House of Blues Dallas
House of Blues Dallas is now open. I recently was there for an Eisley acoustic show (which was kick-ass) and I was beyond impressed with their ADA training. As soon as we passed the original ticket check, a supervisor started yelling out "Everyone away from the green wall!" My friends and I were confused but they were doing it for me. He then ushered us out of the horrible heat and inside! He directed us to an elevator where another guy led us to our final resting place.
Our seats were kick-ass! Dead center on the balcony! So far they are the best seats I've had. Their was an older guy standing near us who was guiding other people to their seats and he was an ADA Nazi! He wouldn't even let my one other friend sit in any of the seats because they were ADA. Only one could be sitting with me at any given time. Which of course is the rule but damn, if the show isn't even sold out and there are plenty of seats around ... c'mon. He would not give!
The bathroom was a few feet behind us and was really clean. The door opened outward which as you know is always a bonus. I don't remember if there was a small trashcan in the stall but there may have been. Which is always sweet for a quick toss of catheter supplies or whatever else I'm using that day. It's just nice so I don't have to roll out carrying a pissed in tube and some lube.
HOB Dallas mikeagimp rating: 5 out 5
New TiLite Wheelchair
It’s that time of the year where I play the insurance card where I try to get a new wheelchair. I started the process back in March with Mobility Medical, Inc. in Addison, TX but the fucking bastards played the fiddle week after week. When I went into their office way back in March I told the owner (who is in a wheelchair himself) that I was needing this new chair for a series of trips I was about to make. One was to Bonnaroo where I knew I was going to need thicker tires (which means new wheels since I have Spinergy) and bigger front tires. So I expressed to him that it was a little difficult navigating the miles of dirt and grass last year at the festival and how I was hoping to make it a little bit easier of a trip this year. He assured me of course that we had plenty of time before the deadline in June. Pssh, up to the last two weeks he assured me it was coming and then he finally worked up the fucking nerve to tell me it wasn’t going to happen. I was at a loss. This would have been my third TiLite chair through his company. So this is how he treats a good customer? I have excellent insurance (Blue Cross Blue Shield)! I eventually put it to a stop a few weeks ago when I sent him a fairly nice e-mail telling him I would no longer be needing his assistance and that I would be getting a chair elsewhere. I never heard back from him.
Fast forward a week or so and I e-mail the head of customer service at TiLite and told her a brief version of my story and asked if she had a list of distributors in the area. I did not actually think I would get a response, instead their rep. for the area e-mailed me first and asked me to give him a call. He quickly gave me a list of his top TiLite distributors in the area.
National Seating & Mobility, my new savior, my new place! I called up there and was quickly scheduled for a good ol’ measuring. That was Wednesday, by tomorrow, I hope to have the quote for review, and on Monday, the order will be placed! Now that’s some customer service!
Mobility Medical, Inc. mikeagimp rating: 1 out of 5
National Seating & Mobility mikeagimp rating: 4 out of 5
Accessible Chicago Trains
My best friend Kyle gave me the idea for this post because he was annoyed about something and I for once, didn't even notice. While I was in Chicago for the weekend, we of course used the train quite a bit to get around. Because I don't live in the city it was harder for me to understand his frustration about having to walk even further to the right "accessible" station because their are so few where he lives. He lives sort of close to the Addison stop but not too close. If click to view the map below, you'll quickly see the lack of accessible stations in between a large number of stops (Addison to Granville). Now maybe this is offset by a set of bus routes but for a weary visitor, that doesn't help much.
Since I love to complain I have to point out that when you do reach the accessible station and before you get into the elevator, HOLD YOUR DAMN BREATH! Cover your nose and mouth up because fuck it stinks in there. It smells like someone had a baby and diarrhea all at the same time. Unbelievable! As we were leaving one elevator, a CTA employee saw us with our covered faces and laughed out "It's that bad?!"