Journey to NOAHCON 2016 :: Country Mouse & The Keycard

The story of my first key card.

So they give me my key card. Which I had no idea how to use at the time for I had never been handed one before then. We get on the elevator, Mike and I, who had proclaimed himself my bodyguard for the duration of my trip.

I'll tell you a secret, being in that elevator felt like the closest thing to going to Disney.  At first when the doors opened every now and again we ran into pilots who clearly were catching a nap before a flight or people who appeared to be ending business trips. Then the doors would open and there they were, people with the whitest hair I've ever seen outside of a mirror. It didn't happen often, maybe openly once or twice because it was still early and most had yet to arrive. There was also a girl with vibrant lavender and pink hair who I tried not to stare at because I have been on the other end of stares. That hair was a deep good breathe though let me tell you.

When we got up to my floor. Mike, who was a few floors ahead of mine had promised to help me make sure I don't embarrass myself. He failed. Our exchange went as follows. Elevator doors open.

Mike: ok this your floor, you can get out, bye.

Me: um... I don't know what to with this? *holds up key card* 

Mike: oh! Sorry I forgot! (then he laughed at me, rude)

Me: ....

Men in elevator give knowing looks 

Mike: no no she really can't get into her room I have to show her!

Men: more knowing looks.
Mike: No really!

 *Elevator doors close*

Well,  I promptly locked myself out the next time I tried to do it. A lovely lady who's grand-family was from the islands helped me a lot though so another crisis averted! When I got in my room at long last I unpacked and shot a room tour for you awesome people, check it out!

               

Then much to my shock and confusion my hotel room phone rang, that conversation went as follows

Me: Hello???

Mike: hey
Me: MIKE?! How did you get this number???! 

Mike: um....its just the number of your room...

 Me: oh! Waw...

Mike: *insert complaining about stuff like how small his room is cause he think he #baandboushie *

Me: I can't figure out how to charge my phone Wher eare the dang chargin ports?!

Mike:um.....Liz...there are charging ports on all the lamps you know that right?

Me: *checks* OMG! Mike, there are charging ports ON THE LAMP!

Mike: I know. 

Me: That's amazing!

Mike: *unimpressed* I'm going downstairs to explore.

Me: Yes, me too!

To be continued. 

My trip to the NOAH Conference 2016 was made possible by sponsorship from: The Writers Association of Grenada, Kallalou Designs, The Office of the Prime Minister and various good Samaritans who insist upon not being named.

Journey to NOAH CON 2016 : Country Mouse and the Steel City

It's actually taken me this long to be able to write about my NOAHCON 2016 experience. Let's begin from the beginning; the day I woke up in a foreign country as a visually impaired person, about to travel solo for the first time in my life. I must admit, I was really brave up till that point of waking up on the day of my flight. When you get that close to a dream I think that you achieve a weird kind of clarity. It's like standing at the edge of a cliff and realising juuuuust how blue water is, just how big the ocean, just how deep is deep.

Suddenly my excitement was fear. My big opportunity was a brimming panic...but I was going anyway. I had decided this months ago, come what may, I was going anyway, in blind faith I am going anyway.

My mother, aunt and myself took the bus to the airport...when we eventually got it. We couldn't get the bus necessary to take us straight to the airport because we had no change (not me my visually impaired self was so prepared) and when we did get the change the bus was mysteriously delayed. I wasn't bothered, I was going anyway, remember? I'm repeating that because that was my 2016 mantra and truly helped get me there!

When we finally got there my mother and aunt, ever helpful got me to the line, filled out the necessary paperwork so that I wouldn't have eye strain so early in my trip and sent me on my way, thinking they had helped me with all i needed and it was all good.

It was not all good. My family had the best intentions. I appreciated their help so very very much. Especially the not having to deal with eye strain part. Here is the thing, when it's hectic the visually impaired sometimes get forgotten. You are so caught up in making sure they have it that you forget to orient them. So this is what I learned in this moment, don't forget the importance of instructions. Oral instruction, include them in the how not just the done because you wont always be there but I will. 

Oh and if you're visually impaired, appreciate the people who help you, even when they help too much, it's because they don't have any formal training. Remember, we're all figuring this out together. It's up to you to make it clear what are your limits.

The airport of JFK is very large, especially for a small island girl who is visually impaired and never travelled on her own. I spent 50 minutes STRAIGHT running towards my gate after my family left me. 50 minutes trying to figure out what airport signs meant that I was seeing for the first time. Now let me explain, when you are a visually impaired person sometimes their are little things you miss...things that people have a point of reference for that you don't get because you don't grow up seeing it. Airport signs I missed in real life and in movies because I was too busy trying to remember bigger things...like I don't know faces and places?

In retrospect it was not that hard, certainly not as hard as my return trip to New York but that's a story for another day. I read signs that I could see, used my monocular when I could not see them well. Road machines I don't have in my country LONG distances. Thank you JFK for having large print and clearly distinguishable directional signs! Saved my heart!

I got to my gate and pretended to be super calm while wondering if I did it right, if I was at the right gate. I think I only asked the very kind airport staff twice, TWICE as opposed to the two thousand times I wondered in my head if I got it right. Fun fact: one of those airport personnel was from my island, thanks for the love Jesus! I succeed at calm and after sitting at my gate for all of two minutes in anxiousness my plane showed up and I found myself running down to it.

Of course there was the other nightmare of having to ask for help to find my seat in the plane. Which I did despite embarrassing feelings because whatever choice is there? Get it done. Be upfront about the things you need. Ask for help when you have to ask for help.

