Compostable Kate

So, I've been trying to come up with a way to explain to a non-disabled person what it's like to face physical challenges at work, as a person with a disability. My current workplace is very physically demanding, even for me, a wheelchair user with long arms, full reach, abdominal muscle control and good balance. After 2.5 years of just getting on with it, despite the inaccessibility of large areas of my workplace, I'm at a point where I'm having to say, 'Enough. I can't do it any more.'. My employer is struggling to understand what's changed. Why is my workplace 'suddenly' inaccessible? What has changed with my health, to make my work so arduous for me now? Here's my analogy*: Imagine that you are looking for a job in the field you have just qualified for. A new employer says, if you move out to our location, we'll give you a permanent job. You just have to be able to carry 10kg. Cool, you think, I can do that. I'll uproot myself...

For the last couple of years I've been on a plastic-elimination diet, and working hard at drastically reducing my landfill footprint (ie what I cause to sent to be buried in the ground for all eternity*). I have made some huge progress, although I still have some way to go to becoming zero waste (I think I'm at about 80% waste-free). One step on this journey was to get rid of my kitchen bin. In theory, everything I use in my kitchen should be either recyclable or compostable, leaving no use for a kitchen bin. However, I do have one item that is neither: my cat's uneaten food. FreddyCat is a fussy eater. I put this down to his hyperthyroidism – and being a cat. After considerable trial and error, I have found a range of foods that he will (usually) consent to eat, but he never eats ALL of anything I put down for him. There is always something left over; sometimes all of it. Cat food reeks even before going off, so I have to dispose of it. As I am a ver...

I've been trying to organise some money to live on for the last two weeks, ever since my teaching contract expired at the end of November (two weeks before the end of term so they don't have to pay me over the holidays). While I do qualify for the "Lump  Sum Summer Payment" from the Department of Education, it doesn't come through until the end of the month. In the meantime, and for the rest of the summer break (unless I can find some temp work), I need some help from Centrelink. I was being supported by the Disability Support Pension until about 4 weeks ago, when they changed their policy and dropped me (and many others in my situation). I had previously been assured that it would be there for me over the summer break, even though it didn't pay me any money while I was earning. With the loss of the DSP also came the loss of subsidised medications (OMG, I had no idea what they really cost(, my electricity subsidy, and my subsidised stamps from the Post Off...

I've been banging on a bit about Plastic-Free July - but not *too* much, I hope - to try to encourage more people (really, just ONE more person) to take up the challenge to reduce their plastic consumption, or to at least ensure their plastics all get recycled, not put in landfill. I did the challenge for the first time last year, and drastically reduced the amount of single-use plastic I use, while also becoming painfully aware of how ubiquitous single-use plastic is in our lives. It is EVERYWHERE. And it's not just where we can see it. Even if your product sits on the supermarket shelf plastic-free, the chances are it got delivered swathed in plastic. I'm afraid to ask what happens to that plastic.... Trying to do grocery shopping without buying things wrapped in plastic is *really* difficult, not to mention expensive. Plastic-free bread (if you can persuade the bakery to put it in a paper bag, not plastic) is much more expensive that the $1 bread in a plastic bag...

http://allthingsclipart.com I've had another attempt to discuss my pain management medication (Tramadol + anti-inflammatory) with the GP, and have come away with no solutions. The first time, with my regular GP, I asked for my pain meds to be reviewed, as I was finding that exercising in the gym was causing me too much pain, and that it was important for me to keep exercising, as I really need to lose weight and increase my fitness if I want to be able to work again and not end up with obesity-related illness(es). Her suggestion was that I start taking a weight-loss drug. However, as weight-loss medication is incompatible with my anti-depressant (where the main side-effect is weight-gain!!), she said I should talk to my psychiatrist about changing my anti-depressant. Apart from her having missed my point, I have no intention of changing my anti-depressant, as the last time I did that I got incredibly sick, and I'm still reeling from the fall-out from tha...

