Do It Myself Blog – Glenda Watson Hyatt

How many times a day do we wish we had more time? More hours in a day or more days in a week to get everything done that we feel we need to do.

Well, the good news is today is that “more time”. Once every four years we receive an extra day, an extra 24 hours. February 29th is the gift of time. What are you doing with this precious gift?

Sorry to cut this post short. I need to grab some lunch before rushing out to an important meeting. It makes me wonder if we would use “more time” any more wisely than the time we are given now .

Have a great weekend!

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Yesterday I began cleaning out the resource area of my office, making space for new ideas, new energy and new such. Much was dated 1998, 1999, and 2000 and quickly filled the recycle bin – I can find more up-to-date information online if I ever need it, so why hold onto mouldy-smelling papers? It felt good to get rid of that stuff. I have several more bins to fill before I’m done!

But, I did find one postcard that I bought back in university at the campus bookstore. Seeing it still makes me laugh.

“This town ain’t accessible enough for the both of us.”

The cartoon is drawn by John Callahan who became a quadriplegic resulting from a car accident. His cartoons reflect life from his own unique perspective. His sense of humour is dark and oftentimes politically incorrect, but hilarious in a way. Explore his website at your own risk!

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I shot this brief video clip from my deck this afternoon. Why? Because I can! Enjoy the sunshine.

There’s no captioning because there’s only background noise: traffic, crows cawing and such.

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Hi and welcome to Readers’ Café – the place to gather and to share.

The plan is to interview and chat with a featured guest on some aspect of disability and/or accessibility, and then have readers join in the discussion.

Today’s featured guest is Chris Darling – a metal, stone and wood artisan, folk radio host and father to an adorable six year old daughter Kiki who, along with her twin brother Quinn (who lived 16hour 40 minutes), entered the world at 26.5 24.5 weeks gestation. This began a long journey of near- death operations, shunts and, eventually, a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Unfortunately, the professionals paid to support parents during this difficult and exhausting time provided very little information. Chris and his wife Magda were left on their own to navigate this unknown world of medical terms, procedures and services.

Chris has kindly offered to share his story today in hopes someone will see it and pass the information onto loved ones that services are available, but only if they make arrangements to “consume” them.

I invite you to come in, relax and join in the conversation. Hit your internet browser’s REFRESH button to see new comments as others join in the conversation. All that I ask is that you respect others and keep it relatively family-friendly. Also, keep in mind that this is a public space, so share what you feel comfortable sharing publicly.

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Chris Darling is a metal, stone and wood artisan, folk radio host and father to an adorable six year old daughter Kiki who, along with her twin brother Quinn (who lived 16hour 40 minutes), entered the world at 26.5 weeks gestation. This began a long journey of near-death operations, shunts and, eventually, a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Unfortunately, the professionals paid to support parents during this difficult and exhausting time provided very little information. Chris and his wife Magda were left on their own to navigate this unknown world of medical terms, procedures and services.

Chris has kindly offered to share his story at this week’s Readers’ Café in hopes someone will see it and pass the information onto loved ones that services are available, but only if they make arrangements to “consume” them. Please join us right here on Wednesday, February 20th, at 4-7pm pacific time to here how Chris and his wife had to advocate very early on for their daughter’s life because health care professionals are coached to cloak information and to not return phone calls.

Hope you can join us. Feel free to tell your friends. This interview may provide information that will help someone you know.

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My kitty Faith, the gunk producer

A messy kitty litter box greeted me this morning. I decided to deal with it right away to get it out of the way. I dumped the biodegradable, flushable litter down the toilet, regrettably realizing that, perhaps, that much at one may not, in fact, be flushable at one time. The toilet was plugged. Badly. One more flush and gunk would have overflowed all over the bathroom floor. Good morning to you, too!

I left it for a while.

In between following up with clients about payment, seeking a featured guest for Wednesday’s Readers’ Café (any takers?), and participating in another teleconference for a non-profit in the throes of buying a building, I kept running to the bathroom to flush, hoping a little more gunk would go down.

After the teleconference, I needed to get serious about the matter. Things were getting desperate! Leaning over the bowl, pushing down on the plunger with all of my strength, I remembered something my friend Liz Strauss wrote in an email this weekend: Sometimes you need to get pissed off! Damn it, I wasn’t going to let a bowl full of rude gunk beat me! I kept plunging that thing up and down until I felt my heart was going to burst out my neck. Finally the sound that music to ears at times like these! The gunk flushed away.

