Mini-Gloats 2

[Lizica]

Nieceling watched My Neighbor Totoro (or parts of it) almost every single day we visited. =DD I'm so happy she has such excellent taste. It's one of my favorite movies, too. (I kinda made it an extra game for myself to try to notice all the minor changes they made from the Japanese version to the English dub. XD)

Also, she decided my name is too hard to pronounce regularly, so I am now "Beh." ;w; *explodes in rainbows*

[Twillie]

Only just realized today that I get Monday off for a holiday, so yay surprise three-day weekend! xD

[Allison]

Yesterday I tried something new and different, and honestly a bit scary in a weird way. A few years ago, when I was at the mall, I saw the DASA "Ability Gym." DASA stands for Disabled Athlete Sports Association and they are all about adaptive sports. I thought that, perhaps, the gym could be beneficial to me, but kept hesitating. To be honest, I've never quite known how to answer the question, "Do you have a disability?" I mean, can I do everything I want and need to do without (much) assistance? Yes. Do I have some limitations? Yes. Can I fully participate in sports and activities with my "able-bodied" peers? No. I really can't. At least not on any "competitive" level. And I never considered myself to have an "official" diagnosis, because I was always told all my problems were related, but no one knew how. But now, I think it's pretty safe to say I could fall under the broad category of "orthopedic disability."

VERY short version for those who don't know, though I think I've mentioned it here? -- Didn't walk until I was two-and-a-half years old or older, had major surgery for bilateral hip dysplasia at 9 years old when this is ideally caught before six months of age, then, possibly related but no one really knows for sure, hip surgery at 29 years old. I turned 40 in May.

So I inquired (way back in like... 2019) and was told that a lot of people have a similar story to mine... limitations, but no solid diagnosis. So I started the process and then "chickened out." I didn't want to be seen as taking advantage of something that I don't really qualify for. Well, a few weeks ago, I finally reached out again. I was assured by multiple people that, given my history, I would indeed qualify. In fact, when I expressed the hesitancy I mentioned above, one of them emailed me and said, "Would you like me to text a reminder to you to remind you that you are welcome to our events?!! 😉" They didn't have any spots open in the "Ability Gym," but they had other events I could try. So tonight, I participated in their "Bikes & Boats" event at a local Lake. I rode a recumbent trike for the first time, and did a bit of kayaking! For the biking, they have "Shadow Riders" who ride with you, to help you out, and kind of make sure no one runs you over. My Shadow Rider tonight was Macie. I'm still not sure I have the hang of the steering, and I may have only ridden 1/2 a mile, but I made it move! And I may have only kayaked for a few minutes and gone about 20 feet out, but I didn't get myself stranded in the middle of the lake (a legit fear of mine at first) I was super nervous, but also excited. Anyway, I had SO much fun, met some amazing people, and want to try again some time. And next week? I'm going to try rock climbing at a local rock climbing gym with DASA.

Pictures (I think some of them are sideways and I'm not sure how to fix that. They were fine when I first uploaded them, then they rotated?):

SPOILER: Click to show

[Carolyn]

Hey, so I wanted to share some positive work stuff here.

My direct colleagues have all been wonderful people with the fed job. Boss? Cinnamon roll. Super understanding. Listens to my concerns and acts upon them right away. Urban outreach liaison? The nicest person and full of great energy. All the biologists and maintenance guy? Friendly and helpful. A good number of the volunteers welcome me, appreciate me. One even said, "it's wonderful to see you!" and gave me a hug yesterday. And today I did an urban outreach event where I taught kids (hover ball) archery. It was so much fun, and the kids (and adults) were really enthusiastic and trying it out. One of the boys loved it so much that when his mom asked if he wanted to try archery classes. He jumped up and down with excitement. My co-worker explained how a lot of colleges offer scholarships for archery and that caught her eye right away. Here's to hoping we sparked a passion. One of the participants was like, "for some, unexplainable reason, this is Super Fun. ... Can I do it again?"

Like. Those are the good moments, the stuff that just makes you feel like all the effort, tears, struggles, fears, and anxiety was worth it. I'm glad to work with people who appreciate me, who ask for my advice, who tap into my expertise. Even if I may be frustrated by certain aspects, overall... I think it's going to be okay. I am enthusiastic, intelligent, and good at what I do. It's been a hard road (and my anxiety brain will catastrophize everything, always try to convince me that I'm not good enough, and look for reasons to be hard on myself) but hopefully I can finally unlearn some of that negative self talk and give myself credit where credit is due.

Edit: Got more positive feedback today from a co-worker who said that they were lucky to have me. It feels nice to be wanted and thanked. Maybe I judged the situation too soon. I've grown jaded over the years, so seeing genuine kindness, generosity, and gratefulness is definitely a big help.

[Twillie]

Went to my first Pride Fest today, and it was cool getting to see all the people a part of or allied with the LGBT+ community in the area, and all the ways they expressed themselves at the event. Before going, there was also a part of me worried about anyone who might try to cause trouble, be it outside the venue or not, but there was none of that. Just a bunch of people there to gather and have a good time.

[Carolyn]

Soooo felt like there was a need for more positive work stuff.

My boss has been really kind. He keeps thanking me and saying I'm doing a good job. And the boss above him even said, "you're doing a lot right now. Are you okay? Feeling comfortable?" Like, they're legitimately good people. It's... nice to have supportive bosses.

It's also nice to have a work vehicle. Really, Really nice.

And one of the volunteers told me she appreciated everything that I did for the Refuge the other day and told me to keep up the great work.

And one of the visitors today said I made his day? And his brother was happy to chat as well. The guy wrote children's books, a few of which are in the gift shop.

