Below are the most recent 25 friends' journal entries.

[ << Previous 25 ]

Monday, August 18th, 2008
gdb_blog	3:42p	I Place My Trust in You http://guidedogs.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-place-my-trust-in-you.html by GDB Alumna Megan Miller I have been excited about getting a Guide Dog for several years now, but the timing never seemed right. Finally, this past January, I was able to go to San Rafael, California, to meet and train with my dog. I knew I would love having a Guide Dog, but I could never have imagined how great it would be to have such a great companion. The partnership that GDB fosters is beyond words. Pasta is everything I could ask for. Probably the most challenging part of the training was keeping my friendly dog from saying hi to everyone during our work. But now, our connection is very strong, and I love her personality -- she is so sweet and loves to play and cuddle. She makes walking around my crowded college campus so easy. Now, I don't have to worry about bumping into people, trash cans and randomly placed signs. Pasta goes around everything. If a car comes out of nowhere, she knows what to do to keep us safe. She is the smartest dog I have ever seen! I found out what a fantastic memory she has one night after my class. I had recently tried a new route to and from my class to get around some construction, but I guess I wasn't very sure of it yet. I must have told Pasta to turn too late or something, but the next thing I new, we were at a curb, which we weren't supposed to be. I did a 180 and told her to go forward, hoping to retrace my steps and start again, but I once more had a poor time/distance estimate and wound up somewhere else that was unfamiliar. Even though I didn't know exactly where I was, Pasta seemed to -- her demeanor changed from her normal, happy, speedy self to an even happier dog with an extra spring in her step. I can't describe it, but I can tell when she recognizes a place. So, I trusted her and let her guide me without giving her direction. This may not have been the best thing to do, but I trusted her eyes and memory better than my memory alone. After a minute, she walked me up to a building I didn't recognize at first. I was trying to get to steps to take me up to the shuttle stop which would get me to the dorms, so I knew I shouldn't be at a building. I told Pasta to hop up and directed her away from the building. She kept walking with a bounce in her step, and the next thing I knew, she had brought me all the way home, and we had never walked that way before! Before I had Pasta, I would have been terrified alone in the dark with my cane, but with her, I was not afraid. I trusted that she would keep me safe, and if she didn't take me somewhere familiar, I would have stopped and asked a passing person for help. But, I didn't have to do that because her amazing memory got me all the way home! I never expected that. The trust I have in her has grown exponentially since that night. I know now that she will take care of me, and even if she doesn't always get me home, I know she will keep me safe. Pasta is pictured below, working in her harness during a guide dog demonstration: (1 Comment |Comment on this)
loverofanimals	5:16p	Writer's Block: Your Username Why did you choose your user name? Is there any special meaning or story behind it? Submitted by lilbananapie View other answers OK, I will bite on this! Truth is I did not want another user name that was anything to do with my pupper, current or otherwise. LOL. I saw something on Animal Planet about bears, but anything to do with bears did not fit my thoughts very well either. Then I remembered my dad always saying he loved all animals! Voila!!! loverofanimals, exactly what we were taught as kids, to love every creature, including your fellow human animals and to be kind to each and every one of them! Current Mood: accomplished if it works Current Music: the radio talking about Obama (4 Comments |Comment on this)
loverofanimals	1:23p	special day? I am making this short since I really need to get to the laundry, UG! However, I woke up this morning and realized today I have been a medical transcriptionist for 33 years. Yeah, I know, they used to plug blind people into that profession, but I actually have enjoyed working in transcription. As my hearing is not what it had been when younger, I have more difficulty with non-English speakers, but I still enjoy keeping my hand in and do so successfully from home. Rather proud of this milestone! Fay is on the way! Talked to my family. They are getting the house ready to handle the storm. Will be definitely thinking of them as it approaches. Perhaps since they are in central Florida they will not have a bad time. Sure hope so for a whole lot of reasons. Hope everyone else in the state stays safe too. I am off to accomplish my chore (laundry)! One of the necessary evils if one wants clean clothes. Hotest day of this week today, about 90 degrees, so rather glad I am stuck with this to do. Hope to come back later, but I may just get into one of the 3 books I have started reading. Going to have to try not to start so many as I get interested in all of them and can't finish any of them very quickly! Thought I had gotten over doing this! Guess not! Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: air conditioner (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, August 17th, 2008
kolbygarrison	9:30a	Notes This morning Sunny and I worked my neighborhood. Waking up with Sunny and the sun and being out and about is very refreshing. Our walk was absolutely wonderful! The birds were singing, the sun was shining, Sunny was focused and motivated, and we had no troubles. I am dreading packing everything for moving back to College. Packing everything, moving everything in, unpacking everything, organizing everything and setting everything up, and so on. Ugh! Sighs! However procrastinating will not do anything for me, thus I shall be getting up the motivation, biting the bullet, and packing everything by the time Tuesday morning rolls around. 2 days until freedom! Love, Kolby Current Mood: Procrastinating (Comment on this)
