Broadcast!

Tomorrow, I am doing the first broadcast for 2010! I should have done a couple of weeks ago but remember I was sort of sick and I had to cancel. I m excited though I am hoping this will be a good broadcast as well as fun. I don’t really know the person I am interviewing but folks who do know her say she is fun and knowledgeable in her field. So if you’re not doing anything tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. mountain time stop by and enjoy the interview.
u’re not doing anything tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. mountain time stop by and enjoy the interview. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/access-utah--now "

Broadcast!

Tomorrow, I am doing the first broadcast for 2010! I should have done a couple of weeks ago but remember I was sort of sick and I had to cancel. I m excited though I am hoping this will be a good broadcast as well as fun. I don’t really know the person I am interviewing but folks who do know her say she is fun and knowledgeable in her field. So if you’re not doing anything tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. mountain time stop by and enjoy the interview.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/access-utah--now

Hugging The Wall

The snow came during the night, actually the snow came this morning shortly before I left for work. The snow must have start following 0430 hours because I noticed no snow when I got up and went in for my shower. I looked out the window into the back yard and noticed how bare the yard was; but when I left the house to head up to the train station a fine dusting of white stuff coated everything. It was more then a dusting it was a coating of snow: cold and slick. I usually don’t pay attention to how slick snow surfaces might be since I’ll be traveling in my power chair. Power chairs I have had in the past have been heavy, dawdling monsters which has giving me a false since of security. I must keep reminding myself the chair I now drive is much lighter then other chairs I have had and though the chair is fast it enjoys much less grip on the surfaces I drive on. This morning this was keenly brought to my attention as I headed down the ramp, which was covered with a white powder layering of snow. I was first shocked then sort of terrified when I realized I charging down the ramp way too fast for the condition the ramp was in. I pulled back on my joystick thinking this would stop me but now, I just continued my forward motion with no control what so ever as I slowly slid off the side of my ramp! The event happened so fast I barely had time to grab the railing and hang on to stop myself and power chair. Luckily for me the rail was there and I was only over the edge of the ramp by my front tire but I was hanging there with one wheel of the ramp and the snow so slick I could engender any traction I needed to pull my self back on the ramp.

I started shouting for help, as loud as I could, which is not very loud at all and luckily Dianne heard me and came out and righted me back onto the ramp. I fished tailed a couple of times as I powered myself to the train station. Remember that he over pass I must negotiate each day I ride the train? There is sidewalk the goes up and over the over pass. There is a concrete wall on the side of the walk which butts up against three but there is nothing on the other side except weeds and steep embankment ending at a chain link fence designed to keep things on the over pass. For some reason during my accent I started sliding, nothing dangerous, thank goodness, but enough to know that I could easily slide right over the edge if I was not careful. I think it would be easy to slid over the edge and though steep I think I would probably survive and I wondered if that should happen I probably would not have access to my cell because I think the cell would be thrown free of my chair and there I would stay—maybe trying to shout for help until someone would happen by.

The snow is all gone now—the days heat vanquishing the snow but I best be careful—Frank thinks I need to rethink about where I carry my cell and maybe Frank is right. But for the time being I am just going to “hug” the wall of the over pass far, far away from the

Waiting for Spring

I have been a bit of bump on the old log this weekend. We’ve have been out of the house a few times some shopping and what have you but by in large we have just be hunkering down, in the house waiting for Spring. Auni came over last night to spend the night and her presence always brightens our weekends. But the days are cold and I just read and camp on the hot air vents from the furnace and dream of Spring. I am anticipating throwing a meatloaf together which would make for a fine Sunday dinner.

It Should Be Fun

As many readers know I have been interviewing for a year now over on Ustream..TV. I have been interviewing folks who work in programs which serve people with disabilities. The show is called Access Utah Now. I have quite enjoyed the project. I have also been trying to start a program on the private side called Meadowlark’s World, which would me interviews with people (mostly with disabilities) who have significant impact on me and my life. I have been dragging my feet on this show but maybe that is going to change.

