Shepherdized! - Baltimore

11:48 pm - Baltimore

Too tired for more than bullet points, so:

• Symposium was really good. Obama's disability policy guy, EEOC commissioner, ADA lawyers, MA assistant Attorney General, and keynote from founder of Autism Self Advocacy Network (I think). Hope I eventually become inspired to write more, because I have lots and lots of thoughts about the symposium.
  
  
• Yani simultaneously impresses me beyond words with her guiding and finds new ways to remind me that I'm far from the perfect handler. I didn't think I was judgmental before, but I think Yani will pretty much put me in my place.
  
  
• Met up with two friends from undergrad and their three-year-old son. Wow, but that kid is smart! He said his current favorite number was infinity, and his previous favorite number was a googolplex (that doesn't look right...need to check spelling). He can count by twos, fives, and even nines. He can read. He's a baby math nerd, and if I could have a child like that, I might want to actually do it.
  
  
• It's interesting when someone who met you when you were 17 feels the urge to reminisce: "You were oh-so-smart, but young. Terribly young. I thought, here's this kid from this unbelievably small town, and she's going to this good school...I don't see how she can make it. But if anybody could, she could." (This, I'm pretty sure, was meant to be a compliment.)
  
  
• Amtrak has a "Special Handling Department," and I'm apparently supposed to tell them I'm blind and have a dog beforehand. Except, they can't require that and be in compliance with the law.
  
  
• I'm not the only 3l who still needs to finish my bar aplication.
  
  
• I have issues with feeling like I'm some kind of poser, and I've somehow managed to convince all these people that I'm competent, and there's a certain fear that it's all going to come crumbling down around my ears. This is nothing new, but it's particularly intense right now.
  
  
• It's nice to have a dog who helps you pack by fetching her toys.