2020 In Review

 

With only hours left to go, I don't want to alarm anyone, but I think we may actually make it through this year!

It was a strange one, with more than a few downer moments, but it had some good times too.

January and February were a mix of sickness, work, and doctor's appointments (positive ones, though), with lunch at a new, local crepe place scheduled somewhere in the middle of everything. At the beginning of March, I attended the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders (CORD)' Rare Disease Day conference. 

If I had've known what was coming, I would've booked myself a room at the hotel during the conference and had a little getaway, because the following week, it happened!

Lockdown!

Yep. That week, COVID reached Ottawa and the city shut down for a month. Over the next thirty days, I got used to working in flannel pants, developed a taste for Tim Horton's iced coffee, and started re-reading every book I own. 

A month or so later and it was Mother's Day weekend, the moment I chose to brave the unknown and quickly venture back out into society, such as it was at the time.

A fairly accurate representation of me about to buy a Mother's Day card and a bottle of Pepsi.

The city entered into its next phase just in time for my birthday near the end of May. My favourite comic book shop opened back up and I could get out to downtown Ottawa again, albeit briefly and with restrictions. Still a giant relief!

While all this was going on in the outside world, inside I was writing a lot! I cranked out a load of blog posts from mid-March to June, did a few writing challenges, and came up with my own fiction-based challenge using Scriptwriting notes and characters I had created, later dubbed the Scooterverse. Very fun!

Over the summer, I participated in a lot on online events, including San Diego Comic-con's virtual convention. Restaurants opened up and I was able to fulfill a goal of walking a short distance from home to get lunch, as well as go out with my family to a pretty fancy dinner for my mother's 60th birthday.

More writing and reading, a gourmet burger or two, and just a hint of time at our cabin throughout the Fall.

And finally a nice, quiet holiday season here at home.

A lot of weirdness in 2020, but I can't really say I'm complaining. I just hope next year brings some of this "new normal" everyone's been talking about.

Cheers! 

Merry Christmas

 

Had to, sorry!

Wishing everyone an extra-safe, enjoyable, Merry Christmas.

Cheers!

Mammoths, Masks, and a Megaloceros Too!

 

Another bit of "normal" restored!

Along with The Works and The Comic Book Shoppe, I can now count The Canadian Museum of Nature among some of my favourite places I've been able to return to.

This weekend, my family and I went there to see their Planet Ice exhibit. The museum's been open since September, with safety measures in place, tickets sold online, and some reduced exhibits, but with the second COVID wave hitting around the beginning of Fall, I was hesitant to go. 

Since Planet Ice is ending the beginning of January, it was now or never, so I went online and booked a time and tickets for us to see everything. 

Masks on, hands scrubbed, and keeping the width of a moose's antlers away from others, and we were good to go.

Good advice!

With COVID limiting the interactiveness of some of the exhibits, the museum had set up a scavenger hunt where visitors could search for a bird hidden in each area. Pretty good idea!

First up, of course, were the dinosaurs.

After winding our way through the museum's floors, we made it to the top and to Planet Ice where, to make the exhibit fun and interactive, yet safe, we were each given a stylus to use at certain displays and activities. Great idea!

Planet Ice was split into three parts, the first being about the cold and ice itself. We all made our own virtual snowflakes and took a heat vision family photo.

Section 2 was all about the Ice Age, and was my absolute favourite part of the day. I don't think I've gotten so many photos in one place before!

Greeting people was that mammoth at the top of the post, followed an interactive display where you could wave your hands in front of a screen, "waving" snow away to expose mammoths.

There was a similar experience later on, but with an American lion.

I got a selfie (elkie??) with an Irish Elk (aka a Megaloceros).

Looked as ferocious as I could while wearing a mask and Fall jacket with a giant short-faced bear.

Photo of a prairie dog, because they're awesome and were one of the few things on display that haven't been dead for thousands of years.

