FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY. ITS HERE TO STAY (as well as the rain)!

Milo: MUJI top.

Happy weekend everyone. Its going to be a wet St. Patrick’s Day weekend and we need to figure out what to do that does not involve too much going outside with our little ones. Maybe visiting with friends and watching some Hayao Miyazaki movies, baking green cupcakes/cookies, splashing in the rain, playing superheroes, and of course celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.

MY TWO BESTEST BFF TEAM.

Milo: Yo Gabba Gabba concert tee / Gap Kids pants (home pants we called them.) / Gap Kids Superman long sleeve
Matilda: MUJI long sleeve / Mothercare UK pants

Pictures like these make me so happy. These days, when the both of them interact with one another, it is the best thing of my day. I can’t stop smiling and I wish at that moment, everyone I know can come over and witness the cuteness between the two. They are my team and they are each other’s team. They are the perfect team. They are each other’s eyes and ears. Literally. Milo got the super hearing power (with his only one seeing low vision eye) and Matilda has super vision power (with her hearing loss).

Milo and Matilda are what I do each and every day. I can count how many times out of both their lives that I left them with someone else. It’s almost never. It’s not that I don’t choose to or I am a crazy overprotected parent, it’s just that I like to hang out with them and there’s really nothing that important that I have to go to. My hubby and I probably had 4 to 5 date nights since we had Milo and that was almost 4 years ago. We had talked about how it would be nice to go on dates and get someone to come and babysit, but we thought why go through all that (or to bother my parents when they are in town) when we can take them out with us because we like to hang out with them. But recently, I have given this more thoughts and how it would be very nice to go on a date with my hubby even if it’s just a quick dinner, a nice stroll around town or a quick lunch picnic. Because seriously, I think we need that. My parents were in town and we went on a quick dinner date and it was really nice. Really nice. It made me feel refresh and made me appreciate him more in ways that I haven’t because we never take time out for ourselves. But here’s the thing, it is not super easy to find a babysitter and even if I do, I need to train this babysitter on all the extra things that he/she will need to do to take care of Milo in case of medical emergency like his peanut allergy, his asthma, and his prosthesis and how to take it out if it starts to bother him. Would that be too much to ask from a kid, assuming that the babysitter is a kid like it used to be? Are there rules out there about babysitting special needs children in the world of The Babysitter Club*? With all these questions and somewhat concerns, that’s why we never really made an effort to search for one. It’s not because I won’t trust the babysitter, it just seems like it’s too much to ask for an hour or two. Anyone? (I wish I can ask the teacher assistant in his Early Start Program to babysit because he knows them. But how do you ask them that? It seems like of weird. Right?)

*The Babysitter Club. I am speaking of the series that I read when I was growing up. Do kids still read this or do they have other updated version of this like the Twilight coolness of Babysitter Club.

PLASTIC GROWS. IN MY LITTLE DUDE’S EYE.

It has been awhile since I last post a post. I’ve been thinking of you and how much I want to blog but my parents were in town visiting us for the past month and we were too busy with our bonding time. But here I am and let’s get right to it.

February was a month of seeing all of Milo’s specialist – all 4 of them (we had to update all of them on all the crazee things that went on with Milo especially the scary eye bleeding). He had an EUA and his doctor reported to us that he found this little piece of plastic in Milo’s eye. He said he knows plastic do not grow but somehow Milo’s eye grew plastic since they removed his valve in November and that explains why he bled in December as well as in February. We were just happy that they were able to figure out the reason behind his bleeding because I did not want to think my child is an eye bleeder like a nose bleeder. Of course after we were told this information, it took awhile to sink in and after the doctor went back to the OR, I wanted to ask him if it meant that they accidentally overlook and left a little piece of plastic in his eye during his November procedure. The part that got me upset was that we have taken Milo in to see his other specialist after his procedure, but none of them have seen the left over plastic. We actually went in to see his fellow one week prior to the EUA because Milo’s eye was bleeding again and she just shrug it off like it’s your standard nose bleed. So, what the hell was that? Are they not able to see that without putting him under? It all worked out in the end and it was nothing too serious, but seriously, it now makes me have doubt on the fellow and I am not sure if I would trust her. I don’t think she is or will be reading this blog, but if you do, sorry but my kid is way more important than you are.

