[nfbwatlk] Convention Impressions
Jedi
loneblindjedi at samobile.net
Thu Jul 16 22:47:29 UTC 2009
Chrys,
I'm glad you got a lot out of Convention. I remember feeling
overwhelmed when I had my first go. It was awesome though, and I'd
gladly relive the experience if asked to with the exception of the
strange illness that passed through our affiliate that year.
As to your question regarding training, my insights are these.
I went to the Louisiana Center for the Blind prior to my Freshman year
in college. I'm glad I did. I also wondered if I shouldn't have started
college right away, but I also knew that, for myself anyway, I needed
to gain some new skills and revamp skills I already had. Since I have
some vision, I also knew that I needed to learn non-visual techniques
both because I'm likely to experience further vision loss and because I
wanted to be sure that I could perform regardless of what my vision was
doing at any given time. I felt that six months was an even trade for a
lifetime of success. That is not to say that one can't be successful if
one doesn't go through training. I found that for me, anyway, training
helped me to enhance possibilities for success in my own life.
When one goes to a training center such as ours, one gets an
opportunity to learn blindness skills in an environment where it's okay
to be blind and where non-visual skills are valued. I gained
transferable skills that have nothing to do with blindness precisely,
and I feel that these skills have made college and other pursuits much
easier. The biggest one is problem-solving. Beyond that, I learned how
to be resourceful in places where I may not have all the resources I'd
wish to have. I also found that living, working, and playing with the
same forty or so people (the center staff and students) prepared me for
dealing with tense social situations requiring compromise, listening
skills, and mediation. After all, things can get crazy sometimes. Since
I went to Louisiana (a place very different from Washington), I learned
something about intercultural communication, how to deal with culture
shock, and how to "do what the Romans do." Your experience is likely to
be different from mine simply because you're a different individual
from me. However, I think you'll find the center experience helpful on
many levels, not just blindness. Lucky for us, we live in a part of
Washington served by a counselor who is willing to get us to the
centers of our choosing. she honors informed choice and helps us with
the necessaries to get us where we want to go. Naturally, our friends
here at the NFBW are also willing to help. We have center graduates
among us and plenty more mentors who are familiar with the red tape one
must go through to get what one wants.
Good luck. I hope this has been helpful. It was awesome to see you at
Convention, and I hope you'll join us for other NFB functions in the future.
respectfully Submitted
Original message:
> Hey everyone,
> This is my first post on the list, and after returning from my first
> convention, I feel like I'm still digesting everything.
> I actually liked the hotel, and found it okay to navigate after I got
> used to it (finding the way to the Courtyard the first time was a bit
> of an adventure). As others have said there was a lot of "caning"
> especially in the first few days. I thought everyone who worked at the
> hotel was very respectful and helpful and offered quality service. I
> had a really good experience at the hotel.
> I would have preferred an extra day b/c it did feel like a lot of
> things were squished on top of each other, so there was a lot of times
> where I had to choose between three or four different activities or
> meetings that all sounded great. Also it would have been nice to have
> more time at the Exhibit Hall - it seemed as though it wasn't open for
> all that long. So I would definitely vote for an extra day.
> I feel like I learned a lot. A definite highlight for me was "test
> driving" a guide dog. That rocked! i had a great dinner out with the
> group that Elizabeth mentioned, and a great banquet table. The
> scholarship awards were really inspiring and heartwarming, and I was
> psyched for Lily. Congratulations!
> As for the meetings, I feel like I learned a lot. What I most took away
> from the convention was a sense of inspiration. It was great to see so
> many blind people doing so many cool things, things that growing up I
> got the message that we could not do. It was great to see blind people
> in all sorts of jobs and walks of life - to me that was the best part
> of the convention. I especially liked the Science Division meeting for
> that reason.
> I also just want to say THANK YOU to Mike Freeman and to Doug, for
> bringing me to this convention, and to anyone else who had a part in
> that. Financially I would not have been able to do it without the help
> and I'm really glad I had the chance to experience a convention
> finally! The timing was perfect b/c I had just left my job in
> preparation to transition to going back to school, so it worked out well.
