Who on Amiga.org have you met in real life?

[Cammy]

I havn't met anyone. The closest people would be probably be in Sydney i guess, and i think Cammy lives in Brisbane. No Amigans where i live

I live around the NSW/QLD border area. I can't hear or speak properly in real life though so I don't go out or meet up with anyone.

[Cammy]

Funny you said that. I'm half deaf as well but that never stopped me going out and meeting people.

Being born completely deaf and never having the chance to learn language and social skills is very different to losing some of the volume in one of your ears. It also affects the way people act towards you. You may tell people you have trouble hearing and they can raise their voice for you to hear. I tell people I'm deaf and that's the end of the conversation. They get uncomfortable and walk away to find someone else to talk to.

[Cammy]

So do you use BSL or Macaton or does Oz have it's own sign language system?

We use Auslan and Australian Sign English here, but I don't know anyone else who signs apart from my parents who live on the other side of the continent.

I'd go to an Amiga club if there was one locally, or some sort of retro gaming/alternative computing convention. I go to the science fiction/comic/games/anime/pop culture convention in Brisbane every year and I've met fellow internerds from other forums there, but again the same thing happened that always happens, they got all weirded out and walked off.

It's not just being deaf that makes me weird and antisocial though. Plenty of deaf people are outgoing and seem to have no problems making friends, I'm just an oddball.