canadian_diva	7:11p	whew, a stressful afternoon hey ya’ll I know I haven’t written for a minute, and I really need to catch ya’ll up. in short, the second camp session has started, and it’s a bit weird cuz I don’t have as many friends here, but it’s still cool. I’ve been hangin’ out with mamad2020 and his friend Farhoud who came with him, last night we stayed up late playing cards, lol. and it’s been fun. if they weren’t here I dunno who I’d hang out with. there are like no young people here. well besides them. there also haven’t been quite as many activities, or at least that’s what it seems like. today there was a concert in the park, and we all went to that. it was stressful coming back though cuz for some reason Goldina kept wandering from the left hand edge and wanting to take me out into the middle of the road. um, yeah. not good? Erika, the counsellor walking with me, could tell I was getting nervous about it and I kept bringing her back to the edge but it was just weird. I had to try hard not to cry cuz there’s this one camper here who cries about absolutely everything and she’s really high maintenence and the last thing I wanted was to be compared to her. she’s nice and everything, but just, yeah. so I saved it til I got back to my room, but ooh wee I was nervous. I know we’re both allowed to have off days and not every route will be perfect, and you’d think after having my dog for a year I’d be used to that, but it seriously felt like I was back in class again, getting lost or something. and I have this thing about the way people see us, I want Goldina to portray a positive image, and for me to portray one as a handler too, and when things like this happen out in public I can’t help but think what do people think about us? I even care what the counsellors and other campers think. I really shouldn’t, cuz of course we’re both allowed to screw up, but eek. it was scary and stressful and I didn’t like it. and we never had problems with sidewalkless technique in class. she seemed to do better when there was an actual raised curb edge to follow as opposed to just gravel, but I remember us doing sidewalkless in class that just had gravel too, so there’s no reason why she couldn’t do it. it was just eeky. now I’m just waiting to go on a walk,I think we might be walking the laborinth. sigh, I can’t spell that word to save my life, lol. but I’m hoping that’ll give us both a chance to rewind and recover from the stressful route earlier today. anyway, yeah. I think we’ll be leaving soon, so I guess I’ll go for now. hopefully next entry will be more positive. R-E-S-P-E-C-Tfully submitted canadian diva positive things: Mo and Farhoud are here and they’re cool the weather was really hot today the concert was pretty good Current Mood: still a little weird Current Music: just me typing (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, August 16th, 2008
kolbygarrison	11:00p	Musings Last night Dad insisted that I wait until someone was home before Sunny and I worked my neighborhood because of my detouring last time. I snapped back defending wanting my independence and explaining problem solving strategies. He emphatically informed me that there would be plenty of times for me to get lost and figure things out without anyone around to assist me. All week Mom, Dad, and Kyleigh have been at a Golf Tournament that is being held at our Country Club, leaving Sunny and I home by ourselves with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Mom and Dad decided that they would be going out to dinner with friends, thus Sunny and I did not get to work my neighborhood. We worked my culdasac and we worked up to a fairly busy road and back. I am incorporating shorelining on the right as much as possible because I know that I will be using the technique on Campus. I want Sunny to be flexible while working. She has been trained to walk along the left, but she is learning that it is all right for her to walk along the middle and walk along the right when necessary. This morning Sunny and I worked my neighborhood without any incidents except for her walking very slowly. It was frustrating because she and I are typically flying. I do not know why she was creeping. Mom, Dad, and I went out for pizza with friends. Mom did not want Sunny to come, but I insisted on bringing her with me. Mom relented because I kept arguing with her about Sunny and I not working. In budgeting for this month I will be buying a furminator, booties, and dog food for Sunny. Mom insists on my getting the furminator because she has heard rantings and ravings regarding how fabulous it is. I told her that in that case I would be buying the furminator and buying booties, and she agreed. Mom and Dad think that my getting booties for Sunny is unnecessary, but after talking with Deana about everything I will be getting the Ruff Wear Booties because they are the best and because Deana agrees with me that having booties is legitimate. North Carolina weather can be very unpredictable. We have hot summers and cold winters, and having booties will be beneficial because they will protect Sunny's paws and allow us to work more often without her feet becoming too hot or too cold. Love, Kolby Current Mood: Neutral Current Music: The Olympics on television (10 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, August 15th, 2008
gdb_blog	8:34p	'F' Litter Video http://guidedogs.blogspot.com/2008/08/litter-video.html Catch a 2-minute video -- the F litter of pups are loaded onto Guide Dogs for the Blind's puppy truck, driven by Mick Aguilera. (Comment on this)
gdb_blog	8:34p	'F' Litter is Ready to Roll http://guidedogs.blogspot.com/2008/08/litter-is-ready-to-roll.html In this 2-minute video, the pups from the F litter we've been following arrived on Guide Dogs for the Blind's California campus to be loaded onto the puppy truck by Puppy Stork and driver Mick Aguilera. (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 14th, 2008
kolbygarrison	9:50p	Ramblings Mom and Dad have been complaining about Sunny smelling like a dog. My parents have not ever had a bigger dog in the house before, and I think that they are not use to the shedding and the smelling. We had a Labrador Retriever Golden Retriever Cross named Perdita when Kyleigh and I were much younger, but she lived outside. I groom Sunny every day, thus I cannot do anything else other than what I am doing to eliminate the smelling. I use scented conditioning spray about once a week, brush her teeth every other day, clean her ears once a week, and thoroughly brush her every day to eliminate excess hair. What little odor Sunny carries comes from being a dog, but it is not very noticeable. I want to groom Sunny myself rather than taking her to a groomer, but my parents think that they know what is best for Sunny and they insisted on me finding a groomer. I want a groomer who will respect my wishes because Sunny is my Guide Dog and I want very specific things regarding grooming. I do not want Sunny to be put in a cage while she is waiting to be groomed or after she has been groomed. I want Sunny to be groomed all at once, and I would like to stay with Sunny while she is being groomed if at all possible. Deana tells me that my requests are reasonable. I thought that I had found a groomer who would work with me, thus I telephoned her making an appointment. I explained that Sunny would only be needing a bath and thorough brushing, and that I would be moving back to College and that I would like to have her groomed as soon as possible. The groomer stated that she would call me back, but I have not heard anything. Dad yelled at me claiming that Sunny needed a bath and inquired why had I not contacted a groomer. I explained that I had contacted the groomer who would work with me, but that she had not returned my telephone call. Dad insisted that Sunny have a bath immediately, and he instructed Mom to help me with everything. I told Mom and Dad that I wanted to give Sunny a bath by myself. They agreed that I could do so if one of them were around. When I informed Mom that Dad insisted that Sunny have a bath immediately and that she should help me with everything, Mom yelled at me for not contacting the groomer and told me that I was very particular about Sunny. I fired back with the argument that Sunny is my Guide Dog