I haven’t posted in a few days because I am always so tired at night. We’re on the go 24-7. So I’ll do my best to sum things up. On Wednesday, January 16, I had had a bad day from the moment I woke up. I felt exhausted and not very focused. The morning trip was okay, but the afternoon trip was not so good. It wasn’t anything Lava did, it was me. I got frustrated with myself because I kept having trouble lining up at intersections. Then, on my way back from dinner, I overshot the distance to my room. I began to doubt my decision to get a dog again and was starting to wonder if guide dog travel was for me. I talked to Andy about it and my doubts didn’t last long because he gave me a big kick in the ass. He reminded me to have confidence in my dog and in myself. I actually got a good night’s sleep Wednesday night and when I woke up yesterday, I had a new thought. The thought was that I cannot let Lava down. He’s been through a lot of change as it is. The other thought I had was that I cannot let myself down. I’ve worked too hard to give up now. And if I did give up, I‘d never have the chance for Lava and I to blossom as a team. So I put all those bad thoughts behind me and reminded myself that it was a new day and a new chance to start over again. Needless to say, my trip yesterday went awesome! Before going on the trip, I explained to Woody that I really needed compass directions when having routes explained to me because otherwise, I lose focus of where I am. She understood. Yesterday’s trip was my first independent route. There was only one intersection where I had to check my alignment but otherwise, I did awesome! Lava did awesome too. I came back from that trip with that old familiar feeling of determination that Lava and I were going to work out. In the afternoon, we had our trip to the vet. I like the vets here a lot. Lava was fine except for the fact he has an ear infection in his right ear. The vet will need to see him again and sedate him so she can flush the wax out really good. I’d rather have it taken care of here than having him going home with an ear infection. Poor dog. He kept scratching that one ear and I suspected that he might have an ear infection. As it turned out, I was right. Woody is putting medicine in his ear twice a day until we can get to the vet clinic. After the vet trip, I came back to the dorm and did a little intro of myself for the graduation video. I made the intro short and sweet, or at least tried. I really liked the vet lecture a lot. It’s plain and simple. Unless you want your dog to get fat, you do not give it treats. I have no problem being very strict with that. We also talked about flees and ticks. GEB offers a $150 annual stipend for vet related expenses like lab tests, medications, etc. You can get an additional $50 if you send in an annual health report to GEB. So you’re talking $200 a year. Pretty cool! That will definitely help with the vet bills because I know they can get very expensive. I don’t remember what we did after the vet lecture except the fact that I played with Lava and groomed him. Today was cool because we went to the mall. I finally got to work with Graham, the assistant director of training. Graham was awesome! He worked with us on stairs, escalators, and walking through the mall. I remember when I got Tasha home and went to the mall, we walked so fast that we must have made it around the mall in two minutes. Tasha and I were practically running through the mall. Working with Lava in the mall was like a dream come true. It was so nice to walk at a comfortable pace and not be yanked through the mall. I was able to hold a conversation and walk through the mall at a normal pace. Lava indicated a lot of the store fronts by hesitating. He did awesome on the escalators and stairs. I was actually disappointed when our trip in the mall was up. I wanted to just pick up the harness and go. We didn’t do an afternoon trip because we had pictures taken for our i.d. cards. We also had a group picture taken. After that, we had a lecture n how to use a halti. A halti is kind of like a gentle leader except for a couple differences. First, it has a safety latch that attaches to the dead ring on the slip collar. The dead ring is the ring that does not move. Should the dog ever wiggle out of the halti, it will still be attached. It has a strap that goes up behind the ears and a loop that goes across the nose. Corrections are nothing more than redirections or gentle pressure in the direction you want your dogs head to go. It’s more of a tug and release. If you pop and release as in a leash correction, you can hurt your dog. Lava and I are going to have to practice a lot with the Halti since he tries to rub it off. He’ll get it. I’m not worried about him. After dinner, we headed out for our night trip. Lava and I had to work from the van to Starbucks. You know what? We rocked again! He took me around pedestrians, ignored other dogs, and took me around a car parked right in the middle of the sidewalk. I felt exhilarated after this route. Again, I had this feeling of want to pick up the harness and go, go, go! I’ve never experienced that before. Lava and I also had an awesome play session tonight which I think he desperately needed. The last thing I did before writing this entry was groom him. I’m so happy he loves to be groomed. I can’t wait to use the zoomgroom on him when we get home so we can get all those dead hairs off. I know he’ll love the zoomgroom, as he’ll probably feel like he’s getting a massage. Well, it’s time to take my pup out so I can hit the sack and get some rest. More tomorrow.

