Monthly Archives: July 2016

My First Brush with UEB

31 Sunday Jul 2016

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My Brush with UEB

Well, if you follow this blog, and you read my most recent entry about seeing Beautiful, then here’s a little different thing that happened today.

I forgot to order a braille program, but the theater had one I could rent, by leaving my ID with them. I opened the program and started reading it aloud to Sandie. And suddenly I was baffled and confused. This was some funny looking braille, with a whole bunch of symbols I did not recognize, missing contractions I’d always known, making it actually hard to recognize some words. What the bloody hell? Oh, damn, it’s frigging UEB, the so-called unified English braille, that every braille reader in every English speaking country is now supposed to read and write. Okay, I already ranted about this some months ago, so if you look back, you’ll find my feelings laid out very clearly about what I call ugly English Braille.

But today, I got to read it for the first time. And yes, of course, I could still read. But I didn’t like it. My braille program was in seventy-three, yes, that 73, pages. For you sighted folks, how big is a print theater program? Braille has always taken more room than print, it has to be bigger so people can feel the dots, and it has to be embossed on heavy paper so it can hold up to being read. But in the past, it would have certainly been less pages. They’ve removed a number of contractions, and added symbols that are somehow supposed to be more equivalent to print. But wow, got a newsflash, braille is not print! Just like ASL is not English. So, there were new symbols around quotes, new parentheses and no ation, double D sign or various others. It wasn’t my program, so I had to give it back and didn’t get to read the whole thing.

So, my impressions, after my first brush with UEB, yeah, it’s ugly. I don’t like it. Can I read it, sure, but I don’t like it. And any braille books I buy in future will be even huger than they already were! Boo hoo. I want real braille back! Lol.

My Brush with UEB

Well, if you follow this blog, and you read my most recent entry about seeing Beautiful, then here’s a little different thing that happened today.

I forgot to order a braille program, but the theater had one I could rent, by leaving my ID with them. I opened the program and started reading it aloud to Sandie. And suddenly I was baffled and confused. This was some funny looking braille, with a whole bunch of symbols I did not recognize, missing contractions I’d always known, making it actually hard to recognize some words. What the bloody hell? Oh, damn, it’s frigging UEB, the so-called unified English braille, that every braille reader in every English speaking country is now supposed to read and write. Okay, I already ranted about this some months ago, so if you look back, you’ll find my feelings laid out very clearly about what I call ugly English Braille.

But today, I got to read it for the first time. And yes, of course, I could still read. But I didn’t like it. My braille program was in seventy-three, yes, that 73, pages. For you sighted folks, how big is a print theater program? Braille has always taken more room than print, it has to be bigger so people can feel the dots, and it has to be embossed on heavy paper so it can hold up to being read. But in the past, it would have certainly been less pages. They’ve removed a number of contractions, and added symbols that are somehow supposed to be more equivalent to print. But wow, got a newsflash, braille is not print! Just like ASL is not English. So, there were new symbols around quotes, new parentheses and no ation, double D sign or various others. It wasn’t my program, so I had to give it back and didn’t get to read the whole thing.

So, my impressions, after my first brush with UEB, yeah, it’s ugly. I don’t like it. Can I read it, sure, but I don’t like it. And any braille books I buy in future will be even huger than they already were! Boo hoo. I want real braille back! Lol.

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My Visit with Beautiful

30 Saturday Jul 2016

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My Visit with Beautiful

Today, my friend Sandie and I went down to the Buell Theatre in Denver to See Beautiful, The Carole King Musical. Oh, and of course, my guide dog Petunia came along. Sandie hadn’t been sure she wanted to see it, but I had tickets, and she was a wonderful friend and decided to go. And she ended up having a great time. As for me, well, I’d like to say, there are no words, but if you know me, you know there are words!

I was born in 1957, and I remember so vividly when King’s album, Tapestry, came along. It was like nothing I’d ever heard before. Not like my beloved Beatles, or the stones, or the doo wop bubblegum stuff of the sixties. She was part of the singer/songwriter era, and she was a master of it!

Beautiful tells the story of her life, from age sixteen, when she sold her first song—It Might as Well Rain Until September—to the making of Tapestry, and finally, a Carnegie Hall concert. It’s an ensemble cast, Carole, Gerry Gofin her ex-husband and co-songwriter, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, fellow songwriters, competitors and best friends, and Don Kirshner, the record executive who took a chance on Carole. People may not realize the extent of King’s song writing. Her songs were recorded by groups such as the Drifters, the Shirelles, The Righteous Brothers, the Monkees, and even, yes, the Beatles. Have you heard Aretha Franklin sing Natural Woman? Well, Carole King wrote that song.

