So here we sit, April wrapping up and headed into the second third of 2025 already. I started the year off with hopes of being more verbose than I had last, but thus far it just isn’t happening. I guess to some extent the problem is I feel like I’m stuck in one big routine. Monday=Work,Home;Tuesday=Home/work,HOme:repeatedWednesdayAndThursday. Saturday and Sunday, resting up and preparing for next week’s festivities. It’s the rhythm of life, or something like that. This is not to say that nothing ever happens, it’s just mostly quiet. Let’s take a look at some of this year’s highlights, though.

Work

This year on the job has been interesting. We’ve started a rotation of regularly-scheduled classes, and April’s was a successful course on using Freedom Scientific’s JAWS for Windows screen-reader with Microsoft Outlook. I demonstrated and had my trainees try creating folders, adding meetings to their calendar, sorting messages using rules, and creating and editing signatures. It was fun, and I enjoyed working with the engaging group of Customer Service reps who opted to join me.

I’m also working intensively with someone in what we’re calling a JAWS Boot Camp, wherein I’m helping her to acquire the basic skills she can use to learn other tasks needed for a computer-based job position. This is a challenge, because it really requires me to think outside the box and come up with activities that can make harder-to-remember concepts manageable.

Travel

As far as trips go, we did take one journey right at the end of March to Virginia Beach to see my sister in law. This gave me an opportunity to break out my GPS apps, BlineSquare for GPS coordinates and a somewhat accurate listing of my surroundings; Google Maps for direction information and hotel reviews; and Ariadne GPS, because it allows me to run my finger along the iPhone screen and hear what streets it is encountering. I’m sure I’ve written about these apps before, but I just like that they let me hear so much about an area’s geography.

We also did a bit of a riding tour of Virginia Beach, traveling through Regent University which is a religious school. The best thing we did though was eat, and particularly at a place called Gus and George’s Spaghetti and Steakhouse. Although I’m still grumbling a bit about the fact that my spaghetti only had 2 meatballs in it, it and the before-dinner sallad were delicious.

Books

And of course, I’m always reading. I’ve already hit 30 as the month concludes. Currently engrossed in one called Death of the Author, by NNedi Okorafor. Split between Lagos Nigeria and Chicago USA, this story is about a young woman who has acquired a disability after falling out of a dead tree and becoming paraplegic. It addresses interesting issues of so-called accepting one’s disability, and the controversies that can arise if one chooses to modify functioning with the assistance of technology. It’s an interesting thing to ponder, and I would of course note that all of us modify our functioning in low-tech (canes, glasses, wheel chairs) and high tech (hearing aids, screen-readers, scooters) ways. Mostly this is done to achieve the highest quality of life we can manage, which constantly changes as technology improves, but hopefully it does not mean we are “ashamed” of our disability. These are and probably always will be delicate questions, since they are framed by each person’s experiences and the perceptions of those around them. In any event, it is a pretty good story.

And that’s about all I’ve had going on for these first four months. Hmmm, when seen through that light I guess there has been more going on than I thought. I hope whatever you’re up to has been relaxing when needed yet eventful when desired. More soon.