Lost Chances

I have been stewing over event which happened at the office last week and the holiday season. I cannot believe I let an opportunity of its magnitude slip through my fingers. I am usually so much more tuned into opportunities for altruism. As a firm believer of “bread on the water” mechanics of self-perseveration I give when I can and I usually keep a couple of “ones” dollar bills in my back pack to give hobos and panhandlers. I have learned in my life experience if one gives “here” one gets “there”. This I believe and this I know—this belief has never failed me.

If you have followed the blog at all, you will know that I work in the same building which houses the Utah Mexican Consulate. I am not sure what the consulate does but I know they channel through hundreds of folk through consulate each day they are opened. The consulate is not a low-income service agency due to the kind of vehicles which park in front of my window each day. However, because the consulate is governmental agency I am seeing more and more low-income-poor folk show up at out building. Lately, there has been this one old guy, even older then I am, lets call him Don Juan. The last couple of week Don Juan has been hanging right outside of our office door which is right next to the entrance to the building and Don Juan stands there by the doors and I thought was welcoming folk to the consulate, directing them up stairs and into the right office. But with the cold snap that the area has just finished the odor surrounding don Juan has become more and more intense. I mean this guy ,I think is peeing his pants I swear, and every day I don’t think the odor can get worse, the next day the odor IS worse. In fact one day, I swear, as I was going into my office I saw a puddle at don Juan’s feet—it was only later when I was visiting with staff over lunch that Red—our front desk person—indicated the puddle was probably Don Juan’s only way or retaliation against management for keeping the bathroom doors locked. The bathrooms on the second floor, where the consulate is, is rumored to have open bathrooms, but I am sure the consulate has already kicked old Don Juan off the premises.

Anyway the other day, my last day in the office, Christmas Eve, I over heard Don Juan approach some folks in line to go upstairs to the Consulate and asked for what I could make out was “Dinero “. The old guy was shaking down folks going to see the consulate. Don Juan was panhandling. I could have, should have given the old coots a few bucks—but he stuck, he smelled. Still I could have made a difference even if the difference was two bottles of rotgut rather then one. What I should have done was taken him out and found a tub to throw him in and cut some of the urine off of him. Maybe even got him a ten dollar gift card to Micky D’s down the street—then Son would at least have a chance at some protein before he started downing bad booze. But I didn’t I guess I was too self absorbed. I let my best ever Christmas miracle slip through my fingers and I have been repenting all weekend lone and probably will do so for the next year. I need to start thinking about my brother again—when did I turn away?

Hang Time

I call the week between Christmas and New years “Hang Time”. Hang time is thesplit second in time when a ball throw in the air or a skater hurls up in the air seems to be suspended before gravity overtakes event and it begins to descend. This time between holiday feels, to me, like being suspended in time. I usually take the time off from work if I can. The risk is low there will really be few calls in the Call Center during the in between week and few people will be in their offices or at least any type of decision makers. So I can stay home and just enjoy this Hang Time.

Snow has been good for a Christmas, lots of the white stuff along with the frigid temperatures. I forget how cold. Like yesterday I had to get out because I was going buggy but to do so required me going out and shoveling snow from the driveway beneath the lift on the side of the van where the lift deploys. I wore just a heavy sweater and that was all I needed. So I dug out the van and cleaned off some of the driveway and warmed up the van and drove to the market to do some shopping. The market was OK, I found a spot down loaded and closed the vehicle up. I don’t know why I did this time because one of the reasons I leave the vehicle open and lift deployed is to discourage other shoppers from parking too close; allowing me the space I need to load up when I get down with my task. I should have done this but I didn’t. Sure enough when I was done with my shopping there was a little vehicle with “crip” plates parked right next to my big old van.
I clearly had been ready to go but there was no way short of asking a stranger to get in my van and back it out so I could deploy and load. As I said the air is frigid so I had no choice but to head back into the market and keep watch on the van and vehicle so that when it finally moved I could flash out and start my process and get gone. I was kind of hopefull that then owner of the vehicle was going to be one of those fast in and fast out job. But of course this was not to be. I sat there on the other side of the automatic doors 3watching cars pull in park get out and actually shop then leave while I sat and watched a car that would not move. Eventually, a person abut my age came through the check out with her very own “ancient”. Her mom obviously. I could have acted like a snot but I didn’t. I did, however, glare as they check out(which seemed to take an eternity). I was wearing a face hood so just my eyes were visible-so I doubt people could really tell I was glaring but I watched “hard” just the same. When I saw for sure this couple were the one parked by my van I powered out to the van and watched them load their groceries. The daughter finally felt the stare and turned and asked if I needed anything and I did say, “ JUST FOR YOU TO MOVE SO I CAN GET IN MY VAN”

