My 11 Year Old Self

I have a story to share, it is not blindness related, but I thought it was worthy of talking about with all of you. Maya Angelou understood it best when she said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you.” So, put on your seatbelts because we are going to travel back to the mid 1990’s, when I was in the 6th grade. This was a hard time for me because at school, I absolutely had no friends and felt isolated by my peers. Particularly, there were a group of girls, which seemed as though their main mission each day was to make my life as miserable as they could. I dreaded going to school, and could not wait for the year to be over. With that said, at the end of the year, I switched schools and never looked back. Fast forward to the present; 19 years later, I have not talked to any of my former classmates from that school and had no expectation of ever doing so. But, you see, that is the funny thing about life, it can be unpredictable and rarely do things happen as you expect. I can attest to this first hand because at the end of last year, life threw me another curve ball. One day when checking my email, I was surprised by a particular sender. In fact, I had to scroll over his name several times before opening the message to make sure that I was hearing my screen reader correctly. After opening the message, it was indeed who I thought it was; a male classmate from my 6th grade class. To say the least; my mouth flung open and I entered into a complete state of disbelief. In the message, he apologized for not being all that nice to me when we were younger. In addition, he offered some words of encouragement by talking about how strong of a person I am. The email was such a kind gesture and it meant a lot to me. I feel it was commendable for him to take the time to reach out to me, and it shows what a considerate adult he has grown up to be. Of course I accepted his apology, and now I have a pleasant ending to a chapter in my life that I had once closed. Speaking for my 11 and 30 year old self, I want to thank him again for contacting me!

My 11 year Old Self

I have a story to share, it is not blindness related, but I thought it was worthy of talking about with all of you. Maya Angelou understood it best when she said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you.” So, put on your seatbelts because we are going to travel back to the mid 1990’s, when I was in the 6th grade. This was a hard time for me because at school, I absolutely had no friends and felt isolated by my peers. Particularly, there were a group of girls, which seemed as though their main mission each day was to make my life as miserable as they could. I dreaded going to school, and could not wait for the year to be over. With that said, at the end of the year, I switched schools and never looked back. Fast forward to the present; 19 years later, I have not talked to any of my former classmates from that school and had no expectation of ever doing so. But, you see, that is the funny thing about life, it can be unpredictable and rarely do things happen as you expect. I can attest to this first hand because at the end of last year, life threw me another curve ball. One day when checking my email, I was surprised by a particular sender. In fact, I had to scroll over his name several times before opening the message to make sure that I was hearing my screen reader correctly. After opening the message, it was indeed who I thought it was; a male classmate from my 6th grade class. To say the least; my mouth flung open and I entered into a complete state of disbelief. In the message, he apologized for not being all that nice to me when we were younger. In addition, he offered some words of encouragement by talking about how strong of a person I am. The email was such a kind gesture and it meant a lot to me. I feel it was commendable for him to take the time to reach out to me, and it shows what a considerate adult he has grown up to be. Of course I accepted his apology, and now I have a pleasant ending to a chapter in my life that I had once closed. Speaking for my 11 and 30 year old self, I want to thank him again for contacting me!

The Year of Happiness

Happy New Year to all of you! Pat yourselves on the back you made it to the first weekend of 2014; yay! Do you have a New Year resolution yet? Well, I have been really thinking about my resolution this year because unlike the last time, I am in a new chapter of my life; the 30’s. Therefore, I really want my goal to be attainable, and benefit me in the long run. Last year, my resolution was to think more positive about my life circumstances because I was facing hardship around my unemployment. I have to admit, I had some up and downs, but overall, I think I did pretty well with my goal. I feel with any resolution or goal, there is going to be setbacks, but the important thing is not to give up or be extremely hard on yourself. So, building off of my goal last year, my resolution is to have a year of happiness. Sure, it may sound easy, but seeking true happiness for yourself can be a daunting task, especially if you put yourself on the backburner. True happiness cannot be found in other people, but solely lies within you. Not only am I going to think about my needs more, but I am also going to pinpoint one positive thing about each day, no matter how difficult a situation may be. For example I may be unemployed, but I have gone on interviews and I am volunteering for some great agencies, Beautifully Blind being one of them. So, what do you think, does my resolution seem attainable? Beautifully Blind wants to hear your thoughts! Also stay tuned for my next post regarding someone from my past.

Moving Forward With “MovieReading”

It is a great feeling to witness audio description becoming more of a discussion topic in the entertainment industry. With the television to movie theaters, audio description is more readily available than ever before. With this in mind, there is an app called “MovieReading” that makes the movie going experience even more enjoyable for blind viewers. For example, instead of trying to locate a theater that offers audio description, you have the option to travel to any show; all you just need is your smart phone. As exclusive U.S. partners with Universal Multimedia Access, Hollywood Access Services is releasing Solo-Dx on MovieReading, the first ever auto-syncing audio description app available for first-run movies. The debut title on this new platform will be The Weinstein Company’s Philomena, already in theaters. According to Hollywood Access Services, using acoustic fingerprinting technology, this new auto-syncing method will completely change movie going for the blind and visually impaired via their smart phones. The company says it's really easy to use… download the app, download the description track and then go to the movie theater. Even if you arrive late, you can simply hit "sync" and your audio description will pick up in the right place. Listed below are some instructions for the app provided by Hollywood Access Services. How it works: • Download the MovieReading App on any smart device running iOS 6 or higher. • Go to Settings and create a login. • Choose PHILOMENA – It will ask you to "Download the movie." Hit YES. This will download the audio description into the app. • To use go to MY MOVIES on the bottom. It will sync automatically. Have to grab some popcorn or go to the bathroom during the film? No problem! It will resync when you sit back down. If it doesn't, simply hit SYNC. If you decide to download this app, please let Beautifully Blind know what you think!

