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Considering Mobility.
Nov. 30th, 2009 12:49 pmI've been pondering over the past week whether I should start saving up money and putting my commission money towards a mobility scooter.
My first thought was that, Lord, this is what old people get. My second thought was, I don't look disabled. At all. In fact, I look the very picture of perfect health. Won't people harrass me for using one? Won't people think that I'm a total lazy shit for riding around on a mobility scooter?
But other thoughts have been entering my mind and making the thought of having one more and more attractive.
As it is, I never leave the house. I am stuck at home all the time. Dad drives me everywhere, and he hates having to drop his things and take me places, particularly if they're not close (for him). Like Fremantle, Perth - those are long drives for him. Belmont. Forget anywhere further than that - that's out of the question.
I can't go shopping. I can't meet friends for coffee. I can't pop by the Art Gallery to see what's going on. I can't stop and listen to buskers. I can't wander around Fremantle and just *absorb* the culture. I can't go to markets on weekends and get cheap, delicious fruit. I can't visit friends houses by taking public transport. I can't go to the park, or walk to the shops and grab some candy for a night in.
I can't have a job. I can't have a job and save serious money for my big dreams (Like visiting the UK, hanging with Clare, seeing Scotland, going to America again and visiting New Orleans and so forth, having a baby, going to some fun conventions, etc).
If I had a mobility scooter, I could do these things. I wouldn't be dependent on my Dad for transport. I could go into Claremont or to the park or to the lake WHENEVER I wanted. I could go into Fremantle if I'm stressed out at home and just unwind, away from Dad, away from pressure. I could get the art equipment I needed, the day I needed it, not weeks away depending on when Dad was in an agreeable mood to take me to the art shop.
I could visit my friends when I felt like it, if they were close enough.
It would be fucking wonderful.
Then I stop and feel guilt. Do I really need one? Am I really disabled enough that I need a scooter of all things? Then I stop thinking like that for a moment, and look at the alternatives. Look at life WITH help getting around, and life without it.
And then the only problem is raising the thousands of dollars needed to do that. Cause I can't have a job if I don't have a scooter. And I can't have a scooter if I don't have a job. It's going to be really tough raising and saving the money for this. With my psych costs, general high-cost-of-living due to my gluten-free diet and my medical costs, it's going to take a long time.
I'm going to me hawking a LOT of art, if I decide to do this.
Anyway, I'm just putting this idea out there, see what you guys think. I know a couple of you might already have one, and I just wonder if it's a good idea. I mean, people with slightly shitty eyesight still need glasses, right? I need help locomoting. They make machines that make it easier for human beings in my situation. Why do I feel so bad about considering this?
My first thought was that, Lord, this is what old people get. My second thought was, I don't look disabled. At all. In fact, I look the very picture of perfect health. Won't people harrass me for using one? Won't people think that I'm a total lazy shit for riding around on a mobility scooter?
But other thoughts have been entering my mind and making the thought of having one more and more attractive.
As it is, I never leave the house. I am stuck at home all the time. Dad drives me everywhere, and he hates having to drop his things and take me places, particularly if they're not close (for him). Like Fremantle, Perth - those are long drives for him. Belmont. Forget anywhere further than that - that's out of the question.
I can't go shopping. I can't meet friends for coffee. I can't pop by the Art Gallery to see what's going on. I can't stop and listen to buskers. I can't wander around Fremantle and just *absorb* the culture. I can't go to markets on weekends and get cheap, delicious fruit. I can't visit friends houses by taking public transport. I can't go to the park, or walk to the shops and grab some candy for a night in.
I can't have a job. I can't have a job and save serious money for my big dreams (Like visiting the UK, hanging with Clare, seeing Scotland, going to America again and visiting New Orleans and so forth, having a baby, going to some fun conventions, etc).
If I had a mobility scooter, I could do these things. I wouldn't be dependent on my Dad for transport. I could go into Claremont or to the park or to the lake WHENEVER I wanted. I could go into Fremantle if I'm stressed out at home and just unwind, away from Dad, away from pressure. I could get the art equipment I needed, the day I needed it, not weeks away depending on when Dad was in an agreeable mood to take me to the art shop.
I could visit my friends when I felt like it, if they were close enough.
It would be fucking wonderful.
Then I stop and feel guilt. Do I really need one? Am I really disabled enough that I need a scooter of all things? Then I stop thinking like that for a moment, and look at the alternatives. Look at life WITH help getting around, and life without it.
And then the only problem is raising the thousands of dollars needed to do that. Cause I can't have a job if I don't have a scooter. And I can't have a scooter if I don't have a job. It's going to be really tough raising and saving the money for this. With my psych costs, general high-cost-of-living due to my gluten-free diet and my medical costs, it's going to take a long time.
I'm going to me hawking a LOT of art, if I decide to do this.
Anyway, I'm just putting this idea out there, see what you guys think. I know a couple of you might already have one, and I just wonder if it's a good idea. I mean, people with slightly shitty eyesight still need glasses, right? I need help locomoting. They make machines that make it easier for human beings in my situation. Why do I feel so bad about considering this?
