Look Ma', No Glasses!

This past week, I finally caved in and decided to get contacts. I have been wearing glasses for the past seven years, and have been hesitant to get contacts. But after my recent visit to the optomotrist, my eye doc persuaded me to give them a try. While some of you might be wondering why I'm writing about such a blah topic such as contacts, here's my reasoning.

Even though the topic of contacts themselves might not warrant a conversation, my application of them would. You see, since I can't move, I'm unable to put them in myself. This the the biggest hurdle for me to jump, or roll over, as I came to my contact solution. So my dad has graciously decided to volunteer to be my contact installer. I can feel your hesitation as you read this, so I'll go over his qualifications:

• He wears contacts himself, so he knows the procedure
• He's in construction, so he must be good with his hands
• He's stuck a plastic tube down a hole in my throat when I had a trach, so he good with medical proceedures

Sold? Good. Because I'm going to ignore the fact that his hands feel like they're coated with sand paper and can cut my contacts or eyes at any moment. And to even get some additional practice, the eye doc let him put the contacts in and out a few times before we left. After the first week, so far so good. I haven't lost them or got my eye slashed. Check back later for pics. Now that I don't have glasses to cover my eye brows, I might have to do something about my emerging uni-brow. I guess I'm going to have to cave in again and do some "man-scaping..."

Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?

If someone walked up to you and said they’re 26-years-old and still live with their parents, what would be your first impression of that person?

Yeah, me too.

Normally, when someone thinks about a person like this, the first thing that comes to mind is a Jack-Black type (minus the fame, fortune, and cool personality) with a basement full of toys, a part-time job at a video game store and a severe shyness. They often times find themselves at home because of financial or social reasons. And while I have my fair share of “action figures” and social awkwardness, I am still at home for different reasons.

Since I became a quadriplegic, the idea of someday having a place of my own seemed more like a fantasy than reality. Because of my condition, I require full assistance for literally all everyday activities. So, the thought of being somewhere on my own didn’t seem to be possible.

Currently, my parents help me with pretty much everything, and without their help, I wouldn’t be here today. They have given me so much and I don’t know how I can ever repay them. But sometimes, I feel that my condition is a burden on my family and I don’t ever want them to feel like they are responsible for my well-being.

Our family dynamic would also make moving into a place of my own a very hard decision. We are a very close family and spend a lot of time together. From dinner at our grandparent’s house, to movie nights with my cousins, spending time with my family is very important to me. My grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins al live within 10 minutes of my house.

I also just want to say that me wanting to get a place of my own is not an indictment of my current living situation. I live in a great home and couldn’t ask for anything better. I just feel that while I’m at home, I can’t move on to the next chapter of my adult life.

Sometimes, I get embarrassed when I have to tell people that I still live with my parents. Granted, I’m sure they understand the reason, but it is still a little embarrassing none the less. I’m a college graduate with a great, full-time job and a good head on my shoulders. Any one else like me would have a place of there own by now; even if it is just a small, one-bedroom apartment.

I don’t want a mansion (yet), just a small place that I can call my own. A place where I can hang out with friends, have parties (maybe all nighters) and even maybe bring a date to (if I ever get one). I know that my condition will not allow me some of the same luxuries experienced by my able-bodied brethren, but I think I can make it work.

For now, I’ll continue thinking about how I can make it work and imagine what my future bachelor pad will look like.

My Dating Game

As I was clicking through my facebook page the other day, one thing in particular caught my eye. I noticed that a few of my friends changed their status from “single” to “in a relationship.” Once I saw this surprising trend, it got me thinking of my own personal life, or severe lack thereof.

From first through eighth grade, I was not unaccustomed to grabbing the attention of the ladies in my class. Whether it was Michelle dropping off a get well card at my house in fourth grade, or Stephanie giving me my first kiss in seventh grade, girls weren’t far from my side. And with all my “success” during my early years, I eagerly anticipated the boundless possibilities that awaited me in high school.

But after I became a quad during my freshman year of high school, everything changed.

While I still had girls at my side, they were my nurse instead of interested coeds. And if a girl did manage to speak to me, it seemed like they were talking to me out of pity and curiosity. Even though I didn’t agree with their reasons to speak to me, I was in no position to turn away a conversation, no matter what the reason.

As I made my way through high school and college, I felt like a spectator in my own life. I so badly wanted to speak to girls, but my courage was in short supply. But with my relative inexperience with girls, I did manage to forge a few friendships with girls.

But friendships were all I could muster (Ryan Reynolds I feel your pain).

