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…..

 

 

The arrival of Sandy and the week that follows, October 29th to November 5th 2012Monday:

Monday:

 

We woke up to rain and wind on Monday morning. By that time the winds had been clocked at 50mph. Hubby had to go to work, don’t even get me started on that. And Missy was good other than the fact that she did not want to go “break”. I took her out early, nothing. I took her out again midmorning, nothing. I took her out again after lunch, and by this time the winds and rain were bad, she did nothing. This trip out to “break” I got lost in my parking lot area in front of the house. How embarrassing it is to admit that. The winds were strong, and it was raining, I could just not tell where we were. I know I had to be out there for a good half hour, in the rain, wind, and the cold. I am not doing that again. I was frustrated about Missy not going, when I knew she had to go, and then the weather just sucked. So she probably was all stressed out about that. We eventually got back in. I was soaked through my clothes, I didn’t take my cell phone it would have gotten wet, and who would I have called. *sigh* so hubby came home around 3pm, and we took Missy out again. She finally did her business. It was raining hard by the time hubby came home. They were expecting for the storm, Sandy, to make landfall off the NJ shore at 6pm. At some point the hurricane started to speed up. Listening to the radio and news scared me, so I only listened for the weather. I spent the day making sure everything was secure for the storm. We were a bit paranoid about the electricity going out and our basement would flood. Hubby and I had a nice relaxing dinner and just waited out the storm. And true to the weather reports, Sandy, did make landfall at 6:03pm just south of the Atlantic City, right around Ocean city NJ. Hubby and I had a lot of work to get accomplished for our upcoming convention. But we could hear the winds in the basement just getting worse and worse. I don’t hear that well, but they were loud enough for me to hear. It’s a wind I have never experienced before, and would rather not again. It rained and rained and rained just buckets and buckets. At around 9, our neighbor on the right side of us came over to tell us that the siding was coming off. He picked it up from the yard. Not sure if he got it all, as it was flying away. Hubby, Missy and I all went to bed at 11ish. The wind was so hard, it was hard to sleep. Apparently people don’t know what it means to secure patio furniture, as I could hear some of it blowing away. I think the strongest winds for our area came at 10 to 3 am. Neither of us slept well.

 

Tuesday:

 

We woke up to less rain, and less wind. But it was amazing to see the destruction that a storm can cause. Several really big trees in the neighborhood were down. And our house did stand but will need a new roof now. We lost a lot of shingles and some siding. Hubby made a claim with our homeowners insurance, but now we wait for estimates on a new roof.  When I took Missy out to “break” there were shingles all over the ground from our roof. Again hubby had to go to work. Both Monday and Tuesday, the entire city was shut down. The good thing, is Missy’s relieving schedule started to even out. She did her thing several times in the afternoon and evening. On Monday I reduced her food because I didn’t want her having an accident. Tuesday I gave her a normal amount. I could not get out and take a walk with Missy as there is too much debris of trees, branches, shingles, siding, trash, and other materials littering the ground. Luckily most of our convention preparations are brailing materials like door prize tickets, meal tickets, and envelopes for those who have registered. It was a good thing we charged the battery on our NLS player before the storm, as we started to read the book “a walk to remember” by Nicholas Sparks. The surprising thing is that my hubby likes it too. 

 

Wednesday:

 

Was much of the same. On this day, I thought I saw the sun trying to peek out from under the clouds, but it didn’t make it. I am by this time craving to see a little sun, as it’s been like almost 2 weeks now. Maybe that is an exaggeration but it at least a week. On this day, we were looking into alternative transportation options to get out to the convention in Harrisburg. It does look like Amtrak will be running. Lots of other things had to get done today. Like for example I noticed that there is a hold on my university account, thus I can’t register for classes. So I called the SFS office, and they say they got the payment but I still owe $772. OVR paid its portion, plus I got two scholarships adding up to the amount of $1800. And I still owe $772? This means if I owe tuition still, there is none left over for transportation, which OVR was supposed to be paying for, and books, supplies, and reader services, again something OVR is supposed to be paying for. There is a gap. *sigh* Ok huge stressor, on top of the house repairs that need to be done, now I can’t register for classes and owe tuition, all of the convention preparations, my school work, that I am still behind in, and the list just goes on and on and on and on. Missy is good on this day. Her relieving schedule is even better from the day before. Still no way to get out going on a walk. I have heard that my BIL has no power up in his neck of the woods. And my niece and nephew have no school again. Most business and offices are starting to open back up, but people here in this county were hit really hard.

