Universal Studios

Last year we flew to Australia for a nice relaxed summer Christmas with my famiy. This year we went to Universal Studios and Disney World with Emily's family. This was a fantastic treat for everyone involved. :)

Now, the Christmas/NYE holidays is the busiest period of the year for the Orlando theme parks. To avoid the crowds, we spent December 26 - 28 at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure (two parks run by the same company). It was such a huge trip I will have to talk about Disney World in a later post:

First Times

Timothy likes to play Elebits at home on the Wii. We figured that he would enjoy the "Men In Black Alien Attack" ride. He seemed to have mixed feelings about the ride, probably because there was so much happening. Anyway, our first ride through resulted in this awesome photo. Notice who still has her wits about her and is shooting the monster in front of us... :) We now have this as a print and I need to get it properly framed.

We also rode The Simpsons ride, the Jurassic Park ride, a Jaws-themed river cruise, and plenty of others. Few of them were worth repeating, and unfortunately they started scaring Timothy. By the third day Timothy would refuse to get on a ride that he couldn't first see for himself.

We established some new rules: we would take Timothy on rides that (a) he could see for himself and (b) he would point at and say 'yes'. Using these rules meant we rode much 'safer' rides like the merry-go-round and the "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish" ride in Seuss Land. We still did manage to get him on a small kids roller coaster twice, but at least he would trust us, and he knew that he had control over what rides he went on. This strategy would work wonderfully in Disney World, though with some amusing results.

Dueling Dragons

We had to spend some time on rides that Emily and I would enjoy, and that led us to Dueling Dragons. I have never been on a roller-coaster that I loved so much, both for the feeling of safety and the sheer exhilaration of the ride. You are always pushed backwards or downwards into your seat thanks to the sheer number of loops and corkscrews. It is so smooth that your head never touches the side of the headrest, and you almost never need the seat restraints.

It is named 'Dueling Dragons' because it is actually two interlocking rollercoasters representing a Fire Dragon and an Ice Dragon. The 'dragons' launch together and are timed so that there are several near-misses, including a simultaneous inverted loop which brings your feet within a metre of the other people. Watching vides of the ride, I think you'll agree that Dueling Dragons is far superior to the The Incredible Hulk coaster at the same theme park.

In total, we rode Dueling Dragons six times (three times on each dragon). Most of that occured in just one night (I insisted we come back after one of our Disney World days :). We arrived just when most people were leaving the park and so we could ride multiple times very quickly. The first four times we rode somewhere in the middle of the dragon and I would whoop the whole time. Emily suggested that, for the last two rides, we sit the front of each dragon. On those times I didn't make a single sound; my mouth just opened and that was all I could manage. Definitely worth it. :)

Blue Man Group

Timothy loves music, and Emily was keen to take us all to see the Blue Man Group show at their permanent home next to Universal Studios. The entrance to the theatre looked too much like a ride, and so it took us a good 20-30 minutes to 'coax' Timothy inside and take his seat. I don't know what to say about the show except it was amazing. There was unfortunately a lot less music than we expected, but there was plenty of colourful showmanship, audience participation, and glowing reams of toilet paper.

I am not joking about the toilet paper either. Near the end of the show they started alternating between black lights and strobe lights, and then covered the audience in huge reams of a soft paper. The audience had to just keep pulling the paper over their heads until it reached the front of the stage. For a few seconds, Timothy was scared of these piles of 'stuff' coming over him, but he very quickly got the idea and absolutely loved it. I've included some photos here that I've pulled from other sites.

That's all I can say about Universal Studios. At least, all I can say in one blog. I'll have to do a couple of posts about Disney World next. :)

Working With Timothy

Imagine you're walking through a swinging door and a stranger is following behind you. You would probably pause for a second and hold the door until the stranger can reach it. If that person has a stroller, you might even hold it until they pass through. If they are in a wheelchair, you would almost certainly hold the door. And you would expect a nod and a maybe a "thank you".

In most such situations, we know how to offer assistance, we know how to react, and we know what to expect in response. But if you were walking with someone like Timothy it's sometimes unclear what to do. Should you hold it until he walks through? Hold it open long enough for him to reach it? What do you do if he grabs your arm when walking through? If he stops halfway through the door, is it because he is waiting for you to move? Or because he just walks slowly?