I guess the mere sight of a wheelchair would throw me into the “Friend Zone” for any girl. I can’t believe that they didn’t know that nothing says sexy more than Scoliosis and Muscle Atrophy. While I often used my chair and illness as an excuse, I’m not completely without blame either.

The main reason is because whenever I would see a girl that I was interested in, my head flooded with questions.

• What do I say?
• How do I take her on a date?
• Who can take me on the date?
• Will my parents have to drop me off?
• Will she mind feeding me?

I often couldn’t find the answer to these questions and decided that it isn’t worth the embarrassment, so I never did anything but watch her pass by and wonder. I worried too much about my “accommodations” and disabilities and sabotaged my chances before even trying. It was my own self-doubt that seems to be the biggest hurdle.

Every time I watched a romantic comedy (and yes, it is more often than you think), I sat in envy. I so badly wanted to experience what it was like to have a girlfriend. Not just for those romantic, sensual moments, but for those moments that seem to be overlooked at times.

You know, those moments where you cuddle with each other on the couch to watch TV, talk all night in bed about nothing and everything or just walk silently down the sidewalk, enjoying each other’s company. These are the moments I wished to experience, but felt I would never get the chance.

As I look back and think about everything that has happened, I realized that I have to stop being a spectator and get in the game. I may never be able to do the chivalrous things like pull out her chair, stand up when she leaves the table or hold open a door, but I can still be that perfect boyfriend. All it takes is one chance.

Sometimes, it seems like my dating game is unwinnable. But like they say, you can’t win if you don’t play.

EP Award Ceremony at the Diamondbacks Game

Here is a clip of the ceremony at the baseball game. It was a great night and thanks to everyone who helped put it together! Check out my flickr page for pics as well.

God Didn't Want Me to See Hugh Jackman

I’m sure most of you know by now that Tempe, Arizona won an online contest to have the World Premiere here in the Valley. And, of course, me being the autograph hound that I am, I didn’t want to pass up this opportunity. Besides, how often do you get to attend an actual movie premiere?

Me and my broke down chair.

So as soon as I heard we won, I began my quest for tickets to the premiere. Feverishly, I scoured through Facebook, MySpace, and any other social networks looking for people who had extra tickets. Finally, at the eleventh hour, I came across one ticket.

Since I’m in my electric wheelchair, I normally would need someone to go with me. But since this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, I was going to tough it out and go on my own.

When the day of the premiere arrived, to say I was excited would be an under statement. I couldn’t wait to head over to Tempe Marketplace and watch the festivities. I invited my aunt to go with me in hopes we could find another ticket or maybe the Harkins people would be nice enough to let her in.

And so my wacky adventure begins…

As my aunt and I arrived at the Cine Capri in Tempe Marketplace, we were greeted by a mob of fans eagerly waiting the cast’s arrival. Once I rolled out of my van I jetted to the check in table. I went to sign in and asked if there was any way my aunt could attend the movie with me. If she couldn’t, I asked if she could at least escort me in to make sure I got in okay.

But before I could even finish asking my question, policy started regurgitating out of the Harkins’ employee’s mouth.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t get into the building without a wristband and a ticket.” He stated. “Once you get in the building, no one can leave until the event is over. There’s nothing we can do.”

Strike one. I would have been better talking to a T-1000 because this guy clearly had no heart strings to be plucked and was just focused on his mission at hand: sign-ins. Well, on to the next obstacle.

If you were one of the lucky ones who had a ticket, you were given a wristband that got you access to a special section that was close to the stage where the actors were speaking. I had a wristband, but my aunt did not. There in lied our conundrum.

My aunt and I made our way to the special section to see if both of us could get in. And wouldn’t you know, more policy vomit.

“I’m sorry, she [my aunt] can’t enter without a wristband, I can’t help you,” Said the security guard. “Only you can go in.”

I even told her that I normally have an attendant with me in case something happened, but she still refused to help. Strike two. And low and behold, something bad actually happened.I'm glad someone had a good time.

Since my aunt could not go in, I decided to go in myself while my aunt watched from the “free” section.With my new plan finalized, I rolled back to the special section. As I made it to the entrance, there was one more bump in the road. And it literally was a bump in the road.

The stage was setup in the parking lot, and to get through to the special section I had to go over a cover of wires on the ground. Ironically enough, it was in front of the disabled parking space. So I rolled to the section and over the bump.

Then everything literally fell apart.

As I rolled over the bump, my chair made a weird sound and started to act strange. I rolled around to get a better view when suddenly my chair died and would just turn in circles. I was freaking out because my aunt wasn’t with me and I couldn’t get a hold of her.

