A year ago today was my first day working for the city of Portland, Oregon. It’s hard to believe it has been a year. In some ways, it has flown by. In other ways, it has seemed slow. Sitting here a year later, I can honestly say it has been a wonderful year!
It looks like spring is finally trying to spring. I won’t say it has sprung, because cool rainy weather may return this week. At least we have had a few nice days lately.
Previously, I have written about my own experience relying on federal benefits to survive. As someone who has needed benefits and is lucky enough to no longer need them, I want to discuss how bad benefits are for those needing them the most.
That statement doesn’t mean I’m ungrateful for the help I received; rather, it’s a truth about the challenges I had to overcome. Without the benefits I got, my situation would have been much worse. But my situation isn’t the same as everyone else’s. Some people will need benefits for their entire lives. Others don’t have access to the support I did when I was in such need. In the richest country ever–no one needing assistance should be living far below the poverty level.
The Perkins School for the Blind is out with a survey that attempts to figure out how Americans feel about blindness. America’s Blind Spot surveyed a thousand Americans from different segments of the population, different generations, and geographic regions of the country. I’m writing this post because my experience confirms many of the survey’s unfortunate findings.
This is the 300th post I have made to this blog. It’s kind of a cool milestone for me. So, I felt like acknowledging it here.
I used to believe there was a responsible way to use Facebook. As long as you didn’t like any business pages, share anything from a business, or click on adds, my theory was you were relatively safe. The recent disclosure that Facebook shared private messages with Netflix and /Spotify is a game changer.
I recapped my year in review. This post is looking ahead for me in 2019. I will preview the following topics:
I’m a little late with this, but it’s time to recap my 2018. On the whole, 2018 was a great year for me. I left 2018 feeling as good about the future as I can remember.
This year in review will have two main sections:
For a long time, Emma has been gaining weight. Even though she has always been lazy, I have been thinking her unwillingness to move has been getting worse. We have had her for more than four years, and we don’t have any idea of her age. Given that she had puppies before showing up in Mom’s yard, it’s likely Emma’s reasonably old. But today was scary.
Many people without disabilities feel the need to comment that people with disabilities aren’t more included in society because we don’t show up enough. This ableist, uninformed argument demonstrates how little many people without disabilities understand life for those of us with disabilities. You have no idea how badly I wish it was as simple as showing up more often.
This personal update has news about: my job; home improvements; exercise; Ufi; and Mr. Rogers.
