A day in the life, How Many Ways Can You Mess Up a Perfect Looking Day?
\nBy Jessica Hodges<\/p>\n
It’s twenty degrees on a Monday morning. I have a breakfast of strawberry muffins, and a lunch packed of left over spaghetti. I even remember to pack a snack. My alarms went off, and achieved their purpose, so I was awake and ready by the time I needed to leave, a truly extraordinary feat. Tonight, I was leaving for Spring Break after work, and it was going to be amazing. Nothing could go wrong, I thought. I was very wrong. <\/p>\n
As I was walking to the bus stop, I began to realize things didn’t sound, or look, the way they were supposed to. Pulling out my phone, I noted that the battery was at forty percent. Sighing, I began to turn on my computer and plug the phone chord into it’s USB port, only to remember my computer had come unplugged in my sleep. Sighing, I pull out blindsquare, a GPS app that narrates what streets I’m close to, and what points of interest are nearby. When it tells me that I’m on a street I’m not familiar with, I pull out Aira, an app that connects me with a trained cited person who can see what I’m seeing and track me via GPS.
\n<\/p>\n
“Thank you for Calling Aira,” the agent said. “This is…” <\/p>\n
Suddenly, no sound is coming from my phone. Button presses produce no results. Franticly, I hold down the power button and home button. Five minutes later, my phone turns back on at ten percent. I try Aira again with the same results. In this kind of a rush, I’d usually take Uber or Lyft, ride sharing apps that get you to specific locations for a fee, but something got pulled from my account earlier that week that took my emergency Uber funds. Sighing, I shoot an email to my instructor saying I’ll be late (for all the good it will do) and start asking pedestrians questions. Blindsquare is semi helpful, until my phone dies five minutes later.<\/p>\n
Pedestrians direct me to the train station. I get on the train with a sigh of relief, then groan when I hear the first stop. I’ve gotten on the wrong train. Normally, I’d use blind square in conjunction with move it to keep me on my way. Blind square can track how close you are to a place, and what direction it’s in. Move it can tell when a train is coming, and when you’re supposed to get off. Couple that with a reading app like Voice Dream and I usually have a fairly pleasant bus or train ride. Not today. <\/p>\n
Today, I get off the train, and exit the train platform, only to get lost…again. When I finally find a train platform, I’m distracted and frantic now. I don’t even know what time it is, but I’m certainly late for my class. This is my only excuse for getting on the wrong train a second time. <\/p>\n
“Excuse me,” I say to the rider next to me. “Can you please tell me what time it is?” <\/p>\n
“Ten fifteen.” <\/p>\n
I freeze for a second, then put my head in my hands. Even if I got to school, there’d likely only be fifteen minutes of class left. Not worth it. I get off the train, trying not to cry. That is the worst reason to miss class I’ve ever seen. I get off the train, get on the correct train with the help of another rider, and head for home. <\/p>\n
When I’m on my sidewalk, a woman comes up to me and says, “Excuse me, did you know that you’re walking through snow, and your hair is red?” <\/p>\n
I am not paying attention to things around me, and am moving on auto pilot. Without really thinking about what she’s said, I shoot back, “No, “No, I thought I was on Mars and my hair is purple.” <\/p>\n
The woman came closer and put her hand on my shoulder. “Oh, honey, who told you that? I want to throw rocks at them.” <\/p>\n
At this point, the conversation catches up to me, and I have to bite my cheek to stop myself from hysterically laughing. Then I realize that now I have to explain things, , and talk to her, and stop laughing. Eventually, I convince her that I was employing sarcasm and move on. <\/p>\n
When I get home, I flop on my bed, and start to do homework. My teacher, thankfully, was incredibly understanding, but I still wasn’t ok with the day so far. I was equally upset with the fact that my eyes closed as I was reading my Psychology textbook, and I woke up three hours later. I had planned to go to work that day and make up some of the hours I would make up for spring break travels. At least I’d woken up in time to pack and bake lemon bars. <\/p>\n
Lemon bars are one of my friends favorite things, and they’re simple enough to make. I should have made them yesterday, but I had forgotten about it. I didn’t know how I was going to cut them, as they generally need a day to set, but I was just going to have to experiment. <\/p>\n
I was in the middle of making the filling when the catastrophe happened. In lemon bars, you bake the crust before you add the filling. My timer informed me that the crust was done, and I pulled it out of the oven. I was almost to the counter where I wanted it, when the pan shattered in my hands, and went all over the counter, the floor, and my filling. My vacuum was broken, and I wasn’t wearing any shoes. Worse still, that was my only baking pan, and I was out of groceries. I had instacart, a grocery delivery service, scheduled for when I got back, but that didn’t help me now. Wincing, I bent down to clean up the glass and clumps of crust. the crust would have been perfect too. <\/p>\n
I should have started with the laundry. If I’d been thinking, I would have. But I hate laundry, even with an app to help me remember the colors of things, and a labeling system to help remember what color’s what. As it was, my room mate was using the washer. This was made worse by the fact that some of my laundry had gotten wet from when I’d accidentally dumped my fountain all over my floor. Sighing, I started to pack anyway.<\/p>\n