Luckily, I managed to ask a lady standing next to me to help me call my aunt (thank you so much by the way). But when my aunt went to the entrance, they wouldn’t even let her in. She repeatedly told them that she was just trying to get me because my chair broke down and she needed to push me out. But as usual, they kept spewing out policy and wouldn’t budge. I got a call from her if you minutes later to let me know that she couldn’t get in, so I had to find a new plan.

I asked the lady that was helping me to see if she can find someone that could help. After she wandered around the crowd for a few moments, she returned to me and said she got a hold of an EMT and said they would come help me get to my aunt. After a few moments a couple EMTs came over and helped push me out of the section.

With an EMT pushing my chair back towards my aunt, I made my way out of the special section. Once I returned to my aunt’s side, we tried to come up with my next plan of action.

As my aunt and I try to figure out a way to get me into the movie theater, an opportunity came knocking, or rather, walking by. While I sat defeated in my broke down wheelchair, a group of executives from Harkins theaters came strolling by. Once you realize who they were, my aunt quickly got their attention and informed them of my unfortunate situation.

They seemed a little dumbfounded and surprised by what had happened. But one of them gave me their business card and said to e-mail them and they could see if they could get me premiere tickets for the Thursday premiere of the movie [UPDATE:After all this happened, I e-mailed the said executive, who shall remain nameless, and they never returned my e-mail. Surprise, surprise.].

Even though I could not move the chair in my own, I was determined to try and find a way to get into the movie theater. So if one final attempt, I headed back towards the theater. Once we arrived in the front, we went to find someone who worked at the theater and asked if there was somebody that could help push me into the theater since my wheelchair broke.

But of course, they wanted nothing to do with me.

They told me that since this was such a big event, that they did not have enough staff to help me into the movie theater. Yes, you heard right, they were too busy to help someone who was disabled. A task that would take all of 10 minutes would be too much of a hindrance for them. They even went on to say that since I couldn’t move the chair myself, that it would be a danger to me and the people in the theater if an emergency happened because I wouldn’t be able to get out. Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

Strike three, I’m out. In the mean it was supposed to be filled with fun and excitement, turned into a night filled with anger, sadness and disappointment. I at least stayed to watch the actors go on stage and give a little speech, but I was nowhere near as close if I were able to be in the ticket section.

While it was disappointing to see that some people would rather just ignore me and then try to help, the thing that really irks me is that during the week before I had a really bad cold and I was unsure if I would even be able to go to the premiere. But once I got there, my cold seemed to get better and I didn’t have any issues with it at all, but suddenly, my chair broke down and I couldn’t even go. If it wasn’t one thing it’s another. If I was going to miss the event, I would’ve thought it would have been because of my cold. But it turned out that my chair would be the culprit.

I guess God really didn’t want me to see Hugh Jackman.

So You Think You Can Dance?

My brother doing his best MJ impression.

Malin Akerman Tour

Even though the Watchmen might have been a little disappointing to some, Malin Akerman (a.k.a the Silk Spectre) was not. Check out this Watchmen Spoof video!

Watchmen Tour with Malin Akerman from Malin Akerman

My View

By: Gabe Trujillo

I see my life of what would’ve been

I see me enjoying my time with friends

I see me driving out of town to view the country

I see me becoming someone very important

I see me with the perfect girl

Everyday I wonder what could’ve been

The fresh cut grass reminds me of years past

My family reminds me of what’s important

My friends show me to live life to the fullest

Courage gets me through everyday

I see my life now and wonder about the future

I see my life now with no regret

I know that my life will travel down the right road

and will lead an excellent life

Never to be Expected...

By : Gabe Trujillo

The journey of life is both adventurous and unpredictable.

There are so many things I want to do and so many things I have left behind.

I don’t know where I’m going or what I will become;

The road I have taken may not be the best path

Or it may not be the road to success,

All I hope is that it’s the road to somewhere.

I may encounter the detours and crossroads of life,

But one thing will always be certain;

My hope and courage will never let me down.

Things will never be easy or placed on a silver platter;

With faith as my guide and perseverance as my compass,

I will never lose my way.

As I travel down this long and mysterious path,

I know I will become a better person;

As I look back on the journey I have taken,

I see my life with no regret.

My friends remind me to live life to the fullest and

My family reminds me of what’s important;

So as I prepare for the long road ahead,

I simply look forward and smile with determination.

I will encounter rough times and jagged curves,

But I will never give up.

Everything will never go as planned,

So I will always expect the unexpected.

As I sit and think about the past

I can’t help but be excited about the future;

For this was never to be expected…

This Kid is Amazing!

This is what happens after you go to the dentist and get just a little to much laughing gas. Remember kids, just say no to drugs, and root canals.