Lots Of Updates

In the last blog entry that I'd written yesterday I forgot to mention the fact that Tuesday evening a friend and I cooked together. Well really I helped my friend by getting a cup of rice then putting said cup of rice into a strainer. Then my friend put two cups of water in said strainer which I then drained out of the strainer. From that point I poured the rice into a pot. That was that as far as that particular cooking experience goes. And with each cooking experience I have I'm reminded that I really don't like cooking unless I'm helping someone cook something. Interestingly I used to feel ashamed about the fact that I don't cook by myself because I'd always heard from society that people who are my age should be cooking by now. However I've finally gotten smart enough to not buy into that kind of bullshit. In the last blog entry that I'd written yesterday I also forgot to mention that Tuesday evening I'd had a conversation with a friend about what my idea of failure was. This particular conversation with a friend was in reference to the upcoming assessment that I'm going to have to do at the college I'm going to be attending. During my friend's and my conversation with one another Tuesday evening I told said friend that I had this idea in my head that if I do horribly on either the Math or English portion of the assessment, me doing horribly is a reflection on my failure. My friend told me that the idea I'd had was not true because the assessment is just a way for the academic counselor at the college I'm going to be attending to determine what classes a person will need to take and in which order a person should take said classes that will make the most sense for him or her. So I then asked my friend how I made sure that I didn't go into the assessment on either day feeling like "Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god I can't do this. I can't pass either portion of the assessment." My friend told me that the best thing for me to do is to remind myself that the assessment is just a tool to show the college I'm going to be attending where I am in the subjects of Math and English. So hopefully I'll be able to go into the assessment on both days with a clearer head than I've ever had during an assessment or test that I've taken in the past. In my last blog entry that I'd written yesterday I also forgot to mention that shortly after I'd gotten off the phone with my new VRC I had to call him back because I didn't receive an email from him. Unfortunately though I was only able to leave him a voicemail message with my email address contained in said voicemail. Several hours after I'd left a voicemail on my new VRC's phone I logged onto the website of the college I'm going to be attending. In logging onto the college's website I wanted to look at the study materials for the English/reading portion of the assessment that I'm going to be doing next week. So that's just what I did. However there wasn't much for me to study online regarding the English/reading portion of the assessment because I'm a pro at English grammar and reconstructing sentences. As far as online studying for the Math portion of the assessment goes though I'm not going to even worry about studying hard for that part. I know I suck at Math and I'm confident that the little bit that I know of Math will likely be the same as it was when I was in high school (I barely passed high school Algebra) and even then I think I'm being generous in saying that. It's no joke that I really do think that my high school Math teacher passed me in said class because I tried so, so, so, so fucking hard to grasp the concepts that I'd learned in class. Anyway shortly after I'd looked at the study materials for the upcoming assessment that I'm going to do I tried to read the online version of the college's student handbook on my MacBook Pro. Unfortunately though VO on my MacBook Pro was not generous about letting me accomplish said task. And to be fair I don't really need to read the student handbook for the college I'm going to be attending because I know how to act in public. Still reading the student handbook was something that I thought I'd do for fun. I'll probably try reading the student handbook on my iPhone at some point because I'd think that VO on my phone would work flawlessly for that purpose. An hour or so after I'd finished browsing the website of the college I'm going to be attending I saw a comment that an acquaintance of mine wrote on one of the recent FB status updates I posted on FB. In said comment that that particular acquaintance made she said "You are a beautiful child of God." That particular comment and other comments that are similar to it bug the hell out of me because the person saying such comments is making numerous assumptions about me. 1. The first assumption said person is making about me is that just because she's seen me attend church a handful of times, that automatically means that I'm religious (specifically that I'm a Christian of one form or another). 2. The second thing that she's assuming about me is the fact that there's only one reason that people attend church: because those people are believers. There couldn't possibly be any other reason that people attend church, could there? Because no one ever feels obligated to go to church, do they? Also, everyone views church the same exact way, don't they? There's no one in the entire world who sees church as a punishment or an otherwise awful thing, is there? 3. The other reason I find comments like what this acquaintance of mine said and similar such comments highly annoying is because in saying such things, the person who says such things makes it clear to the person he or she's commenting to, that she doesn't see the "beautiful child of God" as an individual all on her own. That kind of comment is not a beautiful or kind thing to ever say to anyone whether a person knows someone else's religious beliefs or not. Quite frankly such comments are insulting to the person they're meant for. Early this morning my new VRC called me to ask if I could come to his office in the afternoon instead of in the morning as we'd initially planned. I told him that I'd be happy to go to his office in the afternoon. He then confirmed what my email address was and of course he wanted me to explain the story behind why I'd made my email address the way I had. Shortly after I'd gotten off the phone with my new VRC I went back to sleep for a couple hours. When I woke up again I'd woken up because I'd had a bad dream. The dream I'd had was about one of my close friends and I going somewhere together then unexpectedly being separated