International Day of People with Disabilities
Saturday was the International Day of People with Disabilities. This is a day proclaimed by the UN and this year, the theme was “together for a better world for all:including persons with disabilities in development.” this became particularly amusing (but not in a good way) when you consider everything that’s happened in our fair city…
Disabled? Disposable. Help Save the Hardship Fund
I had a plan for this week. I’ve had that plan for about a year. Because the International Day of People with Disabilities is on December 3 and for the last couple of years, that meant that I go to Variety Village to take part in the City’s celebration of this day. It’s a terrific…
99% Accessible
I’ve written before about how fascinated I am by the Occupy movements in general and Occupy Toronto in particular and I’m about to go on about it again. But this time, it’s about a particular aspect of Occupy Toronto. A few weeks ago, I was wandering around the park checking things out when I saw…
If I Need Help, I’ll Ask for It: An Encounter with a Self-Obsessed Ableist
Updated September 27. 2020 I was on a small excursion, among other things returning books to the library and while I was there, I picked up another one. After getting checked out, I moved over about a meter and a bit to get out of the way so the person behind me could get to…
Limited
Limits are everywhere I go these days. It seems as if almost every post I read and every question I answer on MyRACentral has an element of someone beating their head against the wall of limits. Of no longer being able to work, no longer being able to kick a ball around with their kids,…
Chronic Illness, Disability and Abuse: Staying Safe
MyRACentral and several other HealthCentral communities are marking Domestic Violence Awareness Month with posts about the issue and how it relates to chronic illness and disability. This is my contribution: Other posts and resources are on our Domestic Violence Awareness Month page. “”Ow.” “Ease up a little, please.” “Not so hard.” Almost every time this…
A Wonderful Evening. Or Not.
I’ve had the most delicious opportunity. I subscribe to a magazine called Canadian Living. Terrific magazine with helpful articles and really wonderful recipes and a few weeks ago, I discovered another good thing about it. Because that’s when I got an e-mail with a special offer for subscribers that was out of this world. An…
Out Among the English: Body Language & Disability
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about physical barriers tosocial interaction, mostly in terms of design issues and aspects that can be corrected by having some chairs in the place. Today, Part II. Namely physical barriers to interpersonal communication. Say that you’re At a formal occasion – a wedding, formal business event and the…
In Praise of Sloth
It’s been 10 days of not doing very much at all aside from reading good books, watching good TV and lollygagging and it has been bliss. Just bliss. It took me more days than I care to admit to stop with the “shoulds.” Every time my internal voice said “you should be (insert work-related or…
Firsts
It’s been an interesting week for new experiences. This past weekend found me down by the lake and two very exciting things happened. I saw the Snowbirds in person. Well, not exactly in person, but with my own eyes in real life, as opposed to images on the television screen. There they were, flying in…
I’ll Be Over Here, Next to the Potted Plant
Say that you’re At a small family gathering and across the room sits a member of your family with whom you haven’t had a good chinwag in a while. What do you do? At a party where you don’t know anyone and don’t feel like spending any more time standing by yourself with a glass…
Flatware Musings
You have to respect your limits.Keep track of your spoons so you don’t run out.Take care of yourself first, otherwise there won’t be any energy left over for other things. I tell other people do this all the time and I’m sure I sound very reasonable and at peace with the whole thing when I…