LiveWorkPlay Building Productive Lives Making A Buzz In The Ottawa Community Serving People With Intellectual Disabilities Since 1995 ON OUR OWN TOGETHER II Interdependence - Independence - Self-Advocacy The Innovative LiveWorkPlay Approach To Long-Term Housing For People With Intellectual Disabilities May 25: Day 18 The day got started very early for Paul, who was at the South Keys Future Shop store before 8:00 to take advantage of the door crasher special on the new Avril Lavigne CD, which he picked up for $9.99! During lunch today at SMILE Lucas hoofed it to The New RO and back to pick up a copy of a tape from the breakfast show when he and Ryan were on with Kurt Stoodley and Karen Solomon on the day before OOOT2 started. Right at the end of the segment Kurt talks about how they are moving in to OOOT2 the next day. There's been a lot of rain coming down and there's a little skinny pond forming just outside the residence. It's attracting a lot of visitors, including a mallard duck (see pictures). He put on quite a show right outside the room windows! AJ Blauer from the Ottawa Sun came by around 5:30 PM to hang out and ask questions. AJ writes a fun column that usually appears on Saturdays on Page 6. He chatted with everyone until after 9:00 PM (!) so we are all excited to see how he somehow condenses all that information into one story. Check out the Ottawa Sun on Saturday, May 30, and see how he did. Cooper often has a complicated social schedule to manage, but he's definitely getting good at it. He did his laundry before dinner, and then he was off to meet a friend to go to a baseball game he had been planning to watch in Barrhaven. He wasn't sure when it would end, so he put 12:00 on his tracking board, and then called one of his suite mates before 10:00 to say that he would be back no later than 11:00. Of course it was the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals (yay Flames!) but a funny thing happened tonight. A pretty big group was watching the hockey game, but after the first period they disappeared (some temporarily). In the meantime, Robin wandered in to the lounge and was the only person in the room, so she started watching Entertainment Tonight. By the time the hockey fans came back, Rachel, Robin, and Jen were settled in watching Golden Girls (!?!) and the hockey fans went scurrying off to the second floor to watch the game up there. Meanwhile John and Paul were on the third floor watching the music channel. It sounds like there is a big demand for television, but this was actually pretty rare. A lot of nights the lounge is completely empty, or there are just one or two people watching. Rachel and Robin were taking advantage of the sattelite stations in the TV lounge so they could watch a rerun of "Ready or Not" when most everyone else had gone to bed. Ah, Amanda Zimm and Busy Ramone...the golden days of Canadian television. At this point in the project it has become clear that there are some big differences from the original OOOT. The biggest difference is that it just seems more "real" to everyone, especially those who are back for their second year. Last year it was all a great big adventure and the focus was simply on enjoying the moment. This year a lot of participants are giving serious thought to their future, and experiencing a heightened sense of responsibility more in tune with what they are actually living. This means everyone is not walking around wearing a permanent grin, and that's actually great news. The whole point of OOOT2 is to provide as realistic an opportunity as possible. There is more decision-making and problem-solving being handled by the participants and that creates extra stress. That extra stress is called "life" and sometimes it isn't easy. But what is the alternative to experiencing life? Because the participants are viewing things differently, many are also taking on extra challenges, which sometimes calls for extra support. A lot of the time this support is coming from peers, but in cases where that's just not what it is needed, the staff facilitators are available 24/7 to assist with problems. They spend time with just about everyone in the group every day, and are in the best position to support participants to work towards solutions. Excitement over the open house is building. Caroline and others were stuffing envelopes today to get the invitations ready, and they will definitely go out this week. The banquet is now just 1 month away, and along with the open house invitation, there will be information about the end of project celebration too. Watch for it! PICTURES! May showers bring ducks and flowers Lucas and Ryan on The New RO Lucas and Ryan watching Lucas and Ryan Only $9.99! AJ dines with the group