and that I am her Handler, and that I will be very particular about how things are done with her and about who does what to her and with her. Mom ended up helping me give Sunny a bath, something that Sunny tollerated because she knew that she had no choice. I do not think that Sunny was crazy about us bathing her, but she let us do everything with minimal protesting. Things are better concerning my parents interfering with Sunny and I, but things are not 100%. I hope that eventually my parents will understand that I know what I am doing and that I know what I am talking about concerning my Guide Dog. I keep reminding myself that Mom and Dad are not the ones who are blind, therefore though they think they understand everything accompanying blindness due to their having a blind child in reality they have no idea about anything relating to blindness and all that it encompasses. My parents are sighted people living in a sighted world, and I am a blind person living in a sighted world. There is a very big difference. My parents are adjusting and letting me be more and more independent, but the process of their letting go takes time. I will go about my business with Sunny, doing everything my way because she is my Guide Dog. Mom, Dad, and Kyleigh need to get over themselves and learn to live with Sunny. And believe me, I do notice that no one complains about Putter. Roar! Recording For The Blind And Dyslexic DAISY Books, FSReader, and the PacMate Omni are cooperating. I will be getting an 8 Gigabyte Thumb Drive due to my 1 Gigabyte Thumb Drive not being large enough for storing everything that I will be needing, but I will be keeping the 1 Gigabyte Thumb Drive for storing miscellaneous things. I have not begun reading a new book because I am busy and things will be crazy for an unknown amount of time. Peace And Positivity, Kolby Current Mood: Chronic Pain, outch (16 Comments |Comment on this)
news [ theljstaff ]	4:59p	Basic Accounts, India, and LiveJournal Inc. Development Goals and Basic Accounts Last week we updated our development goals for 2008. Generally we noted a number of cool enhancements and investments to LiveJournal that we are working on, including improved search, usability, and site development. We also wanted to let you know how we hope to accomplish all these things, and how we plan on paying for them. In order to accomplish our stated goals for this year and beyond, we need to increase the revenue gained from both groups of LiveJournal accounts: paid subscription accounts and ad-supported accounts. As of August 28th, all users will be able to choose to downgrade their account to Basic through their Manage Account page. Additionally, we will start showing advertising to visitors who are not logged in to LiveJournal when they are looking at Basic Account journals and communities. Basic Account users themselves will not see ads on any Basic journal or community while they are logged in to their account. If you want more information about this, take a look at our new post on lj_2008 where we outline our reasoning. Indian Flash Fiction Contest In other news, we are excited to tell you we've launched "Quick Tales" LiveJournal's first initiative for users in India, in celebration of India Independence day, August 15th. "Quick Tales" is a flash fiction writing contest in which we're partnering with Caferati.com, one of India's largest online literary communites. The contest's winners will receive some great prizes and it is open to anyone with a mailing address in India. We hope that users with an interest in Indian writing or just India will watch LiveJournal's india_writing community. That's where the finalists and winners will be announced, so keep an eye on it towards the end of September! If you're in India then enter the contest - if your story is slick and quick (under 500 words) then you could be the lucky winner! Meanwhile, back at LiveJournal Inc. We have updated and redesigned our corporate site. The goal of the redesign was twofold: first, to update the look and feel (Dystopia users will appreciate it!); second, we want to provide a destination for prospective employees, partners, and members of the press where they can access important information about the company. Kudos to our design team. (705 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008
gdb_blog	9:51p	F Puppies Meet Their Raisers http://guidedogs.blogspot.com/2008/08/f-puppies-meet-their-raisers.html At Fun Day in Oregon this past weekend, the F puppies were introduced to their raisers for the first time. They'll be raised by families living in Idaho, Washington and Oregon. Cathy Gregory, the custodian for breeder mom Christine and her litter of puppies, was on hand to participate. Check it out! (Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
canadian_diva	11:19p	checking in hey ya’ll wow, lots to write about the past few days. let’s see how muchof I remember, lol. Goldina is crashed out on the floor right now and she’s snoring. I have a feeling she’s gonna sleep for a day when I get back home. she’s had to work in all kinds of new environments thus far and she’s done awesome with it all. yesterday we went to artisan square in the morning. it’s this little square with stores and stuff. it wasn’t all that interesting, but there were lots of people and obsticals and Goldina did really well taking me through all of it. I’m sure ya’ll are all really sick of me talking about Goldina every sentance, lol. I think I talk about her work more than I talk about the details of my life. but I’ve come to the realization lately that being a guide dog handler is my life. maybe it’s the wrong way to think about things, but lately I don’t care if I get anywhere on time, I just wanna get there. if I got there independently and Goldina did her job well and I knew where I was going then I’m happy. lol. whenever I walk anywhere I think wow. that was a really nice clearance she just made or wow. that traffic check! I just wanna take my time and do it right. I’ve really been pushing for my right to walk down the left hand side of the road, too. all the counsellors keep trying to get me to walk on the right and I keep telling them time and time again that Goldina is trained to walk on the left and that’s how I’m gonna do it. I actually have a lot of people agreeing with me, too. Moris, another guide dog handler who’s here, told me I was doing the right thing. Jackie, Moris’s wife, told me the same thing. Meghan’s mom told me too. I can understand the frustration of the counsellors since they make everyone walk on the right hand side and I’m on the left and they want us to be all together, but I’m not gonna sacrifice my independence just for the sake of that. I’m stupborn about my independence. anyway, I got off on a tangent. I’ll keep fighting for my right to walk on the left, lol. so yeah. artisan square. I think my favourite part of that trip, other than Goldina doing excellent work, was going into the chocolate shop. they have this amazing chocolate shop there!! I ended up getting their signature hot chocolate. it had cinnamon and other spices in it and was the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had in my life!!! oh my gosh!!!! it was sooooooo good!!!! after