last words in 2012

I haven't published almost anything on this blog since the fall semester started, so i thought to write something before the end of 2012

Let's start with school and work:
This semester has been chalinging and successful. I feel that I've learned more in programming comparing to last semester. the teacher was amaising, so we got to try a lot of tools and did everything we can to make things work. Still there were a lot of chalinges as always :). I also did an independent study that focussed on finding accessible tools to help blind people be successful in Computer Science. I was able to pass all of my classes and now, I'm a joonyer.
In terms of work, I started working for CSU helping with online courses and websites accessibilitey  this semester and hopefully I will be helpin gnext semester as well.
This semester also, I got to run the Father's day 5K. unfortunatlly, I didn't get to play sport as much as i wanted because i hert my hand, but hopefully next semester i will be doing more.
As the last word for 2012, I'd like to say that this year has been a successful. year for the most part, i hope it was the same for everyone else. I also did put a list of the mistakes I did in 2012 to help me avoid them in 2013.
Happy new year everyone!

why most girls don't want to date a blind person?

I understand the problems involved when it comes to dating as I've tried both dating sites and talking to girls.

I attempted to date girls; but, most of them got nervous and/or freaked out when I brought up the subject with them. I've tried to talk to a few girls on there and when it gets to the part about going out for the
first time, I get the silent treatment.

Now, that brings up something that I'd like to ask the ladies who are reading this. Is it too much to ask for people that I show an interest in to be courteous,
rather you are interested or not? Being turned down does not bother me near as much as the lack of respect exhibited by most girls in my age group. If
you're not interested; then, a simple "That is very nice of you to offer; but, I'm already in a relationship" or "Thanks; but, I already have plans" would
be all that's necessary and that would be the end of it.

There was a girl that I was talking to at college and I thought things were going well. On the day of final exams, we were talking and I asked her if she
wanted to go eat after exams were over. She said that she'd like to do that, told me what time her last exam was over, and said she would meet me in the
break area. So, I rushed to finish my exam so I could make sure I didn't miss her. A few minutes after returning to the place where we were to meet, I
heard a door open. Within a few seconds, I realized it was her and as soon as she saw me; she took off like a rocket, jumped in her car, and left. There
again, there was no respect or consideration here. If she was not interested in going out, she should have been up front to begin with instead of telling
me what she thought I wanted to hear, only to do the exact opposite. Same thing with online dating, once the girl knows you are blind, no respect,, they read your emails and never respond to you. It seems like blindness is a deal breaker.
IMHO, one problem here is that many people are afraid of what they don't know. What's sad is that many of these people, both male and female, don't want
to take the time to get to know us. Most of them have the attitude that if he/she is not a member of the "cool clique"; then, they are not worth the effort.
Another problem is the "entitlement culture" that we live in today. Many people in my generation are given the best of everything by their parents because
their parents don't want their kids growing up the way they did. I'm not saying that parents shouldn't provide for their children; but, anything can be
taken too far. As a result, these children grow up to be adults who expect the best of everything right out of the box and they will not associate with
anyone who can't or won't give it to them. Growing up, I had an Aunt, who was very poor; but, there was much love in that house. She lived out of town;
but, we'd visit several times a year and I always looked forward to going to her house. OTOH, I had another out-of-town aunt who was just the opposite.
They were well off, acted snooty towards people who were not in their economic status, and were constantly trying to keep up with their rich friends. I
always hated to pull up in their driveway and was very happy when it was time to leave. The point I'm trying to make is that money and material goods are
not everything. I'd rather be living in the poor house and have people in my life who truly loved me for the type of person I am instead of being super
rich and have people in my life who were only hanging around for the status and what they could get.
With that said, I used to get down in the dumps when I'd get rejected. Then, I came to realize that God has a plan for all of us and if He has someone
in mind for me; then, it will happen. If not; that's OK, too. Even though I still don't like the actions of some people; I don't go into a state of depression
if a dating attempt goes sour. I just say to myself, "Well, this one didn't work out; so, that means it wasn't meant to be in the first place."
Also, be happy with who YOU are! If you are not happy with yourself; then, others will likely not be happy to hang around you. Don't move too fast. Get to know the person you're interested in. I think one of the mistakes I made was moving too fast. The result of moving too fast
may be that you scare the person off and/or you find out that they were not the kindhearted, nice person that you thought they were. In my way of thinking,
I always thought that if I didn't move quick enough; then, someone else would slide in. Looking back, that was probably not the best way of thinking.

Just be yourself and don't try to be someone you're not. If someone does not like you for who you are; then, you don't need them in the first place. I've
had people tell me to be an ***hole and I'd have girls falling all over me. I will not compromise my standards for the sake of getting a date and I urge
anyone reading this not to do so, either.

Don't assume that blind/VI persons can only date people with the same condition. It burns me up when someone ask, "Aren't there any blind girls you could
date?" I take that to mean that no one who is "normal" would give you the time of day. If you truly love someone and they truly love you, it will not matter
what is wrong with you.

No Bones About It: Guide Dogs for the Blind's Blog: Noah’s Story

No Bones About It: Guide Dogs for the Blind's Blog: Noah’s Story: Emily Simone and Cyndi Davis are both long-time GDB employees. Emily is as a Senior Field Manager based out of our California campus, and Cy...

Colorado Center for the blind, spring 2012

I'm back again after several months without updates.

This last spring, I decided to leave CSU for a semester to go to Colorado center for the blind in Littleton CO To improve my life skills. CCB is a non-academic school, but a school to teach blind people the necessary skills that they may need in their daily life. The independent training program at CCB includes 4 main classes. Home management, travel and mobility, technology and Braille. The skills that the home management  class focuses on includes cooking, organizing your home, managing a budget, etc. to graduate , the student will have to cook  a dinner for 5 people, a mini meal for 15 and a graduate meal for at least 60 people.  The travel class goals are to help blind people to travel by themselves anywhere without depending on people. CCB requires all their students to use only and only a strait Wight NFB cane while attending the program. To graduate, the student will have to do several of independent routes, do a support drop, where you the student and the instructor will be taking somewhere in the city and the student will be asked to return to the center without asking for help. Finally, the student will have to do a final drop where they will be dropped somewhere in the city and they will be asked to return to the center by themselves. The last 2 classes have no set goals, but the student for Braille is required to learn using slate and stylus and learn both Braille grade 1 and 2. I will post what I have done while I was there in details later.

Thanks for reading.