from one another. In the dream I'd had there were a bunch of what seemed like kids laying in a school hallway. Yet those kids were halfway between being asleep and being awake. I remember talking to the kids, trying to explain to them that I'd been separated from a close friend of mine. The only way those kids responded to me was to tell me that the lady who'd been their teacher was really mean and liked them to not really have lives. It was one of the weirdest dreams I'd ever had, that's for sure. And apparently the dream seemed so real to me that I was saying things in my sleep. How embarrassing!! I tend to talk in my sleep a lot though because that is just how real my dreams seem to me when I'm having them. Shortly after I'd woken up from that particular dream I received the email that my new VRC had sent me that contained my IPE. When I read the text of my IPE with my iPhone though its text read really weird to me. In the IPE's text one of the things that my new VRC wrote was that my anticipated graduation date would be sometime in 2023. However I wasn't sure whether he remembered that I'm going to go for my Master's degree rather than just my Bachelor's degree. Shortly after I'd read of my IPE what I could stomach I called the community college that I'm going to be attending. Unfortunately though none of the operators at the college answered the phone. So I sent an email to the lady who'd been in contact with me from the OSD earlier in the week. In the email I'd sent her I asked her if she'd pass along the message that I'd like the entire assessment to be put in Braille. In the same email that I'd sent her I also asked her if she'd please call me or email me to let me know that she'd received my latest email. Shortly after I'd sent her an email I received an email from Bookshare Support. In the email that Bookshare Support had sent me I was informed that the bug that I'm experiencing with the Read2Go app is not a bug that can be fixed. So I immediately replied to said email from Bookshare Support to ask if that particular agency would please refund the $20 that I'd spent on the Read2Go app. Shortly after I'd sent that email to Bookshare Support I sent a follow-up email to my current pharmacy. In the email I'd sent to my current pharmacy I asked whether said pharmacy had received the email I'd sent said business the other day informing that particular business of how my insurance company told me to proceed with regards to getting myself set up with a different pharmacy. A little while later my current pharmacy emailed me saying that I was given misinformation by my insurance company about how to transfer my medications to a different pharmacy. So after I'd read that email I called my insurance company. When I told the lady I spoke with what I'd called about she told me that I'd have to log onto my insurance company's website and see if I could find a mail order pharmacy that said insurance company covers. Because if I can continue to use a mail order pharmacy like the one I use now, that would be ideal for my situation. Because as a blind person who takes medication every month it's really a fucking hassle to physically go to an actual store that has a pharmacy, especially given everything being expensive in the state that I live in. Shortly after I'd gotten off the phone with a lady from my insurance company I heard a big truck park outside of this apartment which told me that my packages that I'd ordered from Amazon's website had arrived. When I then heard two big thuds outside of this apartment door I knew that my assessment of the situation was correct. So I immediately went outside to see if I'd be able to get each package inside of the apartment. Unfortunately though I was unable to even move either package so I texted a friend of mine who goes to the college I'm going to be attending to ask for his help. Since he was currently at school when I'd contacted him though he contacted a neighbor here to see if he or she'd be able to help me get both of my packages inside of the apartment. A few minutes after I'd contacted him I heard a knock at the apartment door. Just as I'd expected, the person who'd knocked at the apartment door was a female neighbor. The female neighbor was able to put both packages inside of the apartment for me which was great because I was worried that I'd have to cancel my meeting with my new VRC. So after the female neighbor had helped me get both packages into the apartment I read a text from my friend saying that he'd texted one of his neighbors to let him or her know that I needed help getting packages into the apartment. So in the end that particular situation worked out well. Shortly after I'd read my friend's text saying that he'd contacted a neighbor to help me I texted him to let him know that I'd be on my way to my new VRC's office. After I'd texted him to let him know what my plan was I called up Uber on my iPhone and got ready to leave the apartment. A few minutes after I'd called up Uber on my iPhone I contacted the Uber driver to let him know exactly how to get to where I was. When he spoke English it sounded like English was his second language. However he seemed to understand everything I said just fine. After I'd gathered up my things to leave he called me again. However I didn't answer my phone because I was headed outside anyway. When I'd walked outside of the apartment and was in the process of locking the door the Uber driver actually got out of his car and came directly to where I was standing. So I walked with him to his car and once I'd gotten into his car he apologized for his bad English. I told him that he spoke English very well. He then asked if I spoke Spanish and understood Spanish and I told him that I was shy to speak Spanish but that I understood said language proficiently. So he tested me. He started talking to me in Spanish to see how well I understood the language. In talking to me in Spanish I understood him just as well as I'd told him was the case. He invited me to his church this coming weekend for said church's upcoming Easter service. He told me that his church was going to have a musical that was about the resurrection of Jesus. I then asked him in Spanish whether there would be kids acting in said musical and he said that there would be. He also told me though that adults were welcome too. Although I didn't enjoy the contents of that particular Uber driver's and my conversation with one another I enjoyed the fact that I had an opportunity to test my Spanish. When the Uber driver had dropped me off at my destination he asked me what the place of business was that he'd dropped me off at. So I explained to