Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Still waiting for the wheelchair. Dad’s keeping busy. Things are usual. Mostly, I’m just here with your yearly reminder that while Pride may be over, July is Disability Pride Month! It’s time to stop hating people for existing as LGBTQ+ and start hating those of us who exist as disabled. But but but… disabled people are soooooooo inspirational! We would never (overtly) hate “special needs” people! The government would never come after people who are “actually” disabled! Have I got some news for you…
The DOJ recently (June 18th, 2026) released a memorandum trying to convince people that the Olmstead Decision of 1999 doesn’t mean what it means. Basically, it’s one of the legal pillars (along with section 504 of the rehabilitation act of 1973 and title II of the ADA) that prevents discrimination against disabled people. The Olmstead Decision makes it clear that disabled people deserve to live in and be cared for within their communities whenever possible. In other words, they can’t be forcibly institutionalized simply because they are disabled. Home and Community Based Services have expanded exponentially because of this ruling. And you know what? It’s far cheaper for the government to provide in-home care for people with disabilities because they don’t pay for 24/7 care or anything extra like a building/food/drinks/etc. But institutions can be made by for-profit organizations, just like prisons. So, while they cost the state more money, the backhanders to politicians are more lucrative for the individual. But I digress.
My dad is paid to take care of me because of this ruling. So many people rely on home health services, including me. Granted, the memorandum doesn’t technically mean anything right now. It’s just an opinion piece. But it gives states the basis they need to start questioning the decision and provides grounds for trying to fight it. And the fact that Texas (where I live) is still trying to get section 504 removed, makes everything all the more terrifying because they’ll keep going until disabled people have no rights. But I have nothing to worry about. I’m overreacting. Right? Right?!
So, yeah. This kind of stuff is why Disability Pride Month exists. As long as our rights are threatened, this will continue to be a thing. And please know that the administration is currently also messing with disabled people’s access to a proper education, but I’m only vaguely aware of what’s happening there, so I’m not expanding on it in my rant. Happy Disability Pride Month!
Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are usual. Quiet with a constant undercurrent of terror. I’m still playing the waiting game. But we’re not here for any of that. It’s the last Wednesday of June, so you know what that means. Book review time! This month, I decided to go with an Egyptian mythology retelling. I knew the very basics going in, but it’s not a mythology I’ve looked into much, so I was just along for the ride. Isis of Egypt: Goddess of Thrones by Malayna Evans was released yesterday (the 23rd) from Alcove Press. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!
Isis of Egypt: Goddess of Thrones follows the goddess Isis from birth throughout many of her greatest challenges. It’s not easy being the power behind the throne of the gods, but someone has to find and manipulate the right gods into power. But what happens when her beloved husband is kidnapped after years of peace and prosperity? The goddess abandons everything to search for him, letting chaos reign in her absence. Will her journey bring her husband back to her? Will she be able to end the chaos when she returns? Only time will tell.
Plot: it’s the tale of Isis. I didn’t know much going in, so I’m trusting the author (who has a Ph.D in Egyptian history) to know her stuff. The setting and story were lovely. I enjoyed how much page time went to the minor gods and goddesses. The pacing was pretty good, though a couple of spots lagged. I’m gathering those were the areas that the lore didn’t really cover, because it was mostly filler. But I learned a lot and had fun doing it. My only complaint would be the attempt to make Set sympathetic at the end. The entire book basically highlights what an asshole he was, then when he gets his ass kicked, we’re suddenly supposed to feel bad for him because he had crappy role models? Nah. He’s quite literally the personification of chaos. Just let him be the asshole.
Characters: mostly likeable/understandable. For a book told in close third person, most of the characters are surprisingly fleshed out. Except Osiris. He was basically perfect in Iris’s eyes, which was annoying. Also, apparently there’s a lot of incest in Egyptian mythology. It’s weird. But at least they don’t deny it/skip over it like some mythologies (looking at you Christianity). However, Isis and her siblings are gods, so I guess that’s what makes it okay. I don’t know. I spent far too long trying to convince myself it wasn’t icky, but never quite succeeded.
