Category: Daily Living
Hi,
Some of the finer details have been removed so that this question can be posted, but the below is completely true and I was wondering what you would have done:
I did some traveling over christmas, part of which involved staying in a hotel from evening time to the next morning. Before I set off, I researched nearby hotels and came up with 2 possible candidates: hotel a: really nice hotel with lots of awards to its name but no evening meal included; only option is to commute to some nearby pubs / restaurants. Hotel b: nice enough hotel considering I was just staying the night but generally more basic; the one advantage was that an evening meal was provided.
I opted for hotel b, purely because I wouldn't have to travel to get food. I've just spoken to another blind friend who was surprised that I chose a lower quality hotel just because I didn't want to travel; they thought that I would have chosen hotel a and just delt with the commute.
In my situation:
The area was almost completely unknown to me.
I was traveling alone.
The difference in costs between the two hotels wasn't really a huge issue.
What choice would you have made? If we split the commute up into baby steps such as order taxy, travel in taxy to pub, realisticly obtain help in the pub for ordering & paying then travel by taxy back to hotel it doesn't really sound like that much of a problem and I'm sure I could have done it if I had to, but I just really didn't see the point when an easier alternative was available.
I considder myself just above average when it comes to mobility when I have a specific root; I can learn the root fairly quickly and once I've got to grips with it I walk at quite a fast speed, but I really don't see any reason to put myself in a situation where I could potentially end up in an unknown area with only the iPhone to help me.
Now I'm wondering if this is a manifestation of the spoon feeding / can't be arsed attitude of blind people that is referenced on here sometimes, or if said friend is just being stuck up and would have chosen differently just to prove himself. Don't get me wrong - I'm all for proving myself in some situations, but I don't think I would have earned that many bragging rights if I'd managed to buy an evening meal all by myself.
All thoughts are welcome; I know stuff like this can be subjective but I'd be interested in getting a general concensus.
Cheers.
Ben,
You did what worked for you. There's no need to second guess yourself because someone who was not in your situation told you they would have done something else. You traveled where you needed to travel, ate where you wanted to eat and continued on your way the next morning. I know it's easy for people to throw your blindness into the mix, but think about it: Your blindness really shouldn't factor into this decision. Even if you had vision, you would still have to make the decision whether to order room service, rent a car or take a taxi somewhere. In short, you did what you needed to do to get where you needed to go and that's that.
I totally agree. This wasn't a blind thing, but a comfort thing. The place was agreeable, hopefully the meal was good, so why deal with something you don't have to?
Sighted people decide this situation the same way all the time, and the eating place could be across the street, but hey, room service is at the door. Lol
Do what you like.
I agree with the others. Personally, blindness or not I'd have opted with the second option. Last thing I want to do after travelling is travel more to eat. I don't mind such things, but sometimes it's nice to be somewhat taken care of after a long day. If you're comfortable with travel, who cares what they think?
I agree with your decision and what others have said here. I'm sure plenty of sighted people would have made the same decision. Besides, as you pointed out, you were just spending the night at the hotel. You weren't looking for a fancy hotel with lots of amenities, so hotel B fit your needs, and you should not feel guilty or let anyone make you feel like you took the easy way out.
Perhaps I'm beating a dead horse, but I agree with all that's been said here. No matter how close you are to this friend you speak of, you don't have to prove your independence to them, or anyone else, for that matter. What matters is that you were comfortable with the place you stayed in, and you stayed there because you wanted to. Some people really need to get their heads out of their asses when it comes to what others decide to do. I would probably have asked that person who was making such a big deal, "does it really affect you one way or the other where I stay for one night?"
Agreed with all the other posters. This sounds more like a decision made for the sake of convenience, not because you couldn't travel to get a meal. Even sighted people choose things for the sake of convenience, so in that sense you're no different.
I would have done what you did because the food is probley better. I don't like fast food and they might have had a healthier choice. I stayed in a hotel recently and some other blind people told me I should take a cab to get fast food but I chose to bring my own food instead. I saved loads of money and ate healthier.