Sure, no job is perfect, but this one seems to be... pretty good, honestly. And people love the bird guide that I put together--everyone's excited to see it in action. If I can get anyone stoked about (nature in general, tbh) birds, then all the better. Feels like I'm using my degree to make a difference, and that's what I've always wanted to do.

It feels nice to be appreciated. It really, really does.

Thank you guys for being a part of that encouragement. It's been a hard couple of years, but by gosh, I've survived knowing that people care and listen.

[Stephanie (swordlilly)]

Artfight is turning out to be a much more wholesome experience than I ever expected. I actually cried a little bit looking at some of the pieces that were gifted to me. It's so nice to know that others appreciate what I create, too. There isn't any judging or exclusion or unequal prizes. I think I would've enjoyed creating on Neopets a lot more if it was more like this.

[Twillie]

Randomly reconnected with an old Tae Kwon Do classmate who invited me to their weekly class, so I was able to go to my first TKD class in about 5 or 6 six years! That's been a huge mental block for me, and despite having wanted to get back into things I was too worried about being out of shape or everyone hating me if I came back after so long lol. I'm glad to finally have a foot back in the door, and with some more low key classes to start with!

[Gelquie]

That satisfying feeling of not only getting to stop my daily chore of job searching, but also deleting all my saved job bookmarks and freeing that up.

(None of them will be still open in a year anyway.)

[Twillie]

I have a few Tae Kwon Do classes under my belt now upon returing, and today was the first time I didn't feel like dying at any point \o/ (probably helped that it was a cool, cloudy day as opposed to the upper 90's before as these classes are outdoors, but still xD I'm handling breath control and stamina better again lol. Feeling out of shape was previously one of the things that demotivated me and led to my hiatus years ago.)

[June Scarlet]

I had a lovely time with family at the botanical garden yesterday!

[Allison]

Jun 1, 2023 21:32:59 GMT -5 Allison said:

Yesterday I tried something new and different, and honestly a bit scary in a weird way. A few years ago, when I was at the mall, I saw the DASA "Ability Gym." DASA stands for Disabled Athlete Sports Association and they are all about adaptive sports. I thought that, perhaps, the gym could be beneficial to me, but kept hesitating. To be honest, I've never quite known how to answer the question, "Do you have a disability?" I mean, can I do everything I want and need to do without (much) assistance? Yes. Do I have some limitations? Yes. Can I fully participate in sports and activities with my "able-bodied" peers? No. I really can't. At least not on any "competitive" level. And I never considered myself to have an "official" diagnosis, because I was always told all my problems were related, but no one knew how. But now, I think it's pretty safe to say I could fall under the broad category of "orthopedic disability."

VERY short version for those who don't know, though I think I've mentioned it here? -- Didn't walk until I was two-and-a-half years old or older, had major surgery for bilateral hip dysplasia at 9 years old when this is ideally caught before six months of age, then, possibly related but no one really knows for sure, hip surgery at 29 years old. I turned 40 in May.

So I inquired (way back in like... 2019) and was told that a lot of people have a similar story to mine... limitations, but no solid diagnosis. So I started the process and then "chickened out." I didn't want to be seen as taking advantage of something that I don't really qualify for. Well, a few weeks ago, I finally reached out again. I was assured by multiple people that, given my history, I would indeed qualify. In fact, when I expressed the hesitancy I mentioned above, one of them emailed me and said, "Would you like me to text a reminder to you to remind you that you are welcome to our events?!! 😉" They didn't have any spots open in the "Ability Gym," but they had other events I could try. So tonight, I participated in their "Bikes & Boats" event at a local Lake. I rode a recumbent trike for the first time, and did a bit of kayaking! For the biking, they have "Shadow Riders" who ride with you, to help you out, and kind of make sure no one runs you over. My Shadow Rider tonight was Macie. I'm still not sure I have the hang of the steering, and I may have only ridden 1/2 a mile, but I made it move! And I may have only kayaked for a few minutes and gone about 20 feet out, but I didn't get myself stranded in the middle of the lake (a legit fear of mine at first) I was super nervous, but also excited. Anyway, I had SO much fun, met some amazing people, and want to try again some time. And next week? I'm going to try rock climbing at a local rock climbing gym with DASA.

So... I should update this!

After the first time that I posted above, I did the "Bikes and Boats" event 4 more times. The first time (as menntined above) I only made it 1/2 a mile.

2nd time: almost 2 miles
3rd time: Did the full short loop around the lake, 3.74 miles
4th time: 2 miles, because I was beating a rain storm and didn't want to get exactly half way around when it started raining.
5th time: Did the 3.74 mile loop again.

I had SO MUCH FUN doing this this summer, and I'm already sad it's over. I think I'll probably try to do rock climbing a few more times with them over the fall and winter. We'll see. But... yeah. So glad I got over my mental hurdle of getting involved.

[Twillie]

After probably a year of waiting and delays and finally getting things started, my sister and I got a new deck! I finally have a good place to sit outside at a table to enjoy the sun and weather, since my bedroom only has one tiny window. Also, it's screened in, so the cats are allowed out there and have a whole new place to explore. I brought them out with me today while the weather was beautiful, and they really really love it! Even the cat who's usually prickly towards me was being extra loving and let me pet her haha.

[Twillie]

I'm a couple months late on this, but I've officially been a part of the NTWF for ten years now! \o/
*gives myself shiny badge to prove it*

[Allison]

Sept 13, 2023 21:09:42 GMT -5 Twillie said:

I'm a couple months late on this, but I've officially been a part of the NTWF for ten years now! \o/
*gives myself shiny badge to prove it*

This made me check, and I actually just passed 10 years earlier this month!