Shepherdized!

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.
  

09:58 am - Uhm, NFB?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen

Public Relations Specialist

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, extension 2330

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)

<mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org>cdanielsen@nfb.org



National Federation of the Blind
Comments on Saturday Night Live Segment



Largest Organization of the Blind Criticizes Attack on Blind Americans



Baltimore, Maryland (December 15, 2008): Chris
Danielsen, spokesman for the National Federation
of the Blind, said: "The biggest problem faced by
blind people is not blindness itself, but the
stereotypes held by the general public about
blindness and blind people. The idea that blind
people are incapable of the simplest tasks and
are perpetually disoriented and befuddled is
absolutely wrong. This misconception contributes
to an unemployment rate among blind people that
stubbornly remains at 70 percent. That is why
the National Federation of the Blind is
disappointed that Saturday Night Live chose to
portray Governor Paterson in a comedy routine
that focused almost exclusively on his
blindness. Attacking the Governor because he is
blind is an attack on all blind Americans­blind
children, blind adults, blind seniors, and newly
blinded veterans returning from Iraq and
Afghanistan. The National Federation of the
Blind urges the producers of Saturday Night Live
to consider the serious negative impact that
misinformation and stereotypes have on blind
people before continuing in this unfortunate vein of humor."

04:27 pm - NFBV

I'm at the NFB 50th Anniversary convention. Mom and Dad are at my apartment with Glaze. They've been at my place since Monday, and they volunteered to stay and watch G for me. Dad also drove me up here (the convention, BTW, is in Fredericksburg!). This meant I could bring tons of stuff with me. I have my laptop, my focus, and even my portable scanner. But for note-taking purposes, I'm using the N82, the BrailleConnect, and the ThinkOutside keyboard. I also brought full-sized bowls for Yani. And--get this--my Keurig! I cannot believe how much I love that machine. I never thought I'd forsake ground coffee...and I still do enjoy it. But the Keurig is so convenient.


OK...sorry for the coffee-related tangent. Anyway, just thought I'd check in and say how nice it is to be in an executive suite with (almost) all the comforts of home.

01:27 am - tenBroek in Con Law

I think tomorrow we are going to talk about Jacobus tenBroek, founder of the NFB, in con Law. the classic article he wrote on equal protection with Joseph Tussman is mentioned in this book review. Excerpts of the article were part of our reading assignment. Ironically, my professor emailed me to make sure the Venn diagrams in the article wouldn't be a problem for me. (She did acknowledge that with my "mathematical mind," I probably wouldn't have any trouble. She turned out to be right--the Venn diagrams are very easy for me to understand. I love thinking about the law with Venn diagrams.)

I'm always impressed whenever I read about tenBroek. Now that I know he used Venn diagrams...well, what can I say?

07:48 pm - NFB stuff

We had an NFB leadership seminar followed by a board meeting yesterday. I am in charge of finding mentors for some young people. And several people helped me develop a strategy about the cab thing. When I feel up to it, I'll write a friends-only post about that.

Last night, I got this link in an email:

Blind Association Condemns Air Asia

Fred is our state president, and he was RSA Commissioner under President Clinton. These are issues we all have to deal with, I suppose.

One other quick thing about the Board meeting: One of the women in our affiliate only just found out I have a dog. I won't mention names, and it's really not a big deal. But I just would have thought she would have known that by now. Admittedly, we haven't talked much. But we have encountered each other. She heard me talking to Glaze and said, "You have a dog now?" I was like, "I've had a dog for five and a half years." LOL!

Tomorrow starts my last week at work! Yea! I saw the orientation schedule for the law school, though, and I'm definitely convinced I'm not getting off any easier.

Current Mood: okay