Milo already outgrew the scleral shell from Thanksgiving and we got a new mold made but unfortunately it got lost in the mail so now we have to wait a little bit longer. Matilda is officially a walker. She started over a month ago but its just in the past week that she got very good at it. She rather walks than crawls now. So, watch out world, you can’t stop her now.

I will post pictures of the kiddies soon. I’ve been wanting to do that since the holidays and our vacation and now it’s getting too ridiculously late and I promise I will. So, hold on a little bit longer.

And oh guys, Spring is here because bugs are out. They are in our house already and I do not like them. If there is such a thing where I can have some sort of laser bug detector bubble around my house to prevent the bugs from entering, that would be super and please tell me the 1-800 number to call so I can order. Or if you have the same idea and want to get in on this invention, give me a call. Sorry bugs, I don’t really care for you but when you are in my house, then I care and I kind of have to get rid of you. Please just don’t come in so I don’t have to be mean to you. Thanks.

HELLO TO YOU AND TO YOUR TWO THOUSAND AND TWELVE.

Happy New Year guys. I am hoping everyone of you had a wonderful holiday in your own little way. We went on a vacation and we had an awsum time, but I must tell you guys that it started pretty bloody wild. Literally bloody wild.

On our 15 hours outbound flight, Milo’s good eye started bleeding. Yes, BLEEDING. We still had over 8 hours to go until our destination at that point. We thought about what exactly constitute as an emergency landing and if we were to land, I think the closest place at that point would be Japan. And of course to top it off, Milo started throwing up soon after the bloody discovery. And eventually his nose started bleeding intermittently as well. So, for the rest of the flight, his good eye and nose were bleeding and he was throwing up pretty regularly. It was the worst flight of all time. I kept thinking and panicking to myself that oh crap, is he going to loose his vision right now, right before our vacation starts, right before I get to show him all these cool stuff on our vacation and right before we meet up with his grandparents that he has been so eagerly looking forward to visit with.

I called my parents when we landed. I kept thinking of ways to break it to them without freaking them out, but there wasn’t really a good way if I had to use blood and Milo’s good eye in one sentence. We got really lucky and was able to see my dad’s ophthalmologist. The wait time before we saw him was scary. Milo kept saying I can’t see. I would gasped each time but I realized it was because of the giant puddle of blood collected in his eye. The ophthalmologist concluded that Milo must have rubbed his eye hard and made a small incision. He said it’s not uncommon at all and it does happen all the time. A giant sense of relieve was released in the air between myself, my hubby, my parents and possibly the kids.

Milo’s eye bled for couple more days. Matilda caught a cold on the plane and then we all caught it as well. SO, after a week of blood, vomit, and cold, we were so ready to play and we sure did. We had an awsum time and the kids loved seeing all the excitements and holiday decorations throughout the city. We ate all kinds of good food, with the exception that we ate at only two facilities since we wanted to be super safe due to Milo’s peanut allergy. We shopped at all different kinds of toy stores and I keep going back to my favorite store, MUJI. We took Milo and Matilda to Disneyland too.

Time went by super quick and it was so sad to go but I am so happy that we went and that it all worked out and no other crazee medical issues happened.