Writing: kind of preachy. Don’t get me wrong, I agree with the ideas in this book, but everything was so overexplained that it quickly became too much. It was written in more of a memoir style than as a novel, so most of it is Isis telling us the lessons we should learn rather than showing us. Yes, we get it. Stop beating the horse. It’s already dead.
Ultimately, I had mixed feelings about Isis of Egypt: Goddess of Thrones. I really enjoyed learning about Egyptian mythology. The plot and characters were good for the most part. The writing was lacking. It was a solid look into Isis if you’re interested in Egyptian mythology.
Overall, I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Actually, a solid 3.5, but rounded up because I didn’t feel a 3 was fair. I enjoyed it well enough and think it’s worth a look if you don’t mind something that overexplains everything.
Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are fine. Really. Nothing to complain about that’s important or relevant or even worth it. But I’m currently angry and tired and just want to scream or cry or something. I’m not actually going to do anything. I’ll bottle it all away for another day. Mostly because I don’t currently know why I’m feeling this way, so I can’t explain it, which just makes it even more annoying. Anyway. I’m tired. I’ll be back next week with a book review.
Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things are quiet. I don’t have any Wheelchair Saga updates. Nor do I have anything else to ramble about. So, since it’s Pride, I figured I would share some of my favorite LGBTQ+ books with you. I’ve talked about them all before, but I still love them, so go read them.
1. The Adam Binder series by David R. Slayton. Actually, anything by him. I have yet to read something by Slayton that I don’t like.
2. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune. I’ve read a couple of other books by him as well and liked them too.
3. Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. Love her style. I need to read more of her stuff.
4. The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J. R. Dawson. It’s hard to pick a favorite book by Dawson. I love all of her stuff.
Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are slow. But first and foremost, Happy Pride! Stay safe and take care of each other. Anyway, I have a little news on the wheelchair front. If you want to catch up on the Wheelchair Saga, part 1 is here, 2 is here, 3 is here, and 4 is here. There’s not much news, so this will be short!
We were just entering the wait and see period at the end of part 4. On May 21st, I got the official letter from Universal Med Supply saying they had gathered and submitted everything to my insurance and that it should take 12 to 15 business days before we get a yes or no. That same day, I got a call from someone at Universal wanting to ask me a few questions to expedite the whole process. Of course they called before I was even out of bed, which I keep telling them I won’t answer before 2pm at the earliest. Usually 3pm. So, I called them back. The oh so important questions? They needed me to confirm my address. Again. For the ten thousandth time since I’ve been dealing with them and 50th time during this process alone. Anyway…
Surprisingly, it only took about 5 business days to get approval. Mohamed called me this previous Friday to let me know. He called early, but actually left an extension so I could call him back directly instead of playing phone tag. We went over everything that will be out of pocket and Dad paid for that stuff. Then, we went over everything else one more time. And he placed the order with Quickie on the 1st. The time frame guestimate for building the chair and getting it in is two to three weeks, so it’s still a waiting game on my end. Universal is supposed to call and schedule a delivery/set the chair up appointment when they get it. More after that happens!
Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here have been lazy. No wheelchair saga updates for at least a couple of weeks. Everything is waiting for approval from Medicare/Medicaid, which they say usually takes two to three weeks. In my experience, it takes longer. So, we’ve officially hit the hurry up and wait portion of our journey. But that’s okay, because it’s the last Wednesday of May! You know what that means. Book review time! This month, I decided to try something a little more “literary” than usual. I guess you’d call it women’s fiction with a tinge of magical realism. Missed Connections by Aimie K. Runyan was released yesterday (the 26th) from Harper Muse. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!