Current Mood: energetic

This morning, I had the pleasure of working with Kathy Zubrycki, the director of training. Lava and I did really once again. There was one street crossing where I had accidently pushed Lava to the left because I forgot to step into the street with my right foot forward. He started out the crossing diagonally but I held my line of direction and gave him a firm “straight!” He immediately got back on track and we made it safely to the other side. Once again, errors like that that really emphasizes how much we handlers are in charge. Our other crossings were great and Lava was clearing me around obstacles like nobody’s business. I told Kathy that the only thing that makes me really nervous is my alignment with traffic. She suggested that as a general rule, face slightly away from parallel traffic and never face toward it. I love the feeling of making street crossings with Lava because I know we’ll get safely to the other side. In the afternoon, I worked with Woody and we did the exact same route. This time at that first street crossing, Lava didn’t run me into a thing. We also got to work our dogs in the dorm for the first time. The thing I’m still a little nervous about is my time distance. Already, I overshot my distance coming back to my room from dinner. I really have to track my orientation more than ever now because I don’t have those tactile clues from the cane. This evening was the first evening we didn’t have lecture and I was glad about that. It’s hard to concentrate when the lecture is at the end of the day. Today, we had our lecture in the morning and I felt more alert. Tomorrow, I’m going to go check out the room with the descriptive videos. There’s this DVD about the 50th anniversary of Guiding Eyes. Really want to see that. Well, that’s about it for now. On a final note, Lava and I rock!

I rock!

Current Mood: accomplished

I really don’t have a lot to report. Yesterday was much of the same with our walks in White Plains. Lava did a nice job. He’s sniffing a little more often and seems to get distracted when a couple of the female dogs are around. It sounds like I have a flirt on my hands! Other than those two things, he stays very focused on his work. Yesterday, I learned about food reward for the first time. I like food reward because it can be a powerful motivation tool. The only thing is that I have to remember to have some treats with me. Today was our day off from working the dogs. I got to play with Lava for the first time this morning. It’s a good thing I bought him a kong because he went nuts over the kong that was in the toy box. He definitely loves to play fetch. When playing with Lava, I put him on a long lead. I make sure I’m sitting down on the floor with him so he doesn’t knock me over. Then, I have him sit and show him a toy. Let’s say it’s the kong. When I throw it, I tell him to get it. After that, I tell him to come and he brings it right to me. After he brings the kong to me, I tell him to drop it and he drops it right into my hand. Lava loves to run. I did notice he only plays for a few minutes, though. I’m sure that will change with time. Today was one of those days where I just felt like sleeping. So I did just that in the afternoon. I also watched the DVD of Andy's and my our wedding. Well, it’s time to go take him out, as I want to go to bed early. More tomorrow.

I didn’t get a chance to write yesterday so I’ll try to sum everything up since then. Lava and I have had four trips so far and all have gone remarkably well. He’s a serious worker with a lot of initiative. Something I have to adjust to is the fact he’s not real wiggly waggy. I mean, when his harness comes off, he’s no different. He just lays down and sleeps. So far, I’ve noticed he loves to play fetch. He’ll pick up the bone, bring it to me, and drop it into my hand. I’ve gotten him to play a little bit and get excited over his bone. It seems as if he’s getting comfortable with me. This morning, he got right in my lap and snuggled against me. He did a really good job during obedience. Afterwards, he knew it too because he licked my face and wagged his tail a few times. He knew he did well. Yesterday’s route had no street crossings but today’s route did. I love how he just kept me in the crosswalks. I love the fact that we use the straight command during every single street crossing. Something pretty cool happened on the very last street crossing. We stepped into the street and right when I told him straight, he made a quick move left and back to the right. He totally kept me away from parallel traffic and got me back in the crosswalk headed right for the up curb. Woody said he had taken me around a pedestrian. I was so relieved that we still made it across the street safely. I was also so relieved that he responded to the straight command so well. Could it be possible that I may not have to worry about Lava veering? I guess if I tell him straight every time, he doesn’t have the chance to veer. In fact, I don’t even have to know exactly where straight is because he’ll find it. I wonder what he’d do if my alignment was off? Anyway, after that very last street crossing, I was so amazed and proud of him that I didn’t know what to say. I was also surprised that we completed our route so fast. Anyway, I realized that all my hard work has paid off and now, I’m getting my reward, my Lava. I was so happy I cried! I don’t know. It just hit me that Lava is going to do his best to keep me safe. I’m at the point where I wouldn’t mind having him make some mistakes so I know how to handle them while in training. Guess I ought to be careful what I wish for. I’ve started calling Lava my dream boy because he’s doing so well. Seriously, I couldn’t have asked for a better guide. I'm sure there will be more adventures to write about tomorrow.