I learned that I have roughly the same body as a Neanderthal (short, smallish limbs, barrel chest, and hairy)

And saw more really awesome extinct things

The third and final part of Planet Ice was about climate change, global warming, and environmentalism. 

On the way out, we stopped by the museum's gift shop, where I HAD to get myself a souvenir. 

Just look at him!

So glad I chose to go when I did, seeing as how the province of Ontario is going into a month-long lockdown (yay...). Can't wait for the next time.

Cheers!

Christmas Lists

 

I've read a couple prompts about doing this particular holiday-themed post so, here are my Top 5-style Christmas lists.

Top 5 Christmas Carols:

1. Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer 

2. Frosty the Snowman

3. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer

4. Away In a Manger

5. Jingle Bells

Top 5 Christmas Songs (covers of classics and originals):

1. Fairytale of New York by The Pogues

2. Carol of the Bells by Trans Siberian Orchestra

3. The Night Santa Went Crazy by Weird Al Yankovic

4. Christmas Don't Be Late by The Chipmunks

5. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings by The Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan

Top 5 Christmas Movies:

1. Alf's Christmas (best ever, no contest!)

2. Mickey's Christmas Carol

3. Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer

4. A Muppet Family Christmas

5. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Jim Carrey's version) 

  

Top 5 Memorable Christmas Presents:

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sewer playset (I was six, and I still remember the excitement)

2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The complete original series on DVD (I sense a theme here!)

3. Kobo eReader

4. Money from my parents and grandmother towards my first trip to Toronto for TCAF

5. A lynx (a few years ago, the whole family donated to World Wildlife and sponsored one animal for each of us. The lynx was my favourite from the list they had.)

Top 5 Favourite Christmas Treats:

1. My grandmother's ginger cookies

2. Chocolate almond bark

3. Hot chocolate

4. Piroulines

5. Pumpkin cheesecake

 Cheers!

Quickest. Appointment. Ever!

 

Yesterday, I had an eye appointment. Normally, those can take up to three hours, with my longest being close to four. 

The idea of sitting around a clinic with a mask for that long scared me a bit, but I was assured it wouldn't take long at all. And I trust the Ottawa Eye Institute.

I got there just prior to my appointment, and was seen almost immediately. I was taken to get an OCT test, photos of my eyes, which was a lot easier to do as they had me standing for it, rather than sitting on a stool that had a habit of wheeling away from the machine.

After that, I was taken for an ultrasound of my eye, which is exactly what it sounds like. The technician had me lean back in a seat, froze my eye with some drops, then moved an ultrasound wand, with gel, around my eye. It was weird, but painless.

Then I was done. All that in half an hour!

Cheers.

Plague on the Brain

 

Has this happened to anyone else?

I just noticed a weird trend with the types of entertainment I've been consuming over the past nine months. Unconsciously, or subconsciously, I've been gravitating towards apocalypse, especially plague-related, media. I've re-read The Stand by Steven King and watched the 90's TV movie based on it. I've read Edgar Allan Poe's Masque of the Red Death. Of course, I've been watching The Walking Dead. Even my preferred non-fiction picks lately have followed this trend, watching a documentary series over Halloween about plagues and ancient medicine. 

Fun, but pretty weird.

Cheers!

Losing A Few

 

Last Spring, I had a couple doctor's appointments where I was instructed to lose some weight, for good reason. At that time, I was about 195 lbs., was having trouble breathing, could hardly get my shoes on without sweating and, according to some blood work, was likely on the verge of having other, more serious health issues.

Just prior to Christmas, my family doctor arranged for me to speak with a dietician. My first meeting was via phone call in March. She set me up with a weight loss goal (about 20 to 30 pounds, at least) and gave me some tips for healthier eating. 

Since then, I've been exercising, going for a walk when it was nice out, using the treadmill in lousy weather. 

