Pop A Wheelie

The bench I miss is very far away from me these days. So this blog is going on hiatus, because it is my Disney blog, and I am no longer there, or in the process of heading back there.

However, my next adventure presented itself to me. I don’t get to go anywhere, but, as described in Home Pt. 2, I do use a wheelchair for everyday life. So, check me out at www.popawheelie.wordpress.com !!

Home Part Two (a month later)

I’ve been home for two long. And I mean REALLY too long, seeing as how I’ve hardly been anywhere since I got home. I had just under a week of frolic and fun and then BAM!, life threw its next challenge at me – the inability to walk.

I guess, since birth, I’ve had a muscle condition in my knees which makes my kneecaps dislocate all the time and everytime this happens I end up not being able to walk for awhile. Well, two weeks on crutches, two ERs, and a couple clinics later, I finally wormed my way into the specialist, who took one look at my knees and determined I had “patella-femoral syndrome” along with “hyper joint flexibility” which complicates the condition. I got sent home to think about a surgical procedure called “trillat” and had six weeks to decide if I want the surgery done.

I had essentially decided before I got home, but did some research and conferred with family and friends. I let the weekend go by, and then called a few times to try and move up my Oct. 16th appointment. No answer, so I hunkered down (!) to wait.

School started and I decided campus was too big for crutches. I borrowed a wheelchair from my cousin (because the wheel’s got stolen off ours) and set out for my first day of second year.

Unfortunately, campus is only accessible as the law requires it and I spent most of my day frustrated and angry. I came home and wrote a letter and sent it to the UWSA (student union) and waited. The next day the reply I recieved was “not our problem”, so I sent my letter to the president of the university.

A few days later, Human Resources contacted me and arranged a meeting. Thank goodness. My fight had begun.

My first Sunday School as a teacher came, and I wheeled around in my crap wheelchair and had a great class, but then my other knee popped out, so I couldn’t even use crutches anymore.

I called CCAC and they came last night and assessed our house. I’m getting a bunch of stuff to make it so that I can do things independantly instead of having people carry me to the bathroom (which is annoying and embarassing) and the only thing I’ll need help with is stairs.

My family’s been amazing about having this disability thrust upon us, and I am going to fight to no end to make sure things change at the university. Of course, the faculty strike going on right now gives me lots of time to plan!

(!) Hunker Down! It’s been quite the hurricane season and everytime another one pops up I message my friends from Lousiana and Puerto Rico and make sure they’re okay. I miss Disney IMMENSELY and wish I was going back for ICP 09, but I can’t. Soon enough, I’ll be back.

Home, but not really. (part 1)

It was like dragging me onto Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster all over again. I enjoyed the few, albeit, hectic, days with my family at Caribbean Beach. I had an AMAZING IHOP NIGHT with all the people I loved from work. I packed up and shipped home and repacked. Each of my suitcases weighed between 45 and 49.5 pounds (the limit was 50). I was seriously amazed at my mother’s packing ability. I only had to leave a few things behind, like a crap whiteboard and my dumbbells.

I had THE WORST airport security experience ever. I got put through super inspection and patted down and all my stuff was scent padded and the security people kept trying to lump me in with these other families. How many times can I say “No, I’m not with them,” or “Nope, the people I’m with are probably home by now.” It took forever.

My ENTIRE family passed out on the plane before take off even. We were just exhausted. Whoever said Disney was a vacation? I only woke up once, when the drink cart hit me in the head. Mom had decided that in order to “not invade the guy next to her’s bubble” she was going to sit half on my lap. Not the most comfortable ride ever, but who cares?

When we got off the plane – well – suffice it to say that the Florida weather did NOT follow me home. I haven’t been properly warm since I boarded and it SUCKS and really only makes me miss Florida more.

I miss my job and the sun and the fresh air and ALL MY AMAZING SHOWKEEPERS and my Chrises. I realllly hope I see them all soon!

So I guess you could say I’ve arrived safely at home – though this doesn’t feel like home. It feels more like a temporary resting place. Until when? Why, until my next adventure of course!

vaccum (sp) bags

Coming here, I put all my clothes in a few giant vaccum bags and just shoved them in the rooftop carrier and under the seats in the van. I’m not looking forward to packing these vaccum bags again. They are a pain in the rear end!