we got back, I think it was lunch time. I can’t remember a lot of the details of yesterday, lol. I think Meghan and I practiced for the talent show a bit too. my favourite part of yesterday apart from the chocolate shop was doggy playtime though!!! Moris, Glenna and I all took our dogs off leash in the grass and let them play together. it was sooo much fun!!! they all got along great and had fun running around together. Goldina and Hyram really hit it off, although Goldina and Scooner played too. they all had fun and it was awesome to watch them play. when Goldina was finished playing, she came right back to me and sat down, too. she’s so cute like that!! she’ll have a great time playing and then come back and be like mommy, I’m done. she enjoyed the company of her boyfriends, though. I think she’ll miss Hyram when he leaves tomorrow. I think Scooner is here the full ten days too though, and there’s hopefully another dog coming for the next session, too, so I’m sure she’ll have some other playmates. today was another full day. we got up and had breakfast, and then we walked down to the coffee shop. that was really nice, and Goldina did awesome sidewalkless technique on the left hand side, woohoo, lol. I got a mocha frapuccino and a brownie at the coffee shop and chilled there for awhile. most of the other campers and counsellors walked down to the general store and the farmacy nearby, but I wanted to just chill at the coffee shop for awhile. Jackie, Moris and John stayed too, but Jackie and Moris left before I did. John and I walked back to the lodge together. this afternoon Meghan, her mom and I all signed out and we drove to the laborynth and walked around that. I’ve never walked a laborynth before and it was an interesting experience. I thought Goldina would just follow the path, but she kept trying to take me outside of it. towards the end she started to figure it out though, but I had to wornder what she thought of that windy path that really didn’t make sense. have any other guide dog handlers walked a laborynth with your dog?it was definitely interesting!! when we got to the center, we chilled there for awhile and then walked back out again. when we got back to the lodge, I went on the swings for awhile until dinner. and oh, I forgot about something that happened this afternoon before the laborynth!! this guy, Mike, came to visit the camp. he brought lots of critters with him! he had a snake and a torantula and a chinchilla and a guinea pig and a turtle and a parrot!! it was so cool!! I touched a torantula today!! lol. I left Goldina in my room cuz I didn’t want her to scare the animals, lol. but wow!! it was really neat!!! the parrot was smaller than I thought she’d be. and the chinchilla!!! remember how I was tellin’ ya’ll that I really wanted a chinchilla for Christmas about two years ago? yeah. now I want one even more!!!! it was the softest thing I’ve ever touched!!! Mike let me hold it too. wow!!! when I move out and get a stable house where I can have a pet, I definitely wanna get one. they’re amazing!!!! anyway, after dinner was the talent show. mine and Meghan’s Dreamgirls skit went really well!!! Meghan did two songs, too, and she tore up!! and I ended up singing the love of the Lord at the end cuz Meghan’s mom wanted to hear it. after I finished singing, Bobby, another camper here, came over to meand shared his testimony with me. it was really powerful and I enjoyed talking to him. after the talent show I hung out in Meghan’s room for awhile and we talked about all kinds of things. turns out her and her mom know Eric and they know about the one human family choir!! I think that’s awesome!! I was telling them about how I’m in this gospel choir called one human family and how itwas mukti faith and everything ahd they were like Eric Dozier!! lol. it was awesome!!! anyway, I’m getting tired of writing, so I think I might go get a pop from the machine and then try and sleep. the machine only has diet coke though, ick. diet coke is nasty. but I’m thirsty, and need to use up some of the mountain of change I have in my wallet, so I think I’ll go get one. R-E-S-P-E-C-Tfully submitted canadian diva positive things: Goldina’s awesome work the chocolate shop puppy playtime chillin’ with Meghan the talent show talking to Bobby tonight we had a bbq for dinner Current Mood: thirsty Current Music: me typing (10 Comments |Comment on this)
kolbygarrison	11:45p	Happenings Claire took Sunny and I to The University Of North Carolina At Greensboro Campus. We worked my routes from North Spencer Residence Hall to Tate Street Coffee, from Tate Street Coffee to North Spencer Residence Hall, from North Spencer Residence Hall to the Music Building, and from the Music Building to North Spencer Residence Hall. Sunny and I have not ever worked in the rain before. Raining made working very interesting, and I managed carrying an umbrella. I think that I would rather wear a very big poncho allowing me to have my right hand free for anything. After working Campus Claire took Holly, Kay, Kelly, and I out for coffee. Kelly and I have known each other since last semester, but I had not ever met Holly or Kay before. Chronic Pain made the outing difficult for me. Sighs! The pain is unbelievably intense and excruciating and I am not sure what is going on. Nausea and exhaustion have taken over me. I will wait and see where things go. Sunny knows that I am off kilter. Love, Kolby Current Mood: Nauseated, exhausted Current Music: Jordan Instant Messaging me (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008
kolbygarrison	10:45p	Musings 1 week until I move back on Campus! I cannot wait! Though I do not know what the future holds for me, I am ready for the new chapter of my life that will unfold. This time last year I was preparing to begin my Freshmen Year of College. I adjusted to everything accompanying Collegiate academia, learned lessons, worked hard, networked, and more. The battles that I fought with The University Of North Carolina At Greensboro School Of Music did not ever yield victories, but I am a stronger person because of my experiences. I am preparing for beginning my Sophomore Year of College. Things are different for me this go round. I am starting over, but with a phenominal support system that I would not trade for anything. Everything will be brand new for me, but I hope that I will survive and succeed. Katie took Sunny and I to her house because she wanted to see me before she left for school. Sunny ran around Katie's fenced in yard, chasing her toy again and again. Katie and I hung out on the swings outside talking and watching Sunny galloping around. Love, Kolby Current Mood: Good Current Music: Jordan Instant Messaging me (Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