As of my last weigh-in two days ago, I'm at around 170 lbs. There've been periods of serious laziness, but that 170 has been a pretty consistent average for a while now.

It's a challenge, and I can stand to lose more, but I'll get there eventually.

Cheers!

Writing Nights

 

My motivation to write has been lacking lately, and the once usual writing day at a coffee shop is clearly out, so I'm trying a wacky experiment. Instead of a writing day, what about a writing night?

Everyone else has gone to bed, and I'm currently in our basement sitting on a futon which, in couch mode, feels a lot like the booths used by some of my former choice writing spots. I've got a coffee table pulled over for my laptop and a bottle of water, and a memory stick full of music playing on low for background noise. It's pretty enjoyable!

Since this post seems to be moving along nicely, I may do this one Friday or Saturday night per week for the foreseeable future.

Cheers!

(Old) English Lit

 

Throughout the pandemic, I've been using some time to read through a lot of old books I've had lying around, potentially getting rid of some at a later date. 

Last night, after more than a month, I finished King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Sir Thomas Malory, which was originally published in 1485. 

Definitely not the original

That's just thirty-five years after the invention of the printing press and over 500 years old!

This version came with a really neat introduction about the history of the legends and the book itself (where I learned the printing press factoid from), which was almost as good as the stories that followed it.

The stories were pretty much what I expected: Arthur, Merlin, the Holy Grail, etc., except with less fantasy and way more religious imagery.

 The writing and language was pretty fun to read. Very old! A lot of ye's, thee's, thou's, and weirder words that probably haven't been spoken in a couple hundred years. Thank goodness for Google!

A+ read, keeping it, might read it again some time.

Cheers!

Snikt!

 

Two years ago, I wrote a post about being a mutant. 

I bought a couple comics last week, and after reading them, I realized I may be a very specific mutant.

Let's see:

Short? Check!

Hairy? Check!

Canadian? Check!

Prone to the occasional outburst? Check!

Progress due to a combination of Western science (surgeries, therapy, etc.) and Eastern martial arts (a decade of Taekwondo)? Check!

Blogverse, I think I might be Wolverine!

Cheers...bub.

My Achievements List

 

I wrote a post recently about going through a bit of a slump. I think after nearly three quarters of a year, I can finally say that this pandemic sucks!

A little while ago, the slump turned into doubt, and I couldn't stop thinking about everything I haven't been able to do recently, and might not be able to do for a long while. 

During a moment of clarity, I decided to get positive. Instead of dwelling on the negative and everything I can't do, I wrote up a list of all my greatest achievements, big and small, going from getting my black belt in Taekwondo at seventeen, right up to attending CORD's Rare Disease Day conference this past March. 

Staycations, vacations, comic conventions, things I've written, college, jobs, volunteering, disability-related gigs and events, they all made the list.

It was a really helpful little exercise, and I've looked back at it a few times, for continued positivity, and to add the odd thing I might have forgotten. 

Cheers!

s'No Problem

 

It was brief, and went as quick as it came, but it was here. Yes, snow has returned to Ottawa.

Normally, I would find that really upsetting, but not this year. 

I'm working from home until at least next May or June, probably, which means I won't have to worry about Para Transpo at all. I'm okay with this.

Back on the treadmill, get lots of books to pass the time, the occasional outing when it's nice, and positive thoughts for the next five months to go by quickly.

Cheers!

JS Awareness - The Food!

 

Juicy Lucy

Good topic for a fun Friday post, and also appropriate for JS Awareness Month: All the good food I've gotten to eat while attending conferences and board retreats.

 The States have a lot of food brands, restaurants, and regional delicacies that we don't here in Canada. Part of the fun of planning for the conferences over the years has been thinking about what new things I can eat, and where.

It all began in 2013 before going to Minneapolis. My family are fans of Food Network, so for about a month or so before leaving, my Dad and I kept an eye on Man vs. Food and Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives for anything good. We found out about Juicy Lucy's, burgers stuffed with melted cheese. The evening of the presentation I gave, we went out and had our fill! 

