Previous Week:

Lost my U-Pass, a pass allowing me to ride the bus for "free" (Tuition). Replacements cost 35$, and require you to go to the CTA central location (WAY out in the south side), and then wait 2 weeks for them to mail it to you.

Monday:

It's raining cats and Dogs, and I have to catch two buses to the upper Loop campus of DePaul University before 10:10 AM. I deck my chair out in a poncho and a bag around the controller, as it sticks out of the poncho. I get to my second bus stop, and the first bus' lift doesn't work. The second bus works just fine. I'm running a little late, but that's OK, as the teacher usually doesn't come in until 5 or 10 minutes after 10:10. I'm 20 feet from the CTI building when a rain gutter above my head busts, DRENCHING me in water. Furthermore, it rips the bag off of my controller, DRENCHING it, and putting me at a halt. I am stuck. The engineer of the building comes out and pushes my inside where I will spend 4 hours on the phone, talking to various "emergency" wheelchair matnence shops that all declare that my wheelchair cannot be fixed because they didn't make it. Eventually, one of the first companies I call, called me back. One of their suit coats that USED to be an engineer got word that the secretary told me she COULDN'T help me, regardless of the fact that I'm STRANDED. He drove to the building, came in, and took the remote apart so we could blow-dry it in the bathroom. He's not even a technician anymore, and he was on his way to a meeting, but instead, he came and helped me out. On his way out, I asked who to give my insurance information to, so I could pay for it. He said "Don't worry about it" but made me promise to put his number in my phone and call him if anything like this happens again. Good thing he did this...

Tuesday:

Finally my backpack boom stick arrives in the mail. I designed a boom to hold my backpack on it that would attach to the back of the chair, swing out, and give me access to the backpack. After it's fitted on, I realize that the fabricator made the release pin WAY too tight, as well as painted the piston, making it barely rotatable with the heavy backpack on it. It also seemed too heavy. I kept it on, simply because I CAN manually swing it out allowing me WAY better access to the backpack. Classes are all in the immediate area, so no bus troubles.

Wednesday:

The first bus doesn't work. The second bus doesn't work. The third bus takes me half way to my second bus stop, and dies. It just dies. Everyone gets off and takes the next bus while I have to wait for 45 minutes, missing the first half of the same class I missed on Monday.

I go to the ID center at school to get the information and direction to get to the CTA place in the south side and the woman says "Oh! You lost your pass!" first thing she sees me. I'm like "Yeah, and I need direction to go get-" "No, I have it!" I guess a bus driver, without really having to do this at all, came to DePaul THAT MORNING and had both mine and another girl's pass. I would have gone all the way and spent 35 dollars 10 minutes later had she not had my pass.

So I just saved 35 dollars! Whoo! I went to Dominick’s and spent 30 bucks on some really good deals on hot pocket, pizza rolls, and poppers, and spent the rest on summer sausage. I decided that, since I had a good deal, and saved 35 dollars because of some guy's good deed, that I'd do something to pass it on. I went outside and gave the guy who always sits outside of Dominick’s and begs for food the 2 packages of summer sausage that I had intentionally purchased for him.

Thursday:

I wake up and get ready to take a shower, only to realize that: My back left wheel is missing. Simply not there. Nothing. Just an empty rim without a back wheel.

The weight of the backpack boom on the left side must have stopped the piston (x-rotation like you see on baby strollers, or shopping carts) from rotating, leaving the wheel, unrotating, sideways towards the direction of the chair's movement. So when I hit a lip in the sidewalk, the wheel being sideways must've been popped right off of the rim.

The chair runs just fine without the left back wheel (Albeit, a little shaky, and tipsy) but the right wheel is probably going to take a lot of stress until it's all fixed. I don't think the arm that the back right wheel is on is built to take 2 wheel's weight.

So I called Rich, the guy who had helped me out. He's in Southern Illinois, but is calling around to providers and buddies in the area to get me another wheel. We know the make and size, so it shouldn't be TOO difficult to find in Chicago, but he realizes the severity of the back right wheel taking so much stress.