janineprindle	11:01a	I am home from my cruise to Alaska with wonderful memories.  Cranberry did pretty well, even though all our training to do business on a puppy pad failed.  We still did OK.  More about this later.   This cruise involved 24 members of my family, including my parents (who are in their 80's), my brother and sisters and our spouses, our children and <their> spouses and my parents great grandchildren.  This cruise was a memorial cruise.  My favorite uncle passed away about 18 months ago.  We found out that he had quite a bit of money saved and also, his property was worth a great deal.  My mother was his only relative, so got his entire estate.  There was enough money for each of my mom's heirs to have quite a bit as well as for all of us to go on this cruise.    Our cruiser was pretty small -- holding only 225 guests.  There was only about 125 on board for this cruise. We saw some amazing things -- lots of animals in the wild and beautiful scenery.  We got within 1/3 of a mile of the Sawyer Glacier and it seemed so strange to be cruising with ice burgs floating by   We visited several small towns.  Our cruise started in Juneau, went to Haines, Skagway,Sitka, Petersburg and Wrangell, then back to Juneau.  Each town had it's own special attraction and we were able to visit a raptor center, rode the Skagway railroad which gold miners rode in the early 1900's and went on a wildlife safari as well as explored each town.  We saw such interesting buildings, both build by native Alaskans as well as people coming in from all over the world.  We had fantastic food (and yes, I gained a few pounds), an adequate state room and unbelievable views just outside our window and deck.  It was truly awe inspiring.  People saw many different kinds of birds including Bale Eagles, Golden Eagles and puffins.  Also, some of the mammals people saw included bears, moose, Humpback whales, Orca whales, Stellers seals and sea otters.  I had to take it from other people that these animals were in view as the only animal I saw that I could really identify the species of was the Bald Eagle.  I could actually see its white head, dark body and yellow beak.  All the other animals, I could sometimes see a silhouette.  It was really exciting to see the silhouette of a whale, but it was visible for only a fleeting moment, then was gone.  I wished I could have seen them better.  It was really fabulous to have a naturalist on board with us to tell us what we were seeing and describe the flora and fauna we were observing.  On our last full day, our crew picked up another naturalist that worked for the forest service who was an expert geologist and could tell us all we wanted to know about glaciers and the mountains.  An interesting side note that he told us about was that just the day before, a pleasure craft was going too fast through the fjord and hit an ice burg.  There was a MAYDAY call because the iceberg gashed a hole in the hull of the boat.  The passengers on the boat were rescued and the boat was towed to shore.  Hearing this story brought visions of the Titanic to my mind!!   Cranberry did remarkably well.  Her work was almost flawless and passengers and crew were very respectful of my 'no petting in harness' rule.  On the last evening of our cruise, one of the waiters was standing next to the entrance of the dining room and said that he had been hoping all week to pet Cranberry.  I said I would take her harness off so he could pet her.  When I said this, he opened the curtain to the dining room and yelled to the other crew members, who were sitting at a table having a meeting, that 'the harness is off.  We can pet Cranberry!!'.  Everyone jumped up and quickly surrounded Cranberry and petted her.  Berry just loved it and rolled over on her back for a 10-handed belly scratch!!  The crew had been so wonderful that I though they deserved a chance to interact with Cranberry and Cranberry deserved a chance for some pets from everyone else.   As far as Cranberry's relieving, things worked out OK, just not as I had expected.  On Sunday morning, July 13th, I took Cranberry and her piddle pads out on the deck.  Unfortunately, she had diarrhea and it didn't hit the pad.  I used several pads to clean up and then scrubbed the deck with liquid cleaner that I carry.  (I got reprimanded for using liquid cleaner as it is very important not to soil the pristine environment, which the cleaner does.  I apologized and was forgiven, then told to let the crew know where clean-up was needed and it would be cleaned with special bio-degradable cleaner.)  Then, I took Berry to the bow of the boat, where I was told to relieve Cranberry.  She peed and peed and peed (NOT on the pad) and I cleaned up what I could with the pads.  That was the last time Berry did her business on the boat for several days.  She held everything until we got off the boat -- and boy!  was she glad to get on terra firma.  On day, Cranberry didn't get off until about 3:00 PM!!  I was worried about the last two full days of the cruise.  On Thursday, I was able to relieve Cranberry about 5:00 PM, but on Friday, we didn't get off the boat all day!!  I took Cranberry to her relieving place many times during the day but she refused to do anything.  I'm sure she was thinking that we would be getting off at any moment.  In fact, I was so worried about Cranberry having an accident that I didn't even take her to the Captain's cocktail party or final dinner.  (Of course, everyone wanted to know where she was and why she wasn't with me!!)  Cranberry spent about 2 hours in the bathroom in our cabin.   As soon as the final dinner was finished, I raced up to my room and got Cranberry and took her out to her special place.  By now, it was cold and almost raining.  The boat was throwing water up over the bow...  just what I wanted to relieve Cranberry in  NOT!!  I knew we wouldn't be docking until 5:00 in the morning and I didn't want to worry about Cranberry all night nor did I want to get up at 5:00 to take her out.  I pleaded with Cranberry, teased her by trying to get her to play, but nothing worked.  Then, just before I was about to give up, she stopped, hunched her back and pooped!  I don't think I was ever so happy to see a dog poop!!  I praised Cranberry then cleaned everything up.  I encouraged Berry to pee and after a couple of minutes, she peed -- and it seemed like she peed gallons!!   While I cleaned up, I praised Cranberry over and over again and she was so pleased with herself.  It was then that I went inside and met up with the waiter who wanted to pet Cranberry.  You can see that I was most pleased with this pup, which was one of the reasons I said 'yes' to the petting.   We arrived home last night (July 19,2008) and spent today trying to catch up and read e-mail.  Looking back, our cruise was one of the most enjoyable vacations I have ever had.  Everything worked out perfectly (almost) and I was with the people who I care about the most (Comment on this)