Two years later, the conference was in Chicago. That meant deep-dish pizza. This time, with the whole family! We also went to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs play while we were there. I don't like baseball and couldn't tell you a thing about the game that day, but I do remember the Chicago-style hotdog.

The Phoenix conference in 2017 was amazing for many reasons, including the food. The first night, we had take-out from In-N-Out Burger, recommended by my sister after a trip to California. On our way to the hotel, our Uber driver told us about Mexican Coke, made with brown sugar, and I knew I had to try it. A cold bottle was my first purchase during a trip to Old-town Scottsdale.

After the conference, my family and I stayed in Phoenix a few extra days to play tourist. We drove through the desert to Montezuma's Castle, where my mother bought prickly pear jam, a great addition to peanut butter sandwiches. The next day, our last in Arizona, we celebrated my Mom's birthday by having brunch at a place called Butters. Best breakfast ever! I went southwestern and got huevos rancheros, along with sweet tea and biscuits and gravy, two of my go-to's when going to the US. The last day of our vacation ended with eating burritos in a park, surrounded by cacti, at sunset!

Last summer in Baltimore, it was crab everything: crab pretzels, crab tater tots, crab burgers, and more! We drove there, and on our way we drove by Hershey, Pennsylvania. On the way home, we went there and stopped at Hershey's Chocolate World.

After a fun tour, we loaded up on goodies. I walked out with a basket-load of Payday bars (another US must-have) and Reese products!

Hoping to eventually be south of our border again, enjoying good friends and good grub.

Cheers!

My Halloween Plans

 

It looks like there'll be no Trick or Treaters at our house, or anywhere in Ottawa, this year. That just means more chocolate for me!

Last time I was at our neighbourhood pharmacy, I had my sites on these:

Of course I'll share, but only just a little bit.

The 31st falls on a Saturday too, which means that all those chocolates are going to go great with a horror movie marathon!

The last couple of days, I've been recording movies from AMC's Fearfest, which I have on every year at this time. Just one more film to wait for next week, and I'll have a whole night's worth of entertainment.

Cheers!

It's Not Like We're Werewolves

 

Some time ago, there was this meme going around with some guy complaining about disabled people and parking, and a woman replying about how we're not werewolves (meaning we can be out after dark.)

Since last week, I've read two separate articles related to people with disabilities and some kind of exclusion from services, one about the lack of COVID benefits for people with disabilities in Canada, and the other about a law in Texas that would allow social workers to turn away disabled individuals and, in both cases, I think the werewolf analogy still applies.

We don't bite. We don't have ticks, fleas, or cooties. So, why are people still so unwilling or terrified to give individuals with disabilities (or any minority, really) a hand? What's there to be afraid of?

It's the 21st century and we're in the middle of a global pandemic. Let's leave the monsters for Halloween, and start treating people like human beings.

Cheers

Happy Thanksgiving

 

Seems appropriate, but why would they include the eyes??

This weekend is Thanksgiving in Canada. Our family just had our big meal and we're heading to the cabin tomorrow until Monday morning. (hope it's not too cold!)

In spite of everything, I have a lot to be thankful for this year. 

I'm thankful for iced coffee, comic books, and streaming services which have kept me sane the past months. I'm thankful for a job I can easily do from home. For family to help me out. And, probably for the first time ever, I'm thankful for my health!

Hoping next year, I can be thankful for many aspects of this mess being over.

Cheers!

COVID & Coffee

 

I always tended to roll my eyes whenever I'd see a friend on social media post a photo or meme about coffee.

That was before the pandemic.

In March/April, when everything shut down for the better part of a month, and I was too nervous to go in to any building that was open, the drive-thru of the Tim Horton's a block away from my house became a saving grace and, at the time, my "out." 

