Playing Catch-up

Hi to all my readers, sorry for the delay in updating lately. There is just too much to do and not enough time. Instead of this blog being called adventures with 2 feet and 4 paws, it should be called as the whirlwind turns LOL I am just kidding. I am not changing the blog name. It took me so long to come up with this name. Please be patient with me as I have a lot on my plate.

 

Monday November 5th:

On this day, there was absolutely nothing planned. Now did that mean I actually had nothing to do, LOL I wish! We just returned from the convention, and both hubby and I were tired. As I was working on school work, what happened as usual, I fell asleep in front of the computer. The awesome thing about this year’s convention is that, instead of like last year, we felt discouraged, asking ourselves why are we doing this. But this year we actually felt good, encouraged, and knowing that all the hard work that led up to the convention that we were doing the right thing.

Missy was tired too, so she slept most of the day. As I mentioned, Missy did great over the weekend.

 

Another noteworthy detail is that the news was saying that we would be getting a nor’easter, with 6 inches of snow. We were able to get someone over to fix the roof enough that water would not leak in. I hope, hope that we do not get that much white stuff. The s word is like not nice to say.

 

Tuesday November 6th, Election Day:

 

This day began just as normal like all the other school days. We were up before the chickens. By this time I had Missy on her reduced food schedule for a while now, so to see if she relieves in harness on route at school. She is now getting 1 cup in the morning and 2 cups in the evening.

 

Classes were about the same as normal. I didn't have economics because the class was taking the second midterm. I will take mine next week. In my history of social welfare we discussed politics and past presidents.

 

After school, I jumped on the train. My FIL picked me up and hubby was with him. From the train station we headed right to the elementary school to vote. Hubby and I got taken up to the beginning of the line, not sure why. We told them that we could wait in line, but they insisted. Of course the poll people are starting to recognize us. We are the only ones in the area that are blind.

 

Missy was of course with us, and behaved well. Lots of people thought she was very cute. When it was my turn to vote, I was able to use the accessible station.

An accessible voting station is like a station where it will talk and tell you the different candidates to vote on. They use a telephone key pad, to enter the vote. You can speed up the voice, the volume, and go forward and back. There is also a vote button, and a select button. It is very easy to use, but it does take a tiny bit longer than normal voters.

 

Hubby waited for me to be done. FIL waited in the line, and by the time he was ready to vote, hubby was going into vote himself. It all worked out. Missy fit into the voting station. While we were in the voting station, a lady with her pet dog came into the elementary gym. This dog just whined and whined. Missy wanted to look at the other dog but this other dog did distract her.

 

When we headed out the dog was still continuing to distract Missy. I am not sure if the other dog was a pet dog or a service animal. It was my opinion it wasn't acting like a service animal should have been. And the polling people should have asked her to leave. While voting we saw several neighbors. The one person who I was very surprised to see was the Disability services coordinator from Bucks community college. She was there helping with voting. We talked for a few minutes, and she was surprised to see that I had a new dog. 

 

After we voted, we went to pick up my SIL. From there we went to eat dinner at Chee Burger Chee burger. It’s a small diner sort of restaurant close to our house. Right after hubby and I were married, we would walk there and have a date. They closed down for a while, and now we suspect that there are new owners now. We sat at a table booth. Thank goodness, while at GDF I got to try out the different seating types in the snack area. Missy was a pro.

 

I will mention here, that Missy had no accidents, no relieving in harness on route. I know we are a new team, but it just amazed me, and what a difference from Missy to Emma. Not because Emma was a bad dog, but just the different thinking and how the dogs work differently. Missy is very happy, and loves weaving in and out of the thousands of students on my university campus.

 

After dinner we went home and did some work on school work and the many other things that needed to be done.

 

Wednesday:

 

On this day I was home, again working on school work. On Thursday I had a presentation in my helping process social work class on a community assessment. As much as I had not wanted to have this happen, I should have spent more time on the presentation than I did. In my defense, I did spend about 6 hours on the project. My partner and I chose to research a community near the university we attend. The community is called temple town. My partner walked around the neighborhood several times and took pictures. Coordinating when to meet with my partner was a bit difficult which made me nervous.

 

As I mentioned on Monday the weather said that we would be getting a nor’easter. It was very cold and we all were waiting for snow. I personally hope that it would snow, so that my classes would get cancelled but that I could still go to the NY state convention. It did snow, and by the time we went to dinner at my MIL house it was snowing quite steadily.

 

On this day I also worked on, among other things, to sign up for classes for the spring semester. I knew what classes I needed but I could not sign up for them until now because there was a hold on my account. My tuition is paid by OVR and BVS, but the university says that I have a balance of over $700. So I know that OVR paid the bill, and I even got two scholarships worth $1800 but I was still short. How does that happen? From what I was told that from the money that OVR paid, I was to get transportation, books and supplies, and reader services. The scholarships I got were to go to the person who recorded my classes while I was gone getting Missy. So I was trying to sign up for classes, but now I could not because of the hold on my account, which got taken off, but because now the classes I needed to get into were closed or full. Ugh! So this means that I have to email the dean of the department and try to get green carded in.