Oh to add to my story,
They said I was making to much work for myself by bringing my own food. LOL!
I would have chosen hotel B as well, not only because I wouldn't have to travel for food, but also because hopefully, being more basic, I might have saved a buck or two on the price of the room.
as far as proving yourself, sighted or not, there's nothing wrong with taking the convenient way out.
This makes me think of those people high up in the councils and federations who have their drivers take them everywhere and who go sighted guide to everything, yet preach total independence. Do what works for you, and don't worry about what others think. There's no real point in going way out of your way to do something you don't want to do, all in the name of trying to impress or passify someone else.
Dead horse alert!
I agree with everyone. I think it'd be one thing if you had a whole afternoon and decided to seclude yourself in the room instead of sightseeing (no pun intended), but this is a matter of convenience. Would you have been told not to oder pizza in Hotel A because that makes you unindependent?
Hmmmmm?
I shall add my beat to the dead horse. I agree with what others have said, but I have also found myself listening to that pressure from others. But the important thing is that you did what you wanted and hopefully you had fun, and sighted people make the same types of decisions and choose the same things for similar reasons.
Wait, wait! The horse isn't dead yet! I gotta get my beats in too. lol
I can't disagree with anything that's already been said. Each of us has to do what is most comfortable for us and the rest should butt the hell out. lol It irritates the snot out of me that we as people who are blind are always judged by a different standard and many of our decisions are attributed to said blindness. Nevermind that something as simple as walking down the street to get a bite to eat in an unfamiliar area takes about 10 times the effort as it does our sighted peers. Oh no, we wouldn't want to take that into account, now would we? Sounds to me like your friend, assuming that he or she is blind, might be feeling a bit insecure about his or her own abilities and so must criticize what you chose to do. Even if you did choose convenience solely based on your blindness, it doesn't sound like this was some once in a lifetime vacation or something so what's the big deal. Now, if you had skipped out on something that you really really wanted to do, my answer might be different. However, since it sounds from your post like you were looking for a clean, relaxing, comfy, reasonably priced place to fill your belly and lay your head for the night, I can honestly say, I would have done the same thing.
If I can stay closer to food, you better damn well know that's the option I'd go for. Lol.
It's funny Nicky braught up the point about bringing groceries to a hotel. When I went to the convention in Dallas, I never even considered that option. I was prepared to spend a shit load of money at the hotel restaurants and wherever I could get food, because I figured that was my only option. I won't be doing that in Orlando, though.
You made the best decision you could for yourself. And anyone who can see might have done the very same thing. This is what I hate about those who hate on the blind using the terms you describe. They are doing what all ideologs - or rather idiot-logs - do: sacrificing people for ideology.
The only reason I personally would have made a different decision would have been so I could do more than go out and get food but hit up the local watering holes or go to someplace interesting. To be honest, there's too much of this where people expect that we're doing things to show this or prove that. Really? Are they really so deludded they think the lot of us to be 16 and actually believe any of that shit?
No, you did the right thing for your situation at the time, based on what you wanted. And, it's your money so who cares? Idiot-logs should consider a move to a more dictatorial regime like, oh, maybe Afghanistan or someplace.
I'm probably "beating a dead horse" as well, but I agree with what's been said. I too have pretty normal mobility skills, but I would've done what was more convenient for me, whether it looked like I was just being lazy an/or representing the stario typical blind person or not. Oh, and to post 10, I also thought about the hypocrites who most likely would've preached against taking the convenient way out, but then would've made that same decision themselves.
I don't get why some people, both blind and sighted, jump down our throats for doing what works for us. I've had O&M instructors do that to me onmore than one occasion, even though the route that my folks and I worked out between official lessons would have bee easier, safer and shorter than the one I was being officially taught. It's behavior like that that over the years turned me off to Voc Rehab for the blind. Oh they say whatever works for you but then when you actually get down to it they criticize ou. I bet tat if I was in your situation and my rehab counselor for whatever god forsaken reason had been involved in the planning of my trip she'd have gotten on me for choosing the place that provided the food because, "you need to travel more." And wile that may indeed be true I prefer to do it my way, at least insofar as that's possible without putting my safety and that of others at risk.