Missed Connections follows Sabrina Sorensen who heads home for the holidays and her sister’s engagement party after a poor job interview. She’s been fired from her posh GM job at a Michelin starred restaurant in Paris, which has derailed all of her plans and dreams. She’s 37, jobless, and has no personal life to speak of. A spat with her mother sends her running to the airport with nowhere to go. A fairy godmother-esque ticket agent saves the day by letting Sabrina visit anywhen (yup, time travel!) in her life to see what kind of things would change if she had chosen different paths.
Plot: not bad, but could have been better. She has the option to go back to any point in her life and relive it. For some reason, she decides to go back (multiple times!) to try to fix dudes who were complete assholes. Come on. You’re telling me this daddy’s girl chose an ex over going back to have one more conversation with her dead dad? Yes, it’s established that she can’t save him, but she could have made time to go home once before he died just to say goodbye. Not making time to go home before his death was one of her biggest regrets and she chose to work on relationships that didn’t deserve a second thought instead? I call bullshit. But for what it was, the plot was fine.
Characters: Sabrina was fleshed out pretty well. The two exes were complete douchenozzles who didn’t deserve anything from her and the fact that she couldn’t see that even in hindsight was very weird to me. Even when they were painted as “nice guys,” there were huge red flags everywhere. Her mother wasn’t fleshed out very well at all, so their relationship felt more toxic than I think it was supposed to. Mom deserved no contact from all of her children if she was even half as bad as she was made out to be. Nikolai was too perfect. No one else got enough page time to really pop.
Writing: weirdly technical. I learned more more about back and front of house roles in fine dining than I ever wanted to know. Personally, I enjoyed that aspect of the book, but it does slow things down a bit.
Ultimately, Missed Connections was yet another book where I loved the premise, but didn’t care for the execution. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t feel realistic to me. I just didn’t believe the choices Sabrina made. They didn’t match her character.
Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. A solid 3. It wasn’t bad by any means, but it wasn’t my cup of tea. If it intrigues you, give it a shot. If not, pass.
Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are usual. I wasn’t really planning on doing an update this week, but I’m running super late and have nothing to ramble about, so I thought a quick rant wouldn’t hurt. There’s actually A LOT I’d like to rant about, but I’ll try to keep it short. If you want to catch up on the Wheelchair Saga, part 1 is here, 2 is here, and 3 is here. We ended our journey last time waiting for an appointment with an ATP.
Dad and I thought we knew the ATP, which we did, but it was the wrong dude. The one we thought it was knew his stuff and if he didn’t, he knew how to find out. Sadly, it wasn’t him. It was the sales dude turned ATP from last time. In the 8 years since we last saw him, I will say he’s still more of a salesman than an ATP. Dude barely breathes lest someone else get a word in edgewise. He was completely unprepared for our meeting. Personally, if I were going to a meeting about a chair that I knew nothing about, I would’ve at the very least taken a few minutes to familiarize myself with the order forms in those two weeks before the appointment. Actually, I probably would’ve done stupid amounts of research and made a nuisance of myself to the Quickie sales people until they put me in touch with a tech I could at least video call during the appointment to help me and the client. But I’m super anal, so I don’t expect people to do what I would’ve done. I do expect a basic effort though. Dude just decided to wing it.
At some point, he asked why I was getting a new chair. When I told him it was because something was draining my batteries, he proceeded to mansplain how to charge batteries like five different times. Not just to me. To Dad. Like Dad hasn’t spent the majority of his life maintaining batteries for me and his tools and everything else that uses them. Grrrr. It didn’t help that he didn’t really know much about how chargers work.
But yeah. He’s now on vacation for a week. So, I’ve been emailing with the Mohamed dude about corrections and last minute changes. I got most of what I need supposedly except a flat back, so I’m at the point where I’m tired and don’t really care anymore. I’ll figure it out when everything gets here. Once everything is settled about what’s possible and what needs changes, they will submit everything to Medicare/Medicaid for authorization. That means more waiting. I’ll update when I know things!
Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are okay. No wheelchair news until after the 15th. Dad’s planting stuff outside. I’ll try to remember to get pictures when he’s done. Otherwise, there’s nothing much to ramble about, so I thought I would give a little shoutout to Open Book Chocolates. I ordered some for a friend even though I knew they were backed up and it wouldn’t be there on her birthday. Surprisingly, they only a week or so late since I ordered them a bit early. I figured it would have been at least a few weeks late given their order load. Anyway, here’s a short kudos!
Open Book Chocolates creates handmade, bean to bar, fair trade chocolate bars with literary inspired flavors. What book lover doesn’t need bookish chocolate? When I saw Maggie Weber (the refashioned hippie) do an unboxing video, I knew they were the perfect gift. Granted, her video caused their sales to skyrocket, so I expected a ridiculous wait time, but it wasn’t bad at all. From order to delivery, it was 3 weeks. So, I was pleasantly surprised by that. Plus, all I asked to be included was a gift receipt if possible, but they also sent a little “from” card and they gift wrapped the bars! It was such a nice thing to do. A small touch that only a small business would do.
I don’t know how the chocolate tastes, but the service is definitely 5 stars. My friend tried the Doctor Watson (Earl Grey and honey in milk chocolate) and said the flavor notes come through in just the right amount. Very tasty! There is also a pamphlet that explains each flavor choice in relation to the books/characters. So neat! The picture above is just a few of their flavors. I do plan on getting a couple for myself soon (maybe next month).
Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are busy, yet slow. It’s weird. Anyway, I promised you an update on the Wheelchair Saga, so updated you shall be. If you want to catch up on the whole thing, you can find part 1 here and part 2 here. Yeah, it’s still going. We haven’t even gotten to the fun part (picking colors and going over everything I need). Last time, I had just had my “Mobility Evaluation” and we were waiting on next steps. Let’s go from there.
First, I waited for emails that never came. When I finally got frustrated, I sent an email to the sales eligibility address asking what was going on. Sales dude no longer worked for the company. I found out on April 28th. Today, I found out he was actually the lead dude of his department and was well liked and pretty much the most knowledgeable dude there, but he resigned for unknown reasons. I completely don’t blame him, but I wish someone would’ve let me know. Anyway, now I’m in touch with someone called Kajal who is nice and gets things to whoever can answer my questions if he can’t. So far, anyway. There’s still a long way to go in the process.
While I was waiting for emails that never came, Universal Med Supply did get me scheduled for a PT assessment. Yet another instance of proving I’m cripple enough. It was a video visit, so at least I didn’t have to be touched or anything. That was on April 22nd. The dude was nice enough, but I guess he didn’t read the pre-check-in paperwork because he had no fucking clue I have one of the Muscular Dystrophies even though I mentioned it on every single page. I was talking to him for 20 minutes under the assumption he knew my diagnosis when he finally asked what had brought all my symptoms about. Me: “… I have Muscular Dystrophy.” Him: “Well, that explains everything.” No duh, my dude. Read your paperwork next time. It’s like doctors and everyone else think we fill out that paperwork for fun or something. Ugh.
Once that was done, apparently Universal sent even more paperwork to my PCP for signatures and supporting documentation to really reinforce the fact that I’m cripple. She bitched about it at our appointment (check-up, not chair related). Dad kind of thinks she was upset about it, but I think I’m just her first severely cripple patient and she had no idea we go through so much just to prove we’re cripple. It flabbergasts people, even doctors, the shit we have to go through because of insurance and the state just to get basic needs met. It’s a lot.
Anyway, Universal said the last step before everything can be submitted for approval is for an Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) to come out. Originally they said it was to make sure the house was wheelchair friendly, which is stupid. I’ve been here all my life. Of course Dad made it accessible. They called on April 29th to set up the visit for May 1st. I told them I needed an afternoon appointment, preferably after 3pm. They were supposed to call me back to confirm. Nada. I called them on the 30th. No one knew what was going on, so they were supposed to call me back by the end of the day. Still nothing. On the 1st, after I figured no one was coming, I sent an email to Kajal that laid out my availability for this week. Nothing. On the 5th, I sent a tersely worded “what’s going on?” He emailed me to ask if this Friday would work. Nope. I already have an appointment that day which is why it wasn’t an option on my list of availabilities. Eye twitch.