> One thing that I have been thinking about since the convention and I
> would like to hear anyone's opinion on, is the Colorado center. I keep
> going back and forth in my mind about whether I want/need to go or not.
> Part of me thinks oh I don't need it and I don't have time in my life
> to take six to nine months, and another part of me thinks it could be
> really helpful - especially now that I went to their site and found out
> some of their college-oriented sections of their Independent Living
> program center around the maths and sciences, which is partly what I
> plan to pursue at school. Also the confidence building part of it would
> be a big help. I am thinking Colorado b/c it is more urban than the
> other two main centers and that is what I'm looking for, and also b/c
> they do more outdoor adventure stuff than other centers.
> So what it comes down to is I am thinking of doing that, going through
> the CCB training program, before I go back to school, but still
> gathering information, weighing the decision, and having doubts. I
> would like any input or insight from any of you.
> Anyway great to meet and reconnect w/those of you at the convention and
> I look forward to more times like that!
> Chrys
> http://chrysbuckley.blogspot.com
> Chrys Buckley
> PO Box 1231
> Eastsound, WA 98245
> lotusmoonflowering at hotmail.com
>> From: k7uij at panix.com
>> To: nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
>> Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:33:48 -0700
>> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Convention Impressions
>> Do they have See's Candy in BC?
>> Mike
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Robert Sellers" <robertsellers500 at comcast.net>
>> To: "'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 8:57 PM
>> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Convention Impressions
>> Elizabeth,
>> I'll get the details and pass them onto you.
>> bob
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>> On
>> Behalf Of elizabeth lalonde
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 9:38 AM
>> To: 'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'
>> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Convention Impressions
>> Bob where can I buy the candy bars to sell at ho me as a fundraiser?
>> Thanks!
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>> On
>> Behalf Of Robert Sellers
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 1:05 AM
>> To: 'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'
>> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Convention Impressions
>> Hi Listers,
>> As usual there was plenty to do and never having enough time to do
>> everything one wants to do.
>> Although the shorten convention probably saved money, I would have
>> liked
>> that extra day. Wendsday afternoon off was missed. I often would use
>> that
>> time to browse more in the exhibit hall, I think some of the meetings
>> might
>> have been spread out more, giving more opportunity to to learn more.
>> There was never lack of something to do. A good aspect of the convention
>> was
>> there seemmed to be a large group of first timers. Congradulations to
>> Lily
>> and Annie.
>> I am impressed by the NFB Newsline online. I was able to attend a
>> session,
>> in which, renee did an excellent job in describing the features of the
>> system.
>> The big downer for me was the 2 politicians. Unless it is blindness
>> related
>> I don't think our convention floor is the place for political agendas.
>> Regardless if it is a Republican or a Democrat. I suppose, Dr. Mourer is
>> caught between a rock and a hard place. The game of 'you scratch my back
>> and
>> I'll scratch yours" occurs....
>> Before the story gets enhanced or twisted, when Kaye Kipp, KB and I
>> went
>> out to dinner, to a location I recommended, I was not aware that the
>> upstairs had been a beaudello.
>> One of the highlights of the week for me is the awarding of our
>> scholarships
>> to blind students. Our scholarship program is one of the best programs
>> we
>> offer. My opinion.
>> The Clark County Chapter's candy bar sale was a success. I sold my two
>> boxes
>> (with help of Kaye), Kaye sold her box and I believe Don sold his box,
>> also.
>> I didn't see any new teckie item that jumped out and made me say "Wow".
>> Did
>> anyone else see anything that super impressed them? Or made them say "I
>> can't live without that.".
>> Overall I thought it was a good and informative convention.
>> I think it would be useful and beneficial if we could share contents,
>> tips,
>> tricks, etc. from meetings we attended. What we learned, how we might
>> apply it here in Washington. What say you?
>> Bob Sellers
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>> On
>> Behalf Of Mike Freeman
>> Sent: Sunday, July 12, 2009 11:23 AM
>> To: NFB of Washington Talk
>> Subject: [nfbwatlk] Convention Impressions
>> Hi, all.
>> Anyone care to give their impressions of convention?
>> Mike Freeman
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