One of the biggest impediments for new people (like myself) when interacting with a mentally disabled person is "the unknown". We just don't know the rules of interaction. We can't tell when they are bored or interested. We don't know if they are running in the mall because they are scared, or because they like Christmas lights, or because they desperately need the toilet. We don't know whether we should stop him/her from running, or just keep up until they stop. We don't know if talking will help or confuse them. Without any past experience to aid us, our mind conjures up unfounded ideas like "possibly violent". The truth is, a young child will do more in a few minutes than someone like Timothy would ever do in his life.

Timothy's long-term care hinges on his ability to function in a social setting. Fears of "the unknown" stop people from interacting with him, and this in turn reduces his chance of learning socially acceptable behaviours.

The following is a list of things I've noted from my time with Timothy. I think it is better to tell people of this list, and hope more people become willing interact with him:

Timothy does have problem solving skills. He just needs more time.

• If he has an object in each hand and needs to operate something (eg. light switch), he can slowly juggle until both objects are in one hand.
• If the door has a separate deadlock, he will try flipping the lock until he can open the door. He might even manage a spring-loaded deadlock, but we've never tried.
• He might look around for assistance, but if none is offered he will keep trying.

Timothy can understand what you want, as long as it is made clear.

• If you hold out a bag and say "Timothy, I need you to carry this for me." he will likely take the bag and hold it for you.
• If he sits in the middle of a bench and you say "Tim, I'd like to sit down. Please move all the way to the end." he will likely move over.
• Your body language doesn't need to be exaggerated, but should match what you are saying. If you say "Timothy, please sit on that bench over there." without gesturing at the bench or looking at Timothy, he probably won't understand what you want.

Timothy does enjoy human contact just like the rest of us.

• I once saw an Aunt walk up behind Timothy, cover his eyes from behind, and say something. Timothy immediately had a big smile on his face and turned around to see who it was.
• If you touch Timothy's nose or tap him on the forehead, he will likely not be very happy. Then again, would you? :)
• Timothy will give and receive kisses on the cheek from people he knows and likes. At DisneyWorld he was very happy to give Stella and Emily kisses. He had a shy and awkward smile when it was my turn for a kiss though. :)
• Timothy likes to play games with others. He will imitate you if you take the time to show him. At DisneyWorld we went swimming and he quickly wanted to get out of the pool. However, if we started diving to collect rocks from the bottom of the pool, he would join in and have a great time.

Timothy likes certain music, certain textures, and anything that spins or lights up.

• Timothy likes a broad range of musical styles. "Silent Night" is a favourite, but didgeridoo music is popular too. He can become very agitated by music videos so we try to avoid those.
• Timothy might reach out to touch interesting textures, particularly on clothes. Funnily, he might even say "mine" as he is touching the print on your shirt. This is because everyone responds with "Timothy! That is mine! Don't touch!". :)
• Timothy will often look for fans in the area. I believe he knows the word "fan" in two languages! They capture his attention, even if they're not spinning. He also likes flashing Christmas lights.

Most importantly, Timothy needs to spend time with other people. The more experience he has of social situations, the better his life will be. Simply having people approach him, talk with him, and interact with him is incredibly valuable.

And this list I've created and can never include the things we don't know. New experiences can always lead to great things for Timothy. For example, when we went camping we found that Timothy really enjoyed walking up on rocks. Perhaps it is the simple challenge of it? When we went to DisneyWorld I brought my old digital camera for him to use. He has started pointing the camera at things he likes, but I'm not sure whether he understands that he can keep the photos he takes.

I want to take him to play billiards or bowling sometime. I don't think he's ever seen it before. He won't play very well. Should that matter at all? Timothy derives pleasure from simply doing things, especially when there are other people doing it too. That is something very special, and worth experiencing.

First Time Snow Boarding

Emily and I just came back from our first day of snow boarding. Every single muscle in my body is aching, but I got away with no bruises. Emily has the inverse situation - no muscle aches but got bruises on her knees and butt.

We booked ourselves in for snowboarding lessons at the start of the day. Without those lessons, we would have come back very unhappy and with many more injuries. It is ridiculously easy to stack it (Aussie slang, see below) when riding a snowboard, but the lessons ensure you get down the slopes safely.