I've never liked hot coffee, but enjoy it iced, especially when it's flavoured. Now, Tim Horton's vanilla iced coffee has become a bit of a routine, with me getting one a few times a week, usually after work. 

It's probably not the best habit to have, but at least it's not the worst!

So, many apologies to my caffeinated friends. I now understand and am one of you.

Cheers!

Sanitizing Sensory Sliminess

 

I had my very first visit to a hospital in almost seven months this afternoon (Orthotics clinic to look for shoes), and as I was going through the now regular sanitization procedures, I came up with the idea for this post, which also fits well with Joubert Syndrome Awareness Month.

Tactile defense and sensory issues have always been an issue for me. My mother still talks about covering my legs in sand at the beach or walking me through grass barefoot when I was little (on doctor's orders) to get me used to things. 

I've never, ever, liked slimy things, and still don't. Gum, Jell-O, some soaps and lotions (though that's not as bad as it used to be), you name it. If it's the least bit gooey or oozy, I've probably disliked it at some point in my life. To this day, I've never even tried a piece of candy! 

So it shouldn't be surprising when I say that, six months ago, I wasn't the biggest fan of some of the proposed COVID safety measures. 

Hand-washing was fine after getting into a routine with it, but using sanitizer took some trial and error.

Purell felt too cold, too runny, and the smell still reminds me too much of an operating room. Other brands had similar issues, as did other methods. Like these places that use spray bottles. Too much, too fast, too cold!

Hand sanitizer from Bath and Bodyworks became the winner, with it coming out slower and having scents that masked the alcohol.

Still feels weird, but I'm used to it now.

Cheers!  

Meh

 

I think I'm in a bit of a slump.

I've got a bunch of writing ideas for the month and some of those are already drafts, but lately I've kind of been like "Why bother?"

With a second wave of COVID cases going around, as well as other things, it seems almost pointless writing posts about the latest thing I watched on Netflix or going for a burger.

I'm sure this will pas at some point, but just thought I'd write about it.

Cheers 

It's Real!

 

Yesterday, I went to share the post I wrote on social media and, like last year, added some hashtags hoping it might get the post a little more traffic. 

One of those I decided to add was Blogtober.

As I was typing the hashtag, it came up with some results, so I clicked on it, thinking I'd find my posts from last year.

Instead, I found many different posts that revealed that Blogtober is a real thing that people do! Just like Inktober, the art challenge I had originally patterned my writing month off of, Blogtober has groups, tags, and a lot of prompts and daily themes. Most of those look really random though, so I think I'll stick to my own ideas for the month. Maybe the odd Fall or Halloween-themed post just for fun.

Cheers!

Blogtober 2020

 

It's that time of the year again.

2020 may have changed a lot of things, but not Blogtober or Joubert Syndrome Awareness Month!

I've got a long list of prompts and possible blog post ideas ready to go, and with less to do out there, I just might have more time to devote to writing.

First post comes tomorrow

Cheers!

The Scooterverse

* Just want to emphasize that this is simply a fun way to pass the time, and shouldn't be taken as a serious writing project.*

In June, I had said I was going to do a month of writing based on Scriptwriting projects, the comic I pitched, and heroes I had created for fun.

Well, the "month" has lasted almost all Summer long!

I started by writing an origin for The Red Knight, a hero I made for a one-act play. The Red Knight II, a legacy character, came next, followed by two other heroes I'd created some time ago.

Elements of those first profiles led to more writing and more characters. Profiles and origins were becoming more and more intricate.

Eventually, I had villains (a lot harder to create than heroes), at least one team, an event or two, and a loosely connected history.

Around July, I found my notes from Scriptwriting for Cryptic, the TV show I came up with, then comic I pitched. I challenged myself to expand on some them and let my creative side go wild! I discovered that bits of Cryptic fit pretty well with my super-folks. 

Just like that, I had my very own universe. The Scooterverse, if you will!