 

Thursday:

 

We woke bright and early. On this morning the sun did come out of the clouds, Thank you God! We had a million convention preparations to be done, and then were off to the train at 2pm. everything got done, but out suitcase had to weigh 70 pounds. I guess when you take enough wires and cords for audio and visual streaming, enough office supplies for registration and every possible situation surrounding registration, all of the braille agendas for the convention, all of our clothes, including pup’s food, toys and folding crate. It was a lot. I have to mention that my hubby is very strong in this regard.

 

Our train ride on SEPTA and Amtrak were both uneventful. We got to Harrisburg at 6:30pm. But then waited for the hotel shuttle for 40 minutes in the cold.

 

At some point the weather went from us being the 60’s to 70’s to being now in the low 50’s to the upper 40’s. Brrrrrrrrrrr

 

I have to say that Missy was absolutely great on both trains, walking through the train stations, and when we got to the hotel. I was very very proud of my girl. She was a little anxious in the morning when we were packing, but once we left she was all work. I took her different bones with us on our trip. And while on Amtrak I gave her the Nyla bone.

 

Once at the hotel, we checked in, took pup out. By the time I found the relieving area, I knew she had to go badly. She did her thing, and then we went to dinner. The convention hotel this year was the New Cumberland Holiday Inn and Suites. There was a free shuttle from the Amtrak, but the driver spoke no English at all, so that communication was hard. The really nice thing about this hotel was that, very very close within a minute or two walking distance was several restaurants. There was a bob Evans, a Pizza Hut, and a diner called John’s. Hubby and I ventured to the bob Evans. The directions we were given by the hotel staff and another blind person were not correct. We walked around the parking lot in the cold for more than 30 minutes. But I do have to say that hubby didn’t give up, and got his sweetheart, me, dinner. Sorry hubby if I was a little grumpy, you did a great job, and I am grateful to have you as my hubby!

 

We had a nice dinner of the special chicken dinner and hubby had the turkey dinner. There was a special running of $10 for a soup or salad, main course like chicken or turkey, two sides, and desert. It was a lot of food, and neither of us could finish it all. It was really nice of the Bob Evans staff, as just minutes after we walked in they were closing, but they still served us dinner. We did take our desserts back to the hotel.

 

Like I said the hotel was the Holiday Inn and suites. I didn’t explore the whole hotel but it seemed like it was shaped in a square. If you walk in the front door, to the right is the registration desk. To your left is the hotel restaurant. If you walked straight there was a hallway that went off to either the right or left. If you were to continue walking straight, there were meeting rooms on either side of you. You would then come to an intersection of hallways. If you went right, more meeting rooms. If you would go left, more meeting rooms and the outdoor for the relieving area. If you went straight there was the indoor court yard, and the outdoor court yard. In the indoor court yard there was an indoor heated pool, and then the area that we used for exhibits and registration. If you were to continue to walk straight, you would go through a double door into another hallway that went right and left. On both sides and right and left there were sleeping rooms. We had a room with a king sized bed, and a couch. It was about typical size for a hotel room. More about the hotel in later posts.

 

We went to bed at 10pm, as we knew that the next day was going to be super busy and we both needed our rest.

 

Friday:

 

Again up bright and early. The sun was not out in Harrisburg. And it was very cold. The only times I went out were to take Missy to “break”. We didn’t eat per say breakfast on this morning as we knew we would only have time for a short lunch and a short dinner. Around 10 we, hubby and I set up registration at our table.

 

Hubby had his computer so if persons wanted to register for the first time, and I was in charge of the pre-registrations. We had organized meals so people could buy one of those. Hubby and I had made out meal tickets before hand and brailed everything. I had all the persons who had pre-registered their meal tickets in envelopes in order in a plastic tub. A little bigger than a shoe box. Plus I was in charge of the door prize tickets. That morning there were a few changes of those who were coming and who were not coming. Our national representative could not get out of NYC, so they could not come. In total I think we had a little over 75 participators in the convention.