So its Hang Time , the space in between. I am going to B&N today, Anakah spent the night and the sun is shining brightly on the new snow. I think I love Hang Time.

Merry Chistmas

Merry Christmas Everyone--quiet still early--I may write more today may not we'll see. I hope this is a beautiful day for all.

Well this week never end…

I have to admit I was kinda of excited at the thought of driving the new loaner hair into work this morning. I don’t know what I was expecting but after yesterday’s horrible snow fiasco, and later bathroom fiasco I did not think the week could have any further challenges well I was way wrong.

I don’t know this chair maybe as quick as my last chair. I first thought the chair was slower. But now am not so sure. The chair is smaller seems but I don’t know how that can be with my seat that I transferred from the dead chair to this loner chair I got from the ILC. I was pleased to find the loaner is easier to transfer into and out of the older chair—that is good. So, I was dressed and out of the door in pretty good time. When I transferred into the chair the sheep skin curled up under my but and kind of pitched me forward in my chair and gave me a “tippy” sensation but not “tippy” enough to cause me problems.

When I got into Salt Lake Planetarium station, my usual ending, morning stop, I came down the high block ramp, crossed the street and entered the parking area of the Utah Paper Box company . I come this way every morning—even though there is a sign which states “No though a fare” I take this to mean for autos but not for pedestrians. The controller on my loaner chair is quite sensitive I just barely have to touch the ‘on and off” button and the chair will stop, immediately seizing the drive wheels. This is new to me on the loaner chair and I still have to get used to the buttons sensitivity. So as I was traveling the parking lot I hit some rough ice which must have bounced my hand enough to hit the button and the chair switched off but I kept my forward motion out of my chair and onto the ice.

I found myself lying on my back in my great white coat staring up into the dark morning sky, there was a light snow falling and I traced individual flakes as they came into view and fell slowly onto my face. When I fell I lost one shoe and my pants fell dangerously down my hips I must have looked like Charley Brown being hit by one of those line drives—Shultz drew so graphically in the comic strip Peanuts. I was laying non my back, I could not move, I just laid there. My cell phone was in my back pack, which I could not get to. I was not worried because sooner or later I knew there would b e someone driving into work. This worried me a little with their sign posted about it not being a ‘thorough fare” So I just laid there and yelled for “help” I did this for about five minutes before I realized I was being approached by two fellow. It took a moment before I realized the two were asking me questions: “was I alright?” Did I need an ambulance?”. I assumed hem I was OK and did not need an ambulance but did need some assistance to get me back in my wheelchair. These two lads did not know what they were getting into but they were “gung-ho”. One grabbed hold of each arm and tried to haul me up into my chair but that a no go. The they pulled me up into a sitting position and tried to then grabbing each arm pulled me up again and almost made it. They ended getting me to sitting on the foot plate an then we all took a break to catch my breath. The we tried the “one two three” method and surprisingly enough they got my butt precariously perched on my the seat of my wheelchair, enough to let me hook my arm round the handle on my seat back and pull myself to the seats safety. In the process of this my pats had fallen to my knees. I asked the lads to give my slacks a pull and got myself somewhat presentable particularly with my great white coat pulled way down over my hips.

I thanks the guys for the assist and tore out of there as fast as I could holding on to my back pack and both shoes on top of the backpack. I finally got to the office. Stowed my gear and head to the bathroom to re-dress myself.