In order to share my recent enlightening experience, I also have to share something mortifying. OK. So. "Sniff Break" at the shopping centre. On Saturday I went and got new tyres for my wheelchair, having worn them down to the threads. Nothing earth-shattering there, except that I found that having new, round tyres with tread on them meant that I could no longer actually move my wheelchair. This is because I've put on so much weight I now stop the wheels going around, with my big fat thighs. My old tyres were so worn down that I could still move the wheels, but even then one of the wheels would rub on the side of my leg, where the skirt protector is missing. So I found myself housebound, from being too fat. Horrifying, both from the fatness, and from the housebound-ness. I have been trying to lose weight for a long time, and although I have stopped putting it on, I'm finding it very difficult to lose anything of any significance. Anyway, in order to not ...

I've just washed my dishes, for no other reason than that they needed doing. There weren't very many, and it didn't take very long. This doesn't seem very remarkable, except that the state of my kitchen sink has long been an analogue for how my life is going. If things are going badly, my dishes don't get done, and everything is messy and horrid. If things are going well, they do get done, and everyone's happy. Over the past year it has become more physically challenging to do my dishes (and most things: my wrists and hands are stuffed), and as I would have already expended some of my already limited energy on cooking – hence the dirty dishes – I rarely had the energy to also clean up afterwards. So there would be dirty dishes. I don't leave my dishes in/around the sink because I just don't care about them, or can't be bothered; when I have limited physical resources, washing dishes becomes a low priority, compared, for instance, to lo...

Once again, I had to contend with a lead-less dog in New Farm. But even better*, this was an unattended , lead-less dog, sitting just outside Coles. My assistance dog Dexter and I had to walk past it  to get to the shop, and it wasn't until it looked around, saw Dexter, got up and approached that we realised it wasn't on a bloody lead. It had a collar, but no tags of any description. A lady passing by at the same time was equally alarmed that the dog was off lead, and free to approach my dog; she wasn't game to approach the dog itself, though, and I don't really blame her. It was a male Golden Retriever, a breed that enjoys a reputation of being gentle and friendly, but that's no guarantee that it wouldn't be aggressive.... Fortunately, Dexter is super-cool about meeting strange dogs, even ones who stand over him like this one did. Dexter always responds by trying to play, and by running round like a lunatic. Not exactly appropriate when he's wearing hi...

So, I followed up with the doc about my wrists today, and I still have to just rest them. I have actually seen three doctors at my local clinic about my wrists over the past few weeks. The first one sent me for an ultrasound and suggested physio with dry needling. The second one, who is was my regular doctor until this moment, then said to stop physio and wait for a blood test. The third one, who I saw today, said that all my blood tests came back normal , and that I just have to wait until my wrists get better. When I saw my regular doctor, the one who said to stop physio, he gave me the impression – as he has on several previous occasions – that he thought I was simply an attention-seeking, time-wasting hypochondriac, and he wasn't prepared to waste any resources on treating my wrists. He can't refer me to a psychiatrist for this, as I already see one. (I have also seen shrinks in the past who have concluded that my pain isn't psychosomatic (I don't have a spec...

Yesterday evening I received a cruel-to-be-kind phone call from my history lecturer, the ultimate gist of which was to say I have to stop procrastinating and get this assignment done, because she doesn't want to see me fail this semester. It was nice of her take the time, although she made it clear that she was very busy. Although I have other issues going on at the moment, such as my wrist pain, other pain, and the difficulties I find in being an external student, the overarching issue I have with assignments is procrastination, a chronic avoidance of committing my ideas to paper. I do do lots of reading: books, articles, blogs, and, in this case, watch a lot of DVDs: documentary series and educational series on Ancient Rome (the topic of my imaginary History unit). Not only am I reading about historical content, but trying to get my head around historiography, and also reading about lesson planning and pedagogical theories for use in my lesson plans. I take a lot of notes, and ...

