Give me your energy!!!

So, I know I haven't posted anything in awhile. But I just haven't had anything to say. Well, nothing entertaining anyway. Today I wanted to share the biggest pet peeve I have with FA. No, it's not the wheelchair or even the almost nagging calls about my well-being from my parents. (The living alone thing.) It's my fucking energy levels. The able-bodied take it for granted, I think. 5-hour-energy and caffeine don't help. I get over 10 hours of sleep a night. I've tried eating different foods and vitamins. It's inevitable, I guess.

My oldest brother is almost 30. I hear him from time to time, mention how he can't do stuff like he did when he was 20. Once, I asked what things he was referring to. Staying out late, drinking, socializing for hours,survivng on 3 hours of sleep, exercise as much, eating 8 tacos at Taco Bell,etc. Huh, me either. And I never could. Example, I baked pumpkin bread and cleaned my kitchen earlier. The effort it took me...No one even realizes. My kitchen wasn't even that dirty. The point is that I am exhausted and I feel sore everywhere. And it's pathetic. I am like a glass superhero. Shiny on the outside with ambition. But too much pressure and I'll crack.

Blargh! Going to take a nap.

How to be Hot in a Wheelchair

I don't think I'm shallow. I used to be a vegetarian (for 11 months) until I was eating at a chinese restaurant and just couldn't resist a huge plate of sweet 'n' sour chicken. I hated gossip and drama (but secretly loved it.) I considered crude and sexist humor to be beneath me. But I laughed to tears when I was alone. (I recommend Amy Schumer. That bitch is funny!) The point is, I like to a girly girl. Sometimes. And I like what I like. So congrats to me! I have found a purpose for my blog. And here it is:

How to be Hot in a Wheelchair

For my first post, let me enlighten you able-bodied lot. When you get diagnosed with something that puts you in a wheelchair, you're told to embrace it. Don't feel hopeless. You can still live a completely normal life. Blah blah blah. Have any of you ever spoken to a young person in a wheelchair? It sucks ass, let me tell you. They're all suicidal and scared. I got no support from people my age. That's the sad thing. But I want to be that for someone. Because our life isn't over. Listen to me, not your psychologist because I, unlike them, am living  it.

First of all, dating. It's tricky. Currently, I am single. But I blame that on where I live. I live in my hometown and I know everybody from high school. I used to live in the city but then it got spendy so I had to move back home. At least I'm not living with my parents, though! Thank god! I live in a tiny aparment with creepy neighbors. I went to check my mail the other day without a bra on and one of my neighbors was staring  freely in my chest region. Gross. Anyway...

My first tip. Even if it's true, don't act like your chair is a big deal. As far as you're concerned, it's not even there. Shower. Groom yourself. Wear make-up and nice clothes. Some may think this is obvious but I've met a lot of people who just don't care. We can still look hot! Don't forget! Ever! In every book, article, movie, etc. they say confidence is the sexiest thing in people. Which it is. But for us, it's easier said than done. Granted, some people will always get turned off by our chair. It's a total bummer. It really is. Especially if they're super appealing. But screw them. Try not to get hung up on them and move on. You are hot! And don't forget it! I mean it!

So, I'll start updating on my movements and conquests. And get out there. Show those able-bodied freaks what they've been missing!

So, I've started watching Sherlock on my Netflix and highly reccomend it 'cause it is the shit. Anyway, I don't even know if I'm allowed to do this but I had to repost someone else's blog because it's fantastic and interesting. I should make it clear that this is not my work but I want everyone to read and enjoy anyway!

by Enoch Gawain | on June 23, 2012

Sherlock Holmes Photographic Memory Technique

Sherlock Holmes is THE crime fighting genius. In order for him to use his incredible deduction skills to solve crimes he has to remember every single detail. Not only that but he remembers in perfect photographic detail. That makes an interesting fictional character but is it even possible?

The short answer is yes. My favorite rendition of Sherlock is from the BBC TV series. (Picture above, I highly recommend it) In the show Sherlock has to face many complex problems. Whenever he has to solve those problems he goes into his “Mind Palace.” A place where he can re-live any memory or recall any detail.

You would think that a “Mind Palace” is only capable  for the high level geniuses. But actually it is a very simple and fun technique that anyone can do! I enjoy this technique and do it in my free time.