The Scooterverse has been a great way to pass the Summer, and has reminded me how much fun it is to write this kind of stuff.

Next step: some Scooterverse-inspired short stories, maybe??

Cheers!

Review: Nothing Without Us

In June, I streamed a panel called Disabled Literature that was part of a virtual conference put on by Renaissance Press, a small publishing company (that, to me, is local) specializing in diverse Canadian talent and content.

Panelists were discussing Nothing Without Us, an anthology of realistic and speculative (sci-fi/fantasy) fiction featuring characters with disabilities, written by disabled authors. The book sounded like something I'd like, so I eventually bought it.

While I liked everything, I thought the speculative stories were the best.

Fantasy elements meshed really well with the subject of disabilities. The first story featured a small golem being made to assist the main character as a sort of personal service worker, then being passed on to do the same for another disabled individual.

Another story was about a wizard wanting to see an oracle. As with similar stories, the wizard had to take on a challenge first. Only here, instead of climbing a mountain or jumping over a bottomless chasm, the wizard's task was to descend a flight of 99 stairs, a real feat due to the character's multiple sclerosis, which itself was externalized as a doppelganger because of a curing spell gone wrong.

In my opinion, the stand-out story of the anthology was one called "Search and Seizure", about a young woman with a condition that causes her to have intense seizures. Throughout her young life, this girl is made to feel like the condition is all in her head and is essentially blown-off by doctors, until one day when a doctor thinks it's okay for her to drive home from the hospital and she has a seizure which causes her to crash and die. The story finds her ghost stuck in the hospital, along with the ghosts of other patients whose complaints have been ignored.

One day, the young woman is passing by a playroom and notices a copy of The Hobbit she had lost. It's the only physical object she can connect with, so she continues to leave it at the desk of the doctor responsible for her death, hoping to be acknowledged. He doesn't, so she follows him around. One day, she's observing him with a patient; a girl with a condition similar to hers. This girl gets ignored and put down, until the main character gets fed up and causes power to flicker. After that incident, she outright haunts the doctor, appearing to him in a mirror at the end of the story.

When I finished reading it, the only descriptor I could think of was "beautifully @$&!ed up", and I mean that in the best possible way!

One final story actually made me question my own advocacy, and whether I might be being a bit too passive at times.

As far out as some of them were, each story had roughly the same message of taking ownership of your condition and feeling comfortable with it and yourself, which I appreciated.

While it wasn't perfect, I really enjoyed Nothing Without Us. Well written, unique, and entertaining.

Cheers! 

Almost Like Old Times

Bit of bragging.

Back in March, I had written a post about how, because of COVID, my one goal for the summer was to be able to walk through my subdivision, cross the road, and get lunch.

Well, I can now check that goal as complete!

This afternoon, the weather was finally cool enough (after an oppressive month-long heatwave), and I was confident enough, that I went for a walk and got some Subway, and brought it home.

The whole thing felt equal parts exhilarating, boring, and weird, but I guess that's a sign of the times.

Cheers!

Phase Three Festivities & Masked Munchies

Me and my abundance of emotion...

A few weeks ago, Ottawa entered Phase Three of its COVID-reopening plan, which meant, among other things, that restaurants could return to dine-in service, albeit with added safety measures. Just in time for my mother's 60th birthday!

While she probably would have preferred her usual vacation-birthday, that wasn't in the cards this year, so we took advantage of the re-openings and had a fancy dinner out at Beckta, a restaurant in downtown Ottawa my Mom's wanted to go to.

It was my first time sitting for a long period outside of my home since I left work in March and, to be honest, I was terrified (halfway through dinner, my family said I looked pale, so I guess it showed). But, I had my mask and some sanitizer on hand, the restaurant was extra safe, and with my Mom's birthday and the opportunity to be downtown again, the rewards outweighed the risks.

Beckta itself was a really nice higher-end restaurant, with great service and good food. We all splurged and got the Chef's Choice, a five course tasting menu. It was like being on one of those Top Chef shows!