I want to write a little thing about traveling with special needs children, so, if you have no interest, then Happy New Year and I wish you guys the best of 2012 and I promise that I will try to post more this year and illustrate more. But if you are interested, here it goes. Being away from your home and really, from your own stuff is pretty hard especially when you have kids or special needs kids. During our trip, Milo didn’t like to walk much and it was not easy to carry a 3.5 year old around. Milo did not want to walk because there were so many people and they were all moving at a very fast pace and for being visually impaired, that makes it pretty darn scary and intimidating. It took Matilda awhile to get used to all kinds of loud noises. She turned her head a lot and was looking at me often for possible explanation as to what and where the noises were coming from. Being hearing impaired, it was challenging to be in such a place but at the same time I thought it was a good experience for her to learn to locate sounds. Milo was more challenging during our vacation since he is older and he is not as easy to carry compare to Matilda. (I used to ergo him in our past trip and he felt very secured with me holding him and we would talk about all the things we were seeing.) We wanted to take Milo to many places but we had to keep in mind of what he might like and not like due to his limited vision and whether or not he would be able to see them. I kept wishing there were some sort of ergo like thing for older kids with special needs. I wanted to ergo Milo but my hubby thought I was crazee because my back would have been dead if I were to walk around with Milo. Matilda was in the ergo everyday and she loved it. I guess a stroller would have been perfect but being in such a tight city, it was hard to get around. My hubby and I each had a pretty decent size backpack filled with Milo’s emergency medical supplies, extra clothing, diapers, wipes, Matilda’s baby food and snacks. It was okay when we didn’t make any purchases since we still have our hands to hold or carry Milo and Matilda, but when we did have shopping bags, it was a pretty good workout. I just wonder what your thoughts are and if anyone have any tips on traveling with special needs children. I really want to travel more with my two kids and especially with Milo because I want him to see as much as he can before his vision completely goes, but at the same time, I am reluctant to take him far because it is kind of a pain and also I am afraid to be far from his team of doctors after our bloody plane ride experience. Maybe I can win some kind of awsum ultimate vacation where when I travel with my kids, I would get car service following me around and have access to anything I want so that I know I can always reach doctors for my kids and that I don’t have to worry about Milo not walking. I want stress/medical free trip for my special needs children. All advices and tips are much appreciated.

Anyway, I think I win with this crazee bloody hell plane ride. Happy New Year guys and 2012 better rock your world.

xoxo
me

MY KIDS ARE SERIOUSLY SUPERHEROES. NO DOUBT.

Let’s get right to it people. My sense of time has been on drugs recently or at least it feels like it because of all the unexpected medical stuff that has been happening nonstop since first week of November. I have to keep reminding myself that it is no longer November.

After Milo’s whole asthma attack (see post), we had about 5 uneventful days where we got to catch up on those days when Milo was in the hospital. Right before Thanksgiving, Milo went back to see his ocularist and got another impression done since he already outgrew the one he got one week prior. Milo is still not happy with the process of putting in and taking out the shell but at least it’s not bothering him when it is in his eye.

Milo had an EUA just last week and the good news is that his pressure is stable. The tube part of his Ahmed valve has worked itself out to the top layer of his iris, so the doctor removed it since it wasn’t functioning anyway. He left the plate part of his implant in since that would be a bigger procedure. At the same time, his glaucoma doctor discovered a shallow retina detachment and a retina doctor took a look and reported no damages as of this moment. It is just sitting there taunting his vision and my stress and worry. The recent discovery of the shallow retina detachment is sitting behind the laser wall that Milo got when he was 11 days old (he got a laser surgery to prevent his retina from further detachment, hence, his vision on his only seeing eye is not so good). And according to the doctor, it will do no threat to his vision unless it breaks through that wall. The really sucky part is that it doesn’t slowly happen or it does not creep up to the wall, it just happens and when it does, there goes Milo’s vision. It may never break through that wall but the fact that it exists is driving me crazee and making me worry. The doctor told us that we will know it break through when Milo’s vision worsen. How great is that. No warning sign. I am not even sure if this is something they are able to see at a regular office visit.

We’ve been prepared since day one that Milo’s vision will never get better and that it can and might get worse, meaning he will be completely blind. He has been doing so well in his three years of life and seeing more than what all the doctors have expected which made my expectations way higher. I know Milo would still be fine if he were to have no vision, but it’s just not fair. That’s the best way I can put it.

