Randomness

Thanksgiving Recap

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone this lovely first Wednesday of December? Things here are usual. We currently have two meetings (my annual and a nursing assessment to make sure I’m still cripple enough for my CLASS benefits) and Sophia’s yearly vet visit. Haven’t decided on Christmas plans yet. Anyway, I thought I would provide you with a Thanksgiving recap since there’s nothing much to ramble about.

It was a very nice day. Dad and I dressed up a bit because Texas de Brazil used to enforce a smart casual dress code. Not so much now, but most people still dressed up. Anyway, the only two negative things of the day happened early on. We got lost on the way to the restaurant because 635 is constantly under construction and the signage is horrible. Instead of ending up at our exit, we wound up in the Express lanes and couldn’t get off until Webb Chapel. It wasn’t a horrible detour, but I was trying to avoid tolls by taking the Parkway up to Beltline. Ah well. We arrived ten minutes early instead of twenty. This was followed by the next negative thing. Despite having reservations for 3:30, we were informed there would be a 45 minute wait. I didn’t really mind. It just meant I sat around people watching instead of sitting at home on the computer. But the fact that 45 minutes turned into an hour and 15 minutes was annoying. The manager didn’t bother making rounds to apologize while everyone was waiting. He only came around when people complained. They kept taking walk-ins even though they didn’t even have enough space for people with reservations. I know it would probably take away from income, but holidays should be reservation only if you’re that busy, or at least limit the number of walk-ins. Enforcing time limits is another option. According to the manager (who did show up to apologize as we were leaving), the whole wait time fiasco occurs every holiday they’re open. They should have a better way to prioritize reservations by now. Pre-covid, the wait time was 20 minutes at the outside on Thanksgiving with reservations. Figure out how to compensate for the changes. But we were eventually seated at that coveted table by the end of the bar right next to where all the waiters gather to tally orders and all that. Which wasn’t actually bad at all. Our waiter was absolutely fabulous. He was unsure of me at first, but once he figured out I could talk, he treated me like a person. He was attentive, but not overbearing. If we wanted something, he made sure we got it. The food was mostly delicious. The parmesan pork was disappointingly dry, but everything else was amazing as usual. I tried the passion fruit mousse for dessert. It was more of a yogurt than a mousse, but it still tasted good. I’ll think I’ll stick with crème brûlée in the future, though. The valet people were all very nice as well. We skipped the highway on the way home and took Beltline all the way. It was longer, but better than 635. And to top off a lovely day, our neighbor brought us some turkey and potatoes and rice and black beans and other yummy stuff.

That was our day. How was your Thanksgiving? As always, feel free to share your thoughts here or on my social media pages!

Accessible, But Not

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here are about normal. We have reservations at Texas de Brazil for Thanksgiving this year. Dad hasn’t felt like cooking lately and no one ever invites us anywhere, so we made our own plans. Do you have plans for Turkey Day? Anyway, I don’t have much to ramble about lately, but while making the reservations, I started thinking about the Dallas location and how it was “accessible.” I usually try to stick with stories about cripple privilege and the good things that come with being disabled, but I see a lot of people talk about their experiences with accessibility that really isn’t accessible. Things that don’t really bother me, but apparently make other people uncomfortable. I don’t want people who read my blog to think I’ve never run into these issues, because I have. So, here are a few examples of accessibility that isn’t really accessible that I’ve encountered in daily life.

When they say “It was accessible…”

1. At Texas de Brazil in Dallas, their accessible entrance was a ramp in the back by the dumpsters that led to a hallway by the kitchen which led up front. We haven’t been to this location in years, so I don’t know if they’ve renovated or something. Anyway, I never thought much about it, but apparently entrances like this make people feel like they’re something to be ashamed of, trash smuggled in through a back door. I can see where they’re coming from. I never really cared as long as the service was good and the staff didn’t get annoyed. But the real reason this kind of entrance isn’t actually accessible is because someone has to go to the front entrance to let them know I needed to use the ramp. There are disabled people who go out alone. If they can’t get in the front entrance to let someone know they need the ramp at the back entrance, it’s not really accessible, is it? I’m always with someone, so it’s not a big deal for me, but it’s still weird. Anyway, there are other locations that are far more accessible, but we actually stopped going to the Dallas location because our van bottomed out getting in and out of the parking lot.