Current Mood: grateful

I must say this is the best doggie day I've ever had in my life! I got some sleep last night but kept sleeping and waking up. After about 4 a.m., I couldn't sleep anymore. After breakfast, the time just dragged. I think the time passed more quickly when I went out in the lobby to hang out with my other classmates. I was one of the last people to do a final juno walk and work with a practice dog. My practice dog was a black lab named Osman. He was a cutie and very energetic. I did some obedience with him and practiced putting him under the chair. During lunch, I was so excited that I could hardly eat. At 1 p.m., we were all assembled to find out our dogs' names. So far, I have really lucked out in the names department. So when I found out I was receiving a male black lab named Lava, I immediately fell in love with the name. How cool! After that, we all had to go back to our rooms and wait. First, I put on some music. That didn't relax me. Then, I spent some time pacing the floor. That didn't relax me. Then, I decided to lie down on my bed. Finally, a knock sounded at my door. It was Woody and she was bringing Lava in to meet me. He took to me right away. He jumped in my lap, wagged his tail, and licked my face. I was glad he didn't jump up on me. It didn't seem to faze him one bit when Woody left. He only looked at the door once and he only wined once. Other than that, he was very calm. He loves to give kisses and give me his paw so I could hold it. I put some music on for both of us. He seemed to like it. When I gave him his food, he ate it in 2 seconds. I had never seen a dog eat so fast. Then, of course, I took him out to do his thing. On the way up to dinner, he started pulling every so often. That was the only thing he did to test me so far. At dinner, I couldn't have asked for a better behaved dog. He laid there like a gentleman the whole time. We had more bonding time the rest of the evening. Lava got to have his bone tonight because he started chewing on his bed. He seems to like his bone and he has the exact same kind of nylabone waiting for him at home. I took him out to do his thing at 7:30 and 10:00 p.m. And now, I'm at my computer writing this entry. I can't wait to work Lava tomorrow. I just have a feeling he's going to be amazing. Here's a little secret about Lava. He has been through class once before. The graduate had to send him back due to their own health issues. He's had more experience under his belt. And now, I have him. I think I'm falling in love with this dog already. Here's hoping his work will go well tomorrow.

Current Mood: impressed

Today was very busy. I got up at 7 a.m. and was enjoying the fact that this will be my last morning where I won’t have to have any responsibilities. By this, I mean relieving my dog at 6 in the morning. For breakfast, we had scrambled eggs and toast. After breakfast, we all got our turn at obedience. I’ll have to get used to telling my dog heel instead of come during obedience. Apparently, come means something different and we’ll find that out later in class. By 9 a.m., we all piled into the van to leave for our day of training in White Plains, NY. I must say that I am beyond impressed with our facility in White Plains. It a great big house and you are free to go anywhere you’d like wile waiting to go out for training. The house has 2 computer rooms, a sitting room upstairs where you can go ff alone for a bit, a patio where you can sit outside, a living room, a kitchen, and a dining room. The dining room has booths where you can practice putting your dog underneath them. This house is where we’ll spend the day. You really feel like you’re at home. I got lots of good feedback on my juno walk today. Woody and Michelle both commented on how good my voice inflections were. There are some little differences like making turns, hand signals, and how to hold the leash during obedience. I don’t remember examples at this point. It felt so good to have that harness in my hand again. After we got back at 4:00 p.m., we had another meeting with the volunteer coordinator. There are two classes I will be signing up for, yoga and doggie massage. These will take place in the next couple weeks. After dinner, we had another lecture on what to expect tomorrow since it will be dog day. We will be getting our dogs tomorrow after lunch. After this lecture, I went to a session on transition. This is where we retrains get to talk about experiences about or former guides, even about retirement or death of our former guides. I am so glad I went, as it was a final opportunity for me to let go of any past feelings so I can open my heart to my new dog. I feel ready to take on the new challenge. Come on over, little dog. I’m ready for you. We’re going to have a wonderful partnership together.

