Hello there. gffp happy. Well, whatever day you're hearing this, I am actually going to be be on vacation when you hear this. And I still am going to be absent for a while in terms of actual every weekly content, mainly because I have some, let's say, health things that I'm trying to get straightened out and of course, my mental and physical health and wellbeing, come first because without me, literally, there is no podcast. What you're going to hear today is an interview that I am very happy to share and I want to thank Victor Guevi. I think it's Guvoja. So if I did mispronounce your name, I am so sorry. But you can check out his podcast.

I will link it in the show.

Notes search for Whose Blind Life Is It Anyway. He has several things under that, including this series, meet the Person or Meet the People rather. I probably am not going to put.

This on the featured.

I could, but since it's not mine.

Officially, I really don't feel like cutting it and all that stuff, I just don't. But if you want to subscribe to.

The featured part where you can actually listen to some full episodes, you may do so. Also, I'm going to be trying a new intro, or a new outro rather. And I have two in outros made by two different voices and I want you guys to hear both of them. All right? So, without further ado, here is Victor Grueha. And whose blind life is it anyway? Interviewing me. Enjoy.

Words appear. The meet me series. More words appear brought to you by whose blind life is it anyway? Welcome everybody to meet me here on Whose Blind Life Is It Anyway? Thanks for joining us for another season of the show. We've got some great interviews, some amazing stories for you to listen to and I'm proud to be a part of that. Meetme is sponsored by Total Upgrade, Inc. The system that lets you upgrade your mind, body and spirit. Check them out at www.totalupgradeinc.com to upgrade your space and health all at the same time. Our first guest of the season is Sarah K. Alawami, I absolutely adore this woman. It's amazing how much she's done in such a short life. And when I say short, she just turned 40. She is a ham radio operator and she's got a podcast and YouTube channel which you guys should check out and subscribe to. The links are in the description box. I for one can't wait to see what's coming up next for Sarah and you'll find out too. Here's the interview. I hope you enjoy it. I am going to ask you the same question I ask all my guess. What is your visual acuity?

I actually am not sure. Officially, I am not sure. But I am totally blind.

Totally blind. And do we know what that stems from?

Retinopathy of prematurity.

So you were born in the 70s, were you?

80S, actually.

Eighty s oh, I've done that for wow. I honestly thought you were around my age. Were you born this way as you grew up?

It got worse, or was it apparently they put too much oxygen in me, as everyone who might be familiar with Rop knows, and anyone who's what I want to say, maybe 30 and older might be familiar with it. Yeah, so they put too much oxygen in me. Apparently I could, when I was younger, see well enough to basically walk around a certain apartment complex raised to live without a cane, but not now. I found out how much I lost when I looked up in 2016 during a fireworks performance, and I couldn't see it. And, you know, from then on, it's like, oh, I'm I'm all depressed now.

Now, did night blindness come fairly quick, or was that all together?

I have no idea. I just know that it was the 4 July, and I looked up and like, oh, man.

Oh, well, yeah, no kidding.

It was a shock, you know, being able to see that, like, you know, two years ago and then not.

How old were you when you started noticing that?

Like I said, I was, like, really sad. And it was in 2016, so I had to have been maybe early 30s.

Right. So as a kid, you were were you mainstreamed or did you go to a school for the blind?

No, I was mainstreamed.

Really? And how did your peers get along with you?

No, my peers got along with me great. I was the class bully, unfortunately.

A class bully?

Yeah.

I can't find you like I can't see you like that.

No, no, I was I was I was a little bit of a class bully.

Okay. What sorts of bullying did you do?

No, I'd make awful jokes. I'd hit people with my cane. You know the deal.

Oh, and did you tell them it only hurts for 3 seconds?

No.

Well, that's what I always told them. Was it a problem for you in terms of class material and stuff? Were you able to get that to you in time?

From what I can remember, I normally had it on time. Of course, when I entered the college scene, that's when that's when things kind of changed. And I had to beg and beg and beg in order to have my stuff in, not just up. I have my stuff done right.

Even in the early 2000, when I.

Graduated in 21, and then I went to college in 21. You still do today, so I've heard. I don't know, because we'll talk about this later. I'm doing things different now in terms of school, but we'll discuss that later, probably.

Yeah. At the moment, my daughter had a wild time at school. At least up here in Toronto, the school was ready, willing, and able to accommodate me, even though my daughter was the one who was attending the school.

Wow. That's really different from here in the US. For most schools, like, maybe 90% of them.

