Making Progress, Feeling Grateful For Technology And Other Updates

I don't know if anyone wonders how I write blog entries so frequently but all I can say is that it's a good thing that Dreamwidth allows people to save posts that he or she's in the process of writing. Because sometimes I'm able to write blog entries in one sitting then post them to Dreamwidth. However other times though I feel what I have to say is too short so I wait until I have more content to write about, before I post the blog entry in question. The reason I care so much about the length of my blog entries is because I've seen people's online journals where they'd write a sentence or five and that classifies as a blog entry in their eyes. While that kind of thing may work for other people I'm not one of those people. LOL. In the last blog entry that I wrote on Friday I forgot to mention that I finished reading The Dance Of Anger. It was an interesting read and its author shares my belief that women should question why society socializes that particular gender to act a certain way. Then once women question that particular core belief that society has, if women who question that belief then find that belief wrong as I do then those women should push back and give society a chance to hear a different perspective. In the blog entry that i wrote on Friday I also forgot to mention that a friend of mine suggested I say something to Apple about the experience I've had with regards to completing the AppleCare Technician Training. So that's exactly what I did: yesterday afternoon I first searched on Twitter for the different Twitter usernames for the various departments at Apple. That way I could do my best to make sure my complaint reached the right people. Once I'd located Apple Support on Twitter I tweeted that particular department at Apple, presenting my situation exactly as it is. Shortly after I'd tweeted Apple Support I received a tweet from Apple Support asking me to send that particular company more information in a Direct Message (DM). So I gave Apple the information they needed in a DM, including how the AppleCare Technician Training was purchased online through Apple's website. A while later Apple Support sent me a DM asking me to send their company some more information so that they could open a case for me regarding the issue I'm having completing the AppleCare Technician Training. So once I'd read that DM from Apple I provided Apple with the rest of the information that that particular company had requested of me. Then a little while later Apple sent me a DM saying that they'd put me in touch with an advisor who works in their Accessibility Department. In that same DM Apple informed me that their advisors work primarily by phone and asked when one of their advisors could call me. So I responded to that DM from Apple saying that I could talk to an advisor from the Accessibility Department anytime. In addition to going back and forth with Apple Support yesterday afternoon I started reading a book called Self-Compassion. When I first started reading that particular book though I felt annoyed. The reason I felt annoyed when I started reading Self-Compassion is because in the opening chapter of the book the author said something like "Every human being deserves our compassion." As I've said throughout some of my blog entries before, I don't believe that people who have done unforgivable things or people who are doing unforgivable things, deserve anyone's compassion or kindness. However I kept reading Self-Compassion because I wanted to know what else its author had to say. Interestingly Self-Compassion has shaped up to be an enjoyable read for me because its main focus is on how we as human beings can learn to be compassionate to ourselves even when we haven't been brought up by compassionate people. According to this book one of the simple things that human beings can do is give him or herself a hug when he or she's in a high stress situation or when he or she otherwise feels like the critical part of his or herself should make itself known. The book Self-Compassion really demonstrates for us how it's important and helpful for us to be kind and compassionate towards ourselves, especially given that we act that way towards other people easily. It's definitely given me food for thought and given me some tools that I can use to teach myself how to be kind towards myself. This afternoon when I went into my bathroom to take a shower I remembered that I needed to find another shampoo bottle because I'd run out of the shampoo I'd used last time I showered. I realized then that I'd forgotten to have my assistant find me a shampoo bottle when she was at my apartment on Friday. However I quickly thought of a few different iPhone apps I could choose to use that would get me the help I needed. So I opened up SeeingAI and all that particular app was doing was beeping at me. Before I go any further though I want to say that it's pretty hard for me to hold my phone in one hand and hold something else in my other hand at the same time. So it's been neat to experience different iPhone apps that challenge me in that way. Because the thing is, when I need help I need help. So I'm glad that there's technology out there nowadays that makes it possible for blind people to maintain his or her independence by not having to rely on another person to physically be with the blind person when he or she needs help. Anyway the reason I have difficulty holding my iPhone in one hand and a bottle in the other hand is because my CP causes me to have a tough time with fine motor skills like holding things and moving my hands in a way that is comfortable but that allows me to get done whatever I need done. Back to SeeingAI though: no matter how far I moved the bottle away from my iPhone I was still unable to get the app to talk to me. And honestly I haven't played with SeeingAI often enough to know exactly how it's designed to respond when a person holds an object in front of the phone's front-facing camera. So I then opened the ever-so-faithful Be My Eyes because I knew that I'd get someone to help me find a shampoo bottle out of the many bottles I had. Fortunately I was connected to someone right away and the lady told me that the bottle I was holding was indeed a shampoo bottle. Once I'd disconnected my call with the Be My Eyes volunteer I received a call from a lady who's supposed to pick up my emergency alert system. Since I was getting ready to take a shower though I let the lady go to voicemail. When I'd gotten out of the shower I called the lady back. When she answered her phone she asked if she could come by my apartment later this afternoon. I told her that I already had plans then so tomorrow would work better. Because she and I actually talked for the first time sometime after I'd written my last blog entry on Friday. When she and I'd talked on Friday she'd asked if she could come to my apartment Saturday evening. I said that would be great and she never showed up, nor did she call me to let me know that things had changed. So needless to say that's why when she called this afternoon I let her call go to voicemail. When she and I'd finally talked after I'd showered and I told her that tomorrow would work best for me to have her come to my apartment to pick up my emergency alert system she said she'd let me know tomorrow when she'd be at my apartment. So hopefully she's true to her word this time. Shortly after I'd gotten off the phone with her I checked my email. It turned out that I'd received an email from Apple Support saying they'd call me within the hour. Since some friends of mine would be coming to my apartment soon though I knew that this particular time wouldn't work for me to talk with Apple Support. So when Apple Support called me I pressed the button that would indicate that I wanted to reschedule my appointment with Apple Support. Then a few minutes later I received an email from Apple Support saying I could reschedule my call with someone who works at Apple. However when I clicked on the "reschedule" link the only option I was given was to talk with someone at Apple right then. I first went through this process on my MacBook Pro then with my iPhone. Both pieces of technology gave me the same exact option. So I'll just call Apple Support when I know I have a lot of time to talk. To go back to the fact that some of my friends are coming to my apartment soon: the reason some friends of mine are coming to my apartment soon is because they're going to help me clean this place up. Like, really clean it up. Then several of my friends and I are going to go have sushi to celebrate the wonderful things that are happening in my life. I can't wait!