 

For dinner we went to my MIL house. My SIL and BIL and his kids were there. I left Missy at home for this evening, not because I didn't want to take her, but because there are going to be times when she should stay at home and can't go with me. We were not gone for a long time, maybe 2 hours at the most.

 

After getting home from dinner, I had so much to do. I still needed to pack for my trip to NY.

We did not get to bed until say like 12midnight.

 

Thursday November 8th:

 

After not getting much sleep at all. I did the last minute packing to get out the door at 6:15am. My husband is the most best man in the entire world. He decided to leave work early and bring my suitcase down to the Amtrak station for my 5pm train to NY. This was a huge relief in stress, because then I didn't have to drag around a huge suitcase all day.

 

This was the day for my presentation in my helping process social work class. And to make matters worse we were first up. Luckily the professor was going to be late to class, because the train was running late, thus then made me late. When she did arrive, the professor, I was ready with my statistics on the neighborhood. The night before I embossed out my notes so that I could read my information during the presentation. I left Missy at my table, which is at the front left of the room, and while I gave my presentation she slept. I was very proud of her and how she acted.

 

Our presentation only lasted like 10 minutes perhaps more. Overall we did well. I really liked these presentations as I actually learned something. This city has so many interesting areas.

 

the rest of my classes went well, pretty much the same same.

 

After classes I scurried to the train. Instead of going home I went down to the Amtrak station. Which meant I had to catch the train going the opposite way than normal. Missy was at first a little confused by this, but we eventually got on track. I was trying to get down to the Amtrak by 4 to meet my hubby. The funny thing is that I got on the same exact train he was on and then literally one car away. Once a lot of other riders got off, he came to sit with me. Once at the Amtrak station we found a red cap person, and then we waited for a while. Hubby bought me some pretzel bites so we shared them before I got on my train. My train left at 5pm, and I was to arrive in New Rochelle at 7:15pm.

 

Once on the train, I took a short nap, but woke up for the NY Penn station stop. I didn’t have to get off the train, but the crew changed. Missy slept the entire way. New Rochelle is one stop north of the NYC Penn station stop. It is really a Metro north stop, but Amtrak comes through too.

 

This is where the evening gets exciting. I arrived as I mentioned in New Rochelle, at 7:15. A nice young lady who got off at that station, hailed me a cab. It was a $29 cab ride to White Plains NY. The cab driver was very nice, and asked questions about guide dogs. He was not from this country but was very polite about the puppy. I was again proud of my Missy girl, as she jumped in the cab, and fell right asleep. She just curled up and was happy. Unlike with my Emma girl she would have taken forever to find the right position, and then would have spazzed that she didn’t have enough room. It was a 20 minute drive to the hotel. The convention was the Crown Plaza White Plains.

 

I got checked in without much hassle, and my mentee was already there. I fed and took the pup out. The relieving area was in a very interesting spot, but we made it work. She did finally do her business. I was starving so went to the lobby and restaurant to find food and my mentee.

 

Again another exciting part. So I walk into the restaurant, and am looking around. I happen on a large group of convention attendees. And my mentee is there too. There is about 15 or more persons all sitting at this table.

 

So I sit down and find a menu, yes it’s in braille. Half of the items on the menu I can’t say or have no clue what they are. They had odd names. I ask around the table when others ordered. I arrived at like 8:45pm. The other persons there had ordered at 7:30pm. And they still had no food, no drinks, nothing! So around 9:15pm, I get up and say I am going to look for a waiter. Everyone at the table starts chanting “go Marsha! Go Marsha! Go Marsha!” LOL

 

I find a waiter and say that there is a table over there, which the people are getting a little upset about the service. He says he knows. So while I have his attention I place my order. While I am talking to the waiter, another lady comes up and wants to talk to the manager. So I got back to the table and report back. A few minutes later, probably at like 9:45, everyone gets a roll and water. At 10pm, everyone gets there food. I get mine very shortly afterwards too. Unfortunately there is one person who has not gotten her food at all, and she ordered at 7:30pm. So we start chanting, for privacy purposes I am leaving the name out, “—wants her food! – wants her food!” By this time the state president spoke to the manager, apparently there was only one person in the back cooking and it was her. Apparently there was a bit of an argument between them, nothing major. But we were told to leave once we had eaten. And to make matters worse or more exciting, a sighted woman came up to our table. Here is some of the conversation:

 

Sighted lady: “you all need to stop and be nice!”