Yeah. And they were able to get me the stuff in e book material.

It shouldn't be different. I have every right to go to school and if I want to, and get the materials that I need on time and accurately, just like a sighted person, I shouldn't have to wait six weeks unless it's really complex material. But I shouldn't have to wait six weeks to get something as simple as volume one of a math book, because I'm already behind then.

And even then, I mean, you've got all summer to get the books, right?

Mostly, but bookstores don't even release their book titles for the new semester until two weeks before class.

Really? Wow. Some change at all with the digital rights management.

Does that answer your question?

I guess that is the answer to my question, isn't it?

I'm hoping things do. I mean, I haven't been in school since 2015, but I am assuming that they have. Things have not changed much based on what I've read, you know, on my Facebook and things like that. I take it things have not changed, which is really sad. It makes me angry.

I think our listeners should know, at least what school you went to so we can rip them a new one.

I'm sure it's gotten a bit better by then. It has, I hope. Yeah.

So which school was it?

I graduated from the law of this. Let's try that again.

Okay.

I graduated from the oh, my God. Yikes. I graduated from the University of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Okay. Is that a large school compared to.

The Ivy League schools? No.

Well, what about in the top ten, I guess?

No, I don't think so. I'm actually not sure.

Yeah. Do you live right in Las Vegas or around the suburbs?

Kind of in the suburbs, sort of, yeah.

And at what point did you find out that you had to make your own way? I mean, I don't imagine Nevada does very much for its blind citizens.

They don't. They act like they do, but they don't.

Right.

I mean, things have gotten better, I will say that much. Things have gotten better, but not as good as it could be. Not as good as I've seen in other countries, let alone, well, probably other states.

I mean okay, I'm going to ask you a question that maybe you might know the answer to. Wouldn't Nevada be one of the richest states in the US. Because of the gambling?

You'd think.

But that's not the case.

If it is, I'm not really sure what they're spending their money on, and I'm picking my words very carefully, but.

You don't want to get in trouble, do you?

Okay, not really. Fair enough if it is. Well, it certainly doesn't appear like this in the Education Department. We are, I believe, 50 in terms of the way our education is. That is horrible. Yeah, that is a horrible statistic.

And do you have any type of organization that's helping with that?

If there is I don't know of one.

Yeah. So is the NfB or ACB at all active in Nevada?

I left them in 2017, so I have no earthly idea.

You left them? As in both?

I left them. Left them. Yeah, totally.

Well, I have to ask why?

Let's just say conflict. Just a conflict that happened, and I saw the writing on the wall, and I left.

You know, that's amazing, because everyone I speak to, touts their organization, either one or the other, I can't understand why the two are similar.

There is a history which I don't know. There is a long history, which I am not sure about.

Yeah. But either way, did they help you at all while you were going through school or employment? No, not at all.

Not at all.

Wow.

They tried.

Okay, so they did make the effort.

They tried, but nothing came of it. Like, they they called the you know, they would call whoever needed to be called, and, you know, they helped us navigate the system, but no, but, you know, it didn't work.

Yeah, no one I can understand that.

And it's no one's fault. I blame no one but the system.

Right. And did you find a job directly out of coming from school? What did you graduate with?

Okay, so about that. I started with a music education degree in 2001, ended up going to the College of Southern Nevada in 2002. They did not have an education degree, so I took a Baptist what was it called then? Associate of Arts or the music emphasis. Did that off and on for years, and I'm jumping around a lot, but 2010, I decided to there was a 2011 whenever I decided to do this, I decided to get my one of my degrees in Business of Music and Technology, which I did. It's a certificate of completion. And then in 2012, I went back to UNLV. Like I said, I'm skipping around. I'm skipping a lot.

But no, it doesn't sound like it. You're going from two.

I went back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. So I'm basically sparing you all the gory details. So I finally went back to UNLV to get an education degree and decided that it would just not be feasible because some of your courses are one credit, and they're only offered, like, once a year, and by that time of 2014, I was like, I'm pretty much burned out. So my mentor decided, you know, you could change your major. I'm like, well, it's a little too late. He goes, no, you're almost done. Change your my advice would be to change your major to Music, History and Literature. All you need to do is write a paper on a subject and do some other things, and you're pretty much done, so I did.

And did it work?

Well, I graduated in 2015, and I walked and yeah, it was great.

So I have to ask, a lot of people differ on this. Do you think the education was important to what you do today?