The night of his EUA, Milo threw up all over our bed (he barely ate anything that day since he was so whiny and was complaining of pain). The next day he pretty much threw up all day and even had diarrhea. At first we thought it was his reaction to the anesthesia but it was probably a stomach bug he caught from the hospital. The next day he was better and then he started complaining about pain in his right eye. We spoke with the doctor the day before and she did tell us that he might be sore from the EUA and the tube removal. The next day he woke up crying/screaming and refuses to open up his eyes because it hurt and he was very light sensitive. Eventually we got him to snap out of it and he opened up his eyes but still had complaints about his eye hurting a few times. The next two days were pretty much the same except that he didn’t really open up his eyes at all. Luckily we had a scheduled routine appointment with his ophthalmologist so he was able to check his eyes before the weekend. It turned out that Milo had an infection on his right eye and hence the pain and light sensitivity. It’s been almost a week and it’s almost all better. We went to see the ocularist and he did a minor cosmetic adjustment on his shell and after 2 days, he had some discomfort so we went back to see him and it was just a minor scratch on the shell that he had to smooth out. SO, now with only a few days left before we leave for vacation, I really hope that nothing else will happen. Because really people, what else can happen. I think in the month of November and up to today, we have covered the whole spectrum of Milo’s eye conditions, from his retina and glaucoma to his prosthesis and then to the surprising asthma.

And oh yes, my little Matilda. She barely got much time from us because we were so busy with Milo. She has been a great little sister and was easy to take care of during all of this as we go from doctor’s visits to hospital to just being in a dark house while Milo was in bed. But there was one day when I did take Matilda in to see her doctor because I noticed a decent size lump on her breasts and some discoloration. An ultrasound was done right away and it’s benign but we have to keep an eye out in case it changes. The last thing I need is for my kids to have more crazee medical crap because I already got way too many going on. If I were to ever encounter a person called GOD, I would say, DUDE, what IS up with all this stuff with my kids and why and what the hell were you thinking?

This is the story of my November and December. And I can’t wait til our vacation and to report to all guys about our awsum trip and how we had no medical surprises afterward! Let’s cross those fingers and whatever else you are supposed to do to make bad stuff go away. And to practice, let’s make this new sick feeling I am getting tonight be gone by the time I wake up tomorrow.

I WOULD LIKE TO GO ON A SECOND DATE WITH YO GABBA GABBA. CALL ME PLEASE.

The show was SUPER AWSUM guys. I am so glad that we went and I am looking forward to our second date with Yo Gabba Gabba (minus the crazee accessible seating drama of course) when they come back to SF Bay Area again. Milo and Matilda had so much fun. Little Matilda seriously was rocking out the whole time on my lap. She is only 10 months old but she was dancing and waving her arms during the whole show. Milo still talks about the show and he likes to tell strangers that he went to see a big Yo Gabba Gabba concert and how they all came out of the box on stage. We get our daily dose of Yo Gabba Gabba on our boom box and we shake our sillies out.

Thank you YGG, you surely rock my kiddies world (and mine too). Please come back soon because we want to see you again.

1. Waiting for the show to start. 2. It was very exciting to see the whole gang and they shot out all these confettis. 3. Yacht (band) rocking out but the kids weren’t sure what’s going on.

4. YGG dancing with Ms. Leslie Hall 5. I love the bug costumes. 6. The centipede costume reminds me of No Face character from Spirited Away.

7. There’s a Party in my Tummy. 8. Biz Markie rocked the stage. Parents were cheering like crazee for him. 9. I enjoyed all the backdrop illustrations.

10. Weather theme confettis being shot out at the audience. 11. One final dance with Ms. Leslie Hall. 12. It’s time to say goodbye!

We headed to the party after the show. It was a room where we could meet the characters and balloons were all over the floor for the kids to play with. We were told that we could get a chance for hassle free merchandise shopping but guess what guys???!! The selection were so limited. It was NOTHING like what we saw at the main floor and it was so disappointing because we wanted to get stuff for the little ones but we waited thinking we could get the same stuff at the party!!! Milo was all prepared to shop for some YGG stuff and when I told him that we couldn’t, he kept telling me let’s to the party and get it. But he had so much fun meeting all the characters that he forgot about it. Now, I need to figure out where I can get those shirts I saw. We got the Muno shoes for him already.

Milo was SO excited to meet all his Yo Gabba Gabba friends.

