In my previous job, I had to create a lot of very structured reports. This meant using a template that was standard across the organisation. Certain bits of text needed to be in bold. Other bits shouldn’t be highlighted, even where they were in the template as a reminder. Essentially, I needed to stay on…
Living in chaos
Who would have thought that having a chunk of flesh from both sides of your chest removed would hurt? Everyone except me, apparently. I went in for a small revision to my top surgery yesterday. It was a comparatively small process, when you consider the original surgery. I was awake for this one, and because…
Impermanence
I’m in the process of moving to the other end of the country. Not my first move, and as my nephew pointed out, at least this one is in the same country, which they haven’t always been. But somehow this one feels a lot bigger. Perhaps it’s because over the last four years, I’ve built…
Sometimes it just sucks
I am currently in Brighton. I recently got a job in the area, so I’m on a frantic hunt for somewhere to live. I am also very stressed. Not because of the house move, although that isn’t helping. I’m stressed because navigating Brighton makes me want to cry. I am trying to remind myself that…
Hands-on with ancient history at the British Museum
I recently went to London with a friend, and we decided to be ambitious and visit three museums in one day. It was a lot, but I’m so glad that we did. One of the places we really wanted to visit was the British Museum. Neither of us had been before, but I’d read on…
Drawing through my shame
I’ve always felt so much shame about my ability, or more accurately inability, to draw. It was through a drawing that I first realised what it meant to be blind. When, at the age of five, I ran my hands over raised line drawings that I and my classmates had made, only to realise how…
When respect feels like a gift
Leeds Bradford Airport are currently demonstrating how assisted travel should be done. I generally don’t take assistance when flying as I’ve reached a point where I’m so tired of being treated like a piece of luggage, rather than a human being. However, I’ve never flown out of this airport before and will try anything once….
Being happier
I’ve been trying to build good habits this year, which is harder than it has any right to be. I realised that I spend hours of my time mindlessly scrolling through social media, which doesn’t seem to be a particularly productive or even enjoyable use of my time on earth. I’ll notice that my phone…
Change
I’ve been thinking about how much has changed since I started writing this blog 14 years ago. Sometimes the name of the blog makes me cringe, because I was so much younger when I came up with it. Yet by now, people know it as my blog, and changing it seems like far more effort…
What the AI may take away
AI can open up information access for blind people, but we need to be aware of what it takes away from us. I’ve seen a lot of talk within the blind community which celebrates AI completely uncritically. There are smart glasses and apps on our phone which describe the world to us, and isn’t that…