Current Mood: Today was very busy. I got up

Today was my first day of training at Guiding Eyes. Well, let me rephrase. It was more a day of getting to know our classmates and instructors a little better. Let me start from the beginning. I got up at 4 a.m. and was ready to leave for the airport at 5 a.m. Traffic going to the airport was awful! I didn’t get there till around 5:50 a.m. I got through security and everything just fine. Although the flight left 25 minutes late, we were only 10 minutes late landing in NY. I could not believe how professional and courteous the American Airlines Staff members were. They didn’t show up at the gate with a wheelchair, asked me what kind of assistance I needed, and knew al about using the clock system to tell me where my drink was on my tray table. I am so impressed with how I was treated that I think I will write a compliment letter. It will be interesting to see how I will be treated when I come back with my dog. When I arrived in NY, someone assisted me to baggage and the staff member from Guiding Eyes ha no problem finding me. Besides me, there were 3 other students that flew to the LaGuardia airport. We all had a fun time in the van going to Guiding Eyes. The drive took forever, though, as we came upon some construction. When we finally arrived, I was shown to my room and got to meet my instructors. They’re names are Michelle and Woody. They’re really friendly and energetic. After I dropped my stuff off at my room, I had lunch. I love the dining room here. It’s like being in the dining room of a big old farmhouse. The food here is excellent so far. I had cream of broccoli soup, a turkey, lettuce, and tomato sandwich, and chocolate pudding. After lunch, I spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking. At 4:0, we had an introductory meeting where we all introduced ourselves. I think this is going to be a really fun class. There are people in class from California, the east coast, and one lady is from South America. You’ll never guess who’s in my class. It’s Steve Kusisto, the author of Planet of the Blind. He’s in the action program so he will be training 10 days with an instructor and 5 more days working with a field rep in his home area. After we introduced ourselves, we went over all the basic rules. The atmosphere is pretty laid back. Once the meeting was over, it was time for dinner. I had salad, garlic bread, vegetable lasagna, and a piece of birthday cake. I swear, if I’m not careful, I’m going to gain wait over the next month. So after dinner, we had a lecture. This was the part that was review for me. We went over how to put the training collar on the dog and how to tell if it’s put on right or on backwards. Since I’ve had 2 dogs before, I know how all that works. I remember how hard it was as a first timer, though. I couldn’t put the training collar on right to save my life. Now, putting the training collar on is a piece of cake. We got leashes that we will use with our dogs. I’m in process of softening mine up. I also knew from previous experience how to make a short and long leash. I don’t remember leash adjustment being hard for me as a first timer. After lecture was over, we had a fire drill and then, we were free for the evening. I should get to bed since tomorrow’s going to be a busy day.

Current Mood: relaxed

As I sit here at my laptop writing, I wonder where all the time went. I’ve worked hard during the past year to prepare for the new chapter of my life which will start tomorrow. Could it be true that I’m actually going to be on that plane to New York tomorrow morning? Could it be true that I will have a new travel partner in just a few days?
The answer to all these questions is a resounding, “Yes.” I’ve done all the preparation. Now, it’s time to apply all my acquired skills to a new partnership. Will there be good times? Certainly Will there be some bad times? Absolutely. However, the bad times are like thunderstorms. You must have a thunderstorm before the sun can come out from behind the clouds. So here I am all packed and ready to go. Good-bye to the long white cane. Hello to my new puppy, companion, and friend. Safe, speedy, Smooth travel here I come!

Current Mood: hopeful

The long awaited dinner of steak and baked potato turned out great. And I'm happy to say my packing is finished! This is the first time I got my packing done early. Usually, I'm doing things at the last minute. But not this time. Now, I can just relax and go to bed.

Current Mood: relieved

Well folks, I started packing last night for my upcoming trip to Guiding Eyes. I was trying desperately to fit everything into one suitcase but think I will need to use two. I just feel like it’s taking forever. I suppose that feeling is totally normal for anyone going on any trip. I’m taking my laptop and BrailleNote with me. I think I have things ready to go in the gadgets department like my laptop, BrailleNote, Braille labeler, CD’s, etc. Packing things in the clothes area seems to be taking longer, though. The thing is that Andy and I are having my folks over for dinner tomorrow. It will be an early dinner and I anticipate them leaving after a few hours. Between the time my folks leave tomorrow and the time I go to bed, I’ll be taking care of any last minute things. Tonight, Andy are having a special dinner to celebrate the fact that there will be a new arrival to the family, my new guide dog. He’s going to make twiced baked potatoes and steak. Twiced baked potatoes are my favorite. Guess I’ll close for now.

Current Location: my laptop
Current Mood: exhausted