Being Pecked to Death by Ducks

OK. so every once in a while I have the need to b**** … Uh, vent. My usual, optimistic demeanor goes away and I get very aggravated. Get ready. Here it comes.

Obstacles of vision impairment

I am being pecked to death by ducks! No, not the quack-quack kind with feathers. I mean a dozen little irritations that one by one would not be much but together are driving me INSANE.

Being visually impaired brings its own irritations. It also makes life’s other, little irritations so much harder. Transportation remains one of my big complaints.

My friend emailed me, all excited, that the local transportation company is trying an “Uber-like” service in town. Just fill out the form.

Right. Have you ever tried to fill out a form that has gray lettering against a white background? There is nothing like contrast (unless it is magnification) to help a visually impaired person (VIP) read and, honey, gray on white provides lousy contrast. Filling out this form proved to be an epic undertaking.

After filling out the form, I got to the area on the service map. Guess what? Their area of service ends about 300 yards away… on the opposite side of a four-lane highway. I do not trust myself – or the drivers – to play chicken on a four-lane highway. There goes that idea.

Well, not really. I put in my “request” for a modification of their service area. While I was at it, I also put in a request to extend evening hours by 45 minutes and to reinstate Saturday hours. When you dream, you might as well dream big.

More annoyances

Then this morning, I was supposed to have a zoom call with a doctor. Can you say SNAFU? I have been using zoom for two years and I never had such trouble on a call. One of the VIP-related issues I had was due to my using magnification. I had to search around the screen because the buttons they wanted me to click had “fallen off” my desktop.

We finally did the appointment over the phone… another issue because some insurance companies have started refusing to pay for voice-only calls now that the pandemic is “over”. I guess I get to fight that later.

And now to the issue of my visual impairment has complicated: My husband put his back out again. He has been home flat in bed for five days now. When we got the car from the hospital where he had left it, it required rounding up two, extra drivers, not one.

I walked to the “convenience” store for milk. Typically, I try to wait until I need a big order to use home delivery. I really don’t want to pay a service charge for a couple of items if I don’t have to.

Of course, another big issue is and has always been cabin fever. Near solitary confinement is not an environment I thrive in. I have already put out an SOS for somebody to take me to lunch, please! I will pay. This girl is social by nature and needs a regular change of scenery to maintain any semblance of mental health.

Venting helps

Will I survive? Absolutely. I have personal and social resources. I express my wants and needs and have people I can vent to. Maybe, people like you? Hmmm… Anyway, thanks for listening. I feel better now.