Day 11 At Ottawa Bluesfest 2010 & Other Stuff

My Wife & I checked out the Pop Life Art Exhibit at the National Gallery yesterday.
Some parts of it are pretty odd, and the Music is a little loud for an Art Exhibit, but all in all, I suggest you people check it out.

After that, we headed down to Piccolo Grande to have a Gelato.

So last night, I wanted to see MonkeyJunk, but they were just wrapping up as we got there. I only got to hear half a song, but they sounded pretty good. Hopefully, they will perform at a Wheelchair Accessible Venue in Ottawa soon.

So after that, it was time for The Canadian Comedy Show, hosted by Mark Forward. The show also featured Ryan Belleville, Debra Giovanni, and Pete Zedlacher.
The show was pretty good for the most part. The Host seemed kinda annoyed, and perhaps lost due to people leaving, and not laughing at him enough.

Sadly, after Bluesfest is over, it will be awhile before I get to see Live Comedy again. For those who aren’t aware, I’m a big fan of Stand-Up Comedy, and even perform it sometimes.

Up until about a year and a bit, I performed regularly at Yuk Yuk’s. They moved to a location that isn’t Wheelchair Accessible. Since then, there’s no longer any Wheelchair Accessible Comedy Venues in Ottawa.

Needless to say, I’ve been seeing as many Comedy shows at Bluesfest as humanly possible. I find it funny/sad that a temporary Tent can be made Wheelchair Accessible, but an actual Venue doesn’t want to bother to even try to be Wheelchair Accessible.

I’ve approached both of the main Clubs here in Ottawa, and either they don’t care & flat out refuse to even try to put a Ramp, or they shut me up when I tried talking to the Media about it.

Either way, it’s a horrible situation, mostly due to Owners not really giving a crap about Comedians or Club goers.

I’m done my little rant.
Sorry

So, after the Comedy Show, I went to see Great Big Sea, or tried to.

My Wheelchair stopped working on the way in.
My Wife spent at least ten minutes trying to fix it, and it worked for the rest of the night.

Great Big Sea was great as per usual.

I want to point something out.
While my Wife was trying to fix my Chair. Security & Volunteers kept wanting to help me get in to the show.
We both refused several times.
For some messed up reason, they refused to listen to her.
Now, noticed that I said her?

None of the “rent-a-cops” asked me directly. They chose to ask my Wife instead.
My Wife told them many times that I was the one refusing help, not her.
If I can drive, I will FREAKIN drive in there myself somehow.

Furthermore, people have to learn to talk to Disabled people. While it’s true that SOME of them can’t speak, don’t automatically assume that we can’t.
It absolutely drives me nuts & boggles my mind, especially since i was publicly interviewed three times in the past week.
Plus, I’m pretty sure it was obvious that my Wife & I were chatting as they approached us each time.

Anyways, my Chair stopped working shortly after we got home.
I’m now using my old Nintendo Controller, which is really hard to use.

So, today/tonight, the only show that I’ll be able to get to is Lewis Black.

As for tomorrow, I have a ride to & from Bluesfest.
I’m definitely going to see Ryan Shaw, & then Weezer later on that night.
As for the few hours in between, that’ll be tough since I can’t drive as much as usual.

Either way, I’m sure it’ll be interesting.

I Pity The Fool!

Yesterday, I discussed the Media, and how they portrayed me.
Today, I’ll discuss how people in every day life view me.

When I was a Kid, people often felt sorry for me.
For some reason, Adults feel extra sorry for sick kids.
Funny how it seems that people seem to feel differently about sick Adults.
They just seem to care less.

For example, I’ve never seen or heard of a Make-A-Wish Foundation for Adults.
If one existed, and I was dying, I’d either ask to go to Vegas, the Playboy Mansion, or star in a Porn Movie.
Who am I kidding? I’d want to do all three things.

Anyways, back to my point.
As a 35 year old Disabled person, I still get stared at, but typically from the “outsiders”.
By outsiders, I’m referring to Non-Canadians.
Generally speaking, Canadians tend to be more understanding. It also helps that I go out pretty often, and I’m a vital part of the Community that I live in.
People see me out & about, and they catch on that I do stuff just like anyone else does.

I’m assuming that the reason that the “outsiders” stare at me is because they don’t understand. Also, chances are that they kill people like me in their Country, or at the very least, treat them like outcasts.

The World is a messed up place in some parts.

The thing that amuses me is when people on game sites or chatrooms find out that I’m Disabled. Often, their first reaction is “I’m sorry to hear that”.

Why are you sorry?
It’s certainly not your fault, and I’m certainly not bitter about my life.
To me, I think people should feel worse for people who BECOME Disabled, either due to an accident, or a sudden disease.
As for me, I was just born this way. It’s the only life I’ve ever known.

I’ve fought long and hard for even the simple things in life.
That’s ok by me.
It just makes the reward seem sweeter, and I’m truly thankful for everything I have.

Let The Weekend Begin!

I started my Friday Morning at 9 am, which is early for me. I had an appointment at 11. When I arrived to the Clinic, i had to go to the bathroom, but someone was in there.

You know what really grinds my gears?

One of my pet peeves in life are able bodied people who use bathrooms made specifically for disabled people.

There’s a big sign on the bathroom door with the wheelchair symbol and it says Washroom below it. The one for able bodied folks is literally right beside it.

A few minutes later, the guy walks out, no apology even. Meanwhile, I’m late for my appointment just because some guy decided to take a shit in the Disabled Person’s bathroom.

While I’m on this topic.
Who came up with the design for the wheelchair symbol?
It’s messed up!

First of all, by their logic, we’re all bald with skinny necks. Apparently our limbs are perfectly squared too.
For some reason, the chair’s back wheel isn’t even connected to anything. So basically this oddly shaped “C” is following Square Man’s ass.

Someone needs to update the symbol. I’m sure that one has scared a shitload of kids and probably even some Adults.

I can just imagine a kid saying “Mommy, what’s wrong with him?” “Well, when he was born, he had a “C” sticking out of his ass, Timmy, and that’s why he can’t walk”. We call them “Disabled” or “Physically Challenged”.

Well yeah, if I had a “C” sticking out of my ass, I’d be freakin disabled.

So after my appointment, my Wife & I headed home for Lunch. We both left at 1:30 to seperate places.

My Wife had to go for a Mammogram. She told me that I could post the following on my blog.

She said that she thinks they should give out free bras following the Mammogram. The same way that a Dentist gives you a free Toothbrush after your visit.

Please keep in mind, that between the two of us, I’m the one who performed Stand Up Comedy for two years.

Anyways, as for me, I headed out to try to get a new Health Card, but I had no luck. They wanted my Birth Certificate, which I don’t have.

I returned home shortly afterwards.
I have a friend coming over tonight.

There’s some Bagpipe thing going on this Weekend on Parliament Hill called Fortissimo. Basically it’s a Military/Musical spectacular. We’ll probably check that out at some point this weekend.

Other than that, that’s about it for now.

Thanks for reading.