Author: youshouldgoanyway

Keeping my brain active and engaged is one of the most important things I do. My work doing computer programming and websites does a good job of keeping my mind going, but I also like to exercise my brain in a few other ways I thought I’d pass along.

1) Card games / board games / puzzle games

Playing games is fun but learning new games seems to create another enjoyable dimension to brain exercise. I tend to notice that games like Solitaire end up becoming robotic to me — I get to the point where I’m just going through the motions, not learning anything new. Once the challenge is gone, I tend to abandon games. There are tons of card and puzzle games out there online (Check out Yahoo games or Armor Games for some suggestions) and spending a few minutes every day learning a new game can give your brain a nice charge for the day.

2) Answering others’ questions

Occasionally I like to check out Yahoo Answers and see if there are any open questions in areas I think I know something about. It’s easy to search by category or keyword and you might come across someone looking for an answer to something you already know. Sharing what you know can be a great way not only to remind yourself how much knowledge you have, but it can keep those neural pathways in your brain alive and kicking. There are also some good “Ask” sections on Metafilter and Reddit.

3) Hit the library

An easy way to tingle your brain is to pick up a book, any book, and flip through it. Even if you just look at the pictures or read the parts that interest you, your brain loves it. Although it’s easy to do this sort of thing on the internet, I find that a trip to the library seems to make it more fun and also helps you think about areas you might not explore if you just search the internet. Check out the reference section of the library for some of the best, big picture books for lots of great imagery.

4) Don’t talk about the weather

Weather conversations are so boring they make my ears bleed. It’s true that we all have the weather in common but we also have a lot of other things in common — like opinions on issues or ideas for new inventions or thoughts about how to solve the world’s problems. Why not talk about those things instead? Occasionally I go out to lunch with friend of mine and we settle upon a topic of discussion by asking ourselves, “Which of the world’s problems are we going to solve today?” Usually this leads to an interesting discussion about something meaningful and I leave the conversation energized instead of depressed about the cooling temperatures.

5) Solve a problem or invent something

Sometimes I like to imagine a solution to a logistical problem I’m having like turning over in bed or getting in and out of the shower. It’s neat to think about contraptions that might help whether they’re feasible or not. For example, I’d love to sleep in a mechanical pod that would just rotate me by itself all night! But you can also contribute or come up with real inventions on sites like Quirky, where ideas are submitted and “social” inventions are created. You can come up with product names or tag lines and earn influence which translates into small earnings whenever someone buys one of the products down the road. I’ve earned 14 cents in the last month but I’ve enjoyed playing “inventor” and exercising my brain too.

So next time you feel like turning on the TV or reading about the weather, why not try something different and see how it makes you feel? You might learn something or you might just tickle your brain enough to make you want to explore an interest further. It sure beats watching the news and hearing about whatever death and destruction has occurred!

The house  I bought a few years ago with my sister and her family was built in the 1950s when there were few things to power besides the lights. So most of my space downstairs and all of their bedrooms are on the same circuit. It’s about this time of year when my portable heater gets turned on and unfortunately we start blowing the fuse if someone so much as creates a static electric shock on a doorknob. When we first moved in, an electrician said it would be almost impossible if not super costly to make it so that this wouldn’t happen. So we put up with the problem instead.

But finally this week I had a different electrician come over and he was in and out with a solution that took all of five hours and a couple hundred dollars. I am not sure exactly what he did with the wiring but I have new outlets in my office that are on a different circuit and I can run the heater or any of my other appliances without taking out the power to the house every half hour.

I learned a few things from this:

1) Don’t wait for a second opinion if you have any suspicion that something is possible.

2) Don’t wait so long to solve a problem. Just because something seems difficult to you doesn’t mean an expert wouldn’t have a solution.

3) If something becomes a pain in the butt, it will never change unless you act to make it change.

The above is true for many thing, not just electricity problems. It’s the same with health issues, wheelchairs, cars, and even relationships. If something can be fixed or made easier, why wait?

For four years we dealt with blowing fuses a few times a week. That was way too long to wait to do something about it. One big reason we waited is because we assumed because one “expert” said it wasn’t possible, that it wasn’t. We should have asked around, done some research, and then decided for ourselves whether it was possible or not. The lazy thing to do is accept something that one person tells you without doing some additional research.