 

Registration officially opened at 11, and we were ready. A lot of people got into the hotel on Thursday like us; others came in on Friday morning. Some meetings began at 1pm. Hubby went and got burgers for us to have as lunch around noon. It worked out well that we ate and handed out registration, luckily it wasn’t too busy. Hubby also had to go off to help set up the stream. Although the hotel didn’t have the greatest wireless internet, it all worked out. Around 2:30, hubby and I left the registration table in the hands of other members. We made it very easy for them. Hubby went off to an IPhone meeting, and I went off to a guide dog meeting. The IPhone meeting was very successful. And the guide dog users formed an official committee.

 

At 4pm, we all rushed off to the business meeting. At this point, things were a little stressful. As there was very little time to get from one meeting to another. Between meetings I took Missy out to relieve, and on this day she did not want to do anything. I was a little worried about this. The board meeting ended early, so a group of us went to dinner in the hotel restaurant.

 

Note here, the hotel restaurant was good food, but there was a lot on the menu that we could not say, don’t what it was, or it was very strange. It was not just normal American food, but fancy dishes. We all found something that was good.

 

At 6pm were the resolutions meeting. I wrote a resolution for the convention this year and this is the meeting where they would recommend it pass or not. The resolution was read and then discussed. It did pass the committee. If anyone is interested in reading the resolution, please send me an email and I can send it to you. It would work for any of the NFB state affiliates.

 

After that meeting we had a few minutes of breathing time to go back to our room and grab other supplies. Poor hubby had to carry so much around the entire weekend, his back pack was stuffed. I had things to carry around too, but not as much as him. At 8pm, which was late, the auction began. Hubby and I were there not because we wanted to buy anything but because hubby is the treasurer of the state affiliate. There were things auctioned off like cookies, brownies, decorations, candles, and jewelry. Some of the cookies went for as much as $75 for 2 dozen. Hubby and I did buy a few items, but nothing much. I helped hubby take notes on the prices everything sold for. We didn’t bring in as much money this year as in past but we still did well. The auction was over at 10pm.

 

From there hubby and I headed back to our rooms after “breaking” Missy for the last time. She did at some point during the late afternoon go potty. I also left Missy in my room in her crate during dinner and the resolution meetings. She by then was extremely stressed out, and we both needed some time away from each other. After her little nap, she was good again. This organization has a rule about not leaving dogs in the hotel rooms by themselves. I mostly agree but in the case that I brought a folding crate for her to sleep in. She had her bones, it was in a quiet corner, and I put the do not disturb sign on the door. And it was after the rooms had been cleaned, so no room cleaner would walk in on her. I only heard of one accident from a dog the whole convention.

 

Hubby and I headed to bed at 11pm. We were both exhausted. Missy had no issues going to sleep.

 

Saturday:

 

Another morning that started before the chickens. We were up early as there was registration to be collected. For breakfast this morning we had brownies we got from the auction and PB chews. I know not very healthy, but it’s what we had on hand, without spending a lot of money, and taking up a whole huge amount of time to go where ever, sit down, wait for the food and then eat. We opened registration up at 7:30am, and just as we expected a bunch of people came by to pick up registration, or to get registered. General session started at 8:30am.

 

Oh yeah our national representative who was supposed to come from NY, like I said previously could not make it out of the city, so one from Baltimore was sent. So that was nice.

 

We listened to many different speakers, from the director of the BVS, to a rep from the NLS program, to our national rep, to students, venders for the BEP program. BEP is the Business Enterprise program; it employs blind people to go into business for themselves and gives them the training to do such. We also heard from parents, and on legislative issues.

 

Lunch was an organized event. In order to have lunch, you had to buy a lunch ticket. The choices were turkey wrap, beef wrap, and veggie wrap. The hotel was fairly good at serving everyone. During lunch I learned there were other amateur radio operators at the table. There were a few persons from my chapter. We had a great time.

 

The session started back at 1:30pm. This afternoon’s presentations were about the same as the morning. The difference is that I was schedule to speak. At 3:30pm it was my turn. I talked about my parenting custody issues. Right after I spoke, a lawyer who represented a disabled parent in court on custody spoke about the PA laws regarding custody. I don’t know for how long I spoke for. If anyone wants to listen, again please let me know. I honestly didn’t think I did that well, but lots of people thought I did. I do better if I fly by the seat of my pants, than write down the speech. In my speech I also included statistics from a study that the NCD did recently. National Counsel on Disability.

