Tag: accessibility

Not your average room

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Today’s daily post subject is welcome relief from the morbid fascination of late. These deep thinking posts are good to do once in a while just not all the time. Write your eulogy, epitaph, 5 things you would save if your house was burning, go back the next day and look for what you left… ugh!
It’s a welcome relief to think on something I ponder on in a while, if money was no object. Would have to have a calming colour on the walls, even a light yellow, if there would be any wall space left once the floor to ceiling bookshelves were finished. I’d definitely go for the best quality wood I could afford due to the cost, and for durability.

I’m trying to think how to make them accessible. I remember seeing something on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition once. This was a shelving unit too, but this one rotated at the touch of a button so that the button was held down until the required item was in reach, that would be amazing. I’m all for a quality product made in an accessible way, that appeals to everyone. This is also known as something called “Universal Design”. All it is, is a design everyone would want to use. My college tutor was fond of using the example of a part of the University where there were some steps side-by-side with a ramp. According to him, almost everyone used the ramp, rending the steps pointless and meaning the ramp could have been twice as wide, allowing more people to pass more comfortably.

The practical design would continue, with an adjustable height desk, and quality drawer space. I’d love the new windows 8 tablet that converts to a laptop, almost £1000k, without the accompanying keyboard! I’d have a proper keyboard, and as much software as I needed. As this is my dream set-up, the software would be compatible with windows 8 from the beginning of the process, instead of being a few months/ a year behind (at least) as is common. I’d save some money by not needing an office chair, obviously.

I’d use this money for either an electronically adjustable recliner armchair or a chaise-long, to be able to read comfortably, with soft overhead lighting. I’d absolutely have to have the best coffee maker and china mugs, and a popcorn machine. I would have plain popcorn, the kind a student I once knew used to live on when they were studying. It was delicious and much healthier than the salt, sugar or something in-between flavours.

What have I missed? Oh yes, the view. Given I haven’t seen the sea for such a long time, I’d love a sea view. I wouldn’t much mind which sea it was, though I’ve only ever lived near the north sea.

I wonder if I’ve missed anything?

What would any of you have in your ideal reading and writing room, if money were no object? I’d love to know 🙂

Techno vs technot

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Never thought I would ever get a smartphone. I never thought I would need one or want one. I also wondered if I would manage to use it. Just a little over a day have managed to use your voice function to compose texts, memos, e-mail and the like. The quality of the word predictions has also helped a great deal and been a pleasant surprise. I had no idea that this kind of technology was so easily available on such a mainstream phone.

Accessibility aside, I have managed to easily download applications including twitter facebook and skype. I’m even managed to use skype to talk to my parents. So lovely to see them even if only on screen. This too has been a surprise I thought I wouldn’t like it.

I love this technology already. However while love letter writing making cards just as much. I love receiving them even more. I love that I can have both.  I am mostly house bound  as many of you know. Little things wake me make such a difference to my week.

And tomorrow a friend is visiting who I haven’t seen for a few months. I am so excited to see her and hear about her forthcoming wedding. I have been just as excited to email friends in America to set up skype dates. I am loving the way my world has suddenly opened up. Long may it continue!

What do you think,? Please write letters it’s a dying art form. After all, aren’t an e-mail and a letter different forms of the same thing?  I would love to know what you think.  I’m  ow off to bed,  but will keep for my smartphone and a notebook beside me because the best ideas are meant to come to you during the night. Not prepared to let any of them escape however I note them down!

I may be sat… but I’m all that

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Thanks to lovely Julie for coming up with the name of my blog… “I may be sat… but I’m all that! It looks a bit clumsy in the blog address so I haven’t added it for now… till I talk to one of my blogging friends! I love that every single person who’s heard it has giggled.  I picked a tricky week to start my blog as it may well take hours to finish it!

This was the week that…

Somehow, you just have to pick somewhere and start… and somehow this week started badly. I’ve had glasses since I was 11 so had thought getting an eye test would be simple, and always forget I have one of those faces. I need thick lenses but small frames. I finally found frames that I liked that suited me… but that was the end of the story. I have written them an email to ‘explain my experience’ rather than complain, as a family member put it, but haven’t sent it yet. The staff were uber polite as always, almost to a fault. I should have known we were off to a bad start when one of the staff asked my PA if I could get out of my chair. If it wasn’t for my PA potentially doing herself an injury moving my little chair in tight spaces between the testing equipment we would have been stuck. I’d love to see what would have happened if I’d turned up in my electric wheelchair!

The next thing they asked my PA was “can she walk”!!  I’m one for keeping my head down sometimes and doing whatever I need to just to keep the peace. My PA wasn’t having any of that so we waited for the one room that was wheelchair accessible. I wasn’t asked or told any of this when I made the original appointment. The actual eye test with the optician went fine. Trying on glasses was another story though, as the girl who was helping me trying on glasses complained about having to hold a hand-held mirror so I could see the glasses, being too short-sighted to see them in the fixed mirror. Another two staff came over to help, so in the end I found some glasses that fit… that was the enough for my PA who went off for a cigarette while I filled in the paper work. The best customer service was when she wasn’t there! That says it all. The staff obviously found it hard to cope with me, my chair, or my PA. The irony is I couldn’t have got to the appointment and got through the tests without my PA so they only got the sale with her help! They need Disability Awareness Training and they need it now! This one incident shows why my blog has the perfect title!

I’m supposed to pace all my activities so I can still have a life, but have adequate rest at the same time… I’ve never managed it yet. On Tuesday, there was the second of their workshops supposed to help me and others like to me to manage the crippling tiredness better, but it felt like a lecture. My PA, this time was largely  ignored, and only used for one part of the group at the end… another frustrating day. The people who organised the training didn’t even bother to learn Julie’s name when they’d encouraged me to bring her along in the first place. Yet again I didn’t handle this well as I didn’t say anything. Another email to write once the workshops are over to ‘explain my experience’! We went straight from one appointment to the next, but fortunately this one went more smoothly.

By the middle of the week I was exhausted and in need of encouragement. I tweeted that I needed some cheerleaders and my friends didn’t disappoint. I forgot that my Twitter feed and my Facebook page are linked so this appeared on my Facebook page too. By the time I realised, one friend had already written some tips to help me get more motivated and help me get started on things and Bryony had already posted a cheer! too late to delete the post now! Actually this was my favourite part of the week. I love my friends to bits and they were there when I needed them. I’ve blogged elsewhere about the usefulness of social media when you are semi-housebound but this still took me by surprise.

The rest of the week was somewhat uneventful. My weekly horse-riding lesson in the sunshine was a welcome break from my wheelchair, and worth the pain! Followed by an appointment with volunteers from re:map to help design some me-friendly equipment. This is a work in progress but should be worth it eventually. After the week I’ve had I’ve had a welcome couple of days rest. Having not  paced the rest of my week I’ve collapsed in a heap. I still have much learn about how to manage things.

I still made it to church today despite how I felt. Peter preached on 1 Philippians from verse 19 to the end of the chapter, the verse that talks about “To live is Christ, but to die is gain”. As ever there was a huge challenge from the passage and from Peter’s preaching. I will post the link to his sermon once it’s up on the website.  Was lovely to have lunch with people and get know some newer friends better. I spent the afternoon asleep recovering, known as ‘payback’ fatigue, but it’s always worth it.

This week is set to be quieter. Just as well… have to come up with my next #digidisciple post, amongst other things! Wish me luck… or do the praying thing, if that’s your thing! 🙂