwest.

Time to get this out of draft and push it.

…Today is the first day of November, the month of thanksgiving and December, probably everyone’s favorite month, rolls in. The year, 2007, closes its door on the last day and 2008 is up next. My mom will be having her 64th birthday in January and I shall have my 27th birthday that next month, February.

It’s just going too fast.

Rapidly expiring, I’ll only have three years left before I turn 30. That very thought has propelled me to re-evaluate what’s going on in my life. My first six years in my twenties has been pretty good, considering how everything has turned out. It’s been 3 years since I wore my graduation gown and shook hands with Al Simone, the highly-respected ex-president for RIT. My college days was pretty good; I’ve managed to balance fraternity life and school, carrying a gpa of 3.4 and managed to secure 4 straight co-ops in consecutive summers, even after the 9/11 event and while I was working, I was envious of my friends who worked in kids’ camps or went backpacking in Europe.
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Cool! only 10 miles away. It’s gonna be my classifieds everyday.

Tue Nov 13 2818
Depart San Jose(SJC) at 06:30 AM
Arrive in Phoenix(PHX) at 09:15 AM 3333
Change planes in Phoenix(PHX) departing at 10:55 AM
Arrive in St. Louis(STL) at 02:50 PM

Learned something new about this guy from my native country. He scored a 210 on the IQ test.

From Wikipedia,

Kim Ung-Yong (born March 7, 1963) is a Korean former child prodigy. He scored a 210 IQ on the Stanford-Binet test according to the Guinness Book of World Records. He began to learn differential calculus at the age of three. He was able to read and write in Japanese, Korean, German, and English by his fourth birthday. At the age of four, on November 2, 1967, he solved complicated differential and integral calculus problems on Japanese television, demonstrated his proficiency in German, English, Japanese, and Korean, and composed poetry.

Kim was a guest student of physics at Hanyang University from the age of three until he was six.[1]. At the age of seven he was invited to the United States by NASA.[1]. He finished his university studies, eventually getting a Ph.D in physics at Colorado State University [1] before he was 15. In 1974, during his university studies, he began his research work at NASA[1] and continued this work until his return to Korea in 1978.

When he returned to Korea, he decided to switch from physics to civil engineering and eventually received a doctorate in that field. Kim was offered the chance to study at the most prestigious universities in Korea, but instead chose to attend a provincial university.

As of 2007 he also serves as adjunct faculty at Chungbuk National University.

I still wonder why Koreans tend to be smart. Four languages by his fourth birthday? Shit and that makes it no excuse for me not to learn how to read/write Korean. At least I know two languages, ASL and English. :-)

Still can’t believe my eyes even I work there. What’s even more impressive is that profits keep going up while its operation costs goes down.