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Honestly, I've NEVER had a worse week in my life. It's not even devastating bad. It's just plain BAD. First full week of class, and I'm missing 2/3 classes. The teachers probably think I'm one of "those" people. I'm NEVER late for classes, and I'm NEVER one to skip a class. I don't know the coursework for half of my classes, and I've got some assignments for C++ I CAN'T do without the book, as the actual assignment is in it, but I can't get the book because it's downtown, in the bookstore. All of these problems aren't me being lazy or stupid or any of that. My first full week of college, when I plan to do very well, be responsible, and get all of my assignments in on time is turning out to be stressful, unproductive, and a completely failure.

I have ONE more day to make this week even worse. I have no classes, so I plan to stay home and do all of the homework I missed by calling teachers and asking them what to do. I'm going to lay it on the line, and explain to them that I'm not giving them excuses: I'm only telling them what the thing stopping me from doing work is, and what their policy is, if they want me to remedy it, how to, or if they're not going to accept the late work. I hate giving excuses, and I'm being FORCED to, in this case.

Next week should be better, though. My mother is coming to visit, and bring me out to dinner each night! I'm getting a 4500 dollar PC that I'm not paying a dime for (I'm buying a printer/scanner, that's it), and I'll have another chance to get classes all down.

Boohoo. Cry me a river. You're not dead or wounded. That's what life is like when Mama doesn't cuddle her little crippled baby. Get used to it.

ugh. what a load of crap. I hope you don't get in trouble from your teachers, since none of it was your fault. I'm sure if you just explain the situation, and then do the work, they'll understand that your intentions are good and you are willing, it's just circumstances that screwed you up this week.

have you just moved to college? if this is your first week it sounds like you need to make other transport arrangements, as the normal buses don't seem very well equipped. I know there's a bus service in London that does certain normal bus routes but is designed for those with access issues, maybe you could find something similar?

I applied for the service here in Chicago, Maeve. I'm too "able bodied" to need it. Apparently being able to go 6 blocks in a power wheelchair makes you completely able to get all the way across town.

Oh, and from the chat:

<JediKirby> I like to make good first impressions
<JediKirby> And instead, all I've done is make my teachers think I'm unresponsible
<JediKirby> Or even worse, an incapable and weak crippled who they won't take seriously
<JediKirby> Had none of that stuff happened, I'd have proved myself a great asset to class, and completely justified myself as an individual, rather than a crippled
<JediKirby> Instead, if they take me at all seriously as a person, they see me as unorganized and making up excuses
<JediKirby> But more likely, it's just "Oh, the crippled kid had a crippled related issue, and isn't in class or turning in assignments. Pitty."

And I agree Steven, it's not devistating, I already said that, it just SUCKS. I'm laughing, mostly, as it's all really really really stupid crap.

Maybe you should try a little harder to concentrate on the good things that happened in your week. I mean, your pass issue resolved itself, and you experienced the charity of complete strangers. I know it sucks getting rained on and when things break, but it could've been worse.

You could be on fire!

No, I'm very thankful for Rich and the unnamed bus driver. Had those people not been around, I'd be in an even worse situation.

Sucks- things will pick up; but it seems like standard moving-out "shellshock" is making it seem a lot worse than it actually is.

Oh, I also forgot to mention that it's likely I have a mild case of Pnemonia as I haven't stopped shaking and sneezing since being drenched in rainwater on monday. Bathrooming has also been disgusting. That's probably from the sudden change in my diet from nothing but potatoes, meat, and vegies for dinner for 18 years to one meal of pizza rolls or hotpockets a day. I can cook very well myself, but can't afford the kind of food I'd like to cook.

Sorry about the bad week man. Although on the bright side, things can only go up. Unless your power wheelchair blows up, then your just in the crapper.

Don't you have a cafeteria at your school though? We've got 2-3 here, and the food is always good. Roomate and I fix stuff in the dorm everyonce in a while, but we can get anything at the cafeteria.

Eh, we've got them, and I eat there sometimes, but it's pretty gross too.

You need a dose of Zloc. Just teleport me upstate a 150 miles and I'll be good.

Well, my Friday sucks too!

My mother got in a car crash last night. Everyone's fine and alive, but one of the 7 people in her (work) vehical has brain bleeding, and my mom feels responsible because she was driving. The kid pulled out in front of her, and she turned the right direction to avoid flipping the car, so she actually probably saved lives, rather than hurt people.

I don't know, I'm all stressed out now. This week sucks.

I got a new wheel, though.

I wish we got U-Passes. We pay for our own bus and train fares.

Are you in Chicago?