desert_rose71	10:11p	Writer's Block: Your Invention... If you could invent one thing and make it a reality, what would it be? Why? Submitted by citrus_scented View other answers Oh, this Writers' Block topic is perfect for me! :-) Follow me. I'm going to take you on a virtual tour of my dream home, or part of it, anyways. We're going to go down into the basement. Please be careful, as the stairs are a little rotten. I still need to fix those, but they can wait as I'm working on something more exciting down here. There's not a lot of room, I'm sorry, as my walk-in dishwasher fills almost the entire basement. Feel free to walk down each aisle, though, so you can experience the walk-in dishwasher concept for yourselves. I guess you are wondering why I invented a dishwasher that fills my entire basement. Before I explain, I have to add that I cannot take full credit for this invention. The idea came about while lamenting with my good friend and co-inventor Jacques, over having to wash lots of dishes. We brainstormed ideas to develop a basement walk-in dishwasher. Where not only dishes could be washed, but they could be permanently stored in the racks they are washed in. No more need to put dishes away, ever again! This fantastic invention also comes equipped with a small kitchen, bathroom, living and sleeping area. Since we had created this combined dishwashing and storage space, we decided that it made perfect sense to provide an entire home, right there in the walk-in dishwasher. Just think! If there was ever a hurricane or tornado, not only would your dishes be safe, but you would have a secure place to come to where you could eat, sleep, play, and never have to wash or put away a single dish ever again! Current Mood: amused (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008
loverofanimals	7:23p	computer frustration and other things Where to start! I hate, hate, hate web-based email! This morning Aldo decided to put all 3 of my email addresses in outlook instead of my needing to go online to try and figure out how to read/delete/reply/etc. We weree able to delete hotmail fairly easily and it went into Outlook fairly easily! Then we tried with gmail! GRRR. I ended up with 3600 emails, most of which I had never read. I just decided to dump them all hoping that I could start fresh! Out they went. Great. Now I had a clear account! However, when I went into gmail, they were still there. Aldo finally realized that a copy had been held on the server. He told it not to hold a copy of the email and I again downloaded 3600 emails, quite a few of which I had never seen. Out they went again! By that time I was gritting my teeth, and believe me, I do not need to grind/grit my teeth with no dental insurance! I was feeling just horrible because I was asked to be moderator and members secretary for my alumni chapter with GDB, and I did not even know what had been discussed or even how to use the gmail! Well, just decided now that I have everything on Outlook that at least I can be more a part of the chapter. However, it just proved to me how little I really know about any part of the computer! After lunch Aldo and I went to help Donna, a friend, learn to use email. We left Brooks and Trident with our neighbor. I don't like leaving him, but our friends have a pit bull so we just don't want to take chances, even though she is really a nice dog. Anyway, I guess I found out working with Donna just how much I do know, though I am still in the toddler stage with computers. We had to start at the very beginning. Unfortunately she needs to use Live Mail which is really not set up with Jaws, but hoping that Aldo has at least made it usable. Sent an email so guess I will see if she writes back. Will feel very good if she understood what we taught her. Beginning to try and write my story for livejournal/GDHAW. I put the blog on my friends page so I think I can now go and check to see if I can post. Not tonight, though. Took my mile walk and I am exhausted. Oh, and that is another thing! Ever since I fell and bounced my head off the sidewalk, I feel so unsure and unstable on my feet. I know it is in my head, but I found myself wondering today just when I would lose the feeling. Right now I just feel so old and battered. I am not that old, but it seems I have just taken so many spills over the past few years, and I do not know why. One minute I am standing and the next I am down. Cannot wait until next summer when I can finally get Medicare so I can run my lack of balance and reflexes by my doctor. The other part of this mess is that I have really slowed Brooks down. I am so afraid that he will quit working for me because he wants to walk faster than I am capable of walking, and even though he is slowing down I wonder if it is fair to him to keep him at the slower pace. He is 26 inches tall and his stride is long. Guess I just want to be back to normal, whatever that is! LOL! We found a farmer's market that Karen stopped at for us. We got Michigan corn, melon, cucumbers, and tomatoes that are local and are about the best tasting things you can get. The stuff we get over the winter from other places cannot compare in any way with Michigan grown! I heard a program on NPR a few months back talking about the global food market. The premise of the program was that the best and most healthy thing for everyone to be doing is eating "locally." I believe it! The fresher the fruit and vegetables and the fewer the chemicals put on them is the better for the consumer! Going to start a series written by Karen Kingsbury. I validated a couple of her book on Bookshare so I really want to see what her other books are like. Guess I won't have Brooks to listen with me. I think he just went to bed! Current Mood: drained Current Music: both dogs panting (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, August 11th, 2008
kolbygarrison	8:55p	Update Mom took Sunny and I to The University Of North Carolina At Greensboro Campus. We picked up all of my books from the Book Store, except for my Communication Studies Textbook Study Guide due to the Book Store not having it in stock. I purchased a carrying case for my laptop, in case I want or need to carry it around with me but I do not want to carry my backpack. We stopped by the Laptop Support Desk in the upper lobby of the Elliot Building. The University Of North Carolina At Greensboro Technology Department incorporated a campus wide wireless network, necessitating internally upgrading all laptop computers. Jay upgraded my laptop and walked me through how to connect to the wireless network for any building on Campus, while Mom watched and Sunny lay quietly beside me. Jay and I talked and laughed the entire time. I cannot wait until I am back on Campus! After upgrading my laptop Mom and I delivered all of my books to The Office Of Disability Services. Laura gave me my Psychology and Communication Studies Textbooks on CD from Recording For The Blind And Dyslexic, but I cannot get the books to work with my PacMate. I purchased PacMate FSReader and the Recording For The Blind And Dyslexic User Authorization Key because Freedom Scientific states that the PacMate Omni supports using DAISY Books of all types, but my reading RFB&D DAISY Book endeavours have not been successful thus far. DAISY Books from Bookshare work very nicely, but DAISY Books from RFB&D do not work unless there is something that I am missing. I will have to investigate the problem further, but if there is not a solution allowing me to read RFB&D DAISY Books on the PacMate I shall have to purchase DAISY Book Software for my laptop because classes begin 2 weeks from today and I cannot afford being without my Textbooks. Sunny and I worked my neighborhood by ourselves. As I was leaving Mom, Dad, and Kyleigh were coming home, and after saying hello I waved goodbye and Sunny and I were off! This trip turned out to be an adventure, because somehow we ended up on the busy road with no curb or