As you can probably guess, I’m super annoyed by now. Finally, some dude named Mohamed calls me. He’s rambling about how they need to send two ATPs because I have some seating thing called PinDot. It takes me a couple of tries to stop his monologue long enough to tell him I don’t have that. They tried to coerce me into getting it with my last chair despite me telling everyone that I despise molded seats and they don’t work for me. Ultimately, I tried to do the fitting, but stopped there once the guy doing the fitting finally realized it wasn’t going to work for me. Just listen to me in the first place, please. So, I finally got it through to Mohamed that I don’t have that, I just have a Roho Quattro bottom seat and standard flat back. Apparently, that made everything easier. They’re supposed to send out an ATP on Friday the 15th after 2pm. It’s someone we’ve worked with before who knows his stuff, so that makes me feel much better. He’s supposed to fill out the order forms and go over everything I need and want. Also, Mohamed confirmed all by himself that they’re ordering a Quickie Q700 M and sent me the order forms so I can go through them beforehand (I’ve been researching this chair for months, so I have them, but I appreciate the confirmation that he’s looking at the correct chair).
In summary: there were some annoyances, but not as many as I was expecting. It’s not over, though. They have most of what they need to prove I’m cripple enough besides what the ATP needs. Other than some lapses in communication, things are going suspiciously smooth. After the ATP, there will be a waiting game. Waiting for insurance approval. Waiting for the chair to be built. Waiting for any adjustments to make it possible for me to use the chair. Then, the period where my body adjusts to everything. But right now, I just need to get through the ATP appointment on the 15th. More later!
Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely last Wednesday of April? Things here are okay. I’ll do a wheelchair saga update next week. Dad’s okay. Just keeping busy. Anyway, it’s the last Wednesday of April, so you know what that means! Book review time. A Murder Most Camp by Nicolas DiDomizio was released yesterday (the 28th) from Poisoned Pen Press. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!
A Murder Most Camp follows Mikey Hartford IV, the child (almost 30-year-old manchild) of a grocery chain empire who has done very little with his life outside of being the stereotypical rich kid. This all changes when daddy dearest changes the conditions of access to his trust. Mikey gets shipped off to a summer camp in the hopes that helping kids and being in nature will bring out his good side. Throw in solving a 13 year old murder with a bunch of tweens and falling for a “regular” guy, and maybe Mikey can change.
Plot: meh. I really wanted to like this one more than I did. The murder mystery part was beyond slow, mostly because there weren’t many suspects and it was super obvious that three out of four weren’t the baddie. It just really dragged. The romance was slightly better, but not much. It was a bit abrupt. There was also family stuff that drove the story more than anything. That was okay. But mostly, the book mostly felt like a shrine to ’90’s movie references. Mikey endlessly references Clueless and other movies that are older than him like they came out in his teens or something. At least pick references for things that would have been pivotal in his time. Or scale back on the references. Maybe one a chapter instead of five per page. It just made the book feel dated instead of cute.
Characters: pretty flat for the most part. Mikey gets a lot of development, but it feels forced. It’s like the author is trying to convince the reader that Mikey is a good person instead of letting the story show us that. There’s so much telling rather than showing. It’s like the author doesn’t trust the reader to see the character growth. It’s annoying. None of the other characters really get enough page time to come into their own, so they’re all a bit flat.
Writing: the best part. Other than copious amounts of movie references, the writing was smooth. It was a quick and easy read. Something good for a day at the beach or a rainy day in.
Ultimately, I was disappointed in A Murder Most Camp. It was mediocre at best. I think I was just hoping for more than I should have. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t good.
Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Probably a little over 2.5 anyway. If you’re looking for an uncomplicated, mindless read to get you through a weekend trip or something, this is a good choice. Otherwise, give it a miss.
Shawna's Blog of Doom 