[Saka]

Hey Legionnaires!

As some of you know already, I am a cochlear implant user. It's a prosthesis which grants access to sound, even if it doesn't restore normal hearing. It's currently the only somewhat successful replacement of sensory function.

Last month there was a contest held by the manufacturer of my device for designing a limited edition cover for the device. These covers either shield the microphone or the magnet, depending on the device. A lot of people, including me, like to have colourful designs rather than the default solid colours.

I was struggling with my health when the contest was announced, so I wasn't going to participate. On the last day though I decided to whip up something and submit it, even if it was imperfect. I played a little bit with colours, with no idea what to expect with the result. Some time later, to my surprise, I received a message that I was chosen as one of the two finalists. There's voting in the social media for the design that will make it to the production.

The theme of the contest was music. Music is something that can be tricky with cochlear implants due to technical limitations. It won't be as rich and full as with normal hearing. For that reason some people dislike it. Others still find enjoyment in it. Personally, I really enjoyed the music until I lost one of my sides. Nowadays, it sounds quite flat. When drawing, I poured my feelings of hope that one day I could regain the passion.



My design is the purple one with musical notes. If you like it, you can vote for it on Facebook!

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka Best of luck! I like your usage of purple, that shade is my favorite out of prime 6 colors. I would vote for you if I could, but I do not have a FB account. But I'll root for you from the benches. When is the deadline for the competition?

[DracoTarot]

@DoctorEldritch Thinking of deleting mine permanently. I voted for you @saka and some of my friends also did. I see it's all hearts in the comments. Everyone likes your design the most. 😊

[DoctorEldritch]

@DracoTarot I never had one. Well, not really. My coursemates made one for me when I was a student to exchange group project files, but it is as far as it went. It's since been deactivated.

But my vote for @Saka is with you in spirit. And what a nice coincidence that, although @Saka made her submission some time ago and the post is from yesterday, today is actually National Creativity Day. And as it happens, it can be celebrated in several ways like:

1. Getting More Creative
2. Taking an Art Class
3. Supporting an Artist

While getting more creative may not be something that happens on command, and taking an art class depends on how available and accessible they are, with @Saka we got Supporting an Artist covered! 😉

[DracoTarot]

@DoctorEldritch I had mine since 2006. Social media is getting a bit woke these days.

@saka is a great artist and would really like to see more of @Saka's work.

I'm not really creative these days and lack enthusiasm. National Creativity Day is shared with International Vapers Day.

I guess I've been a little creative by uploading new Instagram posts on some of my devices
today but it's all about @saka and I'm not going to hijack the thread. 😂

[Saka]

Thank you for your support! the artist today is not being very creative, because a physiotherapist visit left me exhausted. Sometimes this happens and it's fairly annoying, because I had to skip the kendo training due to this.

I don't use Facebook much, back when I was doing my bachelor degree I needed it for communicating with other people from the class, but that was years ago. Nowadays I just use it for checking a few pages and groups. Strangely, some small businesses are operating only through Facebook. 😶

The deadline for voting is on Friday, not sure when the update comes. I saw the overwhelming support in the comments. I find it puzzling that a lot of people did a basic like reaction rather than vote for either of the design. There's like a thousand of likes.

[DoctorEldritch]

@DracoTarot I thought it was always rather woke? Then again, not sure of the degree of it now. My main issue with it was the misuse of personal data.

I did not know National Creativity Day is shared with International Vapers Day. Then, you could try blowing smoke rings through each other? There is an urban myth you can get a million from the late Charlie Chaplin this way. Or maybe do other cool vaper tricks? Though you're right, we can save the creativity for when @Saka's competition is over.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka This is concerning, feeling exhausted after therapy. Then again, it can be exhausting to self-reflect, but still, I thought therapists should account for that. Maybe not...

I do not get small businesses that only operate on FB, I think it is limiting. But to each his own.

Maybe voting instructions were not clear or visible enough and people thought that "like" counts as vote?

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch Not self-reflection, but getting my muscles molested and poked at. I seem to have some scarring in my left arm that limits the mobility after an incident a month ago and trying to get it resolved. Having mixed success so far, I can move it enough for kendo, but my daily life is still affected.

The rules are explained in the post, but I guess a lot of people don't bother reading the post fully. You see this kind of stuff happening everywhere, it's just a lot more obvious in a case where you are asked to do A or B and people keep doing C (more than twice "likes" than "hearts" or "take care" [guessing the second name, as my FB is in Polish] combined).

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka Oh my, sorry, I read physiotherapist as psychotherapist, my bad. Then I get where the exhaustion is coming from. I wish they ended a session with a relaxation massage for you.

For issues like this, personally, I favor hydrotherapy in whatever form possible, be it a massage shower or mineral bath. I find it helps when the body is submerged in water for therapy to work better, but that's me. Maybe there are options like that near you?

Ah, therein lies yet another FB problem, so many people do not read what is asked of them...