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 8: Day 1 It was all quite orderly. Really, it was! It seemed like it took only a few minutes before all the suitcases, microwaves, and other assorted gear was pushed, pulled, and carried down the short stretch of hallway to the first floor lobby area. It's only the second day of the spring/summer season for the Carleton University Tour and Conference Centre, so there were a few surprises waiting, including a couple of rooms where service people were still putting the finishing touches on a couple of repairs just as the participants started moving in. By 4:00 everyone was getting together outside for photos. This was a markedly different experience from last year. It was all so...orderly! Where was all the nervousness? Where were the tears? OK, so there were some watery eyes and maybe a small tear or two. But there was more of a quiet confidence in the air. A certain swagger, if you will. Although the four new participants had every reason to be a bit anxious or nervous, they seemed to get swept along and appeared pretty comfortable with everything. The New RO showed up and went through all the rooms, stopping to interview Lucas. Everyone was pretty sophisticated about it, and pretty much ignored the camera as they went about their business. Most of the parents and other helpers were gone by 4:30, and all the stuff was cleared out of the common areas and the individual participants set about organizing whatever was left to organize. Dale, Fran, Julie and Keenan set about installing the exterior in/out boards and the interior tracking system. It's a simple way for everyone to show when they left, when they plan to return, and where they are. It will take a little practice to get it down, but everyone seems very serious about showing that they are able to take responsibility and be accountable for their whereabouts. Wendy came along to help out with things and to use the video camera to record some of the fun. There didn't seem to be too many problems with getting settled. Warren thought he was having a problem with his keys, until he found out he was trying to open the door with his key from work. That's about as big as the problems got! Ian was focused on very important activities...like setting up an Xbox. Jenny was excited to practice using the bit tracking board. By 5:00 there was already a large group in the lounge watching the hockey game between Tampa Bay and Philadelphia. As the game came to a close, the entire group trickled in to watch The New RO story. It was short but good, and hopefully will help build interest in the open house event on June 17. The cafeteria closes at 6:30 so we all had to hustle. But an enormous group of young people on some sort of business conference excursion also showed up at the last minute, so the place was really jumping. The cafeteria operation is a bit scaled down from what the participants experienced during the orientation visits, but there was still more than enough to eat. After dinner it was time to think about the plan for the night. Jen, Moira, Caroline, and Laura decided to stay at Leeds and do some art projects together. We also got a look at some slippers. If you can figure out who is wearing the slippers you might win a prize! For everyone else, it was off to the O-Train on the way to the movie theatre at South Keys. It was about midnight when the group arrived back at Leeds. Paul was still wide awake (truth be told, he had a little nap in the theatre) and Saturday Night Live was on. Avril Lavigne was the musical guest, so being good Canadians we stuck it out until the show ended at 12:30. There was not a lot of loud celebrating, but Ryan was determined to kick back with a cold one at some point in the night. When he got back from the movies, he found the time! PICTURES! Laura, Paula Caesar Jenny, Charlotte, Alicia Rachel Lynne, Dave Moving In Krista, Paul Happy Parents More Happy Parents Hurray Participants Hurray Everyone! Thanks For Being Here, New RO! Nobody Home I'm Right Here Getting Comfortable? Taking Care Of What's Important Watching Ourselves On The New RO Mmm good! Catching The Train We're Out After Midnight And Loving It Here's To OOOT2!