The Difference A Year Makes

As I was working the other day and phoning around to set up and clarify various personal things, I realized just how much my life has changed in the last year.

The end of June 2017, I was in a really bad place. That month had been a whirlwind of meetings and phone calls to look into various disability-related services and had resulted in a string of disappointments. It got to be so overwhelming that I just broke down.

The Joubert conference in Phoenix that summer and writing days downtown during the Fall helped relieve tension, but it was still pretty rough what with looking for work and other forms of independence.

Fast forward to this year. I have a job which, so far, is going great, I've got home care coming in  multiple times during the week which is a big help, services like Para Transpo and ODSP (disability pension) are responsive and behaving themselves (knock on wood!), and I'm involved in groups like Able Sail, the Joubert Board, and that book club. That's a pretty good turn of events!

I guess patience, persistence, and all that other good stuff does really pay off eventually.

Cheers!

Taekwondo

Considerably old photos in this post

I just saw a post about a girl with Joubert syndrome who kicked butt (pun very much intended!) at a Taekwondo competition, and it inspired me to finally write this post.

My taking Taekwondo is one of those things people are always impressed to hear about. I started way back in the mid 1990s, when a therapist at Ottawa Children's Treatment Centre recommended Tae E Lee's special needs Taekwondo class to my parents as a fun alternative to therapy. We went and observed a class and I was instantly eager to try it.

The program was (and still is) the first of its kind, created by Grandmaster Tae E Lee as a way to promote physical and personal growth in children and youth with various disabilities. This was summed up with his philosophy of Moo Kwang, physical well-being + mental well-being = benefits. Or, as he said in class, be good at home, school, and taekwondo!

The physical aspects I can attest to right way. Aside from my own progress, I knew fellow students who could hardly stand on their own when they started, and were independently acting as my instructors by the time I had to stop attending classes years later!

For the home and school parts of the triangle, one thing we had to do as students each class was to bring in a list of chores we did throughout the week. The students who failed to do so, and their instructors, had to do extra push-ups during the class. Older students were also encouraged to bring in report cards and test scores from school. I can say from personal experience that enough push-ups will definitely make you study harder and help out a little more at home!

Mostly though, I just thought Taekwondo was fun!

Like I said, I started in the mid 90s at about eight years old with a white belt. After many years, belts, and broken boards (yes, I did that too!), I got my black belt in 2002!

Along the way, I competed in several poomse (pattern) competitions over many years of the Tae E Lee Cup Taekwondo Championship. I won many participation medals, a few bronzes, and one silver!

After getting my black belt, the curriculum incorporated more work from the "regular" classes. This meant harder lessons, instruction from other black belt students, and more boards to break during tests. I did this for a while but, sadly, had to stop classes when they conflicted with college.

In recent years, I've debated whether or not to go back. Still not sure...

Anyway, very glad I finally got the motivation to write this all down.

Cheers!

The Job: First Week, First Impressions

Well, my first week of work is finished and, I have to say, it was quite the experience.

Mostly orientation and getting things started or set up. A lot of meetings, information packages, training, and technical issues.

First thing Tuesday (my first day) I got a badge and, for the first time ever, I have a photo for something official (passport, health card, etc.) where I don't look like an overweight drug smuggler. I'm really liking having my own office/cubicle, and plan to add one or two appropriate personal touches as soon as things are settled.

I've got quite a lot of very friendly co-workers who have been eager to get to know me and involve me in things.

The workload looks daunting but doable. The main thing I'll be doing is registering people for online courses. I was trained in this yesterday, and took to it quickly. Other tasks should include scanning and some database management. Outside of my required tasks, I've had co-workers extend me invitations to sit on various team meetings and was asked if I had any experience with graphic design, in relation to a poster they want to make. So, should be a productive six months!

It's a great thing to start a new job, but it all feels surreal, like a part of me feels like I shouldn't be there even though I know I should. And that's not me being nervous, just happy disbelief, I guess. I've just never had a job, or even any kind of volunteer opportunity quite like this.

I'm sure I'll get used to it as soon as I settle in more and really start doing things.

Cheers!