The show had humor, sadness, and absolutely far out out of sight music! Ahem, think I’m dating myself with that slang, aren’t I? It just seemed fitting for the story.

Back to today. Sandie picked us up up around quarter to noon, and down to Denver we went. We got there in plenty of time, and stopped in at our usual Limelight Café for lunch. And as before, I had a mimosa and a burger. I didn’t enjoy the burger as much today. The day was exceedingly hot, and I wasn’t very hungry. But it was fun to be there, enjoying the atmosphere and anticipating the show.

After lunch, we walked across the courtyard to the will-call to pick up the tickets. One of the highlights of the day happened there. For over a year, I’ve been working with a woman at the theater complex named Jessica. She answered many emails about seating for people with disabilities, gave me the ins and outs of getting season tickets, braille programs, or anything I needed. She and I had emailed this week, and she told me she would be managing the box office, so look her up. And we got to meet her. I was so happy to have the chance to meet her face-to-face, to thank her in person for all she’s done, to give her a hug. Thanks for everything, Jessica. She’s going to help me exchange dates for tickets and things like that, if I need that in the future. One show I want to see very much is Finding Neverland, but my tickets are for New Year’s Eve. Now, really, who’s gonna want to drive to Denver with me on that day? Not to mention driving home after 5:00 on such a night. Anyway, she’s a gem, a pillar of the highest quality customer service. From time to time, after working at Nordstrom in the nineties, I come across someone who is so above and beyond the norm of customer service, and I think to myself, that person has the Nordstrom spirit. And that’s how Jessica is. I’ve always been thankful, that she was the one to answer my email about seating all those months ago.

Did you think I’d never get to talking about Beautiful? Finally!

The show was fantastic. Carole King was an amazing writer, but she didn’t have the best voice. Not the worst voice, but not one of the best. And I like that the actress playing her, showed that. There were a few songs where the actress let go and showed what a great voice she has, but for the most part, she stayed true to King, who was a little shy about her singing and didn’t have as much confidence in it as everyone else did. The people who sang the parts of the Drifters and the Righteous Brothers were over the moon, mmmm, so good! The songs that King/Gofin had written but didn’t record, were all jazzed up, so it wasn’t just a straight rendition of the pop hits we know. Every performer was top notch. The woman who played Little Eva, man, when she sang the Locomotion, the place was rockin! I was moving to the songs in my seat, trying not to sing along, and failing, wanting to clap but nobody else did. Grin. It was fun, it was happy, in spite of some of the sad parts, it was joyful, a true delight.

At the end, of course there was a standing ovation, and then the cast came out and did I Feel the Earth Move Under my Feet. We were finally all standing, clapping and singing along. I’m sure there must have been people dancing too. It was an experience!

We went to Applebee’s on the way home and then came back here. Sandie stayed for a bit, helping me with some things. I got some DVD’s I’d ordered from amazon, plus some new silverware—it’s got red handles, isn’t that cool? If you know me, you know my signature color is red. Now, I’m relaxing, listening to a little music, writing this blog entry. It was a wonderful day, a beautiful show, a perfect day out with friends. If you have the chance to see Beautiful, don’t miss it. Even if you didn’t grow up with her music, her story, her strength, her talent, it’s a story worth telling, and a show very much worth seeing.

The Final two days of Class

22 Friday Jul 2016

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Last Two Days of ZoomText Fusion Training

Wednesday 21 July 2016

Kindness of strangers and a Dog Day evening

First of all, thank you all for your patience as I was delayed posting this. It will be a long update, to cover Wednesday and Thursday. Someone asked where this was all happening. I was taking a class in an adaptive technology software program called ZoomText fusion, a screen reader and magnifier combined, putting it simply. The class last three days and was held in Littleton Colorado.

I worried all Tuesday night about getting to class on Wednesday. Would it be another disastrous start to the day? And it could have been. I asked the front desk to call the taxi at ten to eight, and at 8:30, it still had not arrived. Crap, I thought, though I’m sure I thought worse than crap, I’m going to be late again! Suddenly, a guest in the hotel walked up to ask if I wanted any breakfast. I had been sitting there a while, waiting for the blasted cab, after all. I politely thanked him, told him no and that I was waiting for a cab. And out of nowhere, he offered to give me a ride! And what did I do? I did exactly what I would have warned any other single woman not to do. I got in a vehicle with a man I did not know and trusted him to take me where I needed to go. And he did! I don’t even know his name, think it was Walter, or something like that. I have good instincts, so I felt I could trust him, and the hotel people knew I’d left with him. He was a businessman, and he was very kind, and I got to class five minutes before start! Thank you sir for your act of generosity. And for being a good guy!