I agree with you Bryan, but at the same time, keep in mind O&M is offten meant to get you out of your comfort zone. I love structure discovery method style O&M teaching as opposed to your tradditional O&M, which is generally taught by sighted instructors who encourage you to be more dependent than is necessary. I'm sure a lot of you disagree with me, though
I don't know what I would've done to be honest but you did what was right for you. Trust me I moved to DC last year and ever since I have been here I could write a book on what other blind people have told me are the dos and don'ts for us who live in this huge area when in public. Do what feels right for you and whatever makes you comfortable.
I'd have chosen hotel b, Unless there was a restaurant that I was just dying to go to in the local area, no reason to sacrifice convenience for pride's sake.
True. If there was a restaurant that I was just dying to go to thenI might indeed have paid the extra for cab fare or whatever. In Portland, Oregon for instance there's a pub that I and my folks' loved to go to when we lived there called the Horse Brass. Granted I don't know if the quality of service and food is the same as it was nearly ten years ago or whether or not it's even still open. But when we lived there they served, amongother authentic English and Scottish dishes, the best fish and chips we'd ever had. So I might have paid the extra to go to the Horse Brass last time we were in Portland if we'd had the time to spare.
the way i see it is it was your choice like the others say. some may have chosen hotel a simply because they like to socialize but if you didn't want to do that who should really care? I mayself would have chosen the same as you if i didn't know much about the area.
So if I feel comfortable standing in the middle of a busy road as cars wiz by me, it's all good, because I'm comfortable with it, right? Lol.
I agree with most of what's been said here. I think blind people have a tendency to confuse convenience with being dependent so some times we choose the hard way instead of the more convenient one just to prove that we can. Of course it's important for every one to prove themselves but that does not mean we have to do every thing ourselves. I don't think for instance sighted people are above asking others for directions if they get lost.
In my personal oppinion independence is not measured by how many things you can do with out help but by how well you can get by in society on your own terms. In this case you just choose the most convenient place to stay.
I agree with Ryan. O&M is meant to get us out of our comfort zones. so, I, personally, would've chosen hotel A, not for the sake of proving anything to anyone, but exploring a new area, possibly trying new food, meeting people, ETC, ETC. I'm shocked at how many people would rather stick in their comfort zones, than get out and openly and freely explore the world around them.
Honestly, why do people care so much about what others think of their decisions? Do what's comfortable and convenient for you. As long as you're not hurting anyone or doing anything illegal who cares? Personally, I would have made the same choice as the original poster also because of the convenience. Life is hard enough sometimes why make things complicated when they don't have to be?
Ryan and Chelsea, I agree with you, but there is a time to step out of your comfort zone, and a time to be convenient. if the point of your trip was to be more social, stretch your limits, and do something you haven't before, then I would say yes, go for Hotel A. But it doesn't sound like this was the purpose of your trip. That, and it does seem like you have a generally good attitude about travel in general, so I don't think laziness is a problem for you. the fact that you're traveling independently at all is already a step ahead of some people, blind and sighted.
Actually, I didn't say which one I'd go to.
I love to travel and plan my trips to various plces. For all we know, you only live once, so why not get your ass out there, try new things, push your limits, and enjoy life as much as you can?
Financially speaking, however, if one hotel is cheaper than the other, it may not make much of a difference. Either way, you're paying for food whether it's for the more expensive hotel without food, or the less expensive one with the food. Plus, you've got to take into consideration the transportation that is available. If all there are in that area are cabs, it will not be cheap.
Indeed. that's why a little research before hand is definitely a good thing. Now that, I always recommend, no matter what the purpose of your trip is. You never know. You could be missing out on something even cheaper than your current options. And, you never know who you might meet while eating at the hotel. that one is kind of a long shot if you're getting room service, but there are so many unknown factors that it really seems pointless to choose one over the other just because of travel, or food for that matter. Ryan, just to clarify, I'm not saying you insisted on Hotel A for any reason. I was just responding to your comment about travel in general.