No. Yes and no. I don't want to say 100% no. Yes, because I realized what I'm doing isn't really for me. I also realized that education can be used as a networking opportunity if done right, which I did not do. That right. But that's okay. I also realized that going on with what I wanted to do wasn't going to be for me, so I decided to do something else starting, I think starting last year. And I'm working on that now. It's been about a year, and I'm still grinding away at it.

So what about the experience? Do you regret the experience?

No, not at all. I love the experience. In fact, I do want to go back to school. I do want to go back to the school environment, but not to teach and not as a student, just to like if I have to study or whatever. I love the student environment.

You made and stuff.

Well, they're gone now, but just the energy of students in general, you're there. When I'm studying here on my own, it's like, oh, it's too quiet.

Yeah. And you end up falling asleep.

Which I've done that at the university too. But I mean, one of these days I'm probably going to go back to university. Not to go to school, but to hang out in the student union all day, study maybe two or 3 hours.

And do you have friends that you would see down there?

They're all gone. It was years ago. They're all gone?

All gone, as in passed away, graduated.

Probably my mentor retired, so I can't see him again.

Okay. And your schoolmates, I mean, graduated, gone. They moved away.

Some are teachers. Summer, I never really kept in touch with all but one.

So would you say you are a social person?

I am not. Considering that I'm a teacher, I really don't know how that is. But it is.

Do you find it's because of your blindness or is it just a no.

That'S the way I am. I really think I am not a truly social person. I'm not really good at the keeping in touch with person. Unless it's for work.

Sure, but that's it. So you don't go to party?

No, I rarely do.

Wow. So it wasn't the party life of school that you enjoyed at all?

No, it was actually the studying.

Oh my God. I just did an episode of the show. It was a victory. So it's because I got to go out to my daughter's university about a month ago, and I noticed that this is not a college town. Meanwhile, that's all that's there is, the university. Nobody was hanging around, nobody was enjoying themselves, nothing. You keep expecting it to be like, I don't know, Riverdale. I'm not going to say Beverly Hill 9210, but you keep expecting the way.

It was 2030 years ago when I went to school.

You think it was different?

I'm assuming so.

Well, tell me, what do you think was different about it?

The culture. I mean, it comes down to one word, the culture.

Do you find more or less culture?

I just find a cultural shift. I just find a cultural shift in terms of the attitude of the students.

I'm sorry, the attitude of what?

The students.

Okay. Can you expand on that?

I can try. So when I was in college 20 odd years ago yeah, I mean, the students party, they you could hear them across the street, whatever, you know, student union was loud, you know, with with music and people eating and things like that. Well, fast forward to about 20, maybe twelve, 2013. When I came back, I heard, let's say, about four or five different languages around me, which was cool. The cultural shift was I mean, the university was a bit more quiet.

So are you saying 20 years ago, you didn't hear that sort of five different languages?

No, I don't really I mean, I wasn't really paying much attention, but I mostly heard English. Now, I could be wrong, but I mean, you know but I mostly heard English.

Is it possible that maybe you've changed and the culture has pretty much stayed the same?

Maybe.

I mean, I would think that 20 years ago, you might have been more interested in yourself than the world, and now you're more interested in the world than yourself.

Maybe, but even 20 years ago, I wanted to study.

Sure, a lot.

Just like today, but yeah, I mean but you're right. I mean, I think probably I have grown more observant. Well, it's my job. Or, well, one of my jobs anyway, but it's my job. I have to as a teacher.

Okay. I mean, let's get to that. I mean, your job. Now, I'm assuming you started working right out of school.

So the job came to me, but basically fell in my lap quite by mistake. Yeah. So I got an email on a group, hey, we need some English teachers. Would you be willing to, you know, give it a try? Just email me, like okay, cool. I don't really know what I'm doing, but sure.

Okay.

So I did the interview and I said, look, I'm going to try this for three months. If I don't like it, am I allowed to leave? Yeah. Eight years later, although now I'm seeking a different you know, I'm seeking a different position. It's time for me to move on to, you know, bigger, better things, which is why I'm doing what I'm doing now. Have been for about a year. But, yeah, as a teacher, I feel that I'm more observant, especially because I am listening to the students. I am listening to what's around them, what's around me. You need to be observant as a teacher, otherwise how are you going to get your point across in a way that a student can understand?

Right. And do you teach adult students or only adults?

My youngest was 19. My oldest was 70.

Okay. And what do you teach?

ESL.

Okay. Okay, and do you teach that virtually or in person?

Virtually.

Okay, and and what do you find are the majority of your students is there a culture?

