Part Two Of A Long Day

I've been forgetting to mention in my blog that a day or so ago I started reading a book called How To Be A Person In The World: Ask Polly's Guide Through The Paradoxes Of Modern Life. I actually stumbled on that particular book a few years ago but I stumbled on it at a time in my life that was awful. So I honestly didn't end up finishing that particular book in its entirety. Although the book made an impact on me which is why I'm working on finishing the book now. I'd originally found this particular book on Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) which is a website that's run by the Library of Congress which controls the State libraries for the Blind. When I'd tried to read this particular book the first time though the copy of it that was on the BARD website cut off in the middle of the audio version of the book which was disappointing. So although this particular book is not a book that I'd classify as helpful towards my personal growth I still want to read said book for fun and enjoyment. As I'd mentioned in the last blog entry that I'd posted Wednesday I didn't want to write too long of a blog post then. Because at that time I felt like there had been so much that had happened throughout the past day or so and I didn't want my blog readers to get confused about my goings on. So as I'd said in my last blog entry on Wednesday evening a friend helped me look for a good housing situation. One option that my friend found online looked promising because the add that the person had posted said that the people who lived in the house were women. So I texted back and forth with the person for a few minutes then he or she asked me to call him or her. So I called the person and was shocked when a man answered my phone call. I actually had a "what the fuck" reaction to the fact a man answered my phone call but I thought I'd at least see what he had to say for himself. It turned out that he was the owner of the house that had been posted online but that two or so women rented rooms from him. He then told me that he lived in the house several days a week too which was quite unsettling to me. During his and my conversation with one another he seemed to find it disturbing that I didn't drive. He told me that he wasn't sure how close a bus stop was from his house and was then very pushy in asking why I didn't drive. However given that I felt somewhat uneasy with him I didn't want to tell him that I was blind and had an additional disability. Although I continued to pursue things with him because at that point I'd wanted to talk to the women who rented rooms from him to see what they'd have to say about him and his character. I'd also made up my mind though that I'd sleep on this particular option. If I woke up the next morning still feeling iffy about this particular option I'd call it quits then. Shortly after I'd received that man's text message informing me that he'd see if the girls who rented rooms from him would call and talk to me my friend received a text message from his friend that contained the information that the two of them had both seen on the college's bulletin board that Wednesday. I immediately called one of the numbers that my friend's friend had texted him because I felt more comfortable talking to someone who'd specified that he or she had housing available that would be close to the college I'd be attending. The lady I talked to on the phone Wednesday evening sounded like she was decent. She asked me whether I smoked, drank or did drugs and of course I told her that I did none of the above. She then told me that she tries to rent rooms to people who share her values and I really liked that. Plus she lives a block away from the college I'm going to be attending which seems like it would be a great situation for me. So during hers and my conversation with one another I asked her when a good time would be for me to come and see her house. She said that this Friday around 3:00 in the afternoon would be great and I told her that time would work for me too. Once I'd gotten off the phone with her I then explained to the friend who'd been playful towards me earlier that day that the way I'd reacted to his playfulness wasn't personal towards him. I told him that where that kind of touching becomes problematic for me is if I don't know that a person wants to be playful with me and he or she just starts being playful without making me aware that that's what's going to happen at any given moment. I don't react to that sort of thing well because it's an unexpected surprise. My friend said that he'd try to remember what I'd explained to him on Wednesday. Yesterday morning when I woke up I'd received a text message from the guy I'd texted with for for a bit on Wednesday. In the text message he'd sent me yesterday morning though he asked me to call him. At that moment though I decided that instead of calling him I was just going to text him to let him know that i was no longer interested in the situation with him and the women who currently rent rooms from him. The whole situation just was not sitting well with me so I listened to the gut feeling I had. A little while after I'd texted him to let him know that I was no longer interested in renting a room in his house I texted the lady whose house I'd planned to check out this Friday. In the text message I'd sent her I asked her if she and I were still on for me to see the house this Friday. In the same text message I'd sent her I asked her a few more questions that I'd forgotten to ask her when I'd first talked to her on Wednesday. Shortly after I'd texted her yesterday morning I checked my mail on my Mac to see whether my college email account had successfully been set up or not. Unfortunately though my school email account hadn't been set up on my Mac as I'd hoped would be the case. So I asked a friend of mine how he checked his school email account and he told me that the easiest way he'd found to check his school email account was to log into his school email account using his iPhone. So after I'd found out that information from him I tried to log into my school account the same way said friend logged into his school email account. Unfortunately when I hit the "login" button though I was taken to an area where I was asked to answer some security questions before I could actually be allowed to log into my school account. It took me some time to answer those security questions because for some reason the password that I also had to enter was not working as it should've worked. Fortunately though after I'd played with that particular website for a bit I was able to log into my school account successfully. Once I'd logged into my school account I played around with the website to see if said website was easy for me to navigate using my iPhone. Fortunately said website was easy to navigate using my iPhone as I'd hoped it would be. Once I'd figured out that bit of information I read the emails that were in my school email account inbox. I'd received an email from the Director of the OSD saying