Mind you, there were plenty of falls in the lessons and later on during the day. They were just significantly less painful than they could have been. :) During the lessons I discovered that, when falling on to your butt, you should immediately roll on to your back like you are a ball. This reduces butt-impact significantly, and is far better than sticking your hands out behind you. I managed to come away from the day with my wrists and knees intact - quite an achievement considering the horror stories I'd been hearing. :P

The weather on Grouse Mountain was absolutely beautiful and surreal. We've had permanent fog in the downtown area for 4 days, so it's been cold and sunless for a while. Grouse Mountain was sunny and 17c! Some people were skiing or boarding in just pants and shirt. I was rubbing snow on my face and hands to cool down. The odd weather is called a "temperature inversion", and the fog in downtown will remain until it goes away.

The views from the slope are something very special. Many times I'd be partway down the slope, stop my board and just sit down to look at it. Visibility was unlimited and I think we could see at least 2 states south into the USA. At the base of the mountain was "cloud city" - enormous stretches of fog with just a few highrises and hills poking out of it. At nighttime we were still on slopes and you could see large patches of lights from the city glowing through the fog. I wish I had a camera with me, but I doubt a photo could do it justice. It was like sitting on the edge of the earth and looking down into the stars and space. Absolutely incredible.

Getting to Grouse Mountain is pretty easy; 30 minutes on the local bus network, and 30 minutes to wait for the tram ride to the mountain top. We have season passes for the tram ride, and get discounts for bringing guests. We'll be looking to buy our own snowboards and get up to the slopes again soon. :)

P.S. To "stack" is Aussie slang for crashing and/or falling off something accidentally or falling down. Usually when operating a vehicle. You can even see the old stackhat helmets at the PowerHouse Museum website.

Vancouver is Dark City

I've just gotten out of bed, had a shower, its 7.30am, and it's dark. Really dark. It's like "there will be no dawn for men" dark.

In the winter, Vancouver is a combination of snow, rain, thick horizon-spanning clouds, late sunrise and early sunset. To make it worse, we just came back from DisneyWorld in Florida where it was 20+ and sunny every day. I'm half-tempted to print some vacation photos and post them over my windows... ;)

Moving Forwards Together

Right now, I'm sitting in my pyjamas and wearing my 'engagement ring'. If you want to be correct it's a 'wedding band', but I like it, I'm wearing it now, and I really like that I'm wearing it now. I'm in a loving relationship and I want to be able to show that off. :)

For those who are interested, Emily's latest blog entry has more details about the rings and the actual proposal. :) I'm eating the leftover fruits and chocolates for breakfast. I need to get her over to my apartment again to eat some more. :)

I did want to add something to Emily's blog. It's a cute little story from the night, and I think it describes how we are going to move forwards together...

On the night of the proposal we went to a very nice restaurant, had dinner and ordered a glass of white wine. Everything was ordered to share, including the single glass of wine. I think this confused our waiters, but that's just the way that we like to do things. :)

But you know what? After trying the wine, neither of us really wanted to drink the stuff. We would both shudder after taking a sip, and would quickly drink or eat something else to cover up. Emily summed it up as "we are only drinking wine because that's what big people do".

We would have preferred a hot chocolate with caramel drizzle, or an ice-cream float, or a fruity lemonade. And in future, that's what we'll be ordering. Even if we have to order from the kid's menu. :D It's the same as how our favourite store is Toys'R'Us, not The Bay or Sears. We know what we like, and it's often not the same as what "big people" like. :)

As of today, I am looking forward to a life of hot chocolates, fruity lemonades, DDR gaming, and playing Mario Kart DS between rounds at all-you-can-eat sushi restaurants. I am looking forward to having kids and sharing with them the kinds of things we enjoy. I can't imagine a better life than that. But most of all, I am looking forward to sharing it all with Emily.

=:)

P.S. In Australia, the closest approximation to The Bay would be David Jones, and to Sears would by Myers. And an ice-cream float is known as a "spider", as if we don't have enough already. What's the bet that there was a spider nearby when an Aussie first dropped ice-cream into soft drink?