Well, all of them are from Costa Rica, but even then they're cultures. But even then their cultures are different.

Right. And you get them mainly from Costa Rica?

Only from Costa Rica. At least for now anyway.

Right, okay. So you're not dealing with other nations.

Or I've dealt with an Argentinian, actually. That was really cool. I've dealt with the Nicaraguan, but that's it, basically.

Do you actually speak Spanish?

I'm learning it, actually started picking it up again a few months ago.

Okay. So has it been relatively easy to communicate with the students?

I mean, we have our issues, but nothing that a little bit of slowing down and explaining and exploring for words can't fix.

Right. I have to ask, when it comes to screen readers, do you happen to use any particular one or you just use Google Translate?

I don't use Google Translate.

Okay.

I use Nvda on Windows and I use Voiceover on Mac.

Okay. And do you have a preference? Because I know you've got the Android list.

Yes, actually.

Do you still don't?

I do. It's still here.

Okay.

We're still going.

I haven't seen much traffic, but there.

Isn'T which is good. Makes my job a little easier.

Yeah. No, I understand that.

Yeah, we get some what was the question again?

Which do you prefer, Android or iPhone?

It just depends. I mean, I prefer iPhone as my daily driver.

Okay.

But I do use Android every once in a while if I'm going to keep my memory fresh on the platform in regard to the platform.

Right. And do you find yourself doing various things for blind people on an Android? No, actually, no.

It's getting better, but it has a very long way to go. It's getting there, though.

Yeah. Well, at the very least, it's more accessible than it used to be.

I've been using Android since 2017, and I do have to agree 100%.

Yeah, but for stuff for blind people, you just can't get over the iPhone for now.

Yeah. Now, I am sure that other people's opinions might be different, and I'm sure other people use Androids as their daily driver, and I say, Cool.

Yeah, sure.

Use what works for you.

Yeah.

What is that saying they use nowadays? You do you or something like that?

I think that's the term.

Yeah. I don't know. I don't know. Today's, 21st century speak.

Oh, neither do I. I just talk myself.

I do too.

Are you married?

No, I'm not.

You're not? Actually, that's a stupid question, considering you're an older yeah.

Considering the child.

Yeah, no, I just realized that. Yeah.

Considering hey, my boyfriend might be listening to this podcast at some point.

Yeah, it's an interviewer. Okay. I'm not God.

I know.

No, I have to ask. Have you always been in a lockdown relationship? I mean, how long has it been with this person?

Let's see. So, about that, without going into too much detail, our relationship is strange but beautiful. We met in 2006.

Okay.

When I used to broadcast on a radio show and I thought this person was someone they weren't and we got off on the wrong foot. And then somehow, I don't know how, but miracle of miracles, we did end up becoming friends. We both went through some nasty relationships and we ended up actually starting to date in 2016, so been friends for almost 20 years, been dating for six now.

How's your experience been in terms of finding a boyfriend? I mean, have you relatively stayed? Sort of anonymous emails and stuff?

I've been through five relationships and mostly they find me. I'm not someone who really except for one. I'm not someone who really like, oh, I like you. I really never did that except for once.

Okay, I have to know what happened. Don't give any major details, but were you successful?

We dated for five years and I think five years, and then we broke off the relationship in 2015.

Oh, that's unfortunate.

Okay. Yeah, it didn't go well. I mean, it wasn't messy. It wasn't messy or anything like that.

It was amicable.

Yeah. We started talking again, I think, two years ago, so that's good.

Yeah. So you're still friends, colleagues, yes. Okay. There's a difference, isn't there?

A big difference.

Now, do you have relationships with people you work with? Is that something you like to do?

No. In fact, I'm pretty much antisocial or when I taught here locally, here in the Vegas Valley, I used to teach blind students, actually. Reading, writing, basically the three Rs.

Sure.

My youngest was five. My oldest, I think, was approaching 7th grade or something. I didn't hang with my coworkers. I wasn't like that. I came into work and I left.

Okay, and there was no socializing at all?

No.

Now, a question that just came to me. Your students, are they cited or blind?

All but one of them in my eight years so far has been cited.

Okay. What exactly does a blind person have to contribute to a sighted person's English?

Well, let's explore. You have words, lots of words. You have ways to correct the person, you have ways to write down the mistakes. You have ways of showing the student, hey, you know, this is what you did wrong. Or let's explore. Let's explore this word. Maybe this word will work, etc. You know, just like how a sighted person teaches. A blind person does the same thing, except with adaptations.