Class went well. We covered so much each day, and I only hope I retained a lot of it. I was getting to know the other members of the class and enjoying their company very much. We got lunch from this incredible place called Etai’s. I had a turkey avocado sandwich with a seasonable fruit salad, chips and carrot cake. The sandwich was so good, and the variety of offerings on the menu blew me away. Oh, Etai’s, please come to my neck of the woods, please. They deliver too, and it would be so nice to have something besides pizza to order for delivery on a Friday night, when I actually want dinner but will not cook.

Wednesday night, I’d arranged to get together with a few friends, guide dog puppy raisers and a former trainer. Dot picked us up from the class and we went directly to her house. She had three dogs there, her old career change guide dog puppy she’d raised, an eight-month old puppy she had, her own dog, and a retired guide she was dogsitting. Then we had Barb with the dog she’s raising, Melissa with the dog she’s raising, and Becky with her career change guide dog puppy, that she raised a few years ago. At one point, we had seven large dogs, Labradors and my golden, running and raising cane in the back yard. It’s a testament to the fine training all the dogs have received, that all seven got along. They had fun, and there were no fights or other problems. Seven well-trained dogs, five experienced dog handlers, great food, great friendship, a perfect evening. Dot made the best food, homemade chicken salad, with these amazing appetizers, and Sangria. It was lovely outside on the patio, just sharing time with friends and laughing at the antics of seven dogs. I never wanted the evening to end. Well, except for being tired.

Thursday, 22 July 2016

Last Day, saying Goodbyes, Coming Home!

If I’d been stressed about the morning situation on Wednesday, it was almost nothing to the stress I felt about it Wednesday night. I probably only slept about three hours. Okay, so yeah, I have insomnia anyway, and I don’t sleep well in a strange place. Add to that the fact that a hotel is never really quiet. Room doors opening and closing, people or luggage bumping walls, it all wakes me up. I knew I’d have to finish packing everything, and somehow get me, my dog and my luggage to the center for class, on time!

That morning, I call the front desk, even before heading over, at 7:30 and asked them to call the taxi. By the time I got Petunia relieved and got to the lobby, it was close to eight, and they had heard from the cab company that it would be another fifteen minutes for the cab. If they showed up, of course. Surprisingly, to me, anyway, they did. At first I thought the cab driver was going to try to refuse the ride. He kinda freaked out when he saw Petunia, but he didn’t object more than saying a few things about how nobody told him there’d be a dog. For those who don’t know, a person with a disability is legally allowed to be accompanied by a service dog in places or services of public accommodation. This definitely includes taxis. Anyway, he didn’t object, and he was reasonably friendly. We got to the center in plenty of time, in fact, I was the first one there. Go me.

Last day of class. I had such mixed feelings about it. I was eager to get home, brain and body tired, wanting desperately to sleep. Petunia doesn’t care much for traveling apparently, as she hadn’t eaten Wednesday night or Thursday morning. I needed to get her back home to her own environment. At the same time, I had enjoyed the class greatly, loved learning the new stuff, was becoming friends with classmates, and part of me hated to have it end and to go back to my quiet lifestyle. Hmmm, I guess there still is a social lady inside me.

At the end of the day, we got to evaluate the class, and I gave it all the top marks I could. I’m very happy I was asked to take the class. I learned a lot and feel like I have the beginnings of a grasp on the program. Obviously, I won’t have a deep grasp until I get to play with it in real life time, but it was a good start.

My classmates and I shared email addresses, and I already heard from a couple of them. I do hope we keep in touch. We’re all scattered around the state, so we probably won’t see each other, but keeping in touch by email will be nice.

We all got a fun goodie bag for completing the training, with shirts, demos, thumb drives of materials we covered in class and a nice certificate of completion. I must admit I had some trouble concentrating in the latter half of the training day though.

Sandie picked us up at the end of the day, and we were finally homeward bound! Petunia got in the back seat and crashed. We made it home in good time, dumped my luggage, relieved all parties, and then we were off to dinner, for the humans anyway. We went to chili’s and had a good dinner, and I had a margarita too. But I was just tired and wanted to get home. Once we did get back, Petunia finally ate her dinner, and Sandie did some yard work for me.

When Sandie left, I thought Petunia and I would both fall upon the bed and sleep, but we didn’t. I unpacked a little, watched a bit of the RNC out of curiosity, and just unwound. Finally, I went to bed, called Doug to catch up and slept till time to get up for work.