Again, exhausted before the day even starts—this holiday week HAS to end soon.

I Need Another Nap!!!

I am just exhausted, my muscles hurt and I just want to lay my head down on my desk and sleep or an hour or so. I did not go into the office as I normally do, this morning. My goal today is to get some form of mobility device which I can use until I can order my new chair which will be 120 days at the earliest. I think, because its me the time till I get my chair much longer. When I was at the Independent Living Center last Thursday I noticed there was a Jazzy 1121, a power chair I thought I could live with if the Center would let me check it out for a couple of months.

I called the Center a little after 8:00 am this morning and asked to speak with their A.T.(Assistive Technology)coordinator, Janice. Janice and I go back quite a ways so I figured it would be a pretty straight forward project but Janice directed me to the new guy who was handling the equipment loan program. I got hold of the new guy and he basically said the chair was there but he had not checked the chair out yet and the final word would be Kim, my best friend’s who associate director of the Independents Living Center. I figured I would go head shower and dress and drive on down to the ILC and by the time I got there Kim would be in.

I have to admit I was a bit intimating. It has been a long while

since I really pushed my manual chair on the outside—out in real public, transferring in and out of my Quickie even just rolling down my ramp can be terrifying knowing that if one my front casters hits a crack the wrong way I could go flying out of my chair. But if I am going to get myself back to being in the game I am going to just have to be careful but keep moving forward. I opened the door and found snow blowing sideways to my front door.. I took a deep breath and rolled down my ramp. The night had been warm temperatures in the mid 30’s—the ice was melting so at least there was not the ice flows which have been on the ramp of late. I wish I had spent more time this weekend on snow removal. Oh yeah, I did not have a chair to use. I have forgotten how hard it is to push my wheelchair in the snow. It’s damn hard. I got stuck, took me for ever to get to the lift and then to get on the lift and then to raise it up because I was so unsteady. Eventually though I was in th van and driving to the IL.

I was pleased and surprised at how well project of getting the loaner . Kim was GREAT!! Kim adjusted here and lengthened there and soon I was ready to go. I drove myself over to Magic Rest, where Saturday the tech said if I were to get this chair they would change my old seat from the dead chair to the loaner plus my new puncture proof wheels… Everything worked—just the way it should—so rare in my experience. The loaner is not as fast as I would like and I am not as comfortable as I would like but I can make it and I well make it. Now I just have to put the pressure on Randy and on to the new chair!!!

Nap Time

It's that time of the season when there does not seem to be enough time for anything. I have been neglecting my blog the past few day. When I have had the time to write I have not had the energy. The cold weather is sapping any extra strength I have as well; cold weather and stress. But to catch up here a s glimpse of my last week. On Thursday we had the staff holiday function—very different this year. No going out eat as we have done in years past. This year we just sort of hung round the office as Claire surprised us, staff, with bringing in to the office an actual masseuse—since she is pretty sure hold outs like my self would never do a massage on y own accord. I still have the massage Claire gave me for my birthday pinned to my office bulletin board. Each staff member got a 15 minute massage. The massage was not bad. I got through it with my clothes on.Still I don’t think I would ever pay real money for such a luxury.

I think we probably would have gone to lunch but I was a bit of a humbug. Thursday was the day UILC had their Christmas/holiday offering to the community and I have been their Santa for the last decade or more. I must do a fairly good job since the Center keeps asking me back year, after year. This Christmas function has changed over the years from a community open house to a consumer—in the old days the function would run from four to seven or later. This was a major event for the Center, as I am sure it still is but I feel clientele has changed significantly. No there seems there are interlopers, from a couple of care centers and special education programs who bring in what seems like buses of folk. Severely disabled developmentally disabled folk—I suppose their coming is just as well, over the years the regular consumers from the office have faded away. I have uploaded my entrance.

Friday I accompanied Dianne to Anakah’s school pageant an exercise in controlled chaos. Dianne has become a kind of “room mother” to Anakah’s class. Dianne grades papers on Thursdays and just helps the teacher out so Dianne has a bond with the kids and it show. We got in the back door, behind the scenes visiting Anakah’s before show time. The event was fun being the grand parents. Bridget sat with us and the whole thing was just Celestial. We did some shopping and returned home in the cold snowy weather. I was exhausted the rest of the day.

