My frustration with access a ride:

Access a ride: the best of times, the worst of times:
I am feeling extremely frustrated with access a ride after today’s debacle. I admit that access a ride can be extremely helpful to people with disabilities, it allows us to go to work, meet friends, go to doctor appointments, and travel from one place to the next in the same way as our nondisabled peers. However, after what I went through today, I am not so sure if it is the greatest solution for me. I do not use this service very often, I happen to be totally blind and therefore I prefer to take the subway as long as it is the most convenient form of transportation. However, my trip today, according to hopstop.com, would consist of over seventeen miles, three subways, and a bus. I believed that access a ride offered the best option for traveling so I booked my reservation far in advance. I waited patiently in front of my building for my 4:11 PM pick up. In fact, I waited a half of an hour until I became concerned that I would miss the meeting and decided to call to check on the status of my transportation. To her credit, the woman who assisted me was very helpful and friendly, but her news was anything but good: my driver was currently driving on an express way in queens and wouldn’t arrive at my location for at least another fifteen to twenty minutes. This information by itself indicated that I would be late for the meeting, but I became even more annoyed when I heard the next part of the story: the driver’s plan was to pick me up, then pick up another three people, drop them off at their destinations, and then finally take me to Kingsborough community college in Brooklyn. I understood at this point that I definitely would not be able to make the meeting, so I hid my frustration and nicely asked the woman to cancel both parts of my trip. Therefore, I am now sitting at home, feeling extremely frustrated, and am not able to attend the meeting which I was looking forward to. Thanks for nothing, access a ride!

New York: it's where dreams are made of and there is nothing you can't do

Good evening:

I just finished listening to the magnificent game 2 of the 2009 world series where the Yankees beat the Phillies by a score of 3 to 1. I really feel proud to be a Yankees fan after watching that game, some of you might think that sounds silly but it is not. Ok, so this is just a sport played by millionaires, I’ll give you that one. However, the pitching was superb, Mariano was, well, Mariano, and we finally earned our first world series win in the last six years.
I feel lucky to be a New Yorker, no matter what anyone says. After living in different parts of the country, and trust me I have, I found that this is the best city for me: accessibility, convenience, and great food! This year alone, I have commuted to the Bronx on a daily basis from Manhattan, then to Brooklyn each day in the summer, and to another location for my internship. This city makes me feel very independent, which other cities can’t do because of either a lack of transportation, quality of transportation, or because they are suburban or rural and you need a car to get around. In my neighborhood I can locate restaurants of varying cuisines such as Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and Italian. In addition, I really enjoy going to local businesses just by walking a couple of blocks from my apartment, I think you get my point.
My semester is just about half done and I am feeling positive but a bit nervous. I haven’t received grades for much of my work in different classes and so it makes it hard for me to feel certain about how I am doing. I work hard and always submit assignments on time, but I find myself going on blackboard (the college’s online system) almost every day to check for new grades that have been posted, maybe I should relax. (Insert sound effects of drinking cold water and taking a deep breath) Ahhh, that feels better.
This life is complicated, I don’t mean that in a bad way, it just feels sometimes like I am like the pre-2009 Yankees version of Alex Rodriguez. (And no, I don’t mean that I’m taking steroids!) I’m trying to say that I over think things occasionally, when what I really should do is go out there and just live my life. In any case, welcome to my diary, it’s almost midnight and these are my strange thoughts.
Stay tuned for clips from my next blog:
The Yankees did what?
There’s a new restaurant called:-----
Something something something disability.
Take care!
Dan

my very first post

Hello, my name is Daniel Aronoff and this is my very first post on my very first blog! Today I would like to talk about my disability: I am blind, but I am just like you (the person who is reading this): I cross the street by myself, I take the subway and bus, I even use a computer and created this blog with absolutely no assistance. I welcome any and all questions from anyone who is curious. I feel that the greatest barrier for someone with a disability is the discrimination from people who believe certain misconceptions or stereotypes about people with disabilities. Please ask before you judge.

Well, I feel better now that I got that off of my chest. In the future, I'll keep you up to date with music, sports, technology, and other fascinating stories and facts. Stay tuned!

Take care
Daniel