A couple weeks ago was contacted by a person with a disability new in the city trying to make it in this city. He is here living by himself, having to purchase and rely on attendant care a and public transportation, all of which can be expensive. Last week I was supposed to have had a broadcast but because I was out ill that broadcast did not happen. I tried to get one for today but the times just did not work but I was called this morning by this guy with a disability trying to survive in Salt Lake City and as we talked I figured why not? Why not start an interview with him and follow his adventure of relocating to Salt Lake City. So hopefully today will be then first show. I will interview and see where we go from there. It really should be fun.

Vaction Remorse

Its Monday afternoon, it cold out, snow this morning and more snow is predicted this afternoon and tomorrow, really all week it a sounded like on the news last night. But right now, the sun is shining and the air is cleaner then the air has been for weeks but I am feeling just a little down since tomorrow I am going to work after being off since last Wednesday. I have not done a whole lot—the days have just been too cold. But we did have Ani over for a couple of nights and we went out for a couple of meals and shopping.
The high point of the weekend for me was a hamburger dinner we hosted last night. Mark and Bridget and their families came over and we had a great time of eating and talking even the little kids seemed to have a good time—but tomorrow bright and early I will be back on the tarmac heading for my train and the office.

I have tons of sick and annual leave and my boss has been encouraging me to start using this time so this year I have. I have to admit I have enjoyed the long weekends and time off but I fear I might like the time away too much and start not wanting to be at work. How ever that is not the case now. I still like my work and being at my office but a still I worry about being away from my office and phone as I have been—still though, I get to this point of my extended weekend nd I feel I should have done more, had more fun or something—that’s just how I feel.

Just Thinking

For the first time I am beginning to get a bit worried about what is going to happen at this years legislature. The talk is the legislature is going to take a government which has already been cut and further decimate it; and though have been dancing like Bart Simpson and have to date dodged the “recession ball” I think I am going to get hit this time. Worse case scenario where my job would go away, I would work till the end of the State’s fiscal year which ends in the end of June. A lot can happen before then which might change everything. I am not going to count on a “good” ending to this problem and I am going to have to start putting out feelers for something I could do if unemployed.

It has been a ‘life-time’, twenty-years, since I was last unemployed and what I remember I didn’t like. I cannot imagine myself out of work but that just may happen!! I have to now do some checking in to social Security to see how long it would take to get back on SSI/SSDI, and the big question if I chose to go that path could/would I bring in enough money combined with D’s to survive? I am just not sure how long it would take for the funding to start. I could try looking for work, but I don’t think anyone is hiring anybody. I have some contacts which, I think might consider me but that is hard to tell and maybe hard to sell. Maybe, I could get something part-time and try t live on reduced money and probably no benefits. Maybe something in the area of housing or transportation and disability since that is what I pretty much know; or maybe try something totally new but which might be fun…like broadcast radio or television.. I really believe the economy is trying to turn round and I think if I can just tread water long enough I could be working full time again and fairly soon. Then there is always the option of the ‘early retirement’ and live the good life, getting up a little bit later and just hanging round the house all day and still keep my volunteer work going strong. That maybe a good life or, I could always n go back to telemarketing or some other form of sales. I believe I can still sell—hey, a job is a job.

My buddy Frank was in the hospital over the weekend and now is at home resting—a routine check up turned into a couple day stay when the docs found that Frank’s heart was not all that it should be. We almost lost him and I don’t think the man is “out of the woods yet. Just like that he could be gone, I COULD BE GONE!! So maybe I should step down and enjoy what life I have left however long that I have. Really, this is not all that morbid…just real.