Saturday was Anakah’s dance recital. More chaos and holiday stress battling with other parents and grandparents and who knows who and what else might be lurking in the audience. This is Anakah’s first year but she did well. This is not like a ballet school in the traditional sense a neighbor hood mom with re3all ballet training earning few bucks and keeping her fingers in the dance pie—she has three kids of her own in the class but all the kids are cute and Anakah seems to like class. I` plan to write more on this later. But as I was getting situated for the class I noticed my chair would only turn in circles. The motor was gone. Later Dianne and to Magic Rest who gave the final diagnosis and pronounced the chair dead! Magic Rest did provide me with loaner but one which is way too small and way too painful to use. Tomorrow I hope to get a loaner form the IL. I am just exhausted. I need a nap.

Baby It's Cold Outside.

A hobo just walked past my window pulling a wagon with a massive sleeping bag rolled neatly in the wagon and a small dog at hobos side. The hobo was dressed in winter garb, a hat, over alls, and rubber boots. He pulled the little wagon behind him holding on to the wagon’s handle with both hands—his hands looks old, weathered and cold. The hobo’s hands looked like my dad’s hands when he would come in from feeding the cows “evening hay” in winter. I wonder if the hobo would wear gloves if he were given a set. I should carry an extra set of gloves for just the purpose. I wonder what he would do if I made such an offer.

My office is a couple of blocks the main shelter and soup kitchen and many hobos pass in front of my window daily. We are also just down the street from a major Salt Lake City park—Pioneer Park. This park is where a lot of the hobo’s spend their time when they have to be out of the shelters. The city is trying to take this park away from the hobos and the homeless(is that redundant) by gentrification. The new yuppies are taking over-

Walk In s

This has been a Walk in Day. A day when people walk past the building and drop in looking for services, really do not deliver any individual services but these folks do not know this. They just see the name on the building and assume we do provide services. And, since we are downtown not far from the shelters for the homeless it is not surprising. Many times these Walk Ins are quite colorful and many times they are also heart breaking. I suspect one of the reasons the frequency of these walks in increase is the cold weather and a few minutes in a warm building is worth the indignation of submitting yourself to a State social services agency. As I said we ( my parent organization ) is not a social services agency but since my part of the organization is information and referral these folks are hustled into my office where I do a light version of an intake and try to refer them to the most appropriate agency or program.

Today it was Joe the Bummer. I had just poured and doctored, and had returned my desk to leisurely wander through my emails and transcribe the weekends phone calls when Frank ushered Joe in. A young looking guy, possibly even handsome under other circumstances; dressed in winter street clothes packing a backpack with a rolled up sleeping bag. Joe’s hair was a little messed but eyes looked bright and aware. We shook hands and he informed me that he had been in my office earlier in the summer. I kind of remember Joe but truly, I did not—I see many folks in the course of the year as they walk in my office for one reason or another. I like what I saw though and wished there was more I could have done for Joe. I sat him down in my office, and we visited as I struggled to ascertain the level of his need and where might be services to benefit Joe. I found he was homeless, in need of mental health services, vocation and housing services.

I finally felt I had enough information I could refer him to at least three different agencies. I left him sitting in the front office as I returned to my office where I looked up each agency and copied and pasted the referrals to convenient document for Joe. I was just pasting the last reference to the file when Red called back to inform me that Joe had left the building. Joe had left a note, apologizing for smelling bad, looking bad and not being in the right frame of mind. Sure enough he was gone, slipped through my fingers—I don’t know if I offended him when I left him to go type up the referrals or what. I man I was close to him and I did not smell anything. It looked like he had some trauma of some sort to his face which had me a bit worried.

I had another walk in today a well, a slick operator who was looking form an “in”. He had a voice like a radio announcer and the hair of a model and made all my “shields go up” when he entered my office. He had a program he wanted me to refer folks to but I backed away—Slick made me feel like he was the ain character in a Stephen King Novel. Of my two visitors I think I would rather have lunch with Joe the Bummer

Happy Birthday Jaemine you are fantastic!!