I just packed up my mattress, hot drink maker, lamp, and a few clothes for “cushion”. All of that fit in my rubbermaid tote (along with my light up mirror and calendar) and is sitting in the middle of my room. My TV, DVD player and Hoover are on top of this tote. It’s a pretty pile. A friend that I made here lives in Detroit, about 35 minutes away, and he said he’d bring home the stuff I can’t fly home. Thank goodness, because I love my red TV and DVD player. I just hope he doesn’t freak out when he sees the pile. I was most worried about the mattress though, so this is good.

Today I work 12-830. It’s 9:14 and I still need to shower and eat, but I guess I have until 11:15, so that’s not too bad. After work I’m going to come home and pack a bit more and then go to the movies! MAMMA MIA time! haha. I’m really excited. Wednesday is my first really busy day: CRB @ 1030am, work @ 2pm until 1030 at which point I’m attempting to catch the end of Fantasmic. Then Thursday is 9:15 bus to Partners, bus to EPCOT for graduation, get to Studios to hang out with family, then BBQ @ Mickey’s Retreat for the ICPs that are leaving (that’s me!!), then Hoop De Doo Review with the family. I’m not sure how I’m going to work the getting to Hoop De Doo. I have to figure out whether it would be faster to bus to a park and then to the campground, or if it would be faster to take the American Coach buses. I’m guessing the first because AC buses are crap!

Friday is EPCOT day with the family and I’m excited for that. I might also come back to Studios that day and see Fantasmic again since I don’t give a hoot about Illuminations. Saturday is MK day, which is an awesome way to end off my summer here. The ME bus is at like 5am on Sunday, for our 8am flight. It’s insane! I’m not sure if they’re going to be able to get me out of bed =]

Here’s to hoping the pixie dust will follow me home!!

one week too long

As my mother put it, I had 9 weeks of unstoppable energy for a 10 week program.

I’ve developed sinusitis and a pretty bad cough. After ignoring it for a week, I finally went in (after some drama about missing work) and got an antibiotic and a cough syrup (that’s illegal in Canada). I took another sick day today in order to sleep and get better. It’s working out well, I’m feeling slightly less like my head is going to blow up than before, so hopefully by the time I VoluntEAR tomorrow, I’ll be A OK.

I voluntEARed for the NAACP ACT-SO national competition at Coronado Springs two days ago. I had so much fun doing it. Really all I was doing was working the door of the Visual Art/Sciences room and telling chaperones, chairpeople, etc. that this was a closed room. Some were not too happy, and others just wandered away to one of the open competitions. I was supposed to go again this morning, but I couldn’t due to my illness here. Tomorrow I’m there alllll day to finish off the competitions and then help organize the results. I didn’t realize how much I miss my volunteer work at home until I voluntEARed here. Even though I don’t really consider Sparks volunteer work. 

I think I’ll try and go back to the theatre as well. I really miss it there. Just because I’m not busy enough, you know?

It’s so hard to believe I’ll be home in 9 days. I’m looking forward to leaving Vista, but not Disney. I’m really going to miss this place!

keeping up with the jones’

I’ve had some major stresses out this week, but I’m not going to do them the pleasure of blogging about it because that just makes me think about it more and really, I’m done thinking about it. I only have two weeks left and they are going to be happy weeks, dammit.

Today I was sick but I slept all day and got to talk to my boy a lot, so that was good. Then I went to TACO BELL with the Chrises, who I haven’t hung out with in ages. I’m still with them actually. We came back and watched SUPERBAD after getting SOAKED by a massive storm that came through, and now we’re watching the Yankee/Sox game and the Yankees are losing.

I started packing the other day. I have no idea how I’m going to get my TV home, but I’m working on it. I’m excited that I’m home in time to do VBS, but not too happy about how early the plane home is. Haha.

