[nabs-l] Equipment Coming In

Thu Sep 2 03:16:58 UTC 2010

Actually, I had to leave that early because of bus schedules and slow
walking. I would leave at 6am from my apartment to get to the bus stop
for the 6:30 bus. However, this bus gets to the transfer spot at 8:05.
The bus that goes to Wake Tech Community College leaves the transfer
point at 8:30am. It is a 20 minute ride, getting me there at 8:50am
for the 9am class.

Going home, my class let out at 3:15am, but the next bus doesn't come
to Wake Tech until 3:50am, so I have to sit and wait. Then it gets to
the transfer point at 4:30pm. The next bus leaving to go to my house
gets there at that time of day at 5:30 (because the bus from Wake Tech
is alway s a few minutes late to the transfer point, I never reach the
4:30 bus on time). I get on the 5:30 bus and get to my bus stop at
6pm, then it's half an hour walk home.

The only other way to get to Wake Tech is taxi or car. I don't know
any of the students who drive and I can't afford taxis (paratransit
does not go to Wake Tech because it's actually right outside city
limits). So, that's why the long days...ridiculous, I now, but it
wasn't that bad...I read my textbooks on the bus to review stuff
before class.

~Jewel

On 9/1/10, Kerri Kosten <kerrik2006 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Jewel:
>
> I'm not the greatest with rehab either, (they really intimidate me)
> but I just wanted to say I think Joe was kind of out of line in
> assuming things about your situation and making statements like that
> when he didn't have the full story.
>
> I think with the situation, you did the right thing...you wouldn't
> want to spend money going to school and not be able to perform at your
> full potential and I don't think you were stopping yourself or
> expecting too much out of Rehab at all.
>
> It is wrong that they had to be such a pain about your stuff and
> because of the situation you had to drop classes then three weeks in
> they get you your stream.
>
> All I can think to do is to stay on their butts about it, and maybe
> after everything is settled write the supervisor explaining the
> situation and how unhappy you were with it.
>
> Keep up the good work and never stop advocating!
>
> I just wanted to let you know though that I think with the situation
> you were in the right to drop school for the semester!
>
> Hope that helps!
>
> Kerri
>
> On 9/1/10, Jewel S. <herekittykat2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I don't think you realize the computer I'm using...this computer is
>> over ten years old, doesn't have Microsoft Office (so I use WordPad
>> only), and has NVDA only, whic can be a mjaor pain. I use this
>> computer for internet use only, and it's not even reliable for that,
>> since it can randomly freeze up and require a reboot. It has also
>> completely crashed several times in the last year, requiring repairs
>> that left me without a computer for a minimum of a week (and once, it
>> was out of commission for a month, since I couldn't afford the
>> repairs). Other than what little I can do on this computer, I have to
>> go to the public library (which takes minimum half an hour bus ride
>> and quite a bit of walking to get to) or to the community college's
>> computer lab (which takes me two hours to get to). With my school
>> schedule, I was getting home at 6:30pm after classes already, so
>> staying after school really wasn't an option, and I was leaving at 6am
>> just to get to school 10 minutes before class started, so early
>> arrival was out, too.
>>
>> Don't assume that I wanted to postpone classes for my own reasons. I
>> would do anything to be in classes right now, but now that I've
>> dropped, I can't get back in. I *want* to be in classes, and I thought
>> long and hard before dropping from classes, giving it a full week of
>> trial without equipment. Between my physical condition deteriorating
>> and my limited ability to participate in classes, it simply wasn't
>> possible for me to stay in classes and work at my full potential.
>> Sure, I could have stayed in and worked at less than potential, but I
>> need to keep up a great GPA in order to get into the college I want to
>> transfer to and get the grants and scholarships I need to attend that
>> school. Because I am a visual and tactile learner, the audio books and
>> recorded classes were difficult for me to work with. I needed hands-on
>> learning, which I will get with the refresthable Braille display and
>> the Victor Stream (which is audio, but allows me to spell words as
>> needed, so I can write things down knowing the right spelling, like
>> vocabulary and names).
>>
>> Please don't make assumtions like this when you can't possibly know
>> the full story. You are putting the blame on me for not being able to
>> accept my fate and work at less than full potential. I *will* work at
>> full potential, and I will not allow other people to stop me from
>> that. Me stopping me is a different story, but other people stopping
>> me from being all I can be is not acceptable.
>>
>> ~JEwel
>>
>> On 9/1/10, Joe Orozco <jsorozco at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Jewel,
>>>