Just Another Sunday Afternoon

More images from yesterday Dianne Birthday dinner...


Yesterday’s snow has melted and froze and was snowed upon again today and now the temperature is dropping an there shall be a hard freeze tonight meaning tomorrow’s commute in and out to the train will be quite a struggle. I am not concerned so much about the temperature a much as I am concerned at the ice flows which will be all over he sidewalks. People usually do a fairly good job of clearing the walks of snow it is the industrial section which I travel I am most worried about. The folk who do the snow removal only the industrial sidewalks usually just push the snow off the end of the walk right into the cut out at the end of the walk, where the side walk meets the street and there snow “bergs”, turn to ice, and remains until the thaws. I am not worried…much. When the snow and ice is like this I am really thrust into the street, even more then I like. I just have to be careful. I now have the new tires with good tread and this will help to some degree. I also have my new, huge white coat and I should be warm as toast no matter where I go.

This year I m going to try something I have not really tried in years past. I am going to report ice flows which cause people walking and in wheelchairs to have to be in dangerous places. I kind of did this last year to limited positive result but this year I aim to put the full press on the Murray city government and whine, cry and bitch to make sure my path of travel is safe. Just a Sunday night.

Thanks--happy Birthday

I have said it a million times—I don’t write to be recognized, I write to force myself to write in hopes that some day I will be a writer. I doubt I will ever be a “writer” with tweed jackets and elbow patches and a pipe but I continue to write when ever I can for the pleasure of writing. So, I don’t look at my page every day with the hopes that someone has written a message or something; I am pleasantly surprised when I do see an indicator that someone has left a message and even more so when that someone is not a brother or sister of nephew or niece type person. Not, that these folks are comments are not credible or appreciated it’s just they are family and usually they have to love you and accept you. So, I was pleased yesterday when I was looking at my blog and noticed a comment and the comment was a long comment -actually the comment was a blog entry in and of itself.

The comment was written, I believe, by one of best friends, especially in grade school. He did not sign his comment but he left just enough identifiers I know who it is. He is a consummate professional having careers in the Unions and the Federal sector. He is a professional and lives and acts like it. He is smooth and calm. I don’t think I will ever be a professional like him; I am just too “un done”. I am so “un-done” I am honored that he would leave a comment like a rock star or Palin stopping by the blog and leaving me message. He is methodical, logical and empirical. Here is an example, of how cool he was, from my blog of a couple of years ago. In fact when and if I do write a life history or a novel of my child hood, I think I could easily conceive a couple of complete volumes of just my life and times with friend his brother and my brother. So thanks for writing, thanks for stopping by and saying “hi”. Merry Christmas to you as well and hopefully I can visit with you more this Christmas season.

Today is Dinne’s birthday we are cooking and staying home to enjoy the day. Dianne, Bridget and Anakah and I are baking cakes, bread and shrimp etouffee and having a pretty good time. It snowed this morning and there is still more snow forecast for today and tomorrow and beyond. Dianne brought in arms full of wood last night for the stove. Its beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. Happy Birthday Dianne…I love you.


http://meadowlarksmind.blogspot.com/2006/04/birthday.html

It's ten oclock Do you know where your gimp is?

A couple months ago I lectured a graduate social work class for a friend of mine here at the office. I love doing graduate classes because the classes are generally more intimate, students are more mature, and they usually offer a stipend. This class is a class on disability and I show up and till my story and leave. I can go on for ever if I need to after all I get to talk on my favorite subject…myself and then there is always the Q&A, where you get to ask the gimp everything you have always wanted to but good manners and good conscience prevented you. The question asked that evening was “what did you parents do which h helped you the most come to grips with your disability?” Yesterday at lunch as were all yammering over our lunches, my office mate ( who I did he lecture for) indicated that the class really liked my lecture specifically the parent question and so the same question was asked again and I had to once again answer that I think the best thing my folks did was treat me no different then any of the other kids in the family—this was how I say it. Actually the more I have thought about this I really don’t know anymore. The best think the parents did was not to restrict me. In the years following my accident in 1966 to aboutn1972 when I got my first car with hand controls I did a lot of hitch hiking. We lived on a small farm about two and half miles South of Boise and I would take rolling toward Boise and either sit there on the side of the road with my hand out (my thumb did not work) or if I rolled long enough someone would drive by stop and ask if I wanted a lift and I would say “yes” and away I’d go.

