New Guide Dog Journals Day 13

It’s over? Yup it appears it’s over. I really should be attempting to shoehorn all this new stuff into my bags, but I want to write for a bit.

So this morning we went to the instructors’ room, or the hotel room turned into that room, and had a big chat about going home, what we’re going to do with family and friends, etc. Plus we got told all about grad services and Kim and stuff. It was good. We then got handed our year’s supply of flee/tic/heartworm preventative and ear-cleaning stuff.

Next they tried to teach me how to cross a roundabout…and although each roundabout seems to be sized up on an individual basis, it might sorta ish be doable. So we went to a one-lane roundabout and those are the easiest to deal with since they’re kinda small. You have to treat it like it’s an uber rounded corner. Go around the corner and when you feel it straighten out and the traffic seems to be doing its curvey swervies behind you, hop up in the direction away from how you just rounded. Tansy found this beautiful crossing spot with trunkated domes and stopped. So then you have to treat it like an uncontrolled crossing, wait for an all quiet, and run like a bugger. Thankfully with one-lane roundabouts you don’t have far to go until you hit a splitter island where you stop. Then you listen for traffic coming the other direction since all traffic has to go counterclockwise, listen for an all quiet and run like a bugger again. Thankfully people must move slow through there, so *should* be able to have time to see you, and apparently there have been studies to show that drivers are more likely to stop for you if you *don’t* make eye contact with them because they realize you have not acknowledged them. I wouldn’t risk my life on those studies but it’s an interesting theory.

Other roundabouts have pedestrian push buttons that don’t tell drivers to stop but sort of indicate to them that hey, he of the two-footed variety dares to enter the roundabout. But it seems if you’re going to cross at a roundabout, you should be familiar with it, and not all roundabouts are created equal. Plus, the more lanes are in it, the scarier.

So, I’m still scared of the sons of bitches, but I might have some form of clue.

Then we had lunch, and a bunch of people talked about how awesome it was to go on the hiking trail. Sounds like it was a giant exercise in follow your dog.

Then admissions came in and went over the great honker of a binder, and I’m pleased to report that much more is available in alternative format. The only thing I wish was is the medical history, but it can be recorded, so that fixes that. It is one amazing binder.

So I sit here in a bit of shock. I’ve been moved through the process and they’re getting ready to spit me out the other side. I can scarcely believe it, but I think I’m ready. Nervous since life doesn’t stop, but ready, and hey I’m not injured.

So tomorrow should be a crazy day. Tansy’s raisers are coming, and I also have Trixie’s raisers and my room-mate from the Trixie class. And after graduation, Tansy’s raisers want to take me out to an Italian restaurant. I still have to pack, since my evening was consumed with other things. Before we had decided on chocolates for Rose, we thought about getting her a class picture and putting it in a frame. So when we were in the gift shop, I scooped one up. Then we decided on chocolates but it was too late. Now today Admissions came back and gave us the picture. Oops. So I tried to get it in the frame but it was too big. Even so, one of the nurses sort of put it together. This whole picture thing turned into a shmoz. Oh well.

Then a bunch of us went to the bar. I was only going to have one but a dude decided to buy us a round. Now i’m feelin’ it.

Oh, my class likes to call me munchkin, not because I’m short but because I make little noises at Tansy. This class has been amazing. I’ll miss every one of them. There has been not one moment of competition or friction.

I keep meaning to mention that I keep calling Tansy my little rock star.

I’m exhausted. Ready or not, here comes grad.