Bunch of fires I need to put out this morning. It’s almost amusing how many things can go sideways at once

Today I'm supposed to lead our meeting about how things have gone this week for the first time. Let's hope I know what I'm doing! haha

Just voted, go me! And this time the automark machine actually worked, though I had to turn it way up to hear over a screaming baby. I think about the people who had to fight for a person like me to have this right, and I'm thankful to be able to do it independently.

I just completed my first trail on the Walk The Distance app, the short 6.1 mile New York City. It's already changing my habits and even my mood to get up and move. And it's fun to see the same names pop up in the people near me section, makes me feel like I'm walking with others. I even upgraded to premium, because I like this idea and its not too expensive. But you really don't have to to use most of the trails.

I'm reading 2 books now: non-fiction: A Voice Like Mine, by Deb Haaland, and fiction: American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee. In both, someone says they are 46 and feeling like a major job transition is coming. I just turned 47, and wonder if this is some kind of message to me haha. I know some kind of change is likely just around the corner

Having our first hot chocolate of the season. Fall’s coming in with a vengeance

Today my employer is sending me to the NC Assistive Technology Conference. We're gonna see how this goes.

I tried that lasagna soup from Panera somebody mentioned. It was pretty good, but didn’t really taste like lasagna haha

I used Live Caption again in a novel way, one that even a blind person with a Braille display and normal hearing might wanna try. I called a business, and the person with whom I spoke gave me a number to another business. I then pressed dot 3 to pause the live caption, located the copy button, and pasted the transcript into my email for later retrieval. No more having to try and write the number down as they dictate it, where I sometimes transpose digits.

It only just occurred to me that I could search DoorDash by whatever food I want. Nice. I've discovered places that have "it."

Ugh, I can't stand Connections lol. But I keep playing. Got Wordle in 2, though.

I just saw in the Bookshare reader app that you can now access more natural-sounding voices, and even heard the sample on the update screen. I can’t find those voices in settings, though. Anybody know where they are?

Blind folk, how do you avoid the awkwardness of a sighted person trying to shake your hand and you maybe not knowing it's happening. For that matter I guess it can be even more interesting when two blind folk are shaking hands. Gotta try not to hit 'em in the nose! I'm especially thinking of when in a job interview type settingdda

Having lunch with my new manager today, Jimmy John's! yum. Also have to move to a different office, no way I'm moving these massive desks but still, relocating will be tiring. Especially with maybe two hours of sleep. I badly need to un-break my sleep schedule. Trying to get work done through the fog

Having my first formal meeting with my new supervisor in a couple hours, (the previous one was lost to layoffs unfortunately). This will probably mark a big shift in my career, hopefully a positive one. Gonna see where this person is coming from.

I'm reading Whistler, by Ann Patchett. She's the master of the slow-unfolding family drama. It's oddly fitting, as it talks a lot of hospitals (my wife is gone to her sister's surgery) and trains (i'm about to get on the Amtrak for a trip to Charlotte, don't wanna sit in there by myself all weekend!) Not much happens in her books, but they're usually still good.

I have more issues trying to spell Massachusetts correctly than any other state

Off till next Tuesday and won’t go back into the office till Wednesday. Hooray! Every part of me is screaming for a break, especially after yet another two-hour paratransit ride

This Monday Mondayed hard. Week can only get better. Was capped by a 2-hour paratransit ride with minimally working AC on a 90+ degree day. Think I’ll sleep like a baby tonight

Very happy because this is a three-day workweek! We've decided that our actual anniversary, January 27, is usually too cold to enjoy travel (well unless we go to the Virgin Islands, which I wanna do someday but anyway) so we're taking our trip this Thursday. Down to a coastal city where we'll room in an interesting hotel, and where we can then drive out to the ocean. Gonna eat, sleep, read beach books, and enjoy myself.