Us: Excuse us, but we have been waiting on our food for 2plus hours!”

Sighted lady: “So?”

Us: “Excuse us, but don’t you think you would say something?”

Sighted lady: “Well, why these nice people are taking care of you all blind people the best way they can!”

Us: “Do you think that this would be happening to others if they were blind?”

 

And the argument continued between her and several others. At that point I stopped listening. My point by telling this little argument is that this lady thought because we were blind, that we should sit back and just let the nice restaurant persons treat us like poop. Most people were standing up for themselves, others were totally embarrassed.

 

Note: those who were embarrassed were new to this organization.

 

Being blind had nothing to do with the fact that we were standing up for equal service. But because if we had been sighted and had waited an hour for food, we would have said something. If we had been sighted and then said something after 2 hours of waiting. But because we are blind, people think we should just sit down and be there. That we are at the mercy of the sighted, and because they help us so much, we are indebted to them. Bologna!

 

So after I and my mentee had finished eating we went back to our rooms. We got to bed around 10pm and went to sleep shortly afterwards.

 

Friday November 9^th 2012

 

I did not sleep well that night, new place, new surroundings, roommate and not my hubby. Missy was very good though. I took her folding crate along, and so she slept in there. For breakfast my mentee and I ventured over to the McDonalds for breakfast.

 

At 10am there was a town hall meeting for their Commission for the Blind in NY. I sat rough some, but more out of support for my mentee. During some of that meeting, I went over to the exhibit hall. There was a representative from GDF there. I didn’t know her but it was nice to get to know her.

 

There were about 10 guide dog users at the convention all together.

 

There was a box lunch at noon, and then my mentee participated in a cane walk. My mentees travel instructor was also there. At 3 we attended the board meeting, which only lasted like 30 minutes. Afterwards we rushed up back to our room to change.

 

We were to board the bus for the Broadway show at 4:15, but it didn’t arrive until 4:30pm. It was one of those big tour buses, with the front few rows having tables. Let’s just say it was hard to get a pup under those seats. Missy was very good through the ride to Manhattan.

 

We were in White Plains; we boarded the bus at 4:30pm. We didn’t arrive at the restaurant until 6:45pm. We ate at a restaurant across the street from the Majestic Theater. We were at 44^th and 8^th street in NYC.

 

The restaurant knew we were coming and knew that we were late. We had the whole entire top floor of the restaurant. We were served very quickly. Our choices were: Bangers and Mash, Shepard’s Pie, and or fish and Chips. I choice the Bangers and Mash, and although different, it didn’t sound good at first but it grew on me as I ate it. We had a salad, main dish, and desert of cheesecake. NY style cheesecake.

 

While we ate a person from the theater came over and gave us our audio listening devices. We were seeing the Phantom of the Opera, audio described. I think I have explained audio description before, so I will give a brief description again. Audio description or DVS is the same. It’s where a person describes the visual action going on. For this show we had a live description.

 

Once we were done eating, which we were able to be done in like 1 hour. So the restaurant did a great job, of serving us, of us eating, and then us getting across the street in like 1 hour. There were 35 of us on this trip.

 

Hold on to your pants here, here is where it gets exciting. LOL

 

So we make it over to the theater. We stop traffic on the street for all of us to make it across. I am sure NYC has never seen this many blind persons all together and at once. We file into the front row. I mean front row, like we have a rail, and then can look into the orchestra pit. We can reach out and touch the stage. We are close. The bad part is that for whatever reason, we end up with three guide dog users and dogs all sitting next to each other in the front row. So in other words were a bit smashed in. It was a bit uncomfortable, but we made it work.

 

Before the show began the describer was giving us descriptions on the stage and costumes.

 

Also before the show began, the national rep, again I won’t mention his name for privacy sake, granted those who were there know who I am talking about. He needed to go to the rest room. Well he was like the end of a row, and the only way he could get up the isle was to jump over a gate, so he did. He didn’t tell us his troubles until intermission, and we all almost pee’d our pants.

 

Phantom of the Opera is an awesome show. When they shot off the gun, we could feel the blast, we were so close. When they did the fire, we could feel the heat that is how close we were. Our audio description was awesome.

 

The only bad part of me is that the audio description was not loud enough; I could hear it, but not all of it. There was no way to hook it into my hearing aids, but only if I had the right wires along, which I did not. The other not so good thing is that Missy was flipped out about the loud music and sounds. She would jump up every single time something loud happened. In general she was not my dog that night. After we got off the bus and walked to the restaurant, she was trying to play with the other dogs along. She was putting me in danger and I gave her a few strict corrections. She was okay in the restaurant. It also didn’t help that there were other dogs around.

