Grand Theft Wheelchair, A Bottle in Front of Me, and Pursey-phone
So I'm up really late last night playing Silent Hill 4 (which is good, but not superb), and as a result I'm a zombie for my morning shift in the library. The three hours rolled by as quickly as I was moving, but it wasn't busy so it didn't matter.
On my way to Psych, I see that the main entrance of the college has set up booths and stuff for Disability Awareness Month, but they use the narrowest hallway available. Is it me, or does it defeat the purpose of raising awareness by having the hall so full that one wheelchair takes the remaining space of the hall so no one can get through?
After I manage to get through the hall, I am accosted by a lady in front of the cafeteria. She's in a motorized wheelchair and asks "Want to try the obstacle course?" Apparently, they set up a course for people to navigate through using a regular wheelchair to show how difficult it can be to get around areas that aren't handicap accessible. (Is handicap PC anymore? I can't keep up.) Having been hospitalized myself and actually tried to hijack a wheelchair to escape the place, I was titilated. Psych class be damned! I must try!
Basically, I go over a ramp, between narrowly placed obstacles, open a door without using the auto-opening button, roll over grassy areas, manuever around a curve that was declined as to thwart steering, up an incline, and do my best to avoid running over people. I did fairly well, and can totally see how people in wheelchairs get those muscular arms. Rather fun, really, but I wouldn't want to do it all the time.
I reluctantly yield the wheelchair to the next participant and learn of a blind obstacle course in a nearby room. They blind fold you and put you in a room filled with chairs and tables. Originally, they wanted to get a hold of those canes that are used to "feel" around an area, but they couldn't find one, so the assistant gets to guide me along with his voice. Not the same, but the idea comes across. I found that I moved my hand into a mantis gesture and kept it at waist level so I could have a second of warning before I topple over random furniture. He guides me to a table, and tells me to feel for the pile of coins and see if I can tell how much is there. Based on relative size and edge texture, I was able to calculate the amount. Turns out that I was the only one able to do that so far. Then he guides me to another table, and tells me to try to identify the liquid in a bowl. Based on the viscosity, the lack of smell and the nearness of the cafeteria, I was able to identify it as canola oil. He was rather impressed by my ability to get around without sight. I didn't mention that without my glasses or contacts, that what he's leading me through IS my life, so of course I'm doing well.
I meander in to Psych late, but happy. We went over some topics, and start the intro to psychological disorders. The instructor puts in a video that shows some "treatments" used to deal with disorders. I don't know when this was done, but it was in black and white and very reminiscent of the earliest programs on TV. It shows patients convulsing and suffering seizures induced by Insulin Therapy. The idea was that since people with Epilepsy "rarely" suffer from depression or other disorders, the Grand Mal seizures they were having clearly had a beneficial effect for curing patients. So they injected patients with Insulin, and let them go into a coma that produced the convulsions for a while. Let me tell ya, that is some freaky shit to watch. Eventually, they are revived by an injection of glucose, or intubated through the nasal cavity to the stomach for introduction of the substance. This was followed up by a patient being lobotomized, with a lovely view on how this was done at the time. Ick.
I leave the class a little disturbed and head off to a good Art History class, but must suffer through some horrible mangling of Greek names. This guy (a student, not the instructor) could not say Persephone correctly to save his life. Ugh. It's not that tough, but I guess not being exposed to those strange Greek names like Socrates, Aristotle, and Hippocrates could have that effect. It just means they should read more.
On my way to Psych, I see that the main entrance of the college has set up booths and stuff for Disability Awareness Month, but they use the narrowest hallway available. Is it me, or does it defeat the purpose of raising awareness by having the hall so full that one wheelchair takes the remaining space of the hall so no one can get through?
After I manage to get through the hall, I am accosted by a lady in front of the cafeteria. She's in a motorized wheelchair and asks "Want to try the obstacle course?" Apparently, they set up a course for people to navigate through using a regular wheelchair to show how difficult it can be to get around areas that aren't handicap accessible. (Is handicap PC anymore? I can't keep up.) Having been hospitalized myself and actually tried to hijack a wheelchair to escape the place, I was titilated. Psych class be damned! I must try!
Basically, I go over a ramp, between narrowly placed obstacles, open a door without using the auto-opening button, roll over grassy areas, manuever around a curve that was declined as to thwart steering, up an incline, and do my best to avoid running over people. I did fairly well, and can totally see how people in wheelchairs get those muscular arms. Rather fun, really, but I wouldn't want to do it all the time.
I reluctantly yield the wheelchair to the next participant and learn of a blind obstacle course in a nearby room. They blind fold you and put you in a room filled with chairs and tables. Originally, they wanted to get a hold of those canes that are used to "feel" around an area, but they couldn't find one, so the assistant gets to guide me along with his voice. Not the same, but the idea comes across. I found that I moved my hand into a mantis gesture and kept it at waist level so I could have a second of warning before I topple over random furniture. He guides me to a table, and tells me to feel for the pile of coins and see if I can tell how much is there. Based on relative size and edge texture, I was able to calculate the amount. Turns out that I was the only one able to do that so far. Then he guides me to another table, and tells me to try to identify the liquid in a bowl. Based on the viscosity, the lack of smell and the nearness of the cafeteria, I was able to identify it as canola oil. He was rather impressed by my ability to get around without sight. I didn't mention that without my glasses or contacts, that what he's leading me through IS my life, so of course I'm doing well.
I meander in to Psych late, but happy. We went over some topics, and start the intro to psychological disorders. The instructor puts in a video that shows some "treatments" used to deal with disorders. I don't know when this was done, but it was in black and white and very reminiscent of the earliest programs on TV. It shows patients convulsing and suffering seizures induced by Insulin Therapy. The idea was that since people with Epilepsy "rarely" suffer from depression or other disorders, the Grand Mal seizures they were having clearly had a beneficial effect for curing patients. So they injected patients with Insulin, and let them go into a coma that produced the convulsions for a while. Let me tell ya, that is some freaky shit to watch. Eventually, they are revived by an injection of glucose, or intubated through the nasal cavity to the stomach for introduction of the substance. This was followed up by a patient being lobotomized, with a lovely view on how this was done at the time. Ick.
I leave the class a little disturbed and head off to a good Art History class, but must suffer through some horrible mangling of Greek names. This guy (a student, not the instructor) could not say Persephone correctly to save his life. Ugh. It's not that tough, but I guess not being exposed to those strange Greek names like Socrates, Aristotle, and Hippocrates could have that effect. It just means they should read more.