Many times I would not get back from town till after 12:00 A.M., I remember only once of rolling all the way home. My mom had the habit of sitting up and falling asleep in front of the TV and often I would come home to her sleep and then she would get up and go to bed.—still there were other times when they went to bed. These two prayed a lot and so often I was consigned to God’s hands Who always seemed to bring me home safe and sound. I would never have that kind of faith. I am a parent now and if my kids were quad teenagers and out on the town on a Saturday night, even if that Town was Boise in 1968, I would be shadowing them in my big old van. And maybe that’s the difference my parents had the faith in my abilities where as I love my kids but my faith in them or their ability was not as strong. Humm I am not sure if that came out right.

"I'm Out of the Office right now..."

I work in a State office and my phone system is part of a greater system which has automated answering services. I hate the phone system we have—I feel the phone system is alive and it lives just to make my life miserable. The phone system is one of those which supposedly allows a person to record a message so when people call and when you’re not at your phone and the message clicks in and lets the caller know if you are in or not. And my boss wants all the staff to update their message daily. This should be a simple process but for some reason whenever I try to update my message, the updated message never makes it my phone’s box. And what I end up with is messages which can be anywhere from a few days to months old. To make matters worse I have two mailboxes I am responsible for my mailbox, and the mailbox for the office phone So now the problem is compounded.

My first order of business every Monday morning after I turn on my computer is to take the messages off the phone service. Every Monday I have eight to 15 calls backed up on the machine. I am usually by myself when I do this and often I listen to the calls on the speaker phone so I can write the information down as I hear it. This frees up my hands allowing me to write the information better. This Monday Chapman was in the office as I took the messages. One of the callers griped that the message on the machine still said “October” something and he made it sound like we had no been in the office the date. Since I know the phone system I out to get me—I don’t pay any attention to the remarks and just go on to the next call. Well, yesterday Chapman heard the call and kind a of put her off, that someone would be so rude as to leave such an unkind remark. I really never think bout the rudeness, I mean I used to work as a telemarketer an I have heard rude comments—and I deserved the remarks I got, and those remarks were delivered in person and not put on the safe medium of a recorded machine.

Maybe one day I will exorcise the evil spirits lurking in my phone’s answering system but until them if you call me and get my service and the message says it’s “July 24 2006” just know it’s the phone gremlin at work and that I am in the office or away from my phone and just leave a civilized message and I’ll get back to you just as soon as I can…

Autumn Snow

The snow is tumbling from the sky like a 1980’s love song, you know, snow turns to rain on Christmas Eve while reliving a old time love affair, which did not happen but should have. The snow has been tumbling all morning. I knew it was supposed to snow but I did no think there was going to be this much snow—luckily the earth ism still warm from the past couple of weeks of autumn heat the snow will not lay down. However, that is changing now I have noticed the past hour the snow IS beginning to lay down. The grass outside my window is now white and the median in the street has a white skiff of snow. The temperature is holding right at 32 degrees and I think that is making the difference a few more hours of the snow and the 32 degree temperature and I’ll be riding home in the snow.

This is not going to be a big snow, I already know, the weather guy said so, but this is a precursor to change to our weather pattern: mean, dark cold storms setting up to :”march” through the region beginning the end of the week. Storms forecast for the next three weeks even Christmas Day!! Of course I will believe all of this when I see it with my own eyes. However, a cold white Christmas would be a nice twist to the season. It’s almost two in the afternoon and I am hoping and almost praying the snow stops by six when I have to leave for home on the train.