What a relief to flush that stuff away. A sense of triumph. Talk about independence!

What gunk do you need to flush away to feel a little freer, to be a little more independent today?

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Valentine’s Day: a day for expressing matters of the heart to those who you love and cherish. Sadly, many are suffering from a broken heart. Literally.

Eight in every 1000 babies born alive have some form of congenital heart defect – a killer claiming thousands of infants and children worldwide every year.

My twitter friend Dr. Mani has made it his life’s mission to repair as many of these broken hearts as he can. Dr. Mani Sivasubramanian is a heart surgeon using his Internet marketing business to fund heart surgery for under-privileged children in India.

In conjunction with The Dr.Mani Children Heart Foundation
February 14th is A Day for Hearts: Congenital Heart Defects Awareness
Day – a global effort to increase awareness about this deadly group of diseases. See how you can hellp spread the word. Together we can do this.

And, today, while loving your loved ones, listen to their hearts. Truly listen. If you hear a healthy, beautiful beat, be thankful.

Happy Valentine’s Day from me to you.

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Thank you to everyone who voted for Do It Myself Blog in the Canadian Blog Awards, and a special thanks to Chris Foley for the nomination. Thanks to you, my blog has won second place in the Best Activist Blog category!

I’m honoured to place second, behind first place winner Dave Hingsburger’s Chewing the Fat. When wearing another hat many moons ago. I became familiar with Dave’s much needed work in the area of disability, relationships and sexuality. In recent years, I’ve stopped by from time to time to read his blog. I always find something worth reading; another perspective or a confirmation that I’m not alone in what I’m feeling live with a disability. I welcome the opportunity to chat with Dave at some point and would like to extend an open invitation to him to be a featured guest at a Readers’ Café.

Rounding out the Best Activist Blog category are:

• Big Blue Wave
• Persephone’s Box

Visit Canadian Blog Awards to view the winners in the many other categories. Congratulations to all of the winners!

Thanks again for your continued support!

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Dragon at the Chinese lantern festival, Auckland, New Zealand.
(Photo credit: Sam Veres)

Six weeks into 2008, how are you doing with your New Year resolutions? Are you becoming a healthier you? Is your closet or home office more organized? Have you mended those strained family relations?

Or, like me, have you not quite fully embraced the New Year? My focus has flown out the window, if, indeed, it was ever inside, and my contribution to the blogosphere has been less than stellar yet this year.

But, I have finally wrapped loose ends from last year. I now feel free to jump unencumbered into the opportunities presenting themselves in 2008 – of which there are many!

If your intentions are to improve yourself, your situation or your world, it doesn’t matter what day the calendar shows. Pick a day that works for you. If you slip, get back up, dust yourself off and try again. No need to get discouraged. Persistence and determination will get you there.

If you too would like to begin your year anew, join me in raising a glass, welcoming in the Chinese New Year (albeit a day late). Interestingly, the Year of the Rat is a time of hard work, activity, and renewal. “Ventures begun now may not yield fast returns, but opportunities will come for people who are well prepared and resourceful. The best way for you to succeed is to be patient, let things develop slowly, and make the most of every opening you can find.”

Kung Hei Fat Choi. Congratulations and be prosperous.

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Hi and welcome to the freshly remodeled Readers’ Café – the place to gather and to share.

With the remodeled café, the plan is to interview and chat with a featured guest on some aspect of disability and/or accessibility, and then have readers join in the discussion.

Today’s featured guest is Karen Putz, the Deaf mom who was denied service at her local Steak & Shake drive thru because she didn’t place her order through the speakers, which she can’t use due to her disability. Her story was covered by two TV stations and has received attention by the blogosphere. Most blog commenters have been supportive of Karen’s actions to go public with her fight for her rights, some do not fully understand what life is like when you’re Deaf and require some gentle disability awareness training, and a few others have been complete…well, sadly, there are still people in today’s society that need major attitude adjustments!

Today I would like to give Karen the opportunity to update us on her story, dispel some of the misperceptions about being Deaf, and how she is using social media to share her story and to advocate for her rights.

I invite you to come in, relax and join in the conversation. Hit your internet browser’s REFRESH button to see new comments as others join in the conversation. All that I ask is that you respect others and keep it relatively family-friendly. Also, keep in mind that this is a public space, so share what you feel comfortable sharing publicly.

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