People are people. And full of surprises. They are never as good or as bad as you expect.

There's been a lot of snow here, and I'm debating whether or not to go in to uni. If they haven't gritted the campus, I could fall and dislocate things. Or I could see if my wheelchair can cope with frozen-over snow. Might be like skiing! Or it might be like getting stuck.

Shir, I'm sorry to hear you got hate mail, but it's also a sign that you're doing well. We quite enjoy the 'you people are nothing but scrounger scum' e-mails/comments we get at Where's the Benefit, being a sign that we're really reaching people. Continuing congrats on all the good stuff that's coming out of this.

{{{Spidra}}} It sucks that you're still in this situation. I hope there are ways forward soon.

That is fantastic. I trust he won't misconstrue the message as being "I only want you for your gonads".

That IS the message! Also "I want to dissolve your internal organs."

Seska, I saw that there has been record snowfall in the UK. I don't know what you guys typically get.

Oh, geez. I'm messed up today. I looked at that article, Seska, on social isolation in care homes (how the government desires to increase it by ending certain benefits to persons with disabilities), and thought for a moment that it sounded wonderful. I know that's not accurate. Social isolation isn't the same as blessed solitude. And it's way the hell and gone on the other side of the stadium from choosing one's level of social involvement. Those who suffer from it face depression, loss of quality of life, and are even more vulnerable to abuse and neglect by professional carers.

I feel tired, and I feel crowded.

ETA: Seska, I hope you stay safe, whatever you decide about venturing out today.

Wishing you less tiredness, Andi. There are, of course, different views on these things. I subscribe to the idea of disabled people having choice and control, at the very least, over how they live their lives. With the government taking away the mobility allowance that many of them will use to lease cars or arrange taxis, that choice and control will be seriously limited. And it's so few people, too, that the government is hardly saving any money at all. But how awful for those few hundred people it applies to. I'm very worried about all of this. My friend lost her DLA benefit (equivalent of SSI, I think) in the middle of the coldest November on record. She can't afford to turn on her heating anymore. Government cut-backs are hitting disabled people here really hard.

ETA: I came in, and they've gritted the campus. So I'm fairly safe!

The state social workers don't think I get out enough.(Well, neither do I, but I very much suspect we mean different things by "Community involvement") They have obviously never experienced the "struggle to get out to sit in a crowded room where nobody *gets* me" thing that I have, and it insults me(although I really don't think they mean it to) that they seem to believe I should live my life as a giant field trip. Whatever is missing from my life, I don't think it can be solved by discount circus tickets, but I can't tell them that, either, or I'll get, you know, the Mood Patrol. "How long have you felt frustrated?" "Birth." Not a good answer around people who believe no healthy person ever "Haz a sad,", much less a " pissed" or a "wallow" or an oosting.

Crappiness, erika. Do they use the phrase "meaningful activity" with you, too? I get told it's important that I am supported in doing "meaningful activity". Don't think they could get more patronising than that. Especially since there's the question of who gets to define 'meaningful'.

Especially cause I know, though they don't have the stones(or probably the literary vocabulary) to tell me that they think my blogging and writing are all sad and "Glass Menagerie"(I've seen that look before...I know.) They think I can't face real life and make imaginary friends. It's true that I've given up a bit in meatspace...the economy's bad, transportation is pretty much a constant hassle, and I'm tired of explaining "What happened?" and trying to see how the other person "takes it" when sometimes even I don't "take it," that great. Also, I don't belong here...Phoenix, really, not the planet. This town is designed for sporty people for whom nature is more than a road hazard. People who actually expect an answer to stuff like "Workin' hard, or hardly workin'?" Hooples, I think. Yeah, meaningful activity like propping up some job developer who calls me "honey" and asks how fast I can type. I believe I'll pass. I tried, anyway, they rejected me first for not having skills. I have plenty of skills now...they'd probably say my attitude sucked. ETA; I am prepared to stipulate to my attitude sucking, in terms of shutting up and doing what I'm told and stuff, these days. Although I don't know if I have what it takes to go full-on Olbermann yet. Shir, your thing made me think of him(as, in truth, a lot of things do) but he gets SO much hate mail, he spends hours on twitter debunking it...he calls it "batting practice".

I'm stuck in today because TCG woke up to a flat tire, so he has my car. I wish he had thought to leave his keys though. I can't drive his car because of lack of hand controls, but I could have called AAA and had the spare put on.