In the supermarket yesterday, I encountered a little family, Mum and her little primary school kiddies doing some after-school grocery shopping. I smiled at the Mum, because she was trying to push the kiddie-sized trolley that one or other of the kids had clearly wanted to use, but then had given up on. Her gorgeous little boy, probably about 5 years old, gave a shout of delight at seeing Dexter - a common occurence - and we had this little conversation: Gorgeous Little Boy: What is her name? Me: His name is Dexter. GLB: Oh. Is she a boy or a girl? Me: He's a boy. GLB: Oh, I thought he was a girl. Me: Is that because he's got long hair? (Just a hunch!!) GLB: Yeah! (By this time GLB is patting Dexter gently on the head. When little kids pat him, Dexter always sits down and waits patiently.) Me: You know, that's called "gender stereotyping". You might learn about that when you get to high school. (His Mum laughs at this; GLB, absorbed in patting Dexter,...

I'm typing this bit, because I'm currently struggling with the new Dragon dictation software I just installed, having been previously struggling with the software that came with my PC. After going through the training module, this is my first dictation: Thursday, May 16, 2013 Thursday he may he 16 but it doesn't 13 so I've just installed dragon and it seems to be repeating everything I say I say,, which is really annoying.. which is really annoying So I've just installed dragon I'm not quite sure how to stop it from repeating everything I'm not quite sure how to stop it from repeating everything because a thank things wants this is totally far this is totally flat because amazing things wants It also doesn't understand asks a That end bit was doesn't understand "fucked", which I tried very hard to train it to understand. Not that I swear a lot, but trying to use dictation software of the past coup...

(Warning: contains swearing. You'll see why, I hope.) Considering that I am constantly fighting with piles of dirty dishes in my little kitchen, you'd think that the first thing I'd want my cleaner to do is wash them. And I used to. But I quickly realised that although the dishes moved from the pile, through the soapy water in the sink and to the drainer, the vast majority of them didn't end up being clean. It turned out to be a great big waste of time - and a huge disappointment - and I had to wash the stupid things myself anyway. Mine aren't as pretty, but I do have a yellow bowl. So now I do them myself, eventually. When my cleaner comes, once a fortnight, I'll sit and do my dishes while he or she is doing the housework tasks I find difficult (rather than just annoying). I have also even been known to do a sink full of dishes in between cleaning visits, often in the middle of the night when I can't sleep, or when I have other pressing things to d...

Last month (December 2012), I ended up with seven smiley faces on my calendar.    Each smiley represents an effort at getting intentional exercise (as Dr Phil would say). This month is was mostly swimming, but I have also included walks with Dexter. I haven't included incidental exercise, such as the slog along the carpeted corridors at the RBWH , although sometimes I think I should; it's hard work! I started my smiley reward system in 2012, as a way of acknowledging my attempts to get healthier. I needed some kind of reward for making the effort, but it had to be something that wasn't food or money! I have a childish love of stickers, so smiley faces on the calendar (which hangs above my desk) it was. It didn't get off to a great start, as was always feeling too exhausted to possibly go swimming or - gods forbid - go to the gym. Smileys in 2012: January: 0 February: 3 March: 1 April: 1 May: 0 June: 1 July: 2 August: 1 September: 0 October: 1 Nov...

I finally have an explanation for why Dexter's right ear has been getting infections again, after about 6 years of good health. It turns out that the ear canal resection Dexter had when he was about 2 - which transformed his natural L-shaped ear canal into a straight line, thereby reducing the opportunities for infections to pool in the bend of the canal - has started to droop. Meaning that the straight line from ear drum to opening now has a bend in it again, which is where the bacteria comes to squat and have rave parties. The vet said that it's natural for everything to start drooping on older dogs (and of course, cats and people); he said we all end up like a Salvador Dali painting in the end! Salvador Dali Spanish 1904–89, worked in United States 1940–48 Daddy Longlegs of the evening – Hope! 1940 oil on canvas, 40.6 x 50.8 cm The Salvador Dalí Museum, St Petersburg, Florida The good news is that there are fewer of the [insert medical information the vet sai...