2. The Mansion at Turtle Creek’s accessibility was kind of wild. It’s been just about 10 years since we went. My 30th birthday. So I really hope they’ve renovated, but I doubt it. Anyway, we get there and the initial entrance is perfect. No steps. Nice people to get the door. Inside, there are two or three steps up to the dining area. No built in ramp. They bring over these two little ramps that fit the steps perfectly that they can line up with my wheels. Okay, cool. But it’s so steep that Dad and one of the waiters has to assist me just so I don’t flip over. Technically accessible I guess, but it’s actually pretty dangerous for me and whoever has to assist me. Plus, it was kind of embarrassing to require so much of a todo just to get up a couple of steps. Overall, it got the job done, but it wasn’t really all that accessible.

3. This is really the only one that ever pissed me off. SMU. The accessibility at that school is so hit or miss. In some of the older buildings, they have elevators that barely fit a skinny person standing up. Yes, I graduated forever ago, but those elevators still exist. Still. I’ve asked. The accessibility answer was to move my classes to other buildings. The excuse for not installing larger elevators? They can’t afford it. Meanwhile, all the sports crap was constantly being upgraded. There was also a running joke when I was there that SMU didn’t care about anything needing repairs/upgrades as long as all the fountains worked. Other accessibility features that weren’t accessible were the door openers. Even on the new buildings, they were either too high, set off to the side where they weren’t even reachable, or they were tiny little things you had to stick your finger in a hole to get to. There were only like 3 that I could actually use myself. It was so annoying.

But yeah. Accessible things that aren’t actually accessible are an ever-present issue. I just try to ignore them as much as I can. I’m lucky I don’t go out by myself or it would be a much bigger problem. What kind of accessibility issues have you encountered where accessible wasn’t actually accessible? Feel free to share your thoughts or questions here or on my social media pages!

Cripple Life in Modern Times: Medicaid

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things here were annoying this past week. The good: Dad’s colonoscopy was fine and we got food afterwards. In case you don’t know, you do NOT have to be sedated to get one, so don’t let that stop you. You have to be adamant about it and remind them every time they call and day of, but yeah. It’s fine. The bad: on Friday, I got a letter saying my Medicaid was rejected because I didn’t turn in my renewal paperwork. That was a blatant lie. I turned it in 5 days after I got the initial letter saying that I needed to do it. I later found out some stuff was missing, but all they said I needed to turn in was the signature page. I did that on the same day I got the letter telling me stuff was missing. Ugh. Anyway. I have nothing to blog about, so here are the details of the Medicaid clusterfuck if you’re interested.

October 17th: Got a letter canceling my Medicaid because they didn’t receive my renewal paperwork.
Uh, what? That is completely untrue. Here’s the original timeline:
July 12th: Received an email saying I have a letter in my YourTexasBenefits account. The letter informs me it’s time to renew my benefits and I have 30 days to do it.
July 17th: I submit the paperwork via my CLASS case manager who faxes it in.
August 4th: I haven’t heard anything, so I call to make sure my paperwork was received. I’m assured it was and told it could take 30 to 90 days for a response.
August 29th: Received a letter via snail mail saying that my paperwork wasn’t received and I had 5 days to submit any missing items. Called the same day (recorded every call from here on) and was told they just needed the signature page. Sent the page that day.
September 2nd: It was a holiday weekend, so this was the earliest I could call to confirm they received it. They did.
September 11th: Got an email saying that my paperwork wasn’t received. Called and was told everything was received and under review. All I could do was wait.
October 17th. Denied. Called and was initially told that my paperwork was not processed. After she spoke to her supervisor, I was suddenly at fault for not sending the signature page in within 5 days of the letter even though I sent it the day I received the letter.
October 20th: My CLASS caseworker came over and we called together. Got swapped around to three different people. One had to dig around to find my paperwork, the second swore it hadn’t been submitted in a timely manner until she actually looked at the dates, and the third one took one look and said I submitted everything when I was supposed to, so she reopened my case and input all my stuff, only asking me to verify that I only have one bank account. She approved it and said there shouldn’t be any gaps in my coverage.
October 21st: Received a letter via my YourTexasBenefits account with the approval letter.

I really don’t know why they have to make everything so difficult. Why can’t they assign a case worker to be on your renewal or application or whatever from the beginning of the process to the end? It doesn’t have to be the same person every year, but it would be so much easier than cold calling 2-1-1 and hoping you get in touch with someone who knows what they’re doing. It would also be better for them because they wouldn’t have to research every call they get and hope everyone else took notes. The way they handle Medicaid in Texas doesn’t make sense to me. But I’m good for another year (maybe, who knows with all the cuts the Nazis… oops, I meant Republicans… are trying to push through), so I’m going to stop thinking about it now.