We had scallop crudo, an amazing tomato and ricotta tart, lobster dumplings (pictured above), roast pork (or duck), and a gourmet strawberry shortcake. Absolutely worth it!

The following week, my Dad and I went back to The Works, our favourite burger place, for the first time this year (photo's at the top of the post)!

To ensure safety, they had taken out about half their tables, required diners to wear masks until seated, and left everything (menus, etc.) on each table until customers left. They had also cut their menu by about a third. But all my favourites and go-to burgers made the cut and it was as delicious as ever!

I'm still keeping safe and to myself as much as possible, but it's nice to finally have some options for the occasional reprieve.

Cheers!

Convention Season

One thing that I've always wanted to to has been to attend a major comic book convention.

I've been to events like Toronto Comics Art Fest (TCAF) in Toronto, Hal-Con in Halifax, and Ottawa's own comic convention, and they've been great, but every summer I still dream of going to one of the major conventions like those in New York, Seattle and, of course, San Diego. Unfortunately, they're always too far, too expensive, or too crowded for my liking, so I usually just settle on going online to read the latest news, look at cosplay photos, and watch the odd video that gets uploaded.

Thanks to COVID, some of these conventions are going free and virtual, which means that I can finally cross off one of my biggest Bucket List items and participate!

San Diego Comic-Con, or ComicCon@Home as it's branding itself this summer, starts this week, with tons of great panels, interviews, and workshops set to be streamed. So much so that is was kind of overwhelming reading through them all!

Also announced for later this summer around the end of August-early September is DragonCon, normally held in Atlanta, Georgia. DragonCon seems to be a gaming and literary convention, but still sounds pretty awesome, so I'll probably look into this one too.

Even though it was cancelled, TCAF even got into the online spirit a couple months ago, releasing a digital showcase of work from vendors and creators who would have attended this year's event as a PDF that was free to download with a donation benefiting both next year's convention and the comic shop located  next to the Fest's venue, which I thought was a great idea!

Fun times ahead!

Cheers

"Special" Words

*This post is meant to be just for fun. Apologies if anyone is offended*


I’m a person with different abilities who was looking to be included in the workforce. An organization for neurodiverse individuals set me up with an Inclusion Specialist. Now I take special transportation, known locally as Para Transpo, to and from the office three days a week.

If anything about that statement seems odd to you then you're not alone.

When I was writing the post about channeling George Carlin, I was watching some clips of his stand-up, and he did a bit about euphemisms and political correctness. Part of that bit was about language within and about the disability community. Over the last month or so, I've been casually writing down as many disability-related euphemisms as I can, and I've come up with quite a list!

There's standards like disabled and handicapped, "positive" spins on those like differently-abled and handicapable, and person-first language like person with a disability and person with different abilities. 

I picked up on tons of old-timey words like crippled, mad, deviant, lame, infirm, and invalid.

I read a bunch of slang like crip, gimp, wheelie, aspie, and spoonie (related to autism, but I forget how). I even remembered a friend with a shunt calling themselves an airhead. 

You've got mental retardation and every one of its unfortunate derivatives.

All the "special" words and phrases, from special needs and special education to special siblings and special purpose. I looked up that last one in Google. None of the results had to do with disabilities, but most did mention military surplus and auto parts!

I noticed that, when I need a drive somewhere, I use an accessible parking permit. However, when I reach my destination, the vehicle parks in a handicapped parking spot. And when I fly, I take advantage of pre-boarding as a person in need of assistance.

I wrote down exceptional (referencing education), neurodiverse, which I actually think sounds pretty cool, and access inclusion seeker, which is a term that exists, apparently.  And finally, because of COVID, there's vulnerable.

I'm not writing this post to be judgey, or tell people how to talk or anything. I just figured there's an insane amount of weird words out there related to disabilities, and thought it would be a fun little exercise to see how many I could write down.

