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 9: Day 2 First things first. Everyone made it through the night with no staff members on site. Yes, that's right. Everyone made it through the night with no staff members on site. But of course they did! The first "on call" phone call did not come until after 10:00 am. The person who called had followed all the steps (helping myself, get help from peers) and went to the next step of asking for help from a staff member. There was certainly a bit of fatigue from the emotional and physical challenge of move-in day, so it was only John, Laura, Cooper, Ryan, and Lucas who ventured out for breakfast at the cafeteria, which reportedly featured "the best pancakes and sausage." Paul was getting a feel for his telephone, and accidentally called campus security. It was a good test. They showed up at his door within a minute or so, he cleared up the misunderstanding, and they went on their way. Like everyone else Jenny has been practicing her "access management" (aka using the door) and the facilitators have been helping out by knocking on the door and presenting different scenarios. Even when not expecting a practice session, she used the peephole to make good decisions about whether or not to open the door. Laura reported a very sound sleep. So sound that it lasted 11 hours! Rachel and Moira are planning to head west to visit with parents on some of the unscheduled Sundays coming up, and they have worked out that they can go together on the train and bus to get to Baseline Station. Lunch was really quiet. LiveWorkPlay were just about the only diners in the house. Everyone is still discovering the available options. Fran found out that you can get club soda by pushing a little switch on the soda fountain, which made Keenan, Julie, and Caroline really happy because that's one of their favourite drinks. You can even get fresh slices of lemon to add a little flavour. After lunch it was time to put together shopping lists. Each suite handled it a bit differently, but everyone decided to do at least some sharing of items like margarine or milk. The participants took the #4 bus to Billings Bridge, and met up with the facilitators in front of Loblaws. Then for the next hour or so, OOOT2 people were crawling all over the place scooping up everything from a whole small chicken (Warren's preferred source of sandwich meat) to shampoo. Lucas ran into two of his neighbours, Paddy and Theresa, who gave him a bit of advice about purchasing bananas. Laura wasn't too pleased with the scant selection of frozen dinners, but she's going to pick up the ones she likes from the store close to LiveWorkPlay headquarters instead. One of the staff at the deli counter remembered some of the participants from last year and had seen them on TV on The New RO last night. Everyone shops at different speeds, so Dale set up a command station in the mall outside the store and everyone collected there before grabbing up the bags and heading back on the bus. After the groceries were put away Warren was the lead cheerleader in getting a lot of his colleagues to watch the hockey world championships, and it was a great finish to the game with Canada defeating Sweden 5-3. Then it was off to dinner. It was a gorgeous day and the short walk to the cafeteria stimulated the appetites. We beat the rush this time and some of the more popular meals included a chicken stir fry and an oriental meatball dish. Robin and others had helped organize a big gathering to watch the finale of Survivor All-Stars, but before that could happen, it was time to go through the big calendars for the next 48 days. This year most of the common activities as well as the on-site and on-call facilitators were on stickers printed on the computer, so it was mostly a matter of peeling and sticking the labels where appropriate. With the motivation of getting it done before Survivor started (and also before the Gatineau Olympiques playoff final ended - they won!) it all got done in little more than 30 minutes. Cooper and John were up on the 3rd floor watching hockey, while most everyone else watched Survivor. Elaine Kerr dropped by specifically to take part in the Survivor party! And speaking of parties, it was also a chance to celebrate Fran's birthday, which simply didn't fit in to the schedule yesterday, when she turned 26. By the time it was all over and Boston Rob and Amber had declared their love for each other and everyone finished rolling their eyes, most were ready for bed, although Robin decided to stick it out and see if the reunion show would have any surprises. Before everyone turned in for the night, there was a review of plans for the morning. Jen and Warren both have commitments at Heartwood House for 8:00 am, so they are going to leave together. This whole peer support thing can be pretty awesome. As a final note on Day 2, all the participants are doing great, but the staff wanted to share that the 4 newcomers are really exceeding expectations. Robin has actually lived in a residence before, and never seemed concerned, but the way she has meshed so easily with people she doesn't always get a chance to spend time with is impressive. What everyone is saying about Rachel and Moira is that it is so nice to see them smiling so much. There are so many things that are new to them, but they are really taking it one day at a time, and enjoying the opportunities presented to them. Deciding to join OOOT2 was a very difficult decision for Paul, but already there are signs that he is enjoying the added level of responsibility that is such a big part of this project. This first weekend was very demanding. A lot of people did get emotionally or physically worn out at times, but really it was all the sort of thing to be expected from anyone when adjusting to a move. Success in this project can't be measured by whether or not there are "problems." Life is supposed to be challenging. It's how you respond to those challenges - and what you learn from the experience - that matters. So far so good. PICTURES! Keenan and Caroline celebrate club soda Warren the shopper Cup a soup please! Paul the shopper That should last the 50 days Jen the cart master Rachel could work with Bob Barker! Laura the shopper Moira knows you need to make a list Robin the shopper Caroline is done Heading back together Canada wins! Canada wins! Self-management means calendars Interdependence means teamwork Happy Birthday Fran The unofficial Survivor jury