So are these one on one classes?

Thank God. Yes.

Okay, so that makes it easier for you then.

Oh, God, yes.

Okay. No, I was picturing someone in a class environment with multiple students.

I have never done that before.

No, that's understandable. That's what I'm saying. I mean, when you have teachers when I think of teachers, I think of them in a classroom setting writing on.

Chalkboard, which I can't do.

Right, exactly. And that's what I was wondering. What would you be teaching someone in a classroom? And I just figured, yeah, you're right. I guess it would be one on one.

Well, I am sure that it's possible to teach. I mean, nowadays, now that we have virtual and computers and everything, they can hook up to a screen in lieu of a chalkboard. Why not type it out on Notepattern word or whatever? Okay. This is how you say this. This is how you say that.

So are you a technophile?

Yes.

You are?

Yes.

And how easy would that be for you to hook up another screen?

I could probably figure it out. I could probably figure it out. And if not, I'll learn.

You said you use nvda. Have you always used NPDA?

I started out using Jaws in 2002, just like probably everybody else in the world, and then I switched to Nvda in 2010.

And do you find it's roughly the same as Jaws?

I would say a lot better, honestly.

Can you tell me why?

So Jaws actually has an off screen model that it uses to render pages and stuff and make it look make the software look, try to be readable and whatever. And to me, that's not the function of a screen reader. The function of a screen reader is to tell you what is on the screen.

Sure.

Not to rerender a web page or a piece of well, I mean, Nvda does a bit of that edge and chrome, but that doesn't count. But in terms of software, I should be able to know what's on the screen, not have a rendered copy of the software, period. So Nvda is that it's a screen reader that tells me what's on the screen. It's not bloated, it just works.

No, I can understand how you feel, because I use Jaws for almost everything else, except when I'm using Windows native video recorder, I switch over to narrator because there's no way with Jaws, I'm there forever. Yeah, I mean, it's unbelievable. Why can't Jaws do that? It makes you wonder.

I don't know. I have no clue.

Yeah. So speaking of projects, you're on a whole bunch of projects, aren't you?

Yes.

Did you want to tell me about some of them?

Well, I'm under an NDA for most of them, but all I can say is I have fun. I have fun proposing solutions. I have fun contacting the developers and proposing plans and proposing solutions to problems that might happen.

Right.

Proposing time, how long this should take to fix and that should take to fix, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Right, and you've got a podcast that you do on I do. Weekly basis.

It used to be now I just do it when I have the time. I try to make it weekly.

Do you want to tell our listeners what it's called?

Yeah, sure. It's called the TFFP podcast stand for the Funfilled podcast. Although now that we're technology centric, I mean, it could very well be the technology field podcast. But that's okay. Funfilled was the way it was in 26 and funfilled was the way it's going to be because you never know what you're going to get.

Sure, sure. And do you do the podcast with someone else?

No, very rarely. I do have a few guests who appear on the podcast every once in a while.

But it's mostly you telling everyone how technology works.

Showing it, actually.

Oh, so you're displaying it. Okay.

I'm displaying it, auditorially.

Well, I would hope so, yeah. Are you on YouTube at all?

Yes.

Okay, so you're on YouTube bandpochet, I'm sorry.

And Twitch.

Now, I have to ask, is there a software that you use to string?

Yes, it's called open source broadcaster studio obs.

Okay. Is that relatively easy to use?

It didn't used to be, but thanks to all of us who've worked with the team, it has become a lot easier now.

Has it?

Oh, yeah.

Wow. I'm so happy that it's usable. I mean, I've been using paying for stream yard for the longest time and while it does have its ups and downs, I would like to have more control over my streams.

Oh, yeah. Well, Obs is just the tool that you used to stream with. It still goes out to an RTMP server and everything like that. I mean, it'll still go out, so and there are some things you still that are still a bit buggy. Like I cannot change the title of my Twitch stream for whatever reason, from within Obs. Right. But overall I have like maybe three or four windows open on a different desktop while I'm streaming, so it's a catch 22, I mean, it works.

Do you find it's easy to include screen shares and stuff?

Well, yes, but we still have some issues with that for whatever reason and I'm not sure why.

Right, and what sort of issues?

Black screens, which is a big deal.

Well, I mean, it is if you're doing YouTube. Yes.

And Twitter. Well, for the podcast that's fine. I don't mind, I just convert it to audio anyway.

Right, exactly. What's in the future for you?