I have A Plan. It's a plan to help me keep my health on a more even keel, even when going through a bad bout of PMS, as I just have. I've still been finding it difficult to keep eating properly when I get really tired, or have more pain than usual. If I can't find the energy to prepare a decent meal, I end up eating whatever is easiest to get hold of, which is too often not a healthy option. When I was really struggling this week, I decided that I needed More Help. That's quite something for me to admit to myself, let alone put out into the universe (my shrink will be proud of me when I tell her about it!). I've asked some friends to help me with cooking my weekly meals. I'll use their kitchen, which is much bigger than mine (and has a dishwasher!), and I'll have extra helpers to tidy up anything that I drop (ie more furkids) and they have more foxtel channels, so I can have Sci Fi or the History channel on while I cook. My plan is to tick a few bo...

I unexpectedly ended up at the Sporting Wheelies gym the other day, after avoiding it for about a year. I was going out to breakfast with a friend who also used to work there, and she detoured us on the way to drop in and say Hi to whoever was there. It was pretty early in the morning, so only the gym was open, so we went in and chatted to a few people. It was actually quite painless, despite my fears of humiliation and mortification. The Gym at Sporting Wheelies (that's not me!) The main reason I've been avoiding the gym there is not that I used to work there, but that I've put on so much weight over the past couple of years I'm too embarrassed to show myself there. I've also been avoiding other situations, because of feeling insecure about my weight and how I look.  I've been steadily gaining weight for the past few years, and one of the reasons for that is that I've been trying to work more on my health than my weight.  Since I was about 15, un...

It will be 2 years in November since my Dad died. I think of him every day, but there are some things that bring him to the fore more than others. In particular, ugg boots, Sudoku and crossword puzzles (he taught   tried to teach me how to solve cryptic clues) and growing veggies. Dad, my sister and brothers, and little Darren (who is now 11).  Dad's hand-built greenhouse is in the background. The space  behind Dad got filled up with Josie's flowers and Dad's herbs  and veg. As I'm embarking on my first veggie garden in nearly 8 years, thoughts of Dad are inevitable. He used every inch of his tiny back yard to grow herbs and veggies, in amongst my step-Mum Josie's flowers, and even some trees, and made a tiny greenhouse out of reclaimed materials that looked like something out of a fairy story. He had a compost heap and a worm farm, and there were a couple of tortoises in there somewhere (I think there's only one now, thou...

My only chance of being reinstated to uni next semester rests with the “Withdrawal without academic penalty” form I've just submitted. If successful, it means that the fail grades I got for the two units I was unable to complete last semester, which lead to my exclusion, will be removed. This will raise my GPA* to well above what is required to continue with my course. I did submit this form with my appeal against exclusion, but it was returned to me, requesting more detailed information. The medical information I included with my appeal wasn't sufficient to use with my withdrawal application. Fortunately, because I had submitted it with my appeal, I was still able to resubmit it, even after being excluded. This time I included a report from my psychiatrist (this was no time to be shy about my mental health issues, if it could help me get reinstated), as well as from my GP. I'm glad I did, as my GP provided about three lines in a letter, while my shrink wrote me...

I want to thank everyone who has been supporting me through my recent disappointment. However, while I am still devastated to be excluded (ie expelled) from QUT, and am working on being reinstated, I refuse to be brought down by it. Just before all this happened (I got the email telling me that the uni had dismissed my appeal against exclusion last Friday morning, 17th August), I was writing a blog post about how well I was doing lately. It was about the 5 signs that show that my mental health* is greatly improved.: 1. I take care of my health. Whereas I have long been concerned about my weight, I am lately more concerned about my health, which is quite a different thing. I have been cooking for myself, rather than eating ready meals, or junk food, and have been feeling better for it. I have also recently given up soft drinks, of all kinds, including cordial, although I did get some cordial to see me through my recent cold, as water tasted like snot!  I can't emphasise enou...