>>> How does that Darryl Worley song go?  Sounds like life to me?  You know,
>>> I'm
>>> not downplaying the necessity of equipment to successfully complete class
>>> assignments, but between a recorder and a computer that appears to be
>>> working reasonably well to write posts, I think you could have made it
>>> work.
>>> >From this position it sounds as though you were looking for reasons to
>>> postpone class, and now you'll have several months to contemplate why you
>>> should not give up too soon.  Circumstances will not be quite so
>>> forgiving
>>> when your sustainability depends on a job salary.  You may liberally yell
>>> at
>>> me for assuming and for pretending to understand your situation, but it's
>>> frustrating to see up and coming students generate much larger lists of
>>> the
>>> challenges than the abilities.
>>>
>>> Respectfully,
>>>
>>> Joe
>>>
>>> P.S. You can hear the song here:
>>>
>>> http://s0.ilike.com/play#Darryl+Worley:Sounds+Like+Life+To+Me:105008242:s315
>>> 60646.12494198.9720862.0.2.233%2Cstd_a3cbac552e9145ca912afe1e8fdd407d
>>>
>>> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their
>>> sleeves,
>>> some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org
>>> [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jewel S.
>>> Sent: Wednesday, September 01, 2010 8:38 PM
>>> To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> Subject: [nabs-l] Equipment Coming In
>>>
>>> Hey all,
>>> I got my VictorStream Reader today, and have it authorized for RFBD
>>> already and have the process started for NLS books.
>>>
>>> DSB says that my equipment is coming in and as soon as all of it is in
>>> (except the VictorStream, which was shipped directly to my apartment),
>>> they'll deliver it and get me set up and start learning it. This from
>>> the people who said they likely wouldn't have it until the end of
>>> semester...I am so mad that I dropped my classes now, since it's only
>>> 3 weeks into classes now. I wish I had waited until the final drop
>>> date.
>>>
>>> So I'm saying Yay for my stuff, but Grrrrr that now I have to wait
>>> till next semester to get going with school.
>>>
>>> In the meantime, I'm going to be on DSB's butt about this. In NC, the
>>> funds are not released until August 1, which is two weeks before
>>> school starts...this gives no time for equipment to get shipped in in
>>> time for school to start. This means that any student who needs
>>> equipment to be able to work to their full ability in class can't
>>> start in the fall but must wait until Spring semester. That's
>>> ridiculous, in my mind. I wasn't able to keep up with classes on the
>>> first week even because I didn't have even basic tools, like a way of
>>> taking notes that didn't hurt me more than it helped or a good
>>> accessible way of reading textbooks in class. Now I have the
>>> VictorStream, so that'll be good for next semester, and they already
>>> have my laptop (though they won't release it until all of the stuff
>>> comes in).
>>>
>>> Does anyone else have trouble with late funding release in their
>>> state? My local president and state president are pushing me to
>>> self-advocate this, but I'm having trouble speaking up for myself (I'm
>>> a bit timid in person), and I'm really not sure what I should be
>>> demanding. Any suggestions on what I should be doing here? I think I
>>> need to advocate for the fund release date to be changed to allow more
>>> time, and I know I need to advocate for more students being allowed
>>> into the college prep class at the Voc Rehab (they have a 15 week
>>> maximum, and there was  a really long waiting list for college prep,
>>> so I was unable to get into the college prep class at all). I'm also
>>> hoping to see if they'll let me back in the voc rehab for intensive
>>> college prep training to make up for the training I didn't get when I
>>> was there full-time. They do allow intensive training (one week of
>>> working on one subject only), but it is usually computer training, and
>>> there is only one teacher there who can teach a scanner, one of the
>>> things I'll need to learn, and she's the one who teaches the college
>>> prep *and* consumer education classes, plus she has an intern she's
>>> supervising, *and* she teaches a cooking class)...they have this poor
>>> woman way overworked., and they aren't helping the students meet all
>>> their goals by having a limited college prep placements...
>>>
>>> It's all a bit mess, and any suggestions, ideas, or advice would be
>>> gratly appreciated. And horray for my equipment coming in finally!
>>>
>>> ~Jewel
>>>
>>> --
>>> ~Jewel
>>> Check out my blog about accessibility for the blind!
>>> Treasure Chest for the Blind: http://blindtreasurechest.blogspot.com
>>>
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>>
>>
>> --
>> ~Jewel
>> Check out my blog about accessibility for the blind!
>> Treasure Chest for the Blind: http://blindtreasurechest.blogspot.com
>>
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>
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-- 
~Jewel
Check out my blog about accessibility for the blind!
Treasure Chest for the Blind: http://blindtreasurechest.blogspot.com