It is quite simple and use the brains visual power. The fact is we are amazing at remembering places we know. Using this skill we can leverage it to memorize everything and anything.

I will leave Joshua Foer to give it some context in his TED keynote speech: Feats of memory anyone can do

If you can’t see the video click here

Wow! Could you imagine how it would feel to memorize at much information as Joshua?! Let’s analyze Joshua’s mind palace and see how we can use it for ourselves!

Sherlock Holmes Photographic Memory Technique Steps:

1. Choose a Palace

First you have to choose a place to be your palace. The better you know this place the more effective you will be. Joshua uses his house as his palace. This is one of the best places. After all you are there every day making it much easier to remember.

This doesn’t have to be your house, you can use your place of employment, school or your walk in your favorite park for example.

2. Choose a Route

In the place of your choosing you have to commit to a set route.  You will use the route to travel through your palace.

Joshua’s route starts outside his house and then walks into his house, through his foyer, then to his living room and so on.

Be specific and have fun with it! Turn your route into an adventure. For example if you are using your house as your palace. You can walk up to your front door and open it, then look left and right before entering your house. The more specific you get the better.

2. Create Memory “folders” on your path

Just like a computer you can create folders which you can use to store any information you want. You can do this by memorizing certain features along your route. You will use these features like folders to effectively store visualizations which associate to the information you want to remember.

On Joshua’s route he starts out at his front door. The front door is his first feature. He knows exactly what material it is made out of and what color it is.  He then moves into his foyer and notices the quality of light. His second feature. He then moves on to the next room and notices his coffee table. His third feature. He then moves to his kitchen with his oven as a feature and so on. You can see that it doesn’t necessarily have to be an object.

Walk through your route and make note of the features you see. Have fun with it! For example part of your route could be something like this: When you walk into your living room and see the faded grape juice stain from your aunt penny (first feature). Then you look up to see a a picture on the wall of you and your best friend after a ball game. (second feature) Then you see the next feature.

3. Embed it between your ears!

Practice remembering your features by physically walking in your mind palace place on your route. As you come to a feature describe every detail about it out loud.  After that you can practice visualizing your route in your mind palace. Again say out loud each feature when you come it. It might help you to also write it down or ever draw the feature.

When you think you have got it perfect… practice it again! Do it until you can’t get it wrong.

4. Have fun storing information with your mind palace!

I promised this would be fun and this is the part you get to have it! Since you have mastered your palace you can now put it to good use. Let’s see how Joshua does it:

Joshua wants to remember his speech. In order to he places specific details about his speech within each memory folder he created. He does this by going through his mind palace and placing crazy, colorful, raunchy visualizations that associates to what he wants to remember.The more colorful, crazy, and raunchy it is better!

Joshua has organized his mind palace like an adventure. As he follows his route in his mind palace each feature has a visualizations that associates to what he wants to remember.
For example his speech starts out with him talking about a bizarre contest he went to. Since it it is the start of his speech he starts at the beginning of his mind palace. His first feature is his front door. When he sees it  He then visualizes:

“a pack of overweight nudist on bicycles. They are competing in a naked bicycle race and are heading straight for his door. They are pedaling really hard, they are sweaty and bouncy. They then crash into the front door of his home, bicycles go flying, wheels are rolling past, and spokes end up in awkward places.”

What a way to remember a contest! It is an image you could never forget! And that is why he will remember it. Make your visualizations images you will never forget.

Give your visualizations life. For example when Joshua imagines Cookie Monster. He can feel Cookie Monster’s blue fur tickling him under his nose. He can smell the oatmeal raisin cookie that Cookie Monster is about to scarf down. The more you feel, hear, smell and taste about the visualization the better you remember it.

5. Turn into a crime fighting genius

Store everything that you need remember in your palace. For example a grocery list, or maybe the details of every road in your city so you can easily catch and apprehend fleeing criminals.:P

Have some fun spending a little time everyday coming up with the most crazy and color mental images you possibly can to remember anything. 

Sherlock Holmes Photographic Memory Technique Conclusion:

First off Sherlock Holmes must have the most dirty and colorful mind on the planet to remember things so well! Jokes aside this is one powerful technique which you can use to memorize anything you want. I like it because it is a lot of fun and works so well!