I still feel exhausted and brain and body tired to the bone. I want to curl up with a good book or a movie and let the sound lull me off to dreamland for a few hours! But it’s Friday, and that means, the weekend is upon us, once five PM arrives!

Overall, the experience was fabulous. I have to say a huge thank you to the Residence Inn and all there staff. And I don’t even have words to express to the training people how much I enjoyed the class. Thanks, ZoomText University, Mark and all involved! Knowledge increasing is a glorious thing!

Two little comments, I believe I left my charm bracelets in the hotel. I’m kinda crushed about this and need to call them to see if they have been found and if the hotel can send them to me.

And what am I reading, a book called Coyote, about a trip to colonize another planet, but oh, there’s so so much more to it than that. Political intrigue, family dynamics, character development, survival, and all kinds of good stuff. Check it out!

the second day, not the most auspicious start

19 Tuesday Jul 2016

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The Second Day

Not exactly the way I expected the day to start! It was the day start from hell, sorta, kinda.

The hotel is actually very nice. The staff has helped me get around, helping me teach petunia the way. they’ve helped get Petunia out to do her business. Oh yeah, Petunia is my guide dog. grin.

I had a nice cup of coffee in the common area near the lobby, and felt the day was starting off fine.

Then came the fun. I was supposed to be taking the hotel shuttle to the Center for the Blind for this ZoomText Fusion class. Uh oh. The shuttle was so tall, that I could not step into it. I have a fused knee and an artificial knee, and it was too high for me. Definitely not a wheelchair accessible shuttle. Not that I need a wheel chair, but I need an accessible way to get in. lol. So, back to the lobby and the front desk we go. Yippee. The desk clerk, a very nice woman, called a taxi, and specifically told them that I needed a sedan, a vehicle I could get in. Did they send such a vehicle? Um, noooo. They sent a van, again, not something I could get into. Aaaaaaaahhhhh
111 So, the nice desk clerk called again, double emphasized the need for a sedan, and off I went to wait again. And wait, I did. And wait I did. And again, yes, indeed I waited. We called one more time, and finally, at last, as I was teetering on the edge of despair, rage, tears, anguishh, dramatic mood swings and tears, the cab arrived. And off to the center we went. Only a mere forty minutes late. Sigh. Ah well.

I’m what one might call a tiny bit anal about punctuality. Just a tiny bit. I don’t feak out when I’m late, no not me, never. Okay, so I do. I was ready to go by eight AM, class starting at nine, at a center a whole long five miles away Forty minutes late, when it isn’t my doing, makes me crazy! But at last I arrived, and the purpose of this whole adventure could begin.

Fortunately, nobody was upset that I was late, and I didn’t miss too much. The instructor, Mark, brushed it off, and just let me get seated and went on. There are four other people in the class, and I enjoyed getting to know them all, working with them, laughing with them.

ZoomText Fusion is an adaptive technology software package, combining the ZT screen magnifier with the window Eyes screen reader. I need to learn it for my job, because the program I know like I know my own name is a different program. And I’m not going to use this blog to talk about the program. This is just about my time here taking the class.

We dealt with a lot of interesting topics, somethings very familiar much like the program I know, but other things were different, and I was fascinated, interested and 100 percent engaged in the class. I love learning new things, giving my brain new fodder to chew on, trying unfamiliar stuff. So, if today was any indication, I’m going to have a marvelous time.

For lunch, we all ordered pizza, and we got to know each other a little bit more. I know each of my fellow students and Mark are people I would enjoy socializing with, as colleagues or friends.

The afternoon was more training, where I learned some cool new techniques, and where I had to remember not to use the techniques from my other program. I love the challenge!

I shared a classmate’s Uber ride and didn’t have a problem at all with them accepting Petunia. I got back to the hotel, and Kayla, the very nice evening desk person, helped me get Petunia relieved. I was going to go down to the happy hour social hour but I’m pretty tired, and we’re in the midst of a big thunder storm, and I didn’t want to take Petunia, my thunder fearful girl, didn’t want to make her guide in that situation.

I’m now kicking back with a glass of red wine, some turkey, cheddar and crackers, a couple yummy home made cookies, watching CNN’s coverage of the Republican convention.

Tomorrow, another day of class, a night with friends, and most likely more wine and cookies!

So, though the day didn’t start off, giving me a great impression of this adventure, the day ended up being fantastic, wiping away all the stress and anxiety from the morning.

Let’s keep our fingers and paws crossed for a better start tomorrow!

