Summer Adventures

This past weekend was filled with so many amazing things.  First off, I went to Rock the Park 9 at Harris Park.  I was most excited to see Slash, and believe me I wasn't disappointed.  His sound was distinct and beyond impressive; the crowd was pumped and it was an experience I won't soon forget.  I was also really impressed by Gavin Rossdale of Bush, who came up to the wheelchair seating and performed a song with us.  Very seldom do you get that treatment from a rock star, and for that, I thought he was a class act.  As much as I would have liked for Slash to do the same, I'm glad he didn't... because I would have the most likely died of shock.  The best part of the night, was having my friend Madison to hang out with, and enjoy the music.

The rest of the weekend was filled with helping my friend Jess with some retail therapy.  I got to indulge in my favourite lunch, which is New York Fries.  There is something so fun about retail therapy with a friend, because they can give you honest opinions about what looks good on you, and why you should or should not purchase.  On Sunday, we did it all again, except Jess introduced me to Shwarmmas.  Until now, I had never tried them... and now I know what my life was missing!  I can't even describe how good they are, and if you haven't tried them I suggest you do!  If there is one thing I learned about this weekend, nothing is better than random summer adventures, and nothing is better than having good friends to share them with.

Karli

The Girl with the Dragon Software

For school assignments and essays, I use a speech to text program called Dragon Naturally Speaking.  Normally, it works quite well, and when I know what I'm going to say I can fit 500 words in under an hour.  The only time it doesn't work, is when I am sick or under stress.  This is because it changes the consistency of your vocal cords.  Sometimes, I make three or more different voice files to deal with the consistency changes.  Another issue unique to summer, is the extra noise created by air conditioners and fans.  I find it unbelievably inconvenient, because on a sweltering hot day, if I wish to write I have to turn my air conditioner off.  I experienced a problem the other day, where matter what I did, the microphone would not pick up my sound.  It was quite annoying as I was trying to finish an assignment that was merely 500 words.  Instead of taking me under an hour, it took me three hours to finish, as I only manually type 6 words per minute.  I won't attribute all the problems I face with Dragon to the program alone; sometimes it is my fault because I run over the headphone cords when I go to take a break from work.  I've lost so many pairs of headphones that way that I probably can't even count on one hand.  Other times I struggle because I'm laughing hysterically at something the computer thought I said.  For example, I can say something like: "I need to go to the washroom", and it will register that I said something like: "I had tea with George Washington".  Despite its flaws, Dragon is my a lifesaver, and I would actually recommend it to anyone that was looking to save some time in the essay writing department.

Karli

50 Shades...

I just recently finished the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy after my friends swore up and down that I should read it.  They said it had crazy sexual content, and that was not a lie.  I won't spoil the book for those who have yet to read it, but I will provide a brief insight into the storyline.  The story is about a young woman who meets, and falls in love with a rich business type.  What she doesn't realize is that this man practices BDSM.  Essentially it includes "kinky" sexual acts, and one partner is dominant over the other.  To be honest, the whole prospect is not my cup of the tea, but I understand why people do it.  I suppose it serves as a stress reliever.  From my understanding of the practice, it is most often a businessman like a CEO that relinquishes his control to a woman or a partner.  I was really disappointed with the way the book presented the concept, because it was the female character that had to relinquish her power to the already powerful CEO.  I would have enjoyed the book much more if the roles had been reversed.  We have spent our entire existence in a world dominated by the male species, and just when you think we're making progress, a book like 50 Shades of Grey can potentially halt the progress by presenting the idea of being a submissive woman who allows rich men to wait on her hand and foot.  The older generation of readers may not be fooled, but there is a much younger and more naïve group of readers that may get the wrong ideas.  And trust me, if they think of Snooki as someone they can model after, there is a very good chance they might.  I did enjoy the book, in that it gave me a new perspective, and opened my eyes to an idea that I've never heard before.  However, it is nearly the year 2013, and it's time to give women, both real and in novel form more power.  My verdict for 50 Shades of Grey = 50 Shades of Primitive Thinking.