that he'd given me the FAFSA number to contact for help filling out that particular application. However I didn't see the FAFSA phone number anywhere in the email he'd sent me. So I immediately replied to his email asking him for the FAFSA number and he replied back right away with said phone number. A little while after I'd read the email he'd sent to my school email account that contained the FAFSA phone number I called said phone number. I told the lady I spoke with that I'd been told to call that number by my school because I'm blind and would therefore need help filling out that particular application. At first the lady I spoke with seemed resistant to help me fill out a financial aid application. However once I repeated to her that I could really use her help she was on board to help me get done what I needed to get done. Before she and I'd even gotten started filling out an FAFSA application though she asked me whether the school I'd be attending would want the FAFSA form from this school year or whether the school I'd be attending would want the FAFSA form for the next school year. I told her that I wasn't sure which form my school wanted. Surprisingly though the lady I spoke with then told me that she'd help me fill out two FAFSA applications so that hopefully either way I'd get the financial assistance I'd need to get through school. So once she and I'd completed both FAFSA applications I asked her how I'd create an online account so that I could sign each FAFSA application electronically. Because throughout hers and my conversation with one another she'd told me that my FAFSA applications would process much faster if I signed my FAFSA applications electronically through creating an ID with the SSA. So after she and I'd gotten off the phone with one another I created an online ID for myself that was related to FAFSA. Once I'd created an online ID for myself relating to FAFSA I saw a notification that stated that the SSA had to verify my information before my FAFSA applications are approved. After I'd read that particular notification I checked my personal email account because I knew that I still needed to verify some of my information. After I'd verified everything I'd needed to verify I tried to log into my online account using my MacBook Pro. Unfortunately though logging into that particular website using my Mac proved to be more difficult than I'd expected it to be. So I then tried logging into that particular website using my iPhone and using that particular method worked like a charm. Although I was unable to access the part of the website that would allow me to sign each FAFSA application electronically. After I'd discovered that I'd need help from someone sighted to complete the last part of this process I then checked my personal email account again. It turned out that I'd received an email from someone at the university I want to attend. In the email the person had sent me he or she let me know that I could apply to attend said university starting this August 1st through this August 31st. In the same email that he or she'd sent me he or she also told me that in applying to said university at that time I'd be able to attend said university starting in the spring semester of next year. That bit of news was exciting to me because when I'd gone to the community college on Wednesday I was told that I wouldn't be able to start attending a state university for at least two years from now. However when I'd told a friend of mine what I'd been told by the community college on Wednesday said friend told me that I was probably told such a thing because community colleges often want to push their students to stay at community college even longer than is necessary for him or her. So anyway a little while after I'd determined that I'd need the help of someone sighted to sign both of my FAFSA applications electronically I texted one of my friends to ask him if he'd be willing to help me get this last step in this process taken care of. Shortly after I'd texted my friend I ate some rice with spinach and meat in it that a friend had made for me earlier in the day. The way said friend had made the rice for me tasted delicious!! A while after I'd eaten dinner the friend I'd texted earlier to ask for his help in electronically signing my FAFSA applications texted me back. In the text message he'd sent me he said that he'd help me get this done. Then a little while after I'd received that particular text from him I called the lady that I'd spoken with Wednesday to ask her if I could still go check out her house and available room Friday at 3:00 in the afternoon. Fortunately she answered my phone call and said that I could still come see her house when she and I'd originally scheduled for me to do so. Shortly after I'd gotten off the phone with her though I called another of those phone numbers that was listed on my college's bulletin board for available housing for people attending said college. The person didn't answer the phone when I'd called but shortly after I'd called the person I texted that particular phone number. Then shortly after I'd texted the number the lady texted me back. In the text message she'd sent me she said that the room she'd posted about on my school's bulletin board was still available for rent. She also sent me a text message to let me know that the people who live in her house are all girls which sounds great for me. Because truth be told I honestly don't want to live with any males. Fortunately that lady said I could see her house and the room that's available for rent Friday evening which works perfect because I'll have two houses to decide from as far as me potentially getting a place for myself. Hopefully one of these two houses pans out for me. Shortly after I'd texted back and forth with that lady for a little while I texted the friend who'd purchased the AppleCare Technician Training for me a while ago. In the text message I'd sent him I asked him whether he'd received the refund from Apple yet. Fortunately he replied to my text a few minutes later saying that the refund from Apple had been credited back to his card. In all honesty I'm glad that this chapter with Apple is 100 percent behind me now. I'm grateful that I've done what I've done when it comes to Apple (including graduating from WSB's Apple VoiceOver At Work program in June of last year). While I don't necessarily know why I went through the things with Apple that I went through, given the fact that working in the field of technology is no longer my plan of action I try to tell myself that maybe all there was to it was just me having opportunities to grow, me having opportunities to learn and maybe the Apple-related part of my journey was also to show me what my actual calling is in life. I could probably keep writing and speculating about the whys of certain things happening in my life but there's no point in speculating really. I strongly believe that I'm a much better person because of all that I've gone through and I intend to carry that thought with me for years to come.