Philosoraptor

Oh my gosh... as a blind person I can tell ya... you can tell..
Even gone in the middle of the night and not want to turn on the light? How do ya know when enough is actually enough?
Same here.

Ok... that being said...
I travel a lot on planes for business and pleasure...
Once, in Ontario California... I asked tea where the restrooms were... one of them said " I'll take ya there"...
I don't mind finding myself... just point me in the right direction...
She actually said " Well aren't you gonna need me in there to help you wipe?"
Saaay WHAT?????

I actually , to this day, can't believe she thought I needed help wiping!
I am blind, not dumb!!

Still... I find the humor in it...Adventures in Blindness! :-)

You've just thrown me a curve ball. No idea that anybody on this site had this condition. How can you read my texts? By all means I'm not picking on or bullying anyone with any disability. I'm just after the funny factor and I'm glad you can see that...for lack of a better term. It's all in fun. Thanks.

I have several ways of doing things....
First my screen is HUGE... 55 inch TV actually.
Then I have everything bumped up 400% of normal...
IF...IF I still can not see what it is, my computer talks to me... it is a REALLLLLLLLY annoying voice.
Many blind people are on the internet using this reader, some can do it with the voice going so fast that it is insanely ridiculous!
I listen to it slower, but still pretty fast, just cause it is torturous to listen to and I want to get it over fast! LOL
The program is called Jaws if you want to google it or listen to it on YouTube.
I actually use a different program that is free, but uses the same exact voice.

If my reader won't work on a site... and there are a lot it won't work with... AND I can not read it on my own... I resort to taking a pic of the screen and there is a program on my iPhone that is called "Be My Eyes"... I send the pic and within just a few seconds to a minute... depending on who answers... one of 26K volunteers, looks at the pic and tells me exactly what it is, where I am at, or what something says.
It was a lifesaver for me when I was sick and had 2 different meds and the pills were both about the same size, shape and color. Could not read the bottles, or instructions.
When I found out each prescription, I took a black sharpie and wrote on the bottle for future reference.

I do public speaking events at school, civic groups, church youth groups and talk about all this and share funny stories I have experienced the past 6 1/2 years since losing most of my sight suddenly.
Most people are all depressed when something major like this effects them so drastically... but I decided to live life to the fullest and never get depressed... everything happens for a reason, I firmly believe that!

I do not have a seeing eye dog... but if I did... I would be like all the other blind people with dogs and be responsible for cleaning up after them.... just like sighted peeps :-)

IF you or anyone ever has any questions about blindness... feel free to ask... I don't get offended easily...and love to inform others... so they feel more comfortable around me.
I am just a normal, fun loving person who happened to lose my sight, but never my vision of how awesome life can be :-)

Sounds like you have your life in order and you seem like a great person. I don't say it often, so listen close, if I offended you, I apologize.

Absolutely no offense has been taken at all
You do not seem to be the type of person to be offensive...but a sincere thank you for your heartfelt apology.
That says a lot about you :-)

I became certified in Braille transcribing, just to discover that the only jobs are for teachers who are transcribers. It was fun learning, though.

You learned all the contractions and everything??
I am impressed!!
Do you do anything with that knowledge now?
I am curious what made you decide to learn Braille...

What would you say is the scariest environment for a blind person?

This could ruin your day... or more!

HAH!!!

If everyone else could read Braille... that would be a front page meme, huh??? LOL

I ask that as a lead-in to my story...

My answer would be prison. **confession bear** I was in prison and was assigned to be the caretaker of a blind man. He had developed glaucoma after he got locked up. By the time I met him, he was completely sightless. He had gotten permission from the warden to take a correspondence course to learn Braille. I was helping him with that, too, and realized I was learning it as we were going along. The library where he was getting his audio books from sent a newsletter that mentioned their transcribing services. I inquired how a person becomes a transcriber, then got permission from the warden to take the correspondence course for transcriber certification.

That is such an awesome story!!!!!
Thank you so much for sharing!!!!
And thank you for serving...
Serving the fellow prisoner and also everyone else you helped by transcribing :-)

Well, unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a job as a transcriber.

The initial certification was free, but the second level (formats certification, required to advance to any other certification, Nemeth, music, etc.) costs $225. The money isn't the problem (I already have the book) just finding time to study and take the exam is a problem.

The other side of the problem is that I signed up on a TON of job-seeking websites, and EVERY job for transcribers was for a teacher who is a transcriber.

I expect if I ever do get around to getting the rest of the certifications, I might be able to get a job at places like The American Printing House For The Blind, but just the basic certification won't cut it.

Try the state libraries.
I live in Utah and use the state library for the blind here.
There is a need for books being transcribed here and also at the national level( where best sellers come from)
I personally use the digital books on tape... that way I can multi task or just relax and listen to it in the sleep mode as I drift off to sleep.

But I have plenty of friends who wish that this book or that book were in Braille... or if it is they have to wait forever for a copy to be sent to them.

If you have a Braille machine... you could contact local NFB ( national federation of the blind) chapters and offer your services.
There is also the ACB... American council of the blind... but I think NFB has more Braille readers than ACB.
Also... you could tutor adults trying to learn Braille in their homes. I know the DSBVI... Division of services for blind & visually impaired... has counselors that go out and teach it... but it's usually once a week if you live in a city and once a month if you live in the rural areas.
That is not enough time to learn one on one.
I went full time to the blind school here in Salt Lake City and it still took me months, almost a year, just to read and write basic incontacted braille.

Just in case anyone else is following our conversation and curious... I also learned computers ( the JAWS program I was talking about earlier, technology to assist, like victor reader and digital book reader
I learned how to get around with my long white cane and be completely independent... I have traveled all over the ???????? and internationally on my own.
Planning on going to England and Italy later this year... even learning Italian to get around better than a sighted American tourist :-)
I learned how to do what I call... cooking without lookin!
And I am an excellent cook :-)
Part of cooking is shopping independently... what a nightmare... and cleaning... I am a neat freak...
I have learned I. The past 6 years tips and tricks to make life easier when dealing with my blindness... uber and Lyft are godsends
But... I want a google car when it hits the consumer market..
That way I can go where I want to go, when I want to go and stay for as long it short as I would like..
When I get it... I am going to get a YouTube channel and stream fun segment of my adventures :-)
If... anyone is interested.
I think I am funny and entertaining enough to make it a hit... I think... I hope :-)

Somebody tells the person. That he can stop.

I was the caretaker for a blind man for a couple years. He would wipe and smell. When the tissue stopped smelling like crap, he stopped wiping.