Minor annoyance with inaccessibility

It was a good day full of amazingness and bloghery solidarity and being overwhelmed and meeting people!

And I'll blog all the good parts later!

I'm too tired to be anything other than a little whiny at the moment, though.

I got frustrated with access. Chicago downtown really sucks for disability access ! every building seems to be full of those really crappy special lift things. And people don't leave them ON... for no reason.

For example in San Francisco in the building where Citizen Space is they have a crappy old lift. But it's fine! you go in it! you close the door! you push a button and go up! you open the door. it is not hard.

Well in this downtown all the damn buildings have lifts with keys. or elevators that are turned off. Or I end up in the freight elevator somewhere after 3 managers are consulted. anyway I got pretty fed up tonight. But not enough to want to get mad. Beth was a bit over the top with her videocamera in my face... and getting mad on my behalf. I can get mad on my own if I want...

on the way down out of the children's museum the elevator was off and then the other elevator was off and then we were led to the freight elevator which kept not coming and people were fussing. Finally it came, but was full of guys and freight (fancy that!) and they were saying just wait .... but i would not. So I stuck my foot in the closing elevator door... and shoved in. screw it! i wanted out!

I get so soul-tired of feeling like i'm the only person with a disability they've ever encountered before... and they just dont' know what to do and are all confused.

also annoyed at the chick who jumped out of the way in the bathroom and was overapologizing at being in the bathroom stall. OH I"M SO SORRY ETC ETC OMG HOW COULD I HAVE! I was like "dude it's okay... i can wait 30 seconds for the bathroom stall in line like everyone else. no problem." she would not let it die. "NO... really... you get to use the bathroom.. there are 800 people here and only a few bathrooms and only one wheelchair. Use the handicapped stall, go right ahead"

and then 10 min later she found me and went into it even more about how the Reason she should know better is that her son is paraplegic. "Well... okay... whatever.... but i'm telling you i didnt mind, i don't care, you can feel free to pee in there... no guilt... also it is no big deal." "No... i have to disagree with you. my son can't wait sometimes and is ... leaky... " (on and on)

Depressing! I actually wondered if she was insane and had made up all that stuff about her son. She was certainly insane to push this weird conversation onto me.

Then....

I didn't want a fuss in the sushi restaurant, i wanted to eat... and to not have the restaurant people mad at me. and, again, to have No Fuss.

Thankfully after we all started drinking sake everything felt more normal and there was delicious food.
I did like the guy in the sushi restaurant -- on my way out a very nice waiter came out with me as I was leaving alone -- and the security guard for the building was not there and the elevator did not work of course -- I yelled "FUCK YOU" up the stairs. the nice waiter stood next to me and shook his fist and yelled "fuck you" up the stairs too. then we kind of started giggling. that was super nice.

I went up the stairs again and chris c. carried my chair up. i do not like to have to limp around and haul myself painfully up from the chair with a restaurant full of people looking at me. rather than wheeling in all sparkly.

Annoyingly in the elevator earlier tonight I was in there with someone who actually tilted her head to the side and gave me THE LOOK as described by Katherine on the silenced voices panel.... the pitying shocked look.... and said something like "Poor you!" Come on, bloggy lady! I am dressed in my finest clothes... in a suit... and with kick ass mohawk and lights on my wheels in a fancy hotel.... several hundred bloggers rather like me... random mommybloggers sit in my lap and make out with me and sigh... In other words, there could be no reason for your drab, cloying, mundane pity, strange elevator lady.

Plus I just hit my limit.

Plus I got really tired going the "two blocks" from the pier to the hotel which was more like 12, and physically did me in.

It was all fine and I am fine with going on stairs when I have to... since I can. But the repeated annoyance and exhaustion today got to me. I'm up too late... and I'm homesick.

Chicago sucks and I am ready to go back to California. where maybe the seismic retrofitting of the buildings means that they get rebuilt to comply with the ADA.

OH also we are up to three (3) people who asked me if i was going to die. (Not like right now or anything!) "But is it degenerative?"

God, people can be dumbasses.

I had fun with beth, barb, and marshall and then the other sushi crowd. and the cocktail party was fun... i talked to a zillion people... it was unsatisfying to just sort of "see" nice people like woolgathering (eliz. perry) and not really have a deep conversation. but at dinner we got to really talk which was super nice.

Happily am now in hotel room with SJ and Shauna and their witty comments and mutual computeryness.

Comments

[Denise]

I was really surprised when I heard how many times the elevators were locked or not working for you. I'm not the sympathetic sort and I don't do pity, for you or for anyone, but it pissed me off. Again, not just cause I love you heh but because surely there are disabled KIDS and PARENTS who visit that damn children's museum aren't there? What the hell is with that access? I really could not believe that one particular example of Chicago stupidity. Some of the others, I just shrug and say our society is stupid and it shouldn't be like that but it's like every freaking other thing division and discrimination. But that damn children's museum. Of all places. OK now I'm mad again.

And whoever that chick was in the elevator who gave you the pitying look. She's clueless. Or maybe jealous cause she wants mommybloggers sitting in her lap and a cool mohawk and lights on her wheels.

[wheelchairdancer]

Yeeerch.

Sounds gross. Is gross. And is, unfortunately, all too familiar. "Poor you?" Plwharght. Roll eyes.

WCD

[Jennifer Justice]

Hey! I saw you get on one of those dang elevators, mesmerized by the twinkly lights! And then I saw a lady with a sparkly cane walkng along the pier. I thought they'd put something in the food! hehe Glad to hear I wasn't the only one who found some of the BlogHer ladies totally creepy.