 

So another funny story, I took a Nyla bone with us. I usually take one along so that if she needs to chew to relieve stress she can chew out her hearts content. Well I am not sure how it happened, but the bone came out of the side pocket of my bag. By the time I figured this out, it was under the railing. This was all during intermission. And when I was reaching for it, it fell. Where did it fall, you might ask? LOL Hold on to your hats, it fell into the orchestra pit. Yes folks in the orchestra pit. We called down to see if someone could reach it, but it seems as though it was lost forever. They were not able to get it. We had a great laugh about this as well. And one day when they are clearing up in the orchestra pit, and find a dog bone. They will ask themselves, “How in the heck did a dog bone get down here in the orchestra pit?” LOL It was because of me, because of Missy that a bone was left in the Majestic Theater on 44^th and 8^th in NYC. LOL

 

In the second part of the show, Missy calmed down a bit. She did fall asleep. I was happy about that. I felt bad I could do nothing to help her not jump or be afraid. I hope that the loud sounds have not damaged her.

 

Before we left the theater I was a very naughty girl and did something sneaky. Sorry I can’t say as it involves my hubby and because he reads, he will know if I say. We also took a picture of all of us in front of the theater. When I have that picture, I will post it here. Our ride back was in the same bus, but it only took us an hour.

 

I fed and went right to bed after our adventure on Broadway. It was like 1:30am by the time I got to bed.

 

Saturday November 10^th 2012

 

This morning began at a very very early 6:30am. It felt even earlier than it really was only because I got to bed so late. I left my mentee sleeping in my room and went down to the guide dog users meeting. There were about 10 persons there. I reported about the email list I moderate.

 

General session began at 9ish. The day was full of different speakers on different topics. The most interesting speaker was the blind Mortician. She spoke about how she became a Mortician, and why. Lunch was at noon. And the afternoon was much of the same, full of speakers and of interesting topics. At 7 was the banquet. Banquet was nice for the exception of a very loud party next door to us. At some point I left to go to bed. Again another late night.

 

If anyone has been to one of these conventions, you know the schedule. Otherwise, Friday is division meetings, technology and other business meetings. Saturday is general session, Saturday night is banquet. Sunday is more general session until noon and then we all go home.

 

Missy was very good all day long. Her guide work was excellent, and she was not distracted by other dogs at all. I left her in my room for banquet, as she was acting a bit tired. Again, I took a folding crate with me. And I made sure to “break” her beforehand. I think she enjoyed the time away from me.

 

Sunday November 11^th 2012

 

Early rising, with little sleep again. I packed my luggage quickly in order to get down to the general session at 9am. Everything got packed and I was able to get ready in time.

 

General session was to finish up last minute business of the convention. Missy was good and ready to go home. The convention adjourned at 10:30am. My mentee went her way and I went mine. She had a bus to catch at 1. I walked over to McD’s for a quick lunch. We got a little lost on the way, but figured it out. I had arranged for a cab to pick me up at 12:15pm for my 1:15 train. The cab didn’t come until 12:30pm. Yet again, Missy curled up in the floor board and went right to sleep.

 

Like I said the New Rochelle station is not an Amtrak station. I eventually found the ticket counter and was then from there able to find help from another passenger. I got on the train just as schedule, and was on my way. I again took a small nap.

 

On the way home the train was packed. They were asking for all available seats to be left open. I was sitting in a handicapped seat. Missy can’t fit under the seat because of her harness. And after the conductor told me it was okay, quite a few passengers came by asking to sit in the seat next to me. I didn’t have an issue with them sitting there, but Missy was taking up a considerable amount of floor space. Several passengers got pissy with me because of it. There was nothing I could do. Several were upset that I took up two seats. I guess I should have gotten up and given them the seats. Boy do people only care about themselves sometimes!

 

When I got to the 30^th street Amtrak station in Philadelphia, my hubby was waiting for me. It was so nice to see him. And it was nice because he pulled the heavy suitcase. On this trip I was able to get all of my clothes, my CPAP machine, and my laptop, all of Missy’s food, crate, toys and other things in one suitcase. I also took my backpack with purse in it. This is packing light for me.

 

We were able to jump on a SEPTA train home very shortly after me getting off the Amtrak train. I was home by 5pm.

 

My FIL picked us up from the train station near home. We picked up sandwiches on the way home for dinner. You would think Missy would be tired and not want to work, but we went into WA WA to order our sandwiches, and she was such a good girl. It’s a tight store, that isn’t all that big, so there is some navigating around displays and shelves, she did great!

 

Not sure who was happier to be home, Missy or me. We had a nice relaxing night. At some point I fell asleep and went to bed shortly.

 

It was so nice to be home, back with my hubby, back in my own home, in my own bed. It’s nice to be away, but two conventions in a row tired me out a lot. Hubby and I vouched that we were not traveling out of the state for the rest of November and December. At least I guess we will try not to. LOL

 

I know this was long, but thanks for reading! Until next time…..