Well, what's in the future for me? I am actually studying to become a salesforce administrator.

Okay.

I'm doing that through the Blind Institute of Technology. They are wonderful folks. I do highly recommend them.

Now, where are they located?

They're located. I think in I want to say Washington, DC. No, no state.

Okay. And what exactly do they do?

They contract out with several companies to actually help you get employment. And that's actually how I found out about the salesforce thing. I took a class and I'm studying for the test. My goal is to, by the time this is released, hopefully have my apprenticeship all settled down right, settled or whatever, and then actually get my administrator's certificate, have two years in the apprenticeship program, and then one day get on my own.

Oh, wow.

Okay.

That sounds great. It sounds promising. At the very least.

It's not for everybody. I mean, I'm going to be totally honest. It's not for everybody because you're spending time basically building apps, which I love doing.

Sure. So you can code?

I cannot, no.

So it's something you're learning, though.

No, I cannot code.

But you build apps.

Exactly.

Okay, that deserves an explanation.

I think it is a drag and drop interface that we use, that they use, which they are improving upon, to build apps, like for sales, an app for cases, an app for keeping track of a battleship station, for example.

Okay, and do you find that? I mean, how accessible is it for you?

It's about 90% of the way they are.

Wow.

That's what I will take. I heard it didn't used to be I wasn't there when it wasn't.

Right.

I heard that it was a lot worse.

Well, I can only imagine. We are going to link your podcast and stuff down in the description box, but how long before you actually are able to do what you're talking about?

It's going to be a while. I mean, really, honestly, it's going to be a while. And all that is dependent on my let's just say mental health. Because that comes first.

Right?

I mean, if it takes a bit longer, then it takes a bit longer. My mental health and my physical well being come first.

Now, I understand that this is too personal. Do you have mental issues?

Doesn't everybody?

I guess it depends on who you're talking about.

I mean, look around you. Doesn't everybody nowadays? I guess they do. And we're not talking about being like mentally I don't even know that the right term. Mentally challenged or whatever, the handicapped or whatever. But you look around you and you see people just suffering from burnout. You see people having panic attacks. You see people who do not know how to care for themselves mentally.

Right.

And it's affecting their physical well being as well. And we cannot let that happen. Which is why I'm taking my time sure. In doing this.

No, I can understand that. Definitely joint pain, arthritis, something like that.

Yes.

Or fibromyalgia, I don't know.

Probably arthritis or something. Every winter from probably late, early November until maybe May. Yeah. I am a ball of pain.

Really?

Oh, God, yes.

Really? And what do you take for it?

Nothing. I just breathe through it. That's all I can do. That's all I choose to do.

So you're not a big drug fan?

Pain. It means I'm alive.

That's different. Okay.

My attitude is way different from the normal society's attitude.

Okay, granted.

Will I take pain medicine? Yeah, eventually, depending on what kind of pain I'm in. If I'm going through surgery, I definitely will be taking pain medicine. Do I want to be numb during surgery? Yes. I'm not.

No, I can understand that.

I'm not masochistic.

Yeah, no, I was going to say, are we talking inflammatory medicine or just pain relief? Like Tylenol?

No, just tylenol. Ibuprofen. I've been on Laura tabs. I hate it.

You have?

Oh, yes. When I got hit by a car in 29.

Wait, you got hit by a car? Why? How?

I don't know why.

Tell me. You sued the guy.

Well, it was an accident.

I was crossing I don't anticipate you did it on purpose?

Oh, yeah. I'm just going to go on a training exercise and get hit by a car. I'm just going to start my day off. By getting hit by a car? No. So they went to the hospital. Actually, they found me in the hospital, went to my room, and I met the guy, actually, who hit me.

Oh, yeah.

Which is kind of rare, by the way.

Okay.

He must have followed the ambulance all the way to the hospital.

Wow, that's interesting. I didn't ask, do you prefer guide dog or canes?

I had a guide dog. Now I just use the cane now.

Is there a reason you gave up the guide dog?

Maybe because I can't really go as fast as I used to be able to. And I know they have slow walkers. I know this, but let's just say no. Times have changed. I work from home. I don't really travel anymore, so there's really no point. Do I want to raise them? Yes, at some point I do want to give back.

Now, how long have you used the geico?

From 2004. I want to say it was in 2000. When was it? I want to say I think until 2013 was when I retired her.

Oh, did you have a guide dog before that one?

No.

Okay, so she was your first. So what sort of feelings did you have with that guy dog?

Liberation.

