OK, before I completely lose my nerve, here’s a vlog…after Amy’s kind comments on some other ones, I thought I might as well post one here. Please be patient, I’ve only been learning ASL since January…it’s a lot of fun, though! Pardon the mistakes, but if I keep revising till I’m happy with it, I’ll be on version 100 and still wanting to redo it…!
Edit: here’s a transcript. I hope to caption this as well, so I have an idea of the technical issues 
Transcript
HI!
I want to tell you all about last weekend.
I went to a camp called “Silent Weekend.”
Why? Speaking was forbidden, signing only!
The camp was up in the mountains. So I drove all the way up this curvy mountain road before arriving. Once there, I asked where I could park, and the guy pointed me down the hill, you can park there, and I said, oh okay. Now the camp’s kitchen was at the top of this hill, and the big room with long tables [eating hall] also was at the top. Going down the dirt hill, there were cabins for sleeping. I drove down this hill and parked at the bottom. OK.
That first night, when it got dark, I looked up and saw bright stars blazing across the sky! Beautiful! In the city, you can’t see them, but in the mountains they just glow! Yeah.
Now the first morning we wake up…ooh, early…! The entire day we had workshops, socializing, games, all signing. I really enjoyed that. I learned a lot!
The second night, after dinner, we were socializing, and this person comes in and says, “It’s snowing!!” We all went outside and looked and yes, the snow was falling down! I had a sudden vision of the dirt hill turning into mud and my car sinking down into it! Yikes! So I ran down the hill and tried to go back up. It was already slippery, I could only go up part way and I was even sliding back down, I couldn’t go up! What to do? Well three guys pushed … they helped me and pushed my car back up to the top, and I left my car parked up there! Phew!
The second morning when we woke up, it had snowed all night! This much snow, everywhere…everything was white! The trees, they were covered in the snow coming down! All white! Beautiful! Cold! Beautiful, cold, both!
So anyway, I went home, the drive back was okay. Not icy, only wet. Phew!
Anyway, I enjoyed the time, I want to do that again :-). Yeah. Thank you all for watching my vlog.
…making vlogs is hard! First time, the camera was off center. Second time, I messed up my signs, made mistakes. Third time, the lighting was too dark. Fourth time…well here you are. Thank you!
MARVELOUS JOB!!
Welcome to vlogland!
You did great. It was beautiful story. Absolutely awesome ASL story, in my opinion!
Keep plugging!
DOUBLE THUMBS UP!
congratulations on getting your vlog up!
it was a bit dark… can’t see your face, try more light next vlog?
I agreed with Oscar the Observer that you did marvelous job with your vlog! Wow, about pushing the car up! Glad you are safe back home! Hope you will do keep on vlogging again!
Please do remember that we, some of the vloggers will be there to support you no matter what! You are so wonderful and beautiful person to share your ASL stories with us!
Have a great day! Shawn
Oh, I am SO SORRY that I missed your IMPORTANT and FIRST vlog!!!
I am so kicking myself in the rear!!!!!
:(
Forgive me?!! I hope so!
I’m so glad you finally came out of the ASL closet!!
You are exactly what I pictured as a person - beautiful and intelligent! Your writings has shown the wonderful aura around you when I’m watching you signing in person!
I’m amazed at how much you’ve learned in FOUR months! You will only get better!
I understood what you said about your silent weekend in ASL!
Actually you are better at me in the mouth movement area - I noticed you hardly used any! I do use mouth movements and so do many…so I thought I’d mention that and you deserve a pat on the back!
I’m so glad Amy encouraged you - she’s a great person!
“What’s that I said?” for your vlogs!
I look forward to more of your vlogs - but your essays are also always wonderful to read! I wish I could write like that!
Aww…too many smiley faces!
Me sorry! *inserts ‘oy’ face here*
Hello! Glad to see you at last…
You sign pretty good for a person who have been raised orally. I understood you perfectly…
Hey, I read Eragon and I loved it… it is really my son’s book, but it is good for adults also!!
Good morning BEG!
Wonderful job!
Looks like your experience at the Silent Weekend was very positive one. When I was on the mountains, I remember how beautiful it looked, especially during the night time where the bazillions of stars came out. I was amazed.
