A Hard Day's Night

What a long night! I don't know if it was too hot in my room or what, but I could not sleep with my ventilator. It felt like the pressure was set too high, even though I hadn't changed it. I finally gave up sometime after 3 a.m. and asked PB to remove the face mask I use as an interface.

When I don't use the ventilator, my blood oxygen level falls during the night and I don't sleep properly. So in addition to only getting about four hours of sleep, the sleep I got was not at all refreshing.

Hopefully, things will be better tonight with the air-conditioning on. If not, I will try and fix it by adjusting the pressure.

An Idea

I have been toying with the idea of starting a website that lists wheelchair accessible places to go and things to do in New York City. I haven't been able to find a site that does this, so I am considering going ahead and building one. You can help out, especially if you live in the New York City area and have a disability, by filling out this survey.

I think the summer is a great time to start a project like this, because it's easier for me to get around and check things out. Hopefully I can get some help with generating content for the site, since it's definitely too big a project for one person to undertake successfully.

Alma Mater

Over the weekend, I went up to my university for PB’s brother’s graduation. I got to see old friends from my fraternity and my a cappella group. As you may be able to tell from my hat in the picture, the a capella group is pirate-themed.

I watched the procession and went to the departmental ceremony in which PB’s brother got his diploma. Other than that, I skipped the formal festivities. There was a graduation party on Saturday night at PB’s brother’s girlfriend’s house, which is in the woods about an hour drive from the university. That was fun, and I was introduced to some hilarious youtube videos… including “Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism Video,” parts one and two.

Sunday night was another graduation party at PB’s parents house. On Monday, PB went home with her aunt and uncle, while I stopped for a few hours at a house my a capella group had rented for the week in rural Rhode Island. We played board games and did some singing, and then I headed for home. I highly recommend a game called “wits and wagers,” which we played.

AbleGamers.com

A short while ago I discovered a website called ablegamers.com . It is devoted to helping people with disabilities play computer games. They have features like video game reviews, inspirational articles, and information on assistive technology.

I feel pretty ambivalent about this website. On the one hand, I think highly of any organization that makes an effort to make sure people with disabilities are included in every aspect of society. However, I also feel that computer games can take away from living life. I know from personal experience that this problem is especially serious for people with disabilities, because the urge to escape from living with a disability can be very strong.

One summer in high school, I became so absorbed in first-person shooter games that I did almost nothing else until school started again. Now, the weekly web games on ablegamers.com have me hooked. I don't think it will get out of hand, because I have the responsibilities of a part-time job, a job search, and a marriage. But if I had nothing else going on, I could easily see computer games becoming my entire life.

Despite my reservations, I have to say that ablegamers.com is a great website. It is really helpful for those of us who can handle gaming in moderation.

Ramblin'

Sorry not to have posted in a while. PB and I have been traveling, so I haven't had much time to blog. We drove down to DC with Helper M last weekend, where we stayed at the (vacant) apartment of a friend who divides her time between New York and DC for work. We caught up with some college friends and ate at some nice restaurants.

My sister is in DC for an internship, so we saw her as well. We met up and went to the zoo. If you get to DC, I highly recommend the zoo because not only does it have some very interesting animals and exhibits, but it is free and open to the public!

Monday morning we drove down to Virginia Beach. It is very pleasant there in the off-season: not too hot and not too crowded. It's peaceful, except for the fighter jets roaring overhead every 10 minutes. We came back Wednesday, but not before stopping at their surprisingly good aquarium.

The highlight of the aquarium for me was the otter exhibit, which was the best I have ever seen. Not only could you get a good view of the otters underwater, above water, and on land, but they were also very active. I felt like I could have just sat there and watched their behavior for an hour.

A note on wheelchair accessibility: we didn't stay in one of the officially wheelchair accessible rooms at our hotel, so I can't say much about the accessibility there. DC’s mixture of old and new construction meant that accessibility was pretty varied. The Glover Point area, where we stayed, seems to have a lot of inaccessible restaurants and bars. But the area around the zoo was fine.

Car Accident Blues

So, my car has been in three accidents since July. This latest one, for once, was in absolutely no way the fault of the driver. PB and Helper M have just gone to pick up the newly repaired van.

Having a wheelchair accessible van is great. Too often, I take it for granted. There is nothing like having your car in the shop to remind you how important your car is.

I have to say, all these accidents make a strong case for working in NYC instead of New Jersey… commuting by public transit is a lot safer!

Food, Glorious Food

I've started trying to eat in a more healthy way. The crisis point came last Friday, when I found myself having to stop at a McDonald's drive-through in order to get lunch before a staff meeting at the Center for Independent Living where I do seminars. When I showed up with chicken nuggets and french fries, I got a lot of flak. I do a seminar that includes a whole chapter on healthy eating, and yet I go around eating fast food?

I also noticed I've been feeling a general malaise a lot of the time, and I think it has to do with my diet. So far, the only major change I have made is trying to eat a more healthy lunch than my usual turkey and swiss cheese sandwich with lots of mayonnaise and no lettuce. Instead, I've been having brown rice, chicken and vegetables.

The result, somehow, is that I am hungry all the time. I guess that means my metabolism is speeding up? I don't feel like I'm eating significantly less, but I’m now constantly craving food. Hopefully, I will soon figure out how to fit a lot of healthy snacks into my diet, so I can be healthy without going hungry.