Helpful Resources, Technology Stories And Other Updates

In the last blog entry that I'd written Tuesday I didn't mention the fact that the VRC I spoke with that same day gave me a website of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) that people who are blind can use to talk to other blind or visually impaired mentors who are in whatever the person's field of choice happens to be. That particular website is called Career Connect. I posted a topic on Career Connect's technology message board that same day to ask if there are any mentors who currently work for Apple or mentors who have completed the AppleCare Technician Training as I'm trying to do now. Unfortunately though it doesn't seem like that particular website is updated often because even when I checked the technology message board that night, the topic I'd created still was not available for people to view. In the last blog entry that I'd written Tuesday I also didn't mention the fact that the VRC I'd spoken with that same day suggested that I attend WSB's Assistive Technology Instructor (ATI) program. I told him that there was no way in hell I'd attend that particular school again. Not just that but he said that he thought I wanted to be a teacher. I don't have a clue where he got that idea from because wanting to work for Apple in the field of technology is not the same thing as someone wanting to be a teacher. LOL. Yesterday morning I sent Samsung a DM on Twitter to ask if that particular company had any updates for me since the last time I'd been messaged by someone from that particular company. A little while later someone from Samsung replied to my DM saying that there was no new news regarding me receiving the refund yet. Shortly after I'd read that DM from Samsung I finished reading Getting Past Your Past. I didn't find that book particularly moving but it was an enjoyable read nonetheless. After I'd finished reading Getting Past Your Past I started reading a new book called The Happiness Trap. The Happiness Trap talks about how as a society, humanity is conditioned to be happy all the time. Humanity is told that if he or she finds happiness, he or she should hold onto it...yet reality for every single human being on the planet is that all emotions ebb and flow...even happiness. It's kind of weird for me to write that because there was a time in even my recent past where I flat out was not comfortable with admitting that I experience so-called negative emotions. The more that I read of The Happiness Trap and other books though the more willing I am to honestly admit that happiness is not possible 24/7, for anyone. People tell me that I'm one of the most positive people that they've ever met...and most times I'd even tried to convince myself that I could control how often I was or was not happy. Yet I was not always happy nor was I okay with my unhappiness or other emotions. The thing is though I now realize that the reason I was uncomfortable with other emotions besides happiness was simply because I'd never thought to question how society operates in that regard. I never thought anything of the fact that there were things that people were not honest about because they felt almost obligated to be happy. Anyway I'm a couple chapters into The Happiness Trap and I think that that particular book will give me lots more things to think about. A while after I'd started to read The Happiness Trap I called Vocational Rehabilitation in San Antonio to let them know that I'd moved elsewhere. The lady I spoke with transferred me to my VRC's assistant. However I got my VRC's assistant's voicemail. So I left her a message regarding my recent move. Shortly after I'd left her a message I called the paratransit company in the new state I'm in to let that particular company know that I want to be a client of theirs. The guy I spoke with said that he'd send me an application in the mail. Hopefully he's true to his word. This morning when I got up I checked my email and saw that I'd received a reply from the first VRC that I'd met who's from the new state I'm in. In his response he said that he'd see if the person he knows who works at Apple would be willing to network with me. In the same email the first VRC that I got in contact with from the new state sent me he also informed me that Career Connect has an app people can use on his or her iPhone. After reading that email from him I then read an email that I'd received from the State Library for the Blind in this state. In the email the State Library for the Blind sent me the person said that my library services were ready for me to use. In the same email the person had sent me he or she also gave me the Library for the Blind's phone number so I could call that particular agency to order books. A little while after I'd caught up on those emails I searched the app store on my iPhone for AFB's Career Connect app. I found the app right away but for some reason VoiceOver was saying that the app wasn't able to download. I'd never had that happen to me before so I exited out of the app store. Then I checked my iPhone to see whether that particular app had actually downloaded or not. Fortunately the app had downloaded successfully. However when I tried to log into the app I was unable to log in. So I then got out my MacBook Pro to see whether Career Connect's website would let me log in using that method. Fortunately I was able to log into Career Connect's website using my MacBook Pro. So I changed my login password to something I'd remember then I tried to log into the Career Connect iPhone app again. Unfortunately though I was still unsuccessful. So I'm going to contact Career Connect about the issue I've ran into because using the Career Connect app would be much more convenient than having to use Career Connect's actual website on my MacBook Pro. After I'd played around with AFB's Career Connect app I showed a friend how to create a grocery list using the reminders app on his iPhone. Because at first he'd created a grocery list using the notes app on his iPhone and I knew that using the reminders app would actually be more helpful to him. So I explained to him that there's an option within the reminders app that says something like "other lists." Then from there a person has the option of creating an actual reminder or creating a list. So I told my friend to double-tap the option that says "other lists" or something similar. I then told him that from there he could tell Siri to "add bread to the grocery list" and watch her work her magic. That's just what he did: his grocery list was not only created successfully but he was able to see that there was a checkbox after each item in the list that would allow him to check off the items that he's already purchased. He seemed to really like that the reminders app allowed people to create lists like that. Shortly after I'd shown him that reminders list trick I called San Antonio Blind Services again. The lady who answered the phone was actually the lady who I'd wanted to speak with. So during hers and my conversation I told her that I'd recently moved to another state. She then said something like "Well your VRC might want to talk to you about that. Is the number we have on file for you still correct?" I told her that it was. Although I honestly can't think of what my current VRC would want to talk to me about because I'm already moved to a different state. Although I can't say I'm surprised that San Antonio VR might want to talk to me. That particular agency has not been the most supportive of my goals or the equipment I'd need to help me be successful (like a robot vacuum cleaner for example). The reason I want a robot vacuum cleaner is because it's damn near impossible for me to use a regular vacuum cleaner due to my CP. Having a robot vacuum cleaner would allow me to be independent rather than having to rely on someone else to vacuum for me. In other news for the past few days I've felt like I might be getting sick. I'm hopeful that isn't the case because I have things that I'd like to do this coming weekend.