Steady As She Goes

I am going to do it. I have made my decision I am going to jump in and order my chair. Ordering a new hair is not as easy as it sounds but I am going to start the process. The scariest part is I am going to be responsible for about $4,000.00 after my insurance pays its portion which I think will be round $8,000.00. I think I can get a little assistance from different programs but I will do some scouting round and see what I come up with. So now I have decided I want the chair to be here yesterday but realistically speaking I doubt I will see the chair until February and that’s if the chair were ordered today. Brent my DME guy is not about to order until he has been assured I am good for the insurance and my part of the of the payment. Hell, he still has to take the authorization back to my physical therapist what has to rewrite the order so the order will fit my needs exactly—and this is all going to take time. So what I have to do now is keep my other chair alive until I can get the new product. I really cannot dump anymore dollars into the old chair but I must keep the chair going. The $150.00 for the new tires is the last I am going to pay. I am concerned that right motor my give way any day but I guess I just have to keep the faith. I suppose if the chair does completely fail, I can beg a chair from the local IL or maybe I can rent one from the DME but I should not have to—oh and that rent would be for the insurance to pay. I realistically don’t think that is going to happen, but one never knows…stead as she goes.

http://www.pridemobility.com/pdf/Brochures/Jazzy/Quantum_6000Z.pdf

Lights, Action Camera!!!!

I would have really liked to post yesterday. In fact I would have loved to post yesterday I certainly had the content but I just did not have the time. Yesterday was the second broadcast of Access Utah Now, the production I am doing on the www.ustream.tv.com Website. Tory and I spent the morning setting up the camera’s and trying to make sure everything was OK and online. In fact we had actually ne exercise the day before and everything looked like a go, but as we got closer to the 11:30 broadcast time something was desperately wrong. I had brought my old Sony DVD cam corder in and had figured out how to run the content from the camera directly into the computer then on to USTREAM.TV but as of 11:00 yesterday when we tried to broad cast our video the other office machines were not getting the content. We have other staff in the office monitor the broadcasts for two reasons: one to build audience and two to see how the broadcast ise coming across. It was not until Tory had the great idea to call Dianne to see if anyone else was getting the broadcast we figured and Dianne was getting the broadcast just fine so we figured the State has some sort of filters on the State computers and cannot pick up these broadcasts. We ended uo taking off the camera I had brought in the DVD cam and replaced the camera with the computer cam we used last month. I want to try again with the DVD cam and see if the camera broadcast a better picture. Also with the DVD cam we would much more ability to produce better shots of the show ability to do close-ups and move the camera from speaker to speaker would increase the quality and watch-ability of the show.

We interviewed UATP’s CREATE staff, briefly CREATE is Utah’s assistive technology re-utilization program. Long story and maybe I will explain in depth some day. But the two characters from CREATE arrived about 10:30 and had to hang out while we ran back and forth looking totally un professional but they seemed to be good sports and we did the show and all seemed well. www.ustream.tv.com Website. Tory and I spent the morning setting up the camera’s and trying to make sure everything was OK and online. In fact we had actually ne exercise the day before and everything looked like a go, but as we got closer to the 11:30 broadcast time something was desperately wrong. I had brought my old Sony DVD cam corder in and had figured out how to run the content from the camera directly into the computer then on to USTREAM.TV but as of 11:00 yesterday when we tried to broad cast our video the other office machines were not getting the content. We have other staff in the office monitor the broadcasts for two reasons: one to build audience and two to see how the broadcast ise coming across. It was not until Tory had the great idea to call Dianne to see if anyone else was getting the broadcast we figured and Dianne was getting the broadcast just fine so we figured the State has some sort of filters on the State computers and cannot pick up these broadcasts. We ended uo taking off the camera I had brought in the DVD cam and replaced the camera with the computer cam we used last month. I want to try again with the DVD cam and see if the camera broadcast a better picture. Also with the DVD cam we would much more ability to produce better shots of the show ability to do close-ups and move the camera from speaker to speaker would increase the quality and watch-ability of the show. We interviewed UATP’s CREATE staff, briefly CREATE is Utah’s assistive technology re-utilization program. Long story and maybe I will explain in depth some day. But the two characters from CREATE arrived about 10:30 and had to hang out while we ran back and forth looking totally un professional but they seemed to be good sports and we did the show and all seemed well. USTREAM.TV has this great function which is supposed to archive the show is done with its live broadcast. Well he show did not “archive” from what I could see. Actually, the show DID archive but not so the show would play when a person clicks the show image. I could see the broadcast sitting there but it would not play. Luckily I was able to down load a copy of the broadcast so I can load it to the website’s media page. Luckily I did this because I some how deleted the entire broadcast a few minutes later when I was trying to get rid some of the “test” broadcasts I made which had been archived. I was trying to get a “blooper” file but I was getting some pressure from other staff to remove them and that is when I think I deleted the CREATE broadcast. I think there is a way to upload video to the site I just have to figure it out. I have the next scheduled broadcast in January but maybe I’ll have a holiday broadcast sometime this December just for fun.
(Here is the ink to the Access Utah Now `page
http://www.ustream.tv/search/all/access%20utah%20now