Tell me.

Well, I mean, it felt free to walk and not trip over the pothole in the sidewalk. It was great. It was the best feeling that I've ever had.

No, I can understand that.

We would walk about 5 miles a day. It was wonderful.

You guys don't get snow down there, do you?

No. Well, once every few years.

Because we get a lot of snow up here. That's why I'm choosing not to keep using a guy door.

And that's a very wise decision if you ask me.

Yeah. No, I mean, the fact is, I can't take her out in the winter.

You could be miserable for her little feet.

Yeah.

But they do have mushers. They do have mushers, which I used on my girl's feet during the summer. I would have a ball of wax in my hand and I would put it on her feet.

Yeah. And it worked. And we've got our shoes that we.

Put on if we oh, she hated the booties.

Yeah.

I did the mushroom secret wax.

Yeah. The fact is, she can go in my backyard, but we've got a grapevine.

Oh. Understand? Yes, I totally understand.

Yeah. And I can't let her back there until the crows eat all the grapes.

Or until you do.

No, I don't like them grapes.

Oh, okay.

No, my father in law planted them and of course, he planted them and left it for us to take care.

Of course.

Along with a big ass apple tree and oh, yeah. Giant plum tree with thorns that are two inches long. Oh, yeah. I mean, I had a hell of a time taking care of that one.

Understood.

Oh, my God.

Big garden. I mean, I don't garden, but I.

Have no, I hate it, too.

I have tended a garden. I can do it.

Have you?

Yeah, I have a little bit. I don't like it, but I have.

Do you live in an apartment or a home?

I live in a home. Yeah, but even when we did live in an apartment, we did have a garden, actually. It was a beautifully built garden.

Now you're saying we you live with your parents. Okay. And do you have any brothers or sisters?

Yeah.

How would they react with you?

We get along.

With brother, obviously. There's typical brother sister.

Yeah.

But at what point at any point did your blindness come into it?

No, not really.

So they never took advantage of it?

As far as I know, no. Actually, I am not really sure of the answer on that one, in regard to that one.

Now, can I assume you're the only blind one in your family?

As far as I know, yeah. The rest of my family wears glasses, but that really doesn't count.

Fair enough. Fair enough. And and are they fairly close to your age?

No, I'm the eldest.

So everybody looks to you. Wow. That must be hard for you, setting an example.

I'm used to it. I do lead naturally.

You do lead naturally.

I'm a natural born leader.

Yes. Well, that's interesting. Does that mean you have a strong personality?

Yeah.

Overbearing or a little bit?

Yes.

Just powerful.

A bit of both.

Okay. Now, did you learn that naturally?

I have no idea.

And do you find it comes in handy when you're advocating for yourself?

Yes. Although sometimes it can be a bit too overbearing. I'm working on that now.

I tell people that being blind is great for self image because we don't care what we look like as long as we're not naked.

Yeah, as long as we're not naked.

Right. But having said that, we don't have to look at styles or anything else like that. Do you find that helps you in all other ways?

It depends. I mean, if I'm interviewing, I'm going to probably wear, like, a black pair of jeans and maybe like a black sweater with bars on the sides or whatever because that's a professional looking outfit. No jewelry, because I don't do that.

Wait a second. You prefer dark colors?

Yeah, my favorite color is blue.

Navy blue.

Just blue? Yeah.

Really?

It's so calming. The energy is just so calming and peaceful.

I have to ask can I ask what your sign is?

Yeah, let's see. I think I'm a sad. I'm not actually sure.

What month is your birthday?

December. Actually, it's tomorrow.

Happy birthday.

Thank you.

Oh, my God. I'm so happy I get to say that first.

Yeah, I do.

Now, granted, I'm not going to tell anybody when we're recording this, but no, I'm so happy that can you tell everybody how old you are?

I'm going to be at version 4.0.

Version 4.0? That's scary.

Yes, it is. I'm terrified.

Well, I mean, it's scary in the sense that you have to go one through three.

I know. I made it one through three.

And have you improved or has your software pretty much stayed the same, like Jaws?

My software has improved. It's a little bit buggy, but we're working out the kinks.

Are you?

Yeah, we're working out the kinks.

Well, that's good. I mean, at the very least, you could say that about yourself.

Yeah.

Are you actually happy with your life the way it is?

Yeah. Now that I finally found out what I do want to do and that I want to turn my hobbies into a paid career, which is actually what the project one of the projects I sent you in the little chat, that's actually one of the projects that I'm going to be spending probably the rest of my life working on.