Milo decided to get more dancing out of his system and then we ended our night with a quick story time with DJ Lance Rock and Ms. Leslie Hall.

THERE’S A PARTY IN MY CITY.

Christmas came early for my kids. The people at Yo Gabba Gabba read my post about my difficulties getting accessible seating tickets to their show and decided to send an amazing goody bag to my kids. It was truly a wonderful surprise for them and for me too. We had no idea especially since it was not Yo Gabba Gabba that did damages to the ticketing process.

Milo was ecstatic when we had him open up the package. He was not sure what was going on and why he was getting all these goodies for no reason. We blasted the CDs and danced around ever since. He would hang all the little characters around his fingers and pretend they are dancing with him. Matilda has been trying to get her hands on them but no luck yet since Milo has claimed them for himself.

We cannot wait for the show this Saturday because that’s when the party is coming to a city near us. YOOOOOOO GABBA GABBA!

Dear Ms. Tricia Olson: You are too cool and so awsum. Thank you thank you. You made my kids so happy and made us so happy because they are so happy. bestbest+jollypop to you + YGG.

I BUMPED MY HEAD WHEN I RODE THE AMBULANCE FOR THE FIRST TIME.

I am still trying to catch up in time with the rest of you. It was a crazee medical week last week. SO much to share and here it goes. Milo’s first night time trick-or-treating was good. We made it halfway around the neighborhood before he got too freaked out with the darkness. I think it’s just too much for him visually especially when there were lots of blinky halloween decoration lights.

Last week we had to take Milo to the urgent care at the clinic for his wheezing and he ended up in the hospital via ambulance for 4 days and 3 nights. It turned out that he had a pretty significant respiratory distress secondary to an asthma exacerbation. (We did not know he has asthma and this was the first time ever.) His oxygen level was pretty darn low for awhile and eventually he only needed his medication every 4 hours, in which it was safe for him to go home. Those couple days were very hectic. Matilda and I would run home in the evening and in the morning we would hurry back to the hospital to hang out with Milo. My hubby stayed with him every night and he would go home when I am there just to shower and get more supplies for the night.

Milo was discharged on Wednesday afternoon and it is so nice to have him back home and just have everyone in the house.

The next morning, we had to get up insanely early to go see his ocularist for a prosthesis scleral shell fitting. We made this appointment over 2 months ago. All in all it wasn’t too bad. Milo was not put under for the whole process. The impression was made at 8am and we went back at 11:30am for the shell. Milo was not too happy about it but he survived and so did we. We have been taking the shell out daily and each day we add more hours on his wearing time so that he can adjust better. It is pretty scary to put it in and take it out, especially the first day, and especially difficult when he is crying and squeezing his eye real right. After the first day, we noticed the shell turning sideways and it is still doing that on day 4. The ocularist told us to try it for a few days and if it’s still happening, we would need to go back for another impression. Milo does not have much luck with prosthesis but at least it’s not like last time (or at least not yet).

This past week was a crazee medical week. We pretty much lost a week and I thought Thanksgiving was in two weeks but realized that it is next week! I want my week back. I am so behind in everything, let along have time to blog. There are so many things I need and want to do. I guess I can catch up if I give up this week’s sleep but that is not possible since catching up on sleep is one of the things that I’ve been wanting to do since I had Milo. And most importantly, poor Matilda seemed forgotten last week because we were just so busy with Milo and she was so great at being so easy for me.

In sum, Milo is doing well since his asthma attack. He has all these inhalers he has to take and one of them is every 4 hours (my hubby gets up in the middle of the night to administer it) and hopefully he can cut down a bit after seeing his pediatrician. Now, I need to go and purchase a giant bag, a cute one of course, to put all his medications (eye drops, Epipen, inhalers, sclera shell case) so that it can easily be transfer between bags.

BUT WE GOT OUR TURKEY. I wish I can time freeze like that Evie girl from Out of this World. And if I could, I would rent out my time freezing fingers to others and can make some good money and not have to worry about getting projects while being a full time mom.