Oh, and if anyone cares, I’m reading, the Ivy Crown, by mary Luke, an historical fiction novel about Katherine Par, sixth wife of Henry VIII, a woman I admire greatly!

the first day

18 Monday Jul 2016

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Well, here I am, down by Denver in a Residence Inn. My oomtext fuson class starts tomorrow. It’s been a long long day, and I’m too tired to write this all in Word first, so please forgive typos and brevity. I worked today, and we were quite busy. I shut down and 2:30 and finished packig while waiting for Sandie to arrive. We loaded up me and Petunia and our things and went to Sandie’s house first’ We hung out there, had some pizza and relaxed before driving down here to the hotel Their career changed guide dog, golden retriever Olima is absolutely adorable. She took to me, ad I to her I do love those goldens!

The hotel is nice enough. the room is adorable. The staff are incredibly nice and helpful. We brought a few groceries, but as the class will be providing lunch, and I’m going out to dinner Wednesday. I didn’t bring much. We taught Petunia the way around and she picked it up so fast. This dog is top notch. I’m so blessed in her.

Now, i’m sitting here at the desk in the room, drinking some wine and catching up on email. I’m tired I’ve been stressing and agonizing over this trip for days. Now that I’m here, I’m calm, but I’m exhausted i’m going to call the desk in a minute and ask for assistance finding where to relieve Petunia, and then I’m going to bed.

Just a weird thing about the hotel, there are no little bars of soap. Hmmm.
don’t Hotels always have those little bars? I guess I’m washing with shampoo tomorrow. weird. Also, I asked specifically for a disability room with a roll/walk in shower, and I didn’t get one. Wish me luck and keep me in your prayers, getting in and out of the shower.

And tomorrow, the class starst.

Superman, Thoughts and Memories

01 Friday Jul 2016

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Memories of Superman

I spent the evening watching movies. The last one for the night is Superman, the Christopher Reeve version from 1978. I love the movie, and I get the urge to watch it every few years. Chris Reeve was wonderful in that movie, and I always feel nostalgic and sort of sad, thinking what happened to him.

But tonight, I was thinking of different things, different memories, only sparing a stray thought or two for the real life Superman Chris became, and the sad end of his life. Tonight, I sat here remembering how my ex-husband and I saw this movie together back when it was first in the theaters. There we were, young and silly, barely scraping by, but taking a few dollars to go to the theater and smile, laugh and thrill to the story of Superman. I snuck my old cassette recorder in my purse and got a shaky, sometimes unclear audio recording of the movie. We’d listen to it again and again, till we could quote it, he quoting all the guys’ lines, I quoting the girls. Oh, it was fun.

“Swell? You know, Clark, there are very few people left in the world it feel comfortable saying that word.”

“What word?”

“Swell.”

“Oh really? I always kinda liked it.”

I haven’t heard from or heard of my ex in about thirty years. I never had any hard feelings toward him, and I hope he’s happy and well, wherever he is. I rarely think of him after all this time, but I remember fondly all the things he brought into my life, great music, great movies, great fun quoting those old movies! If he still watches Superman, does he remember those days? I hope he remembers them as fondly as I do.

But I had other thoughts while watching Superman tonight. Superman must be terribly lonely. This version of the movie has a lot of deleted scenes incorporated into the movie itself, not separate tracks on the DVD. While watching a scene in which Superman goes to his Fortress of Solitude to confer with his father, after the evening when he first revealed himself. Daddy tells him that he shouldn’t beat himself up over the fact that he enjoyed being superman, warns him to watch out for vanity, and then solemnly tells him that though he can enjoy being who and what he is, he can never reveal himself to anyone on earth. My heart kinda broke at that moment. His father talks again about the danger of vanity, stating that if not for the vanity of the leaders of Krypton the planet and its people would have survived, and he would be able to hold his son in his arms.

It made me think, how would it feel never to be able to tell anyone who you are, where you’re from, why you do what you do, not even your real name? Yeah, lonely.

And you know that scene when Superman takes Lois for a little flight around New York City at night? Okay, fun I’m sure, romantic and lovely. But damn, he takes her up into the clouds. Not only would it be flipping cold, but seriously, how the hell did she breathe up there? Ah, well, so much for romance.

If I had the power, would I want to spin the world backward to undo whatever has gone before? No, I guess not. But it sure is a blast watching Superman do it!

So, a few random thoughts and memories. Memories of a fun time in life. Thoughts of a super hero who must have had a sad life amidst all the adulation. Who knew I could get so philosophical over superman? Not me. Just some of the weird things passing through my mind on a quiet Friday night.