Turbulence On The Tarmac

If you have ever been on an airplane, then you know how limited space can be, well at least in the economy section where I sit. It seems as though many airliners try to cram as many seats as they can in that small aircraft, so that more profit will be made. However, for the consumer, the confined space can be a little uncomfortable. With this said, when the seat belt sign is turned off and the flight attendant announces that it is safe to move about the cabin, many people, especially tall ones, make a sigh of relief as they have the chance to get up and stretch their legs. Now that pets are allowed on airplanes, it is expected that they will have the same yearning as humans to stretch their legs, particularly since their space is even more restricted. Specifically, one story has been making news within these past days regarding Albert Rizzi and his guide dog. The plane was a small turbo, where Mr. Rizzi was seated in the last row and there was no underseat area to place his dog, Doxy. As a result, Doxy was then placed in front of another passenger’s seat. But after waiting for over an hour on a US Airways flight to depart from Philadelphia, guide dog Doxy became restless and wanted to be near his owner. Mr. Rizzi said that earlier he had requested an open seat where there was enough space for him and Doxy, but his request went unanswered, thus placing him in the current situation. The flight attendant aboard the plane told Mr. Rizzi to stow Doxy and after much debate, the flight attendant had them both removed from the flight along with thirty something other people who came to their defense. Since the airline failed to accommodate guide dog Doxy, Mr. Rizi believed that he was discriminated against. Mr. Rizzi is quoted as saying, “If I allow myself to be beaten down, then I allow people who come behind me to be beaten down.” Following the incident, many people have shown support to Mr. Rizzi and the other people who took a stance with him. When we tweeted this story on Thursday, there were several tweeters who were just as disappointed in US Airways as we are. One good valid point that was brought up more than once is, US Airways needs to train their employees more on ADA compliance. We at Beautifully Blind, are interested to see what comes out of this story. Please share your thoughts, we would like to know!

Under The Watchful Eye

The true test to one’s character is not only measured by how he/she acts in front of others, but also the type of behavior that is exhibited when they think no one is watching. A person’s moral compass helps them distinguish from right and wrong, but is that compass thrown out the window if he/she thinks there will not be any negative consequences for their actions? Here’s a scenario for you to ponder… Let’s say one beautiful day you are standing in line at an ice cream store waiting to be served, when you notice a customer has unknowingly dropped some money. No one that you know of sees the money but you. So, what do you do? Do you tell the person or pocket the money? Well, a woman at a Dairy Queen in Minnesota found herself in a similar situation when a blind customer dropped $20. Instead of returning the money to the customer, she decided to take the cash and keep it. Little did she know the store manager, Joey Prusak, had her under a watchful eye, thus seeing everything that just transpired. Prusak confronted the woman and told her to give the money back, but she refused. Therefore, as a result of her actions, Prusak refused to serve the woman, then took $20 of his own money and gave it back to the blind customer. Prusak didn’t know that he was under a watchful eye as well; his co-workers and the customers commended him for his actions. It is true, no good deed goes unnoticed. Prusak has received monetary rewards and national recognition for his positive actions. Props to Mr. Joey Prusak for standing up for what’s right!

Accessibility With Comcast TV

Whether we like to admit it or not, TV consumes many hours of a person’s life; it is a tool for relaxation. When you think about it, just like music, TV has several options for a person to choose from that is in accordance with their mood. TV can uplift a person or make them feel validated when sad. In the midst of TV’s popularity, people have adopted various rituals while engaging in this pastime. Such rituals include, vegging out on the couch, exercising, sitting in the bed, cleaning, etc. Whatever the case may be, millions of people watch TV everyday. How many times have you turned on the TV and flicked through the channels or used the guide to find a good show? It’s an easy task, to which many do not think twice about doing. However, for me and other blind/visually impaired individuals, it is not such an easy task. In fact, speaking for myself, it can be quite daunting. Whenever I am trying to find something to watch/listen to, I really have to pay attention to sound, so that I can try to decipher the show/movie. Some channels may announce the upcoming show or movie, while others just flash the name across the screen, which frustrates me. This is why I absolutely love my Apple TV because I can easily navigate show and movie titles without sighted assistance, all thanks to VoiceOver. Well my friends, it seems as though in addition to Apple’s accessibility efforts, Comcast is trying to make an accessibility mark too. Taking their blind/visually impaired customers into consideration, Comcast has developed a talking TV guide to make channel surfing for those without sight easier. The program might even incorporate a selection of synthetic voices that the user can choose from. The program is still being tested, but hopefully, it will be released sometime next year. YAY!!! This makes me happy because one the program is made available, I don’t have to play the guessing game anymore. So, applause to Comcast!!! To learn more about the talking TV guide and how it was developed check out an article by the Philadelphia Inquirer: http://articles.philly.com/2013-08-29/business/41542138_1_guide-disabilities-act-comcast-corp