 

The afternoon general session adjourned at 4:30pm. Hubby and I went back to our room to rest for a while. At 6ish we headed to the banquet. When we arrived the cash bar was open and people were dancing to music from the DJ. The room had been set up for dinner, including dimmed lighting. Hubby and I sat at the front table, next to the national rep and her husband.

 

The dinner choices were fish, chicken, and or a veggie lasagna. I had the chicken, and hubby the fish. It was good, and the hotel staff served us in a timely matter.

 

I started the day with Missy next to me. But then before we broke for lunch I left Missy in the room. After lunch she came back to the general session with me. While I did my speech, I left her with hubby, and she behaved herself. I was proud. Also on this day, her “breaking” schedule had sort of worked itself out, to being normal. There were other dogs there, but Missy never seemed to pay any of them attention. For the banquet, I took her along but before we took donations I took her back to my room. Hubby and I had planned on dancing afterwards. Again she was in her crate; it was after the cleaning staff had done their cleaning.

 

Back to banquet, our national rep gave their customary speech. And then Mr.  president did his donations speech. This is the part of the banquet where chapters and individuals give money to the organization, in however much they can afford, or want to give. No one is obligated to give. We did raise some money, not as much as the year before, but some. Shortly after the banquet program was over. Every year there is a DJ playing music, and you can make requests. There is a dance floor set up, and people dance to what they like. The good thing is that we are all blind so it really doesn’t matter how you dance because no one can see you. LOL Hubby and I did dance to a few songs. Another customary tradition at the PA convention is there is a keg of beer. We see how fast we can drink it all. Well not me, but all of the people who drink beer.

 

After hubby and I tired of dancing, we found a friend and went to the restaurant to hang out. Not so much to drink or eat, but to hear each other. I am glad we got to hang out with the person we did, as he is an old friend of mine, who I went to school with. We hated each other as kids, but it took us growing up to like each other. If he ever reads this, I very much respect him; think he is a good father, good husband, and nice person all around. I wish I had not been such a! itch as a teenager to him. Oh well I can’t do they should have, could haves, would haves now. At least I hope to him I am different than I was then.

 

We stayed up way later than we had wanted or expected. By the time we went back to our room, it was past 1am. Hubby still had to work on a financial report for in the morning he would present to the convention. So he went to bed around 2:30 am. Now someone had mentioned that we need to put our clocks back, this must have happened without us knowing. I know our IPhones did it automatically. Neither of us got a huge amount of sleep that night.

 

Sunday:

 

After a night of not sleeping much, getting up was hard. In addition we had to pack to go home. The hotel left on the hotel phone in the room, what time the shuttle would be taking us to Amtrak, so we decided to just take a cab. Taking a cab at 1 so that we would have plenty of time to eat lunch.

 

We did get all packed and out of the room at 8. General session began at 8:30am. On this morning was the chapter breakfast. It’s about the same sort of set up as the night before, but with breakfast. On the menu were eggs, potatoes, sausage, and toast. Hubby was able to speak to the waiter and get me pancakes instead, mainly because of the egg allergy. This is also where the chapters and division in PA talk about what is going on in their committee or group.

 

After breakfast is the business meeting. Hubby gave his financial report; there were legislative reports state and national issues, and other reports. There are discussions about funding at the national level and at the state level where we give ideas. And then the last bit of business is the resolutions. This year there was two, including mine. The other one was about BVS and the new children’s program. Both resolutions were passed by the convention. We ended early at 11:15am.

 

A group of us went over to the diner for lunch. The diner is John’s diner, and the food was good and service good. It was fun having lunch with that group. Shortly before 1, went back to the hotel, as that is where hubby and I had left our luggage. We were going to split a cab with another board member, but the hotel said that they could take us to Amtrak. So about 5 of us, and Missy jumped in the van and were off to the Amtrak station. Our train, hubby and mine’s, was at 2:05pm.

 

On the train ride back to the city both of us fell asleep. Once we got back to the city we then had 10 minutes to get to our Septa train. We made it although I was doubtful. We got back to our parts at 5pm, and my FIL picked us up from the train station. It was very cold on this day, way colder than it had been previously on other days.

 

Once home we tried to work on Economics, but were both too tired to retain any information. Missy was just as happy, not if more, to be home as we were. We finally went to bed at 10pm.

 

And tomorrow starts another day of another busy week. Is the winter break here yet? Is the summer here yet? I so need a break from life like a vacation. *sigh*

 

More to come, until next time…..