May 2007

Glenda's Book Update #15

Wow! Where did May go?

After a slight delay due deck repairs, I finally finished planting my pansies and petunias. The deck is now looking good! And, the next AB (able-bodied) through the door will be requested to put up the patio umbrella. Then I need to stock up on cold refreshments and the deck will be ready for summer! None too soon – today was mighty warm in my southwest-facing home office with no air conditioning. Summer is definitely here!

Orders for I'll Do It Myself continue to come in. I recently mailed copies to Australia and New Zealand; exciting to be reaching people half a world away! For those of you who are local, Celebration Christian Store on King George in Surrey now has more copies available. They had sold out of the first batch that I had dropped off. If you purchased one, thank you.

Blogging is fulfilling my childhood dream of having a regular column in which to share personal experiences of living with a disability so that readers may come to know me, the person, and to realize that I am more than my cerebral palsy. My goal is to alleviate people’s fears of those with disabilities in a non-confrontational and humorous way. Unlike writing a column in a local newspaper, blogging has allowed me to touch people from around the world. My dream would be even sweeter if I could find a way to be paid for blogging. And, I believe I have found one way; details are on my blog. At this point, I would like to request your support in votes, please. And you can vote every day until New Year’s Day, 2008. Thanks for your continued support.

Until next month...please feel free to forward this to friends and colleagues...

Warmly,
Glenda

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Readers' Corner:

Have you read my autobiography I’ll Do It Myself and now have a question or two? Do you have a question about what it is like living with a disability, but have felt too inhibited to ask? Do you need suggestions on how to make something accessible? Go ahead, ask me! Send your questions to questions@BooksbyGlenda.com. All questions are welcomed; no question is too basic.

"What do you do if the elevator is out or if you just can't get to where you need to get to? Have you had to miss appointments because you couldn't get to the person?"
~ Meike, a long-time friend

Good question, Meike. Getting somewhere to find an "Out of Order" sign on the elevator is one hazard of using a scooter/wheelchair. Sometimes it possible to find another way around; for example, some Skytrain stations have an elevator on both sides of the split platform. If the elevator is out of order, then I go to the next stop, switch trains and back to my original destination – and hope that elevator isn't out of order too. That is why I always try to leave extra time when getting anywhere.

Other times there is no other way around, and it simply sucks. Last year, Darrell and I missed joining our friends for Canada Day celebrations because our building's elevator was out and we're on the third floor. We had no way to get out. Our plans quickly changed from seeing Tom Cochrane in concert to a quiet celebration for two.