New TV

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone this lovely Wednesday? Our new TV finally arrived. Got it from Best Buy and let them do all the work. It was a bit expensive to have them take down the old one and install the new one, but I think it was worth it. Dad wanted to be macho and do it himself, but our old one was a plasma (so, 150ish lbs) and the wall mount was being stupid, so I didn’t really want him finagling it out by himself even though I know he would’ve figured out a way. The Geek Squad guys (Michael and Jonathan, I believe) got it out pretty quick, installed a new mount Dad bought that should make life easier (it lets you pull the TV out about 26″ and swivels), then put up the new TV. They even did the initial setup of the Roku stick, so we didn’t have to worry about pairing the remote. I made sure we got signed in to all our stuff and we spent the rest of the day (Tuesday) watching TV. Anyway, here’s a stock photo of the LG G5 because I’m too lazy to have Dad take a picture of our stuff. The image quality is great so far and the white is certainly bright. I’m going to watch some more now.

Question: Best TVs?

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things are still in the wait and see part regarding Medicaid. I have to say, this is a ridiculously long wait, even for them. But yeah, the current administration isn’t ruining anything by firing everyone willy nilly. It’s all perfect. Anyway, other than that, our week has been interesting. Our TV finally died after 18ish years. It was a great TV. Panasonic. Now, Dad’s looking for a new one. He’s looking at the 65″ range because it’ll fit in the entertainment center he built. All we’re really wanting is the best screen quality. We’ll stick with a Roku device for streaming and our sound system is great, so speaker quality isn’t important. We just want a TV with the best picture. Dad’s looking at an LG, but we’ve never had a good experience with them in other devices, so he’s a little wary of them. There’s also a Sony he’s looking at, but it’s a bit pricy without any reason we can see for being so. What are your favorite TVs? Recommendations? Feel free to leave a comment here or on my social media pages!

From 2016. Entertainment center in the background. Can’t find a better picture.

Random Updates

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I’m probably feeling blah and vegging out, because I usually feel like crap for a day or so after the Covid and Flu vaccines (it’s currently the 16th and we’re heading out to get them soon). But I don’t have any real things to post about, so here are some quick, random updates.

1. Still waiting to find out if I’m still cripple enough for Medicaid. I have no idea what’s taking so long, but when I call to check on everything, they keep telling me it’s under review. And all I can do is wait and be polite and remain calm. Whatever.

2. We have tomatoes and jalapeños and even got our first strawberries! No pics because I didn’t think about it. It’s okay to be jealous though.

3. I’m so tired of seeing that name that’s currently everywhere. Had never even heard of him before this. Everything I’ve seen and heard since is disgusting. He wasn’t a good person. Every time he opened his mouth something ridiculous or horrible came out of it. He thought deaths due to gun violence were acceptable. Now, he’s just another statistic. I feel bad for his kids, but that’s the extent of my empathy (something else he had dumbass thoughts on). Stop idolizing people like him. It’s gross.

4. Raspberry Pepsi is yummy. I don’t know if it actually exists anywhere, but all you need is a Pepsi and raspberry syrup (like the syrups you put in coffee). It’s better doing it that way anyway, because you can adjust how much syrup you add based on your tastes. Pepsi with maraschino cherry juice is also good.

Anyway, I’ll be back next week with the usual book review.

Five Books I Actually Enjoyed This Summer

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? I’m still waiting to hear from Medicaid about whether I’m still cripple and poor enough. Otherwise, I’m just super tired. So, today’s post is just a list of books I actually enjoyed reading this summer (June through August) in no particular order.

1. Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto. It was quick and fun. I figured it out pretty quick, but still enjoyed the story.

2. The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World by J. R. Dawson. You can see why here.

3. Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao. It was a bit different from what I usually read and I found it really enjoyable. A bit sad, but ultimately a happy-ish ending.

4. When the Tides Held the Moon by Vanessa Vida Kelley. Super predictable, but fun. The representation in this book is fairly stereotyped, so if you’re sensitive to stuff like that, be aware. Otherwise, it’s a fun merperson story.

5. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune. Yes, yes, just yes. Go read it and the sequel. I love them both.

Shameless Promotion of a Friend: J.R. Dawson

~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! How’s everyone this lovely Wednesday? I’m still playing the waiting game. I’m also tired and generally blah, so this is a quick post to let you know that J.R. Dawson did it again! The Lighthouse at the Edge of the World was released at the end of July! I bought a hard copy because it’s so pretty! I also bought the ebook because it’s easier for me to read that way. But I definitely recommend a hard copy because the book cover deserves to be admired as it was meant to be. Anyway, I’m only a quarter of the way through and I’m loving it. I’ll probably end up doing a brief review when I’m done. I’m so happy for J.R. and her books!