Formal Assessment, Days Two-Five
I apologize for not posting any more this week; the internet's been a bit of a wreck and I've been pretty busy. Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty much the same as Monday--went on a walk to establish I can navigate without getting killed, see how I use ZoomText, etc. i learned the uncontracted Braille alphabet (functional Braille literacy would, in the words of my evaluator, "not be a good use of our limited time") and worked on updating my resume, providing data for the volunteer placement people, etc. Yesterday was the business lunch, with a counselor and a fellow resident who are both former educators. We ate gyros (and I was THRILLED to get a real gyro after two years in Longview, where the only two restaurants that serve them order their meat and tsatziki from Kronos) at a little Greek/Italian place and talked, broadly, about education, the way the Center works, etc. Today I had a mock job interview, which apparently went better than I thought it would, and had a review meeting. The conclusion was reached that yes, I was a perfect candidate for the shortened program, I didn't need any help with technology beyond a few pointers in using Zoomtext more efficiently, didn't need orientation and mobility, had some social skills issues. So Monday I start in earnest, on a different track and schedule than everyone else, which is odd.
Wednesday, I went to Austin Books and Comics. It's smaller than Nan's (my pusher in Houston) but very clean, well organized and well stocked. Which is cool, because after Blackest Night ends I'm likely dropping all my DCU save Secret Six and will be looking for new indy stuff to try. (Note to dvandom , I'm getting Atomic Robo issues via the Playstation Network store, so no need to recommend that. ;) ) Haven't been to either of the two Japanese places in walking distance; that may come tomorrow since one of them is right by the wimax place.
That internet about which I was so enthused is not working out so well. During the day, when everyone's in class, or on a Saturday afternoon, it works like a charm. In the evenings, though, it gets bogged down to the point of uselessness; if I try to do any gaming or download anything bigger than a 5MB .mp3, it crashes and I have to go through the login click-through again. Oddly, it never shows a dip in signal strength--it just starts timing out, then after a minute or two the window pops up asking for login info.
Socially, I still feel pretty awkward. Everyone's been pretty friendly, and one guy down the hall took me to his favorite pool hall/pizzeria on Tuesday (a bit of a dump, but damn good pie). However, I still feel a little isolated due to my age. Everyone seems to be either 18-19 (that is to say, fifteen years younger than me) and attending CCRC out of high school, or in their late forties or later (fifteen plus years older than me). The younger people are easier to relate to, but I don't want to be that 30-year-old hanging out with 18-year-olds, especially if contraband or other trouble arises--I don't want to put myself in a situation where I either have to narc on a bunch of kids or risk flushing my entire professional potential, after all. My non-standard program causes some issues, too; I don't think anyone necessarily resents me for getting to skip doing wood shop blindfolded, but I'm going to spend more time one-on-one with instructors, and won't get the same chance to build rapport with the rest of the group that others do. Anyway, I'm hoping for a bunch of single 30-year-old women to show up in the March intake, but don't expect to draw the attention of the Blue Lanterns or anything..
I'll try not to go so long without posting again.
Wednesday, I went to Austin Books and Comics. It's smaller than Nan's (my pusher in Houston) but very clean, well organized and well stocked. Which is cool, because after Blackest Night ends I'm likely dropping all my DCU save Secret Six and will be looking for new indy stuff to try. (Note to dvandom , I'm getting Atomic Robo issues via the Playstation Network store, so no need to recommend that. ;) ) Haven't been to either of the two Japanese places in walking distance; that may come tomorrow since one of them is right by the wimax place.
That internet about which I was so enthused is not working out so well. During the day, when everyone's in class, or on a Saturday afternoon, it works like a charm. In the evenings, though, it gets bogged down to the point of uselessness; if I try to do any gaming or download anything bigger than a 5MB .mp3, it crashes and I have to go through the login click-through again. Oddly, it never shows a dip in signal strength--it just starts timing out, then after a minute or two the window pops up asking for login info.
Socially, I still feel pretty awkward. Everyone's been pretty friendly, and one guy down the hall took me to his favorite pool hall/pizzeria on Tuesday (a bit of a dump, but damn good pie). However, I still feel a little isolated due to my age. Everyone seems to be either 18-19 (that is to say, fifteen years younger than me) and attending CCRC out of high school, or in their late forties or later (fifteen plus years older than me). The younger people are easier to relate to, but I don't want to be that 30-year-old hanging out with 18-year-olds, especially if contraband or other trouble arises--I don't want to put myself in a situation where I either have to narc on a bunch of kids or risk flushing my entire professional potential, after all. My non-standard program causes some issues, too; I don't think anyone necessarily resents me for getting to skip doing wood shop blindfolded, but I'm going to spend more time one-on-one with instructors, and won't get the same chance to build rapport with the rest of the group that others do. Anyway, I'm hoping for a bunch of single 30-year-old women to show up in the March intake, but don't expect to draw the attention of the Blue Lanterns or anything..
I'll try not to go so long without posting again.