Karli

Fighting the Good Fight!

For as long as I can remember, I have been trying to help people understand the world of disabilities.  I have done everything from politely explaining disabilities to young children (with white face embarrassed parents not far behind them), to writing strongly worded letters aimed at the press.  It started in high school at Parkside Collegiate Institute.  It was close to prom, and prom was held in the Parkside court.  The court was a tiny area within the school that contained a fountain.  People in wheelchairs could not get down to the court because there were steps all around it.  I was puzzled as to what I would do when it came to prom, and a few of my friends said that they normally rented a ramp for prom time.  I wondered why there wasn't a ramp all the time, because there was the possibility that someone would need or want to get down to the court on an occasion other than prom.  At first I wondered "why do I have to do this?", and then I realized that if I didn't nobody else would.  So I went to talk to my principal, and he seemed understanding, but my instincts told me that I might need ammunition if I wanted this to be taken seriously.  I began to write a letter to a local St. Thomas news paper, hoping that if the school board couldn't help me then somebody else could.  Upon presenting the letter to my principal, I was unsure of what to expect, but I knew that I had set fire to the issue, and something so simple could not go unanswered.  Three days later I had the ramp I requested, and I was as happy as if I had just won the lottery.  It was a proud moment for me and I couldn't believe that I had achieved something that the Educational Assistants had been fighting for as long as four years for in three short days.  I vowed that I would continue to fight for simple things such as this to benefit those with disabilities, and to bring enlightenment to those who didn't understand our needs or lifestyle.

I continued to do so at Fanshawe College.  I had articles prepared to publish within the college newspaper, however I was unable to publish them in time as my school life was sometimes overwhelming.  But I knew I could fight in other ways.  I tackled each class with determination and vigor, coming to class with not only a will to learn, but a well to teach everyone from the already strong believers to the skeptics.  Thankfully, I had a team of counselors and my notetaker Stephen Pritchard to help me through my struggles.  By the end of my college career, I had the skeptics unafraid to clear the hallways of any foot traffic, and walk me to class, to ensure that I made it on time if the hallways were busy.  I had the strong believers saying that they never wanted to see my face at Fanshawe College again, and that's partially how I ended up where I am today at King's University College.

I have just finished my first year at Kings University College, and it is here where I find that the help and the resources provided have been most overwhelming.  There is a great number of people I can turn to.  I went to the student body president of King's, Dave Ennett, to discuss some disability issues around King's campus.  I was delighted to find that he was very open to getting to know my perspective of King's; and with the help of my friend Dominique McKee, my issues were noted.  Tomorrow, we'll take a walk (or drive) around the Kings campus with disability counselors, and provide input for their yearly accessibility assessment.  I am very much looking forward to this opportunity, and I'm grateful that such a system is in place.  It makes me feel as though there is hope, and one day inaccessibility will be unheard of, accessibility will become like second nature to the world around us.

Sometimes even though I'm working hard, I feel as though I am alone in the issues I face.  Even though the proper resources have been provided, and any precautions have been taken, you cannot always control or prevent the obvious setbacks of a disability.  These setbacks can include the inaccessibility or lack of equipment in a bathroom, to figuring out how you will be transported from point A to point B. There is one group of people that I never imagined would be so helpful when the unexpected twists of a disability arise.  The group of people I am referring to is the King's Soph Team.  We have only started to get to know each other recently.  When these unexpected issues arose, the team was ready and willing to lend a hand, even though they've only known me for a short period of time.  I commend the Head Soph for taking care of the issues of transportation. Finally I think my fellow Sophs, for rising to the occasion and rising out of their comfort zones and assisting me when I need them most. It’s nice to know that in my future battles I will be fighting alongside a great group of friends and colleagues.


Karli