P.S. – Update to my last post about my Yo Gabba Gabba tickets, the people at Yo Gabba Gabba are so great at responding to my email and have been wonderful. The supervisor level people at San Jose Team email me and told me that they are dealing with the issue. San Jose Mercury News email me and told me that they will keep an eye on it (whatever that means). And I received lots of direct message due to the post which all has been very nice. I am still spreading word around when I can. I know the parents and staff at Early Staff appreciate my story and will know how to deal with situation like this in the future. Thank you everyone. xoxox – don’t mess with me because i will do something about it.

MY FIRST DATE WITH YO GABBA GABBA.

We decided to get tickets to take Milo to see Yo Gabba Gabba this November when they are in the Bay Area. It occurred to me that I will need to get front row seats for Milo and Matilda due to their vision and hearing impairment. I called San Jose Civic about accessible seating and they directed me to tickemaster.com. The process turned out to be super easy and I was told that my accessible seats are on the front row. I was thrilled and told Milo how we are going to see them and he was ecstatic. Later that day, I went to check the seat map of our seats and discovered that the tickermaster representative had booked us at the Fresno location!!?? I called ticketmaster.com and luckily I was able to get a refund. (It almost seemed too easy when I did it because they made a big point about how the tickets are nonrefundable and blah blab blah.)
FORESHADOW OF THIS LITTLE EXPERIENCE: THIS WAS JUST A PRACTICE RUN AS TO WHAT IS TO COME.

Between Muno and Plex, Milo picked Muno as his Halloween costume because they didnt have Plex in his size.

Here comes the craziness and I will try my best to refrain from using bad mouthing language:

CALL TO TICKETMASTER.COM – OCTOBER 26, 2011 AROUND 9PM (SPOKE WITH KIMBERLY):
I called to get tickets for the correct location and was told that there were no accessible seating for vision and hearing impairment for this event but they have wheelchair seating on the balcony level in the back. WhatWhatTheWhat was in my head so I repeated my question and I was told the same thing and that I should contact the venue because it is up to them to release those seats. AND she made a point to tell me (more than once) that it is very rare that they get requests for accessible seating for vision and hearing impairment. I did not respond to her because I was confused and surprised by her comment and not sure why she felt the need to say that to me. Was I suppose to say oh in that case never mind, let me just get some regular seats for my vision and hearing impaired kids so that they can go and sit super far away and won’t be able to see or hear a thing.

CALL TO SAN JOSE CIVIC BOX OFFICE – OCTOBER 27, 2011 AROUND 9AM:
I asked to speak with someone that can help me with accessible seating and he told me that they have no control of the seating arrangement and how it is up to the producer of Yo Gabba Gabba and I should call them to complain. I told him that I called ticketmaster and they informed me that the venue itself should be able to accomadate accessible seating for me. He then told me again that he cannot help me because they are not selling tickets to this show and that I need to call ticketmaster.com or call the producer of Yo Gabba Gabba and question them about accessible seating because they are the ones that have the ultimate control. Our conversation ended. I was pretty confused and a bit frustrated at how difficult it is to get accessible seating. It reminded me of speaking with lame-O airline representatives and how you get a different answer for the same question based on who you speak with.

I took a break since I had to take Milo to his weekly swim class. On the way, I kept thinking how I should approach this because it’s a bit ridiculous how NOT easy it is to get accessible seating and how ironic it is that it’s so hard to do it. AND the thought of reaching out to the producers of Yo Gabba Gabba did crossed my mind because I want to share with them how hard it is to get accessible seating and how they need to accommodate since it is part of the ADA law. I decided that I will call San Jose Box Office again to get more information about accessible seating and how it is arranged so that I can have all my information and start my complaint and get my answers. At this point, my goal was NOT about getting accessible seating for my kids, it’s about fighting for my kids’ rights. (I know it sounds kind of like a breakthrough point in a movie but unfortunately this is FOR REAL people.)

CALL TO TEAM SAN JOSE – OCTOBER 27, 2011 AROUND 10:30AM:
Instead of pressing 4 to be connected with the San Jose Box office, I pressed 0 under all other information (I was hoping that there would be someone else that I can speak with aside from the person that I spoke with earlier this morning at the box office). Claudia answered and I asked her who should I speak with about accessible seating for an upcoming venue. Right away she told me I should call the box office and Kevin or Peter can help me. She kindly transferred the call.

