September 25, 2005 - 10:17 PM
On Friday, we had a planned Fire Drill at the High School during second period. Now one thing I'd forgotten to mention last week was that on that Wednesday,
we had a Fire Drill at the elementary school where I go in the afternoon. At that time, I only had about a 3 minute warning that the buzzer was going
to go off. I received a quick briefing of where the class goes, and although I was offered to walk with one of the other staff members sighted guide,
I told them that Geneva and I would work through it and that they should just worry about the kids. As it turned out, my student, Adam, ended up grabbing
a hold of my right hand as we walked down the hallway and never let go until we returned to the class. Geneva walked to the office, passing the loud noise
of the buzzer and out the main door of the school without hesitation. She followed along with the rest of the class around the corner, down the walkway,
around the building and up the hill to the field. When it was time to head back, we went in a different way, and she just followed the pack. She was
amazing. So, I truly wasn't concerned on Friday. And once again, she did splendidly. As soon as the alarm sounded, I called to her and she was at my
side in an instant. I grabbed the harness handle and we headed for the door. Away we went down the hall and outside. She fell into the crowd and followed
them along the walkway, turned to go up a few stairs and continued to the field. Everyone has their assigned spots to be. We wait just outside the fence
of the field with a few others with mobility issues. When it was time to go back in, we were more at the front with only one student in front of us.
Geneva followed him into the building at a different spot than normal, but we made it back to our office just fine.
On Friday night, Geneva and I, along with Amelia and my friend Meka went to a local restaurant called Caesars. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights,
they have Karaoke there in the bar. So, That's what we went for. Of course, Amelia is only 19 and so she couldn't go in the bar. So the 3 of us sat
at a table just outside the bar, selected our first songs that we'd sing and ordered a couple of appetizers. We each ended up singing 3 songs that night
and were there from about 9:00 till 1:00am. We had a blast! And I was really glad that Amelia was with us, giving us the excuse not to sit in the very
crowded and smoky bar. Besides, I learned that Amelia is very fun to be around. And as for singing; for her first song they had her stand just outside
the door of the bar but the wireless mike kept cutting in and out and she was doing so good that the host dragged her inside to finish her song. And for
the next two songs, he had her go through the bar and sing at the wired mike in front of everyone. Meka and I plan to go back next weekend. Between now
and then, I'm going to look up the lyrics to a few more songs. We caught a cab home and Geneva went straight to bed. I don't think she enjoyed herself
that much because every time I went in to sing, as soon as I was done, she'd drag me through the crowd and out of the bar. And no, I wasn't drinking!
Geneva seemed especially tired yesterday as we attended an outreach day for our local chapter. She spent most of her time sleeping in the corner. Although
we were disappointed that not a single guest from the public showed up, we had over 20 of our members there and the day was still very informative and
productive. In fact, a couple of ladies from the local transit company were there talking about routed and Access services, and some people ended up getting
their regional disabled pass or applying for Access. We plan to do this again next year. We've learned a lot from this one and we know that the next one
can only get better.
Today was a lazy day spent with a headache. I really need to get to the Chiropractor. I did speak with a gentlemen about a car though, and he's bringing
it out tomorrow afternoon for Amelia to test drive. It's a 93 Ford Taurus and the man selling it is a friend of my parents who has been the only owner
of this car. He's just ready to get a new one. Anyway, it's in our price range and he says it runs good. So, maybe in a week, we'll have wheels again.
Well, I think it's time for beddy by. At least that's what Geneva is telling me.
Hugs,
Cindy & Geneva