A Day of Transfers

What a day! I am exhausted with still a little over an hour to go. I had back two meetings today, back to back one across town from the other. So, I brought in my van today to cut down on the time for travel. I stared the day by stopping at the local Shell gas and go. I had really planned to gas up some time during last week’s long holiday weekend but that never happened. But that’s OK I was fresh this morning an left early enough so I had the time. I am not sure what the problem is maybe its because I am not driving every day as I used to and I am not transferring like I used to but I am barely able to make the transfer back to my chair from the drivers seat; transferring into the driver’s seat is no problem since it lower then my power seat. I can fall really good. I did find one of my sliding boards in the van and it worked fairly well…the transfer was still a struggle but not as bad as with out the board. Into the office , I took calls and worked on tomorrow’s broadcast and left for my meeting at the Buffmire center. Again falling into my seat and the transferring back at the center; by this I looked a real mess and quickly excused my self to the restroom when I rearranged myself—oh I forgot. At my office, there was a car parked too close to my van—one of the reason I hate top drive—and I had to back onto the lift which takes a bit of skill. I missed he lift gate a couple of times hitting and bending piece of metal on the end of the lift gate which now sprung out of shape prevented the lift gate to deploy. The sprung mental would hang up on the handle of the and not deploy. Luckily I got someone at the Buffmire to get me out of the van and I got some of the guy in the metal shop at UCAT to bend the metal back into shape.

Ninety minutes into the first meeting I bailed to drive to my next meeting. At least at this meeting they serve a fairly good lunch. But I still had to make a mad dash to the bathroom in order to throw myself together one again. To my frustration this time as I was pulling up pants an pulling down sweaters I had a massive leg spasm and lost both shoes: frustrating but not defeating. I finally got myself dressed again and made my meeting. Back to the office after meeting and another transfer cycle. The sun has set and I am finishing my day. I have just one transfer cycle left and I should be finished for the day. I seem to be doing better then I had anticipated I just have to pace myself now and finish the day. Tomorrow the broadcast.

Squirrelly

I am waiting, patiently waiting for my durable medical dealer o get back in touch with me to give me a status on the purchase of a new power chair. I understood that Brent was off all last week, it being a short week with the holiday and all but come on. It’s the new week, people are back from grandma’s even with the air port closures in the Mid-west from cold and snow a good salesman would be back in the saddle. I am escalating by focus to order my new power chair since I am running into dead ends I have been trying all day to find a used or rebuilt motor but there does not seem, to be any such motors anywhere. The best I have been able to find is an outfit in Whittier ,California who will actually rebuild my motor but I’ll have to take my motor off and send it to these folks who will do the rebuild and send it back. Great, but what do I do for mobility in the process? The main cost of the rebuild would be $255.00 and what ever shipping might be involved and I just don’t know how much more money I want to dump into this chair if I am getting another at some time in the relative near future. I may have some options but these folks are also not returning my calls or at least it feels as if they are aren’t responding to my pleas. I am getting back and forth to work OK for the time being my chair is just handling a little squirrelly at the moment.