I packed in the usual way, starting with shoes, then clothes, and then electronics, with toiletries going in a specific pocket. However, a broken zipper made zipping my suitcase difficult. I was halfway through wrangling the mess together when my phone dinged to tell me it was time to leave to catch the bus going towards the bus station. Sighing, I pulled out another bag to stuff my over packing into, gave my suitcase zipper a great and mighty shove, threw on my coat, and started for the bus. <\/p>\n
The aira app had stopped throwing fits, so I was able to get there with no trouble. Once I arrived at the station, asked where the bus would pull up. The response I got was, “What on gods green earth are you doing taking a bus to another state?” Sighing, I said, “I’m a poor college student, and it’s cheaper than a plane.” <\/p>\n
“You should take the train instead,” they said.<\/p>\n
“I can’t afford a different ticket,” I said. “Especially now, the day I’m supposed to leave.” <\/p>\n
“But sweetie, their are more people able to help you on the train.” <\/p>\n
“Really,” I said. “Unless you want to pay for a different ticket, I’m taking the bus.” <\/p>\n
They helped me find the correct terminal. <\/p>\n
I got on the bus, and promptly started reading, transferring in the right spots, and without any danger from anyone. My friend and I had a lovely spring break. And I was able to eat the lunch and snacks I’d packed for earlier on the bus. I also managed to make lemon bars at her house. So, all in all, I guess the day wasn’t so bad after all. <\/p>\n
By Jessica Hodges<\/a>, Staff Writer<\/p>\n BlindSquare<\/a><\/p>\n Aira.IO<\/a><\/p>\n Uber on the App Store<\/a><\/p>\n Uber in the Play Store:<\/a><\/p>\n Lift on the App Store<\/a><\/p>\n Lift in the Play Store<\/a><\/p>\n Laundry: Complete Laundry Care<\/a><\/p>\n MoveIt on the App Store<\/a><\/p>\n MoveIt in the Play Store<\/a><\/p>\n Voice Dream Reader on the App Store<\/a><\/p>\n Voice Dream Reader in the Play Store<\/a><\/p>\n Thank you for listening! A day in the life, How Many Ways Can You Mess Up a Perfect Looking Day? By Jessica Hodges It’s twenty degrees on a Monday morning. I have a breakfast of strawberry muffins, and a lunch packed of left over spaghetti. I even remember to pack a snack. My alarms went off, and achieved their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[497,239,310],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apps-for-students","category-blog","category-independentliving"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6rcRg-SM","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3692,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=3692","url_meta":{"origin":3396,"position":0},"title":"Ways to Type on iOS, or, How Many Ways to Tell a Friend Not to Talk to You, Especially at 4 AM! Blog Post by Jessica Hodges","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"June 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Ways to Type on iOS, or, How Many Ways to Tell a Friend Not to Talk to You, Especially at 4 AM! A Blog Post by Jessica Hodges Bzzzzzzzzz! Ding! \u00a0 Groaning, I roll over. Finding my phone in a tangle of bedclothes, I swipe clumsy fingers across my screen.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apps for Students"","block_context":{"text":"Apps for Students","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=497"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3276,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=3276","url_meta":{"origin":3396,"position":1},"title":"Packing Day: What to Jam Where. Blog Post by Jessica Hodges","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"January 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"My carry-on suitcase is dusty, but happy. With music playing softly in the background, I empty out the remnants of the last time I'd been traveling, the few stray toiletries that I didn't need, the necklace that had fallen out of its gift box, the random bits of paper...god knows\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=239"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3661,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=3661","url_meta":{"origin":3396,"position":2},"title":"FlickType: 3rd Party Keyboard for the BVI Community is Arriving Soon! 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Or maybe you just don\u2019t know how to find the illustrious gathering of blogs and podcasts that is blind abilities in the moment, when you\u2019ve got\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=239"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3788,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=3788","url_meta":{"origin":3396,"position":4},"title":"Don\u2019t help them, a tale of two pedestrians, Blog Post By Jessica Hodges","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Don\u2019t help them, a tale of two pedestrians, Blog Post By Jessica Hodges \u00a0 I was lost. 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I was also in a bit of a time crunch, because class started in twenty minutes, and while I knew I wasn\u2019t too far from campus and the building I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=239"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3371,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=3371","url_meta":{"origin":3396,"position":5},"title":"MoveIt App: Bus and Train Live Info. 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Ok...maybe part of that was being a bit sleepy on the bus...but I did get on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Apps for Students"","block_context":{"text":"Apps for Students","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=497"},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3396"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3400,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3396\/revisions\/3400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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