CALL TRANSFERRED TO SAN JOSE BOX OFFICE – OCTOBER 27, 2011 AROUND 10:32AM:
I started out the conversation again with can I please speak with someone that can help me with accessible seating. I was told by the other end that he was the one because he did not transfer me to another party and he responded by a yes. I told him that he might have been the person that I spoke with earlier in regards to accessible seating (I knew he was because I recognized his voice) and I would like to get a better understanding on this subject. He confirmed with me that I did not speak with him earlier (but I am sure it was him.). I told him that I want to find out more about accessible seating for the Yo Gabba Gabba event and he quickly told me that I will have to talk with the producer of that show because they do not sell tickets to this show and that San Jose Box Office has nothing to do with the seating arrangement and I should call ticketmaster to get the ticket. I told him that I did talked with ticketmaster and was told that I need to talk with the venue because they are the one that has control over the seating arrangements. Again, box office guy told me that he cannot do anything and that I need to call the producers of Yo Gabba Gabba. (As you can see, this is pretty much the same conversation that we had earlier that morning.) I then proceed to ask him how does accessible seating work for any shows that takes place at the San Jose Civic and I shared with him that I was booked by mistake for the Yo Gabba Gabba show in Fresno and they had accessible seating and it seems strange that the producer would make arrangement for Fresno location to have accessible seating but not at the San Jose Civic. The box office boy’s voice got very irritated and told me to stop calling him about this because 1) he cannot solve my problem and 2) he does not work at Fresno location so he has no idea what they do. With that being said, he pretty much confirmed with me that he was the one that I spoke with earlier in the day because he told me to stop calling him about this subject. I was too pissed off at this point to point this factor out to him. I told him that 1) I am not asking him to solve my problem 2) I am simply asking and gathering information as to how accessible seating is arranged so that I can have all the correct information and make complaints to the appropriate party and 3) he needs to calm down because I am not blaming him for anything. The all worked up box office guy kept on going off about how I need to stop calling him and that there is nothing he can do and how if I want to discuss SJBroadway he can tell me all about that. I pretty much tuned out at this point because I was getting very upset. SO, in a very calm voice, I said to box office guy, let’s get this straight, if I am to come into the box office today in person and told you that I need to get tickets for accessible seating for Yo Gabba Gabba you would tell me sorry I cannot help you. He said yes that’s right. I knew with that I was so done with him and that this is turning out to be even more crazee than what I expected. For reference sake, I asked him for his name and he did not say anything. I asked him if he was Kevin or Peter and he paused for a bit and said Kevin is not here. I said you must be Peter. He paused again and said no. I asked him again for his name. He paused and said there is no need for you to know my name because I am not selling you anything. I said are you refusing to tell me your name, he said yes. I told him that your name must be ASSHOLE because you are a complete ASS on this and he better read up about the ADA law. He was going off about something but I tuned out and was livid and almost in tears because I cannot believe the words that came out of that guy’s mouth.

CALL TO TEAM SAN JOSE – OCTOBER 27, 2011 AROUND 10:45AM:
I chose option 0 again because I want to find out the name of the box office guy and to file an official complaint. Claudia answered and I reminded her that I had called earlier and I told her what had happened. She was quick to apologize and assured me that she will go and find out the name of the guy and she will put in the compliant. I was a bit emotional when I was speaking with her because I was filled with so much frustration. Claudia told me that I should talk with Peter who is the ticket manager and he is extremely nice and would be able to help. I thanked her and was put on hold to be transferred to Peter.

TRANSFERRED TO PETER, TICKET MANAGER AT SAN JOSE BOX OFFICE – OCTOBER 27. 2011AROUND 10:50AM:
I got his voicemail.

CALL TO TEAM SAN JOSE *OPTION 0 – OCTOBER 27. 2011 AROUND 10:51AM:
I informed Claudia that I was not able to reach Peter and she told