Really?

One of my long term goals, and it has been since I was five.

Now, is that the only hobby you're currently at work on?

No, I'm an amateur radio operator, so I'm going to be combining the two.

Now, do you have I think what they call is a call sign, I sure.

Do.

You want to tell everybody it is?

Kilo Echo Seven Zulu Uniform, Mike.

Okay.

K e. Seven zum. If you don't know your phonetics, I do.

So are people going to be able to look for you like that?

Probably not, depending on where you're looking. Yeah. You might or might not find me in various forms using that.

Now tell me about amateur radio operators. Do you guys have broadcasting that you do on a regular basis or is that when you want to look for friends, you just go on the radio?

A little bit of both. We don't really do anything here because nothing happens. Thank God.

Really? I would think Las Vegas was a popular destination for driving.

Nothing happens? Nothing happens.

Wow.

At least not over Uhf and VHF. I'm not sure what happens over HF.

Okay. What about over Internet?

I'm sure things happen there, but I don't really go looking for it.

Okay, so you prefer doing your own thing?

Oh, yeah, exactly. I do.

Is that satisfying for you?

For now, yeah. I mean, hey, I'm going to be a salesforce administrator. I can do my job from anywhere, so why not?

Yeah, but that's work.

Of course, if you're not happy with what you're doing, it's considered work, isn't it?

Okay, that's a scary thought. The problem is it's so true. Do you go out anywhere?

I am not really a movie person. I used to, but I don't like it.

You don't like movies?

No, too much noise.

Television?

I'd rather just sit quietly and I will watch television every once in a while, but yeah, this is too much noise.

So you read Braille books?

I should. I listen to them, but yes.

Oh, you prefer audio?

I can read in Braille, but I'm deadly slow. I can read well enough to label things, but that's it. Label and give presentations, but that's it.

Now, is that because you have limited sensitivity in your fingers?

No, I just failed to practice it. And that's me being very candid. I just failed to practice it.

Really? I never thought that would be an issue. I always thought it's more the sensitivity in your fingers that you have to.

Worry about a bit of both. I mean, yes, but if you fail to practice it because you're bored, then.

That can happen.

It does.

And do you find yourself getting bored.

With a lot of things depending on what it is? If I don't enjoy it, I get bored easily. If I'm not enjoying what I'm doing, I put it down.

Yeah, no, I can understand that. I can understand that. Sarah, I want to wish you the best of luck with all your endeavors, and you'd be the best sales force administrator you can be.

Oh, yeah. I'm also going to be the best blind flight simmer there is. Well, maybe not right now, but yeah.

I'm sorry, the best what?

Blind flight simmer is one of my hobbies, one of the things I want to turn into.

And what do you use?

Right now I'm using Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020.

Okay. Is it fully accessible?

They're working on it. It didn't used to be two years ago.

And it's not anymore.

I won't say it's 100%. I'll give it maybe 70.

Really? Well, that's so.

In fact, on that website that I gave you, I don't have a link to many resources, but they're there. I do plan on revamping it, do you? At some point. I know I need to, but I just need to sit down and take the time to do it. Thank you to ritage. I can do that easily. I love RightAge. It works great.

Okay, that's good. I want to thank you for being on the show.

Yeah.

I want to tell the world that you are a force to be reckoned with.

Oh, thank you. That's not the first time I've heard this.

Oh, it isn't?

No. Was that a I take it as a compliment.

Okay. So it is a compliment, depending on.

The situation, but right now it's a compliment.

Sure. Understandable. Understandable. Well, thank you so much, Sarah. And that was a storm. That is Sarah K, Alawami Ham, radio operator, podcaster, and founder of Alawami Productions. Like I said, I can't wait to see what's coming up next for her. Remember to join us next week for another interesting story and another interesting person here on Meet Me. Bye bye, everybody. Catch Meet Me every Monday at 10:00 a.m. Eastern, 07:00 a.m. Pacific on whose blind life is in any way. Till next week.

Thanks for listening to the TFFP podcast. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]. We are also on YouTube. At YouTube comatsignke Seven zum Our Twitch is at Twitch TV slash Ke seven Z-U-M. If you would like to converse with us, you may find us on mastodon at mastodon dot social at sign tff. If you want to support us in the form of a monthly contribution, you may leave a tip in the TiPJAR by going to listen tffpodcast.com and clicking the TiPJAR link. Finally, please consider leaving a fivestar rating on itunes, spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks so much for your support. You.