him that the Department Of Rehabilitation has services to help people who are blind go to college and get equipment that will help ensure those blind people's success in college. He was not aware that this state had such a service. So I really felt great being able to educate someone about the opportunities that are available in this state for people with disabilities. I was so excited about the fact my understanding and speaking of Spanish was so great that I totally forgot to tell the Uber driver what the suite number was for the Department Of Rehabilitation. LOL. So the door he and I'd first walked into was the wrong door. However the receptionist in that particular building was kind enough to tell us how to get to the place I needed to get to. Fortunately from that point the Uber driver found exactly where I needed to go. Once he'd walked me into the building I told that receptionist that I was there to see my new VRC. Said receptionist then asked me if I'd like her help to sign me in and I told her that I would. Once she'd signed me in I waited for my new VRC to come into the waiting room. Fortunately I didn't have to wait too long for him to meet me there. While I was waiting though I had an enjoyable conversation with a lady who was also waiting to be seen by someone. She and I first chatted about the hot weather starting to make its way to this state but then our conversation became deeper. She asked me if I was going to school and I told her that I'm hoping to start school this coming summer. She then asked what my goals were and I told her that I wanted to get my Master's in social work to become a therapist who helps people move through trauma. She thought that was interesting. She then asked me if I knew whether I wanted to work with kids or adults and I told her that I haven't decided that part yet because I was a traumatized kid once. So working with kids would allow me to give something to the community that I wished for but never had growing up. On the other hand though working with adults who are moving through trauma would be great because of the fucked up messages that society tells people about how they should not grieve for years, how they should never talk about such things as trauma and how they should just suck up and deal with the hardships that they experience in life. The lady told me she could totally see me being a therapist which was an awesome feeling!! I then asked her what she did and she told me that she's currently a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) but that she wants to become a full-fledged nurse. When my new VRC met me out in the waiting room he asked if I had any questions for him about the way my IPE read. I told him that I wanted to make sure that he knows that I'm going for my Master's degree. He said that he'd forgotten that particular detail but that it wouldn't be a problem for him to modify my IPE if it becomes necessary to do so. He then told me that his assistant would be in the waiting room shortly so that I could sign my IPE. Sure enough his assistant came to greet me once my new VRC had gone back to his office. She and I casually chatted with one another for a bit though before she helped me sign the all-important paper that is my IPE. Once I'd signed the all-important paper that is my IPE I called Uber to pick me up and take me to the apartment. Fortunately I didn't have to wait long for the Uber driver to show up at DOR. Once that particular Uber driver had successfully gotten me to my destination he was even kind enough to make sure that I went to the right apartment. Shortly after I'd gotten settled into the apartment I received a phone call from my new VRC. In the conversation that my new VRC and I had with one another he informed me that whenever I go to a state university the agency known as DOR would be able to pay for my housing which was exciting. A little while after I'd received that phone call from my new VRC I received an email from Bookshare Support. In the email that Bookshare Support had sent me I was informed that in order to get a refund of the Read2Go app I'd need to go through Apple's website. So that's just what I did: I tried to complete the refund process on both my iPhone as well as on my MacBook Pro. However neither of those devices would let me submit my report with the Read2Go app. That's fucking frustrating as hell! So I texted a sighted friend of mine to ask him if he'd help me get this particular problem taken care of. A little while after I'd texted a sighted friend of mine to ask for his help in getting a refund for Bookshare's Read2Go app I checked Twitter and read through the latest updates on the accounts I follow on that particular social media platform. What I'd found once that particular app had opened on my phone though was that someone had sent me a DM. Upon checking who said DM was from I discovered that Samsung was the culprit. In the DM that Samsung had sent me I was informed that since that particular business did not have the exact charger model that I'd originally purchased, said business would like to send me a newer model wireless charger. So once I'd read that particular DM from Samsung I sent a DM to said business to ask whether that particular wireless charger was compatible with the iPhone 7. In the same DM I'd sent Samsung I told said business that if the newer wireless charger was compatible with iPhone 7s then it would be great if said business would send me the newest model of said wireless charger. A little while later the sighted friend who I'd asked for help getting my refund from Apple tried several times to take care of my refund for me. However Apple's website took my sighted friend to a totally different website that was a Bookshare forum which of course had nothing whatsoever to do with getting a refund from Apple. So shortly after I'd found that out I logged onto Apple's website using my MacBook Pro. It took me some time to find a proper link to email Apple about my issue, not to mention I became even more frustrated with this whole thing. Fortunately though I found a link where I could email Apple about wanting a refund for the Read2Go app. So I emailed Apple about wanting said refund. Hopefully someone at Apple will contact me soon and resolve my issue for me. Shortly after I'd emailed Apple about wanting a refund I read a DM from Samsung where I was informed that that particular business does not know whether the new charger that business is offering to send me is accessible with my iPhone 7. So I looked and looked online (including on YouTube) and have not had any luck finding anything helpful. Grrrr, this is so fucking frustrating!!