Best Intentions

Actually I was pretty excited yesterday for my first three day weekend following the holidays, even though I had my advisory board meeting over at Division of Determination Services (DDS). DDS is one of a number boards on which I sit; As part of my “Community Service” and “community integration”. These two events are often measured in monthly, quarterly and yearly to show my office is “giving back” or at least is active in the community. Actually, when I first became part of the DDS Advisory Board, DDS and Access Utah Network was housed in the same building, and attending the board meeting was as simple as rolling down the hall. The other reason for my dedicated attendance is the director of DDS offers a hot lunch for board members since his meeting always straddles the lunch hour. The hot meal was usually taco bar, soup and sandwich( you were expected to build your sandwiches for very hi-grade ingredients. So, even if the meal was a sandwich war the ingredients were ham, roast beef, chicken, turkey corned beef etc, and there kinds of bread: wheat, rye cracked wheat all lf which were excellent, all of this an then there were four or five kinds of sliced cheese. I know it’s sadf but one can measure my commitment to the boards I serve on by the lunches served or the amount of good booze offered at the their Christmas( holiday) parties

My meeting was not scheduled to begin until 11:00 so I figured I had ample time to stop at my durable medical vender(Magic Rest=wheelchair shop) and have my power chair looked at. Now that the old year has passed, my insurance should kick in and I can get some repairs and part replacement on my powerchair. Needless to say my day made a marked change when I tried to stow my wheelchair lift and my pendant, controller which operated te power doors and lift would not respond. I would be trapped inside the van if I opted to go anywhere! I went back to the house and had Dianne come out and close the van up from the switches on the outside of the van. I figured maybe I could get one of the techs at Magic Rest find out the problem and worse case they could just ‘button me up’ or close the doors from the outside switches and I would call someone at vthe meeting to come out and let me out. I would then go out to MSI, Mobility Solutions, Inc and have Justin fix the pendant.

I actually got to DDS and my van’s powered drive’s seat decided to stop work. The seat refused to venture forward or backwards, the , raise and lower function worked just fine as did the swivel part but I was stuck in the water. I could not even scoot back dar enough to get to my cell phone which was in the side pocket un my powerchair. I was trapped and I was late for my meeting and my lunch. But, I figured I had best me responsible get my driver’s seat repaired so I left DDS and headed for MSI down in Sandy Utah. Of course Justin was not able to attend to my needs right then and I scheduled a return appointment for later in the after noon. I wondered back about three thirty—I had gassed up the van and still got back to MSI with a little time to kill. I was directed to the back of the shop and brought in through the bay doors. An hour and $100.00 later I was master of my van once again,. I took some Obama abuse from the owner of the shop but the abuse was good natured and I was ‘one of the guys’ for a while—with the exception of my Obama support.

Somewhere, I called Gary , the director of DDS and apologized for my absence—Gary was not available. And I’ll try again on Monday when I get back to work and more the missed lunch.

I Am Going to Write...

I am going to write...I really am...maybe later to day if I can squeak out some time.

Deep Info

I have been playing “catch-up” all day and it is a good feeling to have lots of phone calls from people who really want or need information. I am back in the office from being gone for more then a week so catch up is not un expected. So far I have returned calls—not many but few—Christmas time calls tend to drop way off. I also went out over lunch and got a new bus pass and cruised round downtown SLC for a few minutes. The sun was out and yet cold, I began to get the feel of Spring which is still a good way off but already I feel the hours of daylight begin to lengthen and though I see the snow still on the ground and I can see the vapor leaving people’s mouth as I motor round downtown—I sense they sense, as I, change in the air and the days of this winter are surly numbered.

I am excited to be back I the office after being gone for so long… the staff also sounded like they missed me or the information I have to impart on those folk with disability questions or worse drop-in. I feel my staff does a wonderful job when I am gone and give out some good information but non do it like me. It’s good to have a niche to fill. I am not indispensable—I am not so foolish to believe that for one minute but I do know I give good info, and specifically disability info.

Hang Time Day Six

I missed the first posting of the new year and decade not a good way to start--I just did not get round to posting.But, I do have a new cell phone--actually the cell is just a replacement for the phone I ran over in my power chair ans broke the case and screens on the phone. I have been able to limp by with the broken phone OK, I could still make and take calls, take pictures and movies and "text" in the last couple of weeks the phone began to take on a different personality almost as if the cell was possessed. The cell began to randomly call out to me to make call. This was odd enough during work and such but in the dead of night I did not need this i9ndz of excitement the "call-outs" is what finally motivated me to call Mark A and start the process for aguirring a new device. I did and now its done.