It can help you remember everything and anything. If you are like blogger “baby genie” she could hardly remember everyday stuff. She how she used this Sherlock Holmes Photographic Memory Technique to remember everyday stuff she used to forget.

I hope you enjoy this technique and have a lot of fun remembering because that is how it should be!

LIKE, SHARE AND COMMENT ABOUT SHERLOCK HOLMES PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY TECHNIQUE BELOW!

P.S. If you liked this post check out my post on How to Improve Focus and Concentration with only a Penny

Dropping sick beatz...on Pandora!!

Still trying to establish a purpose for this blog. I've got squat. 14 pageviews and no comments. Progress! But even if no one is reading this I still enjoy writing it. Maybe I should give a bit more background on myself. And if you don't like it...tough! Stop reading!
No, I was kidding. Please keep reading! You give me purpose, whoever you are!

Currently, I am unemployed. I've worked at a few daycares as a pre-school teacher but that's pretty much it for my resume. It's pretty sad for an almost 22-year old but being in a wheelchair sucks that way. Potential employees aren't supposed to judge you on that but they do. I'd like to say it bothers me but in a way, I think they're in the right. You want to hire someone that can actually do the job so...yeah. I'm taking some classes at my community college but I have no idea what I really want to do. Needless to say, I have a lot of free time. I read, play video games, watch a zillions movies and tv shows on my Netflix. For instance, I'm all caught up on Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Dr. Who (David Tennant is my love), and now my animator brother wants me to watch his favorite anime shows. What the hell? I have time. Wow. That was lot shorter than I thought it would be. Meaning that I don't feel like typing anymore. I apologize if this post isn't up to my normal standards. Please forgive me and tell me which shows I should start. Peace out.

The grass is always...toxic green?

No doubt, everyone goes through a transformation like I did. When you realize you're not extraordinary or worse, you're extra-ordinary. My way was a big deal for me. It's not just a memory for me. I wake up every morning (or, moreso afternoon) and I am reminded of my status. I say this, not bitterly, but realistically. I've accepted that there are things I just cannot do. No trampolines. No dancing. No jogging. Some days I'm aware of it more than others. And it sucks. Big time. But there is always something to live for. Or look forward to. (Woah, déjà vu.)

I remember the day when I first ordered my chair. I was 19 and incredibly nervous. I was still ashamed of my condition but I had come to a point in my life where walking to and fro wasn't an option any more. (A lot of people wonder if I'm paralyzed and no, I don't find that offensive. People with disorders like mine are not really well-known. Well, we're there but we're not noticed. I understand both worlds and wish disabled people could cut the 'able-bodied' some slack. Let them be curious and ask questions. How else will they feel comfortable with us, otherwise? As I've tried explaining to younger kids, imagine you're on roller skates for the first time. You can't really control where you're going and your body is super tense. That's what it's like for me anyways.) Anyway, back to the story. I'm 5' and .5 inches. Real short. So my chair size is inbetween a child's and adult's. The best of both worlds. My seat is black. But the rims could be anything I fancied. So, I sat there with this book and imagined myself rolling down the street. There were sparkly colors, camoflague, animal print, plain colors. So I pointed to one and smiled. The doctors looked at me with  sympathy. Asking if I was sure. Positive, I said. They asked if I wanted to think about it some more. No, I want this and nothing else. And that is how I came into possession of my toxic green beauty!

And this is the only time I have given a real explanation for it. That day was the first time in years that I felt like my old self again. The confidence. I was still pretty scared about how people would see me in a wheelchair. But I wanted to look confident and assured in spite of it. If I have to use this everyday then the last thing I want to do is blend in. The toxic green stands out pretty much everywhere. I wanted it to say, Approach Me! Nothing gets me down. I can handle it all! And I always hope people see it that way. Because, secretly, I don't always feel it.

The Stage

So, there I was. A 15-year-old girl who was worrying about never having a boyfriend or having a cellphone. The realization of also having a neurological disorder was like driving a motorcycle on the freeway at 80 mph and then realizing there's a bee in your helmet. (I've never actually driven a motorcycle but I read that somewhere and I appreciate the panic it implies.) I wasn't sure how to handle it. So I did what any sane person would do. I lied to people and I kept it a secret. My parents kept trying to start conversations about it but I shrugged them off. No, I didn't want to see a psychologist. I couldn't go to physical therapy because I had drama practice after school. Yes, I feel fine. Can we talk about something else?

