The Refurbishing

It’s become painfully obvious to me that a travel blog isn’t something one can really maintain without, you know, travelling. Kind of a key aspect to the whole endeavour.

Also, I realised that I have little to no time for the flowery prose of standard travel writing. It’s dishonest.

Let me give you an example. Often, you’ll read something like: “Ah, Paris. The city of Lights. One can walk along the Seine, an idyllic moonlit stroll. Those with refined tastes (and deep pockets!) can venture up the wide, tree-lined Champs Élysées, window-shopping at haute couture establishments like Hermes and Prada. Explore the winding alleys inside the labyrinthine Montmartre district, getting lost in the romance of the Bohemian dream.”

Horse shit.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Paris. I do. But truthfully, none of the above paragraph exists. Or, at least, very little. The city smells like it has pissed itself for the last 800 years. Don’t believe me? You go inhale a deep breath under Pont Neuf and let me know how that works out for you. I will say there is less dog shit than there used to be, but then, I can’t see it as well any more. The Champs Élysées is beautiful, but it is full of pushy tourists and school groups, open-mouthed, gawking at stores they’d find back home. There are multiple McDonalds and a Disney Store, for God’s sake. Which is fine, I guess. It’s just not what is written on the tin.

I don’t know of many travel writers/personalities who talk seriously or truthfully about the places they go. They prattle on about their “life-changing” experiences and encounters, which are undoubtedly beyond incredible. Call it the Rick Steves Effect, if you want. Only two people come to mind: Karl Pilkington and Anthony Bourdain. One’s a brilliant townie and the other is an outright prick. In fact, I think Karl may be the most honest, truthful traveller in the history of the industry, and he doesn’t even want to travel.

So, here’s what I’m getting at: if I write more about travel (and I hope to), I promise to be more honest. Not that I haven’t, but maybe I have fluffed up some ideas here and there. But travel has a bad side. It can be hard, infuriating, and generally shitty. Sometimes literally shitty. And when I write about it again, I’ll make sure I show all sides.

That said, travel is not something that can sustain this site. It’s not feasible. While I’m trapped where I am, banging away on a register as a retail till monkey, I don’t have the opportunity – or funds – to travel.

So, what, then?

I’m working on multiple things. New content. Videos.

The first being a short, two-part video on the repair of The Reclaimer, my white cane. The first part will be out in the next week or so.

I’m hoping to start a transition to a more video-centric site. I will still write – i love to write, rest assured – I just want to try different things. Right now my plan is to have a new video every week or two. They’ll feature me going about my day-to-day stuff, explaining how I’ve had to adapt with the disability and how it affects me.

Sounds really dry, eh? That’s the challenge. I’m hoping to present something as serious as a disability with a significant pile of levity. Laughter lightens the mood, and I intend to bring a bit of comedy to the table. Humour to foster awareness, that’s my idea.

Also, I’m planning on bringing out a series of videos based on being a disabled gamer. How I’ll film this, I’m not sure. Expect something along the lines of Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter’s Let’s Play, VS, and Rage Quit series. I’m putting myself on a high pedestal, there, but then, Ray is apparently my spirit animal.

I’d love to get together with other gamers, disabled or not, and discuss games and, obviously, play them.

Lastly, I’ve been working on an idea for a series called The Blind Guy Goes…. I think I’m the most excited for this one, and I’ll leave you to figure out what it may entail.

Do you have any ideas for videos? What would you like to see? Would you like to donate time/equipment/advice/liquor/cookies? Let me know in the comments or on the Facebook page! Also, follow me on twitter at @3pointscontact !

Thanks again for liking the Facebook page and showing your support. It’s a fiasco, trying to establish yourself in a wholly new setting, but the more I try, the more I’m sure of what I want to do. I want to do this.

Cheers.