I miss everyone at home. Loads and loads. But I’m doing okay here. I need to eat more, definetly. I’ve lost too much weight! I miss all the people that just left too, but I know I’ll see all my friends I work with again after I leave. I’m planning a trip to Louisiana for Mardi Gras!

i want to go home

and the rain rain rain came down down down

It rains! Tropical Storm whatshisname causes it to rain sideways.

Chris was here on vacation so I had a nice few days off with him. I go home in 16 days and IT SUCKS because I do not want to leave AT ALL. My vacay from the apartment I guess resulted in a lot of changes and it’s crazy how much I feel like an outsider.

I think I’m sick though. I’m cold all the time and I’m exhausted and my throat hurts. I got the worst sunburn ever while on vacation with Chris, but he played PARCHEESI with me and we saw Space Mountain with the lights on. It was good times all around.

Nothing much to talk about today though. Love you all!

101

So yesterday I worked on Sunset Blvd, which is a different area for me. I was restrooms and I only had one. It wasn’t too bad until about 630. I had spent some time in Icon by the hat to help out with HSM and do all the stuff I normally do because Icon is my home, and I just gravitate there. Anyways, at 630, I come back to check my restroom and it’s all okay except the Handicap stall is clogged, so I plunge, it overflows, I plunge again, it overflows some more, and then I close the stall and go call 8855 (Maintenance Base) for them to come and fix it. Then I tell the manager and then I tell the coordinator and Wanda (coordinator) comes and closes the restroom (so now it’s 101). I stand outside the restroom with Wanda, Angel, Pamela and Juan until 9pm when the stupid slow maintenance people FINALLY decide to come and fix it. I made a lot of people very unhappy, including whoever was working the other two restrooms on Sunset. My voice is hoarse from saying “this restroom is closed, the nearest one is to the right, right before the Tower of Terror.” But it was cool because we had Wanda, who speaks Spanish, Pamela, who speaks French, and then me, who is English central. It was an efficient system.

Today I was back in Icon, although I was wayyyy down by Muppets and Star Tours which I hate, so I spent most of my time in Zone One by the hat, like usual. I did some HSM shows, did a Magical Moment, did the parade, had my lunch, etc. and then headed back for my trash run. My trash run took me TWO HOURS to do, which is ridiculous. I had a protein spill right when I started it, then some little girls who wanted to sweep and trade pins, then a bag I couldn’t lift, then a little girl who had lost one of her pins. And that was all up in the Star Tours area. Muppets went pretty fast, but I got caught in the preshow and I couldn’t get out. Atleast it’s not as bad as Sonia – she had a protein spill in a car at the Great Movie Ride, so she waited 20 minutes for it to come back around, then spent 30 minutes on the ride when it went 101 (!!) so they had to evac everyone. Her trash run didn’t go so well after that either.

Also today I extended for two hours to do the closing trash run for Zone One because the woman working just had a baby and can’t pull trash. It was a long day.

Chris comes on Thursday! And a lot of amazing people leave on Friday and it’s sad. My program’s almost over, which sucks!! I work at 10am, so it’s bedtime for me soon!

 

( happy Jess? )

Busy Life

Being on my own, like not relying on my family, is nice. If only I was the only one to blame for there not being any food, it would be excellent.

I’ve been having some issues with stolen food and whatnot. The sink is always full of dishes and I feel like I’m the only one who is capable of loading, running, and emptying the dishwasher. I’ve really learned a lot about living with people this summer.

I’ve been uber busy. A lot of my coworkers leave soon, and that makes me sad, but I am about to have like six days off for Chris’s vacation so that’s pretty excellent – although it makes me broke. Haha. If only I was guarenteed 40 hours a week at 9 dollars an hour instead of 7 dollars an hour!

It’s getting so close to going home time and I don’t want to think about it. I’m going to miss Florida so much. I hate Windsor. Everyone and everything from Windsor that I like should move to Florida. Good plan.

It’s been raining like crazy. Silly Hurricane Bertha has vered (sp?) away from Bermuda and PEI and is heading back out into the ocean, but it’s been raining all day here, which never happens. Gah. Rain makes my hair frizzy.

I’m tired, but I don’t sleep for very long. I started my day with some pancakes this morning, so that was good. I’m good at cutting the recipe for 14 pancakes down into a recipe for 3.5!!