I've always admired myself with the amount of confidence I had. I really believed I could do anything I wanted and rarely doubted myself. Bad things were always someone else's fault because I wasn't capable of causing such things. I have no idea how or why this attitude sprouted up but I always remember having it. But for the first time the world was giving me the finger. I really couldn't do everything and this thought scared me the most. Suddenly, I started noticing my flaws because they really were flaws. I wasn't perfect. Far from it. I was normal and this above anything else terrified me. I loved and hated this transformation. It was like losing your innocence. I was sleeping while dreaming that the world was my stage. The lights, the applause, my grin. And then I woke up. And there were other people on the stage. Stealing my applause or having panic attacks behind the curtain. All the world is a stage. And I wasn't the lead or a minor character.

Time for auditions.

A Rough Beginning. Yeah, Sounds About Right.

What makes bloogers so special? They're just normal people who are pretty much posting their diaries on the internet. They actually bother me. Why do I care what's going on in someone else's life? I graduated high school and I don't want to go back thank-you-very-much. Keep your fan-fiction or tragic poems in your notebooks where they belong. I don't care if you're an aspiring 'closet writer'. Just be a normal hipster-wannabe and bring a laptop to Starbucks. Write it in the open so there is no doubt you are indeed an aspiring artist. Make sure to order lots of coffee and feign looks of deepest concentration.

So why am I here? I honestly don't know. I have a story to tell, apparently but it's not really tragic or ordinary. I guess any possible readers I have will be the judge. I do want to make one thing perfectly clear before I start. I'm not part of an outreach program or anything and I don't intend to be. I'm not trying to sway you into thinking a certain way. Just believe me when I say that I can't find anything to watch on Netflix right now and writing a blog seemed a bit more appealing. And with that, I will begin my saga. Brace yourselves:

Visualize a blond 15-year-old girl. Short, blue eyes, petit but a little chubby. She wants a lot of things as most do at this age. She's not shy or bullied. She wants attention but she goes a little too far for it sometimes. She wants to feel part of something. She thinks cheerleading. But she's not comfortable with the short skirts. She thinks tennis. But she's not very athletic and she's clumsy as hell. How about drama? A place for the misfits of high school. Where students go when they have nothing else.

So, I'm making it sound terrible but drama was where I had my best memories in high school. Yes, we were weird but I had so much fun. The drama teacher had to warm up to me but by the time I graduated she was one of my favorite people in the world. The stage, the rush, the excitement backstage, it all defined me. I say this with the past tense because it's all different now. I would have pursued my passion beyond the limit if I could change human nature. But what's the saying? 'Play the cards you've been dealt'?

Remember when I said I was clumsy? Well, that's an understatement. It got worse the older I got. I had to stop taking P.E. because I would literally trip over myself. One lap around the gym exhausted me. Managers would stop me in restaurants and ask if I'd been drinking. It was embarassing. My parents noticed too and became concerned. I spent weeks going to hospitals and having tests run. At the time, this was exciting. I'd spend hours in front of a mirror reacting to an imaginary doctor telling me that I had a terminal illness or something. I would force myself to cry as I told the invisible people at my sickbed to stay strong. I would always be with them in spirit. See? It's like the stage and I were made for eachother. I never thought for one second that they'd actually find something.

It was all there in my DNA. Proof that you should never assume you can do anything. Sure, you can hope. But never trust blindly in your dreams without room for consequences. My fatigue, unbalanced coordination and even reaction speeds; I should have paid closer attention to these things that were amiss. Friedreich's Ataxia, a form of Ataxia. A Neurological Disorder. Those who have it usually get diagnosed at my age. But what does it mean for me? Well, I should probably start physical therapy to keep my muscles strong. When walking gets too hard, perhaps a cane or a wheelchair. And of course, they'll be keeping an eye on my heart for any complications. Most Ataxia patients have heart issues...

And yet, I heard none of this. The only thing filling my ears was my internal screams of terror and the sound of a heavy velvet curtain falling on my dreams.