sidewalk. Apparently Sunny veered across a culdasac instead of shorelining the curb, but I did not catch it in time. She did not want to shoreline the curb like she usually does, but after calling Dad and asking for directions regarding where I was and getting back on route Sunny and I arrived home intact. I did not panick, and if Dad had not been at home I would have retraced my steps and continued following the curb until I could figure out where I was and what I should do. We hosted a Bridal Shower for my cousin Jamie at our house. Our refrigerator is full of leftovers. Mom made me keep Sunny in my room for the majority of the time, but after everyone ate I asked Mom if I could bring Sunny downstairs on leash. Mom reluctantly relented. Sunny behaved very well, quietly sitting or lying down while everyone interacted with her. I was very impressed, because she is very excitable and her behavior could have been more exuberant. Mom commented on her behavior, and Mom noticing made me smile. People kept telling me that my handling of Sunny was impecable. I finished reading Confessions Of A Shopaholic written by Sophie Kinsella. Love, Kolby Current Mood: Good Current Music: Jordan and I talking on the telephone (3 Comments |Comment on this)
loverofanimals	8:31p	I reappear! Shall I try this again? Well, going to try. It says that I was gone for 49 weeks. Wow, cannot believe it was that long! Much has happened in the almost year I was gone. I know most of you know, but in case some do not I have a yellow labrador from GDB I received in March, the 28th to be exact. His name is Brooks. We have had a rocky start, but we are really beginning to know each other now. We have been through a lot together including 3 falls in class, fortunately nothing serious, and 2 serious falls at home, again glad to say not serious! However, we have worked through a dog and kid fear, and now he knows he really needs to be very careful with me. Friday I tripped on the smallest crack in the sidewalk ever and fell flat on my face. I scraped up my face and look like I was oin a fight, but as today's walk let me know, it taught him he needs to be just a little more careful with this old lady! (smiles) Besides my new dog, I bought a Stream, a portable MP3 player for the blind but so much more. It is very small and compact and with a 4 gigabyte SD card, I can download books from NLS to my heart's content. In fact I have read 4 or 5 books recently that were great. One of them was about the dog mauling that happened in San Francisco a few years ago. I think the owners of the dogs got off easy! They knew what their dogs were capable of. This is not much for the first post back, but I hear that ACB radio is doing a program on the PacMate, and I can sure use the help with that. Glad to be back! Current Mood: calm Current Music: Brooks doing lab loops (Comment on this)
Sunday, August 10th, 2008
canadian_diva	11:51p	an entry live from camp hey ya’ll I’m here, yay!!and I’m tired, so not sure how much detail I’ll go into, but I’ll give you a quick rundown of the past few days. yesterday was crazy. we ended up missing the ferry once cuz it was full or some mess like that, so we did a lot of walking around. Goldina did pretty well, she was really excited since we were walking in a new area and was walking quickly and no matter how much I tried to get her to steady, she didn’t quite listen lol. we finally got to good old Bowen lodge though, and the first thing we did, like usual, was room assignments and introductions. everyone seemed really touched when I told them that yesterday was mine and Goldina’s one year anniversary, yay!! I kept thinking about it all day, too. and when I fed her her dinner, I thought a year ago today I would’ve fed her for the first time. I can’t believe I’ve had my girl for a year already!! now, if I wanted, I could take full ownership of her. and I’m thinkin’ I might just do that. but wow. there’s another guide dog handler here, a guy named Moris. his dog’s name is Hyram and he’s a big golden cross from BC guide dogs. he’s one of the more well behaved dogs I’ve seen from bc guide dogs, so yay lol. him and I had lots of dog talk yesterday, hehe. today was full. I got up early this morning and breakfast was my favourite breakfast here, the cruisant with the scrambled eggs and cheese inside. yummy!!! after breakfast we went on a trip to the sunday market. that was fun, Goldina and I got to practice some good old sidewalkless technique since there are practicly no sidewalks at all on Bowen island. I think that’s a bit rediculous seeing there’s a camp for the blind here, I thought they’d at yeast, you know, build a sidewalk lol. but the road is wide, and someone told me today there’d be no room. sidewalkless went pretty well once I explained to them that I needed to walk on the left hand side. the counsellors hadeveryone walking on the right hand side cuz apparently that’s the safest way? but I think that’s a bit rediculous cuz oncoming traffic can’t see you. they let me walk on the left though, so yay. there wasn’t too much of interest at the sunday market. after we got back I went on the swings for awhile until lunch was ready. yay!! it wasn’t the same without Clement and Alex though, lol. I was swinging away thinking who can I laugh with? lol. I still enjoyed it though. I got a bit lost coming inside, but I told Goldina to find her way. I don’t even know if GDB uses that command, but I’ve heard it mentioned so thought I’d try it, lol. eventually I just told her inside and she ended up taking me to a different door than the one we came out, but at least we got in, lol. I was impressed that she took me inside. after lunch we had this really pathetic guest speaker. ugh. it was this girl from the CNIB, and she was talking about low vision aids and stuff. she talked about magnifiers and stuff low vision people use, and she made it sound like being totally blind was this horrible thing. i called her on it, and she tried to explain herself, but nah. I wasn’t impressed. then she had us all do this activity that was like a schavenger hunt except you had to use the low vision aids to find things. pretty useless for someone who’s totally blind, so i just sat in the lounge and talked to Ashley. I was upset that they’d plan an activity that we couldn’t all be included in and i didn’t like the way this woman gave her talk. it actually kind of offended me how one sided she was being. I also found out that a certain person who I kinda liked is taken, so that bummed me out a bit too. I didn’t seriously like him, but I definitely had a little crush. after the so called activity was over, I went back to my room and laid down until dinner. I was just feeling weird and sad for some reason and I had a bit of a headache, so I figured I needed some Jess time. I put some India.Arie songs on my itunes playlist and chilled with that until it was time for dinner. those who wanted too could go to dock morgans’ pub for dinner. I signed up for that, so i walked down there with mostly everyone else. again, sidewalkless technique went pretty well. there were a few times when we were pretty far away from the edge, but I think she’s getting the hang of it now. sidewalkless technique isn’t something