Everything that is My So Called Life

Video welcome from Woodrow Wilson Rehab Center!

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 23:33:45 US/Eastern

Well, I'm here at WWRC for driver training. Unlike before, when I was here for therapy, I have a room to myself with plenty of space to move around. What better setting for my first video WWRC podcast?

You don't have to live like a refugee

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 23:04:30 US/Eastern

For the longest time since my injury, and even now, I've felt like a refugee. I no longer fit in with ordinary people who aren't in wheelchairs or with people who have been in wheelchairs their entire lives. This leaves me in a strange land where I'm surrounded by people who aren't like me. It is a land where every sidewalk, every building entrance way, every product, every television show and commercial is made for able-bodied people.

My first video podcast

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 19:03:45 US/Eastern

I've finally done it. I've joined the revolution. I'm riding the "new media" wave. Blogging was so yesterday's news. Podcasting: done that (see my last post). Now the brave new world of video podcasting. Consider this episode, from my new apartment's balcony, my grand introduction. Where will technology lead us next, actually interacting and conversing with each other in person and face-to-face? If so, I'll be there.

Spinal Tapes

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 11:39:47 US/Eastern

As I was unpacking, I came across a bunch of audio tapes that I recorded in the days following my accident. Prior to my injury, I had kept a journal in which I had written three pages in the morning and three pages in the evening every day for two a half years without missing a single entry. It was very important to me and kept my mind limber. After I got hurt I lost that and, knowing how important it was to me, my girlfriend Lynn suggested that I continue using audio tapes. Because of the trauma of it all I only managed to record a handful of them.

Wheelchair friends

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 11:22:23 US/Eastern

Okay, this is a quick one. I was giving some thought the other day about the people that I know and the people that I used to know in my old life. Before I was injured I had never known anyone in a wheelchair. Now it seems, that most the people that I know are in wheelchairs.

My Apartment

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 11:11:15 US/Eastern

Well, I'm finally in my new apartment. I know that I have been neglectful with my blogging, but I hope to make up for it now. Moving in wasn't very difficult for me physically, I had my Mom and my live-in aid moving the heavy stuff (which for me, is everything).

Two year anniversery... yay.

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 17:23:50 US/Eastern

I've been procrastinating quite a bit lately. I haven't been writing much and have probably been watching too much television and reading too many things written by people that were actually motivated to write. It has now been two years and one week since my injury. I've spent the past week thinking of all of the things that I should be writing about - all of things I've lost and gained and learned and thought about in these past two years. It really has been quite a bit, and I don't know where to start. I guess the best way to approach this is to write two or three blogs about it all - call it a series if you will ( we'll call this "Part one" so that I already have one finished).

Part Two: Getting the hell out of here

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 17:22:43 US/Eastern

I recently learned about a place called Coppermine, a subsidized accessible housing apartment complex in Herndon, that just opened up. I've spent the past few weeks gathering all of the paperwork I need to move in. I can hardly wait and can already envision hosting Gatzbyesque gatherings funded by food stamps and fueled by fine liquors of the canned-malt variety (brought by the guests of course).

Part Three: Unsafe at any speed

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 17:20:21 US/Eastern

Aside from just being in a wheelchair, it is difficult to get around town. In order to go anywhere I need to call Metro Access a day in advance and schedule a drop-off off and a pick-up time. It makes it difficult to spontaneously go anywhere. That is where getting my driver's license and getting a car come in.

Fouth of Julyery

Tue, 04 Jul 2006 16:47:51 US/Eastern

Well, it's the fourth of July. I don't have any big plans this year, and I don't remember how I spent the fourth last year. The fourth of July has a bunch of special meanings to me and may actually be my favorite holiday. I have great memories of the fourth from years past. As a kid, it was fun to watch and set off tiny explosions, but as I got older it took on more personal significance and I often find myself waxing nostalgic about those days. Here are just a few...

Urine-dependence Day

Sat, 01 Jul 2006 18:00:04 US/Eastern

When people think of paralysis or quadriplegia they generally only think of the loss of movement or sensation in the arms and legs - the obvious things, the things that seem to be the most important. Most people don't realize that quadriplegia can affect a person's ability to breathe normally, sweat or regulate body temperature, or manage their own bladder.

Compartments

Mon, 01 May 2006 23:32:35 US/Eastern

My mom says I have a tendency to put things in separate compartments. If I have problems in one part of my life, I keep it separate from another. She didn't suggest whether it was a good thing or not. My jury is still out on it - although maybe each juror is in a separate compartment.

myPod

Sun, 02 Apr 2006 23:10:22 US/Eastern

I've been meaning to do this for a while. This is a list of all the artists I have on my iPod (in case you care). As you peruse, keep in mind that I may have only one song by any given artist (like Barry Manilow's Copa Cabana) or may have nearly every song any given artist has released (like Beck).

The woman in the spring dress

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 00:44:01 US/Eastern

I was at NRH, waiting in the reception area for the clock to strike 4 so that I could go in to work out. I was reading the paper when I noticed a woman approaching in my peripheral. She had a certain energy, a glow, a presence that caught my eye. I looked up. She was stunning - a tall, slim, attractive african american in her 30's. She wore a spring dress that I really can't accurately describe, except to say that it was the perfect dress for her on the perfect day.

Passport stamp from hell

Thu, 30 Mar 2006 01:14:58 US/Eastern

I got my haircut this week and the scar on the back of my neck is now quite visible. Not that I mind. It's like the equivalent of a passport stamp; it says where I've been.

31

Thu, 30 Mar 2006 00:51:51 US/Eastern

So, 31 years old. How's it feel? Not much different than 30, which is to say I didn't expect to be where I am now when I was 29. My 29th, now that was a birthday. Actually, last year's with Jeanie* was an awesome night too, but I still woke up the next day a quad. My birthday wish wasn't granted, obviously.

Re-thinking Lynn Witherspoon

Sat, 25 Mar 2006 23:15:03 US/Eastern

Lynn left me 2 1/2 months after my accident. At the time my fear, frustration and anger combined with a power struggle between her and my mother drove her away. To me, it seemed like she had switched her heart off. I'd been there in relationships before - the heart switches off when you start seeing someone else. Although she denied cheating, friends told me she'd begun seeing a guy who also worked in film and video. Needless to say, I was devastated.

Introducing Campbell Zeitgeist

Tue, 31 Jan 2006 00:44:51 US/Eastern

Why come up with my own ideas, when I can appropriate (steal) them from Google? Google Zeitgeist is a nifty site that tracks the things people are searching for on the web. Campbell Zeitgeist tracks the things I'm watching, listening to, and reading... assuming you care.

She lives in my mind

Tue, 17 Jan 2006 14:46:45 US/Eastern

I had always pondered the philosophical idea that if we died or met alien life, we would be introduced to it in a form that we would be most comfortable with - God would come in the form of a long-since-passed loved one. I think that Jamie might be like that for me.

At what point can I still stand up for myself?

Tue, 10 Jan 2006 17:22:02 US/Eastern

I'm crying right now. I rarely do anymore, but today I can't help it. I was supposed to go in to DC today and work out, which I haven't been able to do because of the holidays. I have to take - MetroAccess, a wheelchair bus service provided by the city. Today, as often is the case, the van was late arriving - 50 minutes late.