I hear people complaining about customer service all the time. I’d have to say that RARELY am I met with such ridiculous stories. I know it happens. Maybe I’m just lucky.

When I go grocery shopping the cashiers are usually nice and super helpful. The people that bag my groceries are always accommodating, whether that means handing me the bag off the check stand or putting the bags on the back of my wheelchair. If something is too high on the shelves, I’m never met with disdain in asking for help getting it.

At department stores, same deal. I also have no trouble returning things or dealing with exchanges. People are nice. If I need help carrying something out, they find somebody. Same thing at gas stations. If I need help, I get it. Thankfully the station nearby is very attentive and comes out to pump my gas for me when they see my van and disabled parking permit.

Whenever I get my car serviced, I am met with nice, accommodating people. Same thing at the movie theater, the museum, auction houses, and pretty much anywhere I go. Have I had some weird experiences with service, sure. But nothing to get crazy about.

I started to think that maybe I am getting great service because I am in a wheelchair? I’m guessing the people might look at me and feel sympathy or empathy, or even pity in some cases and feel like they should be extra helpful. Maybe this is the case. But what I realized is that I get great customer service even when I am on the phone with someone and they have no idea I have a disability.

So now I think it has more to do with my demeanor and how I treat the people I am dealing with, than just my disability. So here’s how I deal with people when I need customer service:

1. I am grateful and thankful. Words like “Please” and  “Thank You” are free. Whether or not you think someone is going out of their way to help you, a gracious “Thank you so much” — sometimes even in advance of their helping you — can go a long way.

2. I am patient. I realize sometimes people are having a bad day. For example, the cashier at Target the other day had a toothache. Haven’t we all been there? It’s bad enough when you’re sitting on your couch with an aching tooth. Here she is standing at a Target all day. She’s allowed to be “not at her best.” So I empathized with her and before I left she actually had laughed.

3. I don’t judge. On a few occasions, a snap judgement about a customer service rep actually changed my attitude as I went into the transaction. To assume someone is going to be unhelpful just because of how they sound or look is a horrible way to get started.

Did I mention I’m thankful? After a transaction, be just as gracious as you were before.

Yes you’ve probably got your customer service horror stories. How many do you actually have, however, that come to mind? 1? 2? 5? 10? If you’ve got only a handful of stories, consider how many interactions you’ve had in your lifetime. It’s likely a small percentage.

If you’ve got more stories than that, are you sure you’re approaching these transactions properly?

I’ve been going through a semi-forced experiment with my wheelchair batteries. They’re acting weirdly. I have always wondered what it would be like to run them out completely. The bad news is that it’s possible to render the batteries practically useless but the good news is that it’s almost impossible to run them out completely.

Last summer I went to Chicago to visit a friend of mine. My batteries fared well for a while but started running out quickly as we made our way to the Art Institute. Long story short, I had to beg to plug myself in and then only got 20 minutes of charge time. I’ll save the long story for another time. However, cut to my friend pushing me up Michigan Avenue to my hotel and me pushing her baby stroller in front of me. It must have been quite a sight.

But what I discovered is that if I let the batteries sit for a minute or two, I could get a few dozen feet of movement out of the chair before it’d stop again. I got new batteries, but now here I am almost a year later and this pair has started acting oddly too. The power gauge will go up and down like a spring. I can turn it off and back on again and the gauge goes from one blinking line to six lines. Then it goes back down quickly.

Needless to say, I need new batteries. While I wait for the paperwork to go through on those, however, I am noticing how having weak batteries really affects my decisions — from regular daily things like errands to fun things like going to the zoo with family. I have to optimize my errands and if I go out somewhere there will be a lot of rolling, I have to take my charger along.

So what I’m realizing is that although I would prefer to have batteries that last forever without charging, I am pleased that normal wheelchair batteries can actually get me through a day or two when they’re working correctly. It sure beats having to charge up two or three times a day. Could you imagine that? The other thing I’m less freaked out about now than I used to be is that worry of getting stuck in my house and my batteries are dead. I know now that if need be, I can wait for them to recharge a little on their own and at least get myself to a charger!