we ever do a lot of so I’m not surprised she needs to kinda re-remember how to do it. I’m sure by the time I leave here Goldina will be a pro. dinner at the pub was pretty cool. I had this chicken pasta, but it definitely wasn’t worth what I paid for it. it was just auight to me. the conversation was good, though. on the way back, Lori, who is a caregiver who came with one of the campers, kept telling me how impressed she was with Goldina and how impressed she was with the way I handled her. I’m not sure how many other working guide dogs she’s ever seen, but we were doing sidewalkless technique while this conversation was happening and she kept saying it over and over again, so I guess we were doing something right, lol. it gave me more confidence as a handler, though. I love positive feedback. when we got back to the lodge I fed and relieved Goldina, and I met my friend Glenna, who is also a camper, in the dog pound, lol. we nicknamed our relieving area the dog pound. Glenna doesn’t have a guide dog, but she has a hearing dog. she was taking her dog, Scooner, outside just as I was going in, so we stood at the doorway for awhile and traded stories about going to school to get our dogs. how nervous we both felt and how we both thought our dogs would be taken away from us or we’d get sent home early or something. apparently at the school where she got Scooner from, they make her write a test at the end! eek!! I’m so glad gdb doesn’t make us do that!! it was cool to have someone to relate those kinds of things too, and I was interested to hear how the process worked with hearing dogs. it was interesting conversation. when I came inside and went upstairs, I heard my friend Meghan singing in her room so I knocked on her door and ended up staying there for awhile. we talked about singing and we excitedly decided that we wanna act out one of the scenes from Dreamgirls for the talent show, hehe. yay!!!! she’s a Dreamgirls fan too, so this is exciting!! we quoted the movie and thought about what we were gonna do and yay!! then I went in the hot tub for awhile before it closed, and now I’m here writing and thinking about sleeping soon. tomorrow will be another day full of interesting things, so I’m sure I’ll be back!! R-E-S-P-E-C-Tfully submitted canadian diva positive things: being here at camp gettingto practice sidewalkless technique seeing old friends good dog conversation good Dreamgirls/singing conversation Current Mood: good but tired Current Music: me typing and msn sounds (14 Comments |Comment on this)
lj_spotlight [ ljspotlight ]	9:54p	08/11/08 Homepage Spotlight olympicgames08 The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Community. (28 Comments |Comment on this)
lj_spotlight [ ljspotlight ]	9:53p	08/11/08 Homepage Spotlight babyidols A photo contest community for babies aged 0-3 years, in the format of American Idol. (22 Comments |Comment on this)
lj_spotlight [ ljspotlight ]	9:52p	08/11/08 Homepage Spotlight muslimgirls Where Muslim girls from all walks of life can share articles and discuss issues regarding Islam today. (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, August 9th, 2008
kolbygarrison	11:30p	Report Mom and Dad were out of the house, and I took the opportunity to work my neighborhood with Sunny completely independently. I called Dad and told him where I was going because I knew that my parents coming home and finding me not around somewhere would result in their panicking. Dad tried to talk me in to waiting until he and Mom were home, but I told him that I knew where I was going and that I would call if there were any issues. Standing up to my parents is not easy for me, but doing so concerning Sunny and my independence is necessary. During the workout Sunny was focused, making no errors and needing no verbal or leash correcting at all. We had a traffic check, and upon seeing the moving vehicle she stopped and waited until it was safe for us to keep going without missing a beat. During the majority of our walk I talked with Shanda via Mobile Telephone. I arrived home unscathed. I love traveling with my Guide Dog! The inner workings of the Guide Dog and Handler relationship are not something that can be described by the use of mere words. Walking along with Sunny leading the way feels natural, thus confirming that I will not ever be without a Guide Dog by my side. Attempting capturing and equating my feelings using words, confidence, competence, freedom, and independence come to mind. Love, Kolby Current Mood: Secure Current Music: Jordan and I talking via skype (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, August 8th, 2008
kolbygarrison	10:55p	Sharings Last night Neil, Sunny, and I walked around my neighborhood. Neil and Candy are neighbors who live 2 houses away from us. Neil could not believe how fast Sunny and I move together. Sunny was very focused, making only one clearance error. There was a trash can out in the street where it should not have been instead of on the curb where it should have been, and Sunny attempted maneuvering me between the trash can and the curb. Sunny cleared the trash can without difficulty, but my right side bumped it. The trash can was empty, thus my bumping it caused it to topple over. I corrected Sunny for the clearance error, and as we reworked the error she cleared the trashcan effortlessly. I think it was a small misjudgement on her part, and other than the clearance error our walk was flawless! I love when Sunny and I are in tune with each other. Deana visited us this morning. Sunny went crazy seeing Deana! We worked routes on The University Of North Carolina At Greensboro Campus. Sunny was focused and she behaved very well. Deana and I talked over lunch. I shed many tears over the course of visiting with Deana, because she kept reiterating how magnificently Sunny and I are working together and becoming a team. I am realizing that Sunny and I are supposed to be together, and that my Golden Girl and I will be all right through the good times and the bad times. Thankfully my fears of Sunny being taken away because of my incompetence as a Guide Dog Handler are slowly discipating. Deana and I talked about family interferance, proper handling techniques, managing distractions, managing corrections, managing stressing situations, managing public interaction, dealing with ups and downs, communicating, patterning, clicker training, and more. I love being able to tell her everything that is going on, because she listens to me and gives me thorough and honest answers to all of my questions. Deana reassuring me lets me know that I am handling Sunny properly and doing everything correctly. Dad decided that we would have a cookout. We dined on ribs, burgers, salad, baked beans, and peach cobbler, with sweet tea to drink. Neil and Candy, Mom, Dad, and Kyleigh, and Katie and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, spending the majority of our Friday night eating, laughing, and talking. The food and company were excellent! It has been a very busy day, with an important milestone for me because I feel secure concerning Sunny and I being together for a very long time. God Bless! Kolby Current Mood: Thankful, loved (3 Comments |Comment on this)

[ << Previous 25 ]