The air-plane people were kind and helped, I found my seat. Then we sat there because it rained and we had to find an alternative route. Now, I had organised to meet up with my friend Mike, who I kind of think of as my ANNOYING American older cousin with albinism.  You know, that's one cousin who tells you to look over there and then steals your food? Or the one who tells all the cute boys that you don't speak English? We met online years ago, along with most of my friends with albinism. He had not been to the conference in years. He decided to go. We were going to arrive at the airport around the same time so my none American self could figure out how to get to my hotel. (No I could not take an uber but he could so we did, more on that later.) 

Back to me sitting in my tiny but comfortable plane after running to it for the last 50 minutes. Then just sitting there, waiting for it to stop raining and hoping I could find Mike when I got off plane. You know, Mike my visually impaired friend? Who I, the visually impaired girl who had never met this visually impaired friend in person was trying to find in a foreign country for the first time?

He did end up texting me and letting me know that his flight was delayed also ( such an undercover gentlemen when Jesus is on my side ) we ended up getting there minutes apart from each other.  

Fun fact: There was a dinosaur exhibit at the Pittsburgh airport that had me mesmerised for a second before Mike walked me through using the airport train, another thing we do not have where I am from, to find him. I bravely did as I needed to without looking like come-rob-me-bait (a genuine concern of mine) and then blatantly ignored Mike when I found him so I could update my instagram followers because I HAD MADE IT BABY! Your girl was so excited to be alive in Pittsburgh un-robbed and un-deported!

He was getting an uber so I don't think he minded too much.  After letting my mother know I was still alive in a foreign county she promptly asked to speak to Mike to and I quote 'tell him to make sure he take care of much Chile!' Loudly she said this in my ear. I assume in his too for after that there was much 'Yes ma'am...yes ma'am. I will treat her like one of my own.' (He did, see? Undercover gentlemen) 

We got the uber, had a lovely chat with our driver and then I busied my self marvelling at the reality that I made it safely. I was in Pittsburgh. I was going to the 2016 NOAH Conference. It's happening.

When we got to the hotel Mike had a good laugh at me as I approached the revolving doors as though it were a loaded gun  ( they were my first revolving doors don't judge me I've seen every final destination movie ) then taught me the trade secrets (always push from the right) I pushed. I stared. I marvelled. I believed.

I was so worried I'd run into some issue with the hotel due to my tourist self.  It went fine.

To be continued

My trip to the NOAH Conference 2016 was made possible by sponsorship from: The Writers Association of Grenada, Kallalou Designs, The Office of the Prime Minister and various good Samaritans who insist upon not being named.

Big Magic : Book Talk and mini review

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert is one of my favourite books discussing creativity and the writing process. In it Elizabeth Gilbert personifies inspiration and creativity as Big Magic, alive, throbbing and eager to be a co-conspirator in your creative life.

This book spoke to me as only Elizabeth Gilbert can, she puts forth so many experiences both real and fictional. The author explores with you the possibility of moving forward given those circumstances. This is such a minimalistic way of putting it, I am grappling with how to write about Elizabeth Gilbert's writing because it is so philosophical and so soul touching for me.

Before reading Big Magic my creative process was much more burdensome in my eyes. I looked at it as this untouchable sensai who I had to wait on for bread crumbs when I was in the middle of writing.

After Big Magic, I took in the authors notion soundly that my creativity is just as eager to work with me as I am to work with it. It does not tease me, it waits patiently for me to look in it's direction. Sometimes it takes longer for me to find it than we both like and that makes us both frustrated. Big Magic has helped me to consider that content is as eager to be written as I am to write it. My creative content is as eager to be born as I am to birth it.  

The author encourages us to 'Create whatever makes a revolution in your heart.' and how easy it is to forget this. To let fear of not creating something that will be validated by the current world keeps us calling ourselves 'blocked' or 'uninspired' when what we likely really are in afraid. Yeah, I said. Now  I am careful to remember Gilbert's words  '...because in the end, creativity is a gift to the creator not just the audience.' and that 'if you can learn to travel comfortably with your fear, then you'll never be afraid to go anywhere interesting or do anything interesting.'

In my life now many things present themselves to help my creativity. I have at least one creative friend upon whom I can rely to have the conversations that urge me on. I have another who is willing to think big with me and beyond the confines of the regular. The only thing that worries me about creativity right now is that I am not giving it the time it deserves to whisper to me due to the mundane and regular affairs of life.

Before reading Big Magic my biggest fear as it has to do with my creativity was that it would leave me if I did not listen to it exactly when it needed me to and that I would never ever be able to tap into that again. I feared that if I missed some magical moment of inspiration I would never ever find it again.

After reading this book. I realised that inspiration is not some kind of well that can run dry. Creativity and inspiration, it is like rain and rain falls even in the desert. Droughts help us to remember the sweet taste of raindrops on taste buds. Water is life and it does not simply dry up and disappear forever, it is a beautiful resource that constantly renews itself every day. 

We can do our part to nurture creativity even when it is not active. Acknowledging it, feeding it even with thoughts and smiles and inside jokes can go a long way to further the water cycle. Sometimes it's this very thing that can make the conversation between one's self and one's sense of creativity clearer and more easily translated from thought to action.

I loved reading Big Magic, it helped to change the way I think about inspiration, creativity and possibility. The author makes a pronounced point for me, reminding us that 'the creative process may seem magical but it is not magic' it is instead, like every thing else including acts of passion, work. Big Magic reminded me that just because passion is work this fact does not make it less magical. 

I recommend it to all of my creative friends as I felt like she spoke exactly my language. Her final note in the book speaks to my soul every day 'I can guarantee you this: A creative life is an amplified life,  and a hell of a lot more interesting life. Living in this manner, continually and stubbornly bringing forth the jewels that are hidden within you--is a fine art, in and of itself. Because creative living is where Big Magic will always abide' It is one of the few books I would read over and over again because just as I cant stop living it I just can't stop reading that others live it too.