Cheers!

Ten and Two

The last couple weeks, as well as the next couple, represent two anniversaries for me.

Two weeks ago marked an entire decade of me living in the city of Ottawa. Technically, it's eleven since I had spent most of the previous year at college, but it became official in 2010! I still remember staying in our, at the time, brand new house overnight, on my own, and how excited I was. I also remember being out and about, and doing things independently around the city within a year of moving.

In other anniversary news, as of next week I'll have been at my current job for two whole years! I feel like I should be more excited and write some more, but I guess work is just part of the routine now.

Nothing more to add, just a quick post to share.

Cheers!

Channeling George

I've decided I want to start writing the way George Carlin used to talk.

I have always liked Carlin's funny, observational style, as well as his more cynical, "eye-rolly" (for lack of a better term) attitude towards certain topics, which is something I honestly think the disability community could use, especially in print.

I won't be vulgar, will be more politically correct than he was, and you'll never see any one of Carlin's Seven Words in my writing (I even avoided using them in Scriptwriting, when I COULD have gotten away with a couple), but some of my best posts have had traces of that directness and sarcastic tone and they've gone over really, really well, even when I was afraid they wouldn't.

Who knows, it may be a good way to approach that book idea I'm always floating around.

Cheers!

Innovation

The week of May 31st to June 7th was National Accessibility Week.

Just prior, I registered for Enable Ottawa, an accessibility and innovation event organized by Carelton University, with panels and discussion presented online via Zoom throughout the week.

The first afternoon, I streamed a talk about disability and accessibility legislation in the Canadian government, specifically the idea of a Canadians with Disabilities Act that is currently being proposed. I was surprised to learn that, unlike the United States, Canada does not have any nation-wide legislation for people with disabilities. Disabled individuals are protected against discrimination in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms like other groups, and several provinces have their own disability and accessibility acts, but there's nothing that's all-encompassing. The woman who was speaking used negative experiences she's had with washrooms, airlines, and Para Transpo, some of which I could relate too, as examples of why a Disabilities Act is needed.

On the last day of the event, I watched a presentation about accessibility issues in relation to COVID and the post-COVID future. Very interesting. The presenter spoke the changing workforce, trying to tie most things into disability and accessibility. He hit on points like companies transitioning to online/at-home operations (which he gave the really cool name "digital nomads"), office layouts, and the idea of reinventing the work week to accommodate more people working from home.

Very interesting ideas from everyone I listened to. A very pessimistic part of me can't see many of these ideas being implemented, for reasons too long to go into in this post, but I'm optimistic that change will come at some point. At the very least, the event was worth participating in!

Cheers

Fiction Month

During April and a little bit of May, I did a month of writing prompts to keep me busy. Some were lists, some were small journal entry-type pieces, and a few I made into blog posts.

For June, I want to do another writing month, but this time I'm making my own. The focus will be fiction, specifically prompts revolving around the characters and creatures I've come up with from Scriptwriting projects, the comic I pitched, or fun stuff I've done in my spare time.

One thing I like to do when I'm feeling bored but creative is to go on a website called Heromachine  and create my own superheroes and villains. Some of these characters have been floating around in my head for ages, including an entire comic book universe worth based off of a one-act play I wrote!

 I've managed to save thumbnails of many of these characters to a memory stick and I figured it'd be a fun exercise to try and come up with origins for many of them.

The second part of this latest writing project involves Cryptic, the original TV series I pitched in Scriptwriting and comic I tried to create based on cryptozoology, the search for Bigfoot and other creatures.

On that same memory stick that had all my super-characters, I found a ton of Cryptic notes, both from the show and several comic ideas.

When I'm not writing origins for heroes and villains, I want to try and write a couple short (one to two page) stories based a round those ideas, as well as to create my own original cryptids.

Hope I can stay motivated long enough to finish everything!

Cheers