Oh yessireee, it is bit colder in the mountains, and you are very lucky to see snow! Where else can you see that? Only on the mountains! (Except for some people living in Rochester, NY only during the summer time! ha hahaha kidding ya)
I’m glad you spent time learning and interacting with other participants using sign language only. I can certainly see that you utilized ASL classifiers and descriptions well. I am very impressed considering you have learned in four months! I agree with Oscar and Iammine that it is really amazing to see how much you have progressed.
You are natural and you have a visual-gestural language itching to come out of you after so many years. You are very expressive - because most of the manual markers appear so natural!
Congrats for your first vlog - and you are the role model for many of us that it is never too late to learn American Sign Language, and most of all, we all can be bilinguals!
Warmest,
Amy Cohen Efron
Wow! Only four months! Awesome! I was smiling broadly, thinking, “Go, BEG, go!” the whole time. You really “get it.”
I have an idea, but I am not sure how you would feel; would you like for someone else to do a vlog doing the same story as yours just to see the areas on which you could improve? And, no, I don’t think I’ll do it! Too dang shy.
I know the feeling of wanting to re-do it again and again. I have videotaped myself signing before and could not believe how much English I used! You did not use any!
hey - i don’t understand ASL (BSL being my thang) but i do want to say that a) you look reasonably fluent (there’s no jerkiness that typically accompanies novice sign language users in any sign language) and b) how nice it is to put a face to the name *grins*…
well done!!!
keth
xx
Okay, I am officially jealous. Amy is right, you just seemed to want to have a visual language burst out of you. The classifiers! Oh my gosh. I am an aspiring interpreter, and your classifiers just made me swoon. Anyway, I am convinced that deaf people just have that innate visual capacity more than hearing people (or…I just suck, one of the two.)
IAmMine: You didn’t miss a previous vlog! I’ve been messing around a bit with a few short clips and I sent some to Amy after some private email. So you didn’t miss anything, this is my first posted vlog!
Amy: Yes, MOUNTAINS-COLD! Ha! I should have known, but I was thinking, “Oh, it’s April. It’s California. What could possibly happen?” I did bring along a good jacket, but the friend I went with forgot hers, so she used it and I had layers of sweatshirts — I looked like the Michelin Man
As for my markers looking natural, they must be, because I don’t know that I’m using them! I’m too busy remembering the right signs to use :-O Interesting!
Belle: Could be interesting to see another version. I can see some things I’d like to fix up — I have a tendency to use the hearie “phew!” which looks too much like “forget”. Also, at the end when talking about the different versions, that should have been the “push to the side” sign instead of the hand flapping I did :-). Also I don’t like how I tried to describe the camp being on a hill with the big buildings at the top and the smaller sleeping cabins down a dirt hill on the other side where I parked. So sure, some tips would be cool.
All of you — thank you for your thumbs up! I can see the handwaving all the way over here!
Congrats for your first ASL video, I did read your blogs until you showed up on your video that i understand you. Keep up with good signing.
When I did my first vLog, I was flattered by all the comments I got. Shall I make a smiley face here? It’s nice to put a face to your moniker. Now when I read comments and postings from you, I can put a face to your name. I love your comments over at my blog. Maybe you, IAmMine, and I can go to Waikiki and come back refreshed?
Don’t listen to that ALL-WHITE-GORGEOUS stuff — it was freaking COLD!
Says the person who thinks 100 degrees is a nice balmy day …
WAY cool! *high fives you on your first vlog*
Wow you have improved sooo much! The order of your ASL is really good, even better than me! I’m envious! I have such a hard time thinking in ASL that i have difficulties deciding how to phrase things while signing them out, that i just find it easier to sign in the way I was raised to sign (SEE2). I need more practice! You are such an inspiration!
Hi you did a good job and you are first one hearing person do Vlog!! Iam impressed. your ASL sign is good start!!
I never thought hearing person is willing to do Vlog smile!!
please continue practice and same time do Vlogs !!
I do appreciate your sharing with us. Thank You!!!
It’s nice to put a face to a name! Welcome to the vlogosphere, BEG! I will look forward to reading (& viewing) more of your contributions to Deaf discourse via v/blogging.
Wow!!! BEG!!! You did a wonderful job! I was wondering what you would look like, and what I envisioned did match what I saw.
You’re beautiful and intelligent. I admire you for doing the first vlog.
I don’t plan to do a vlog for a long time, since my career position is “sensitive” and I don’t want to ruin my career by doing vlogs. So I’m sticking with blogs for now.
Again, I want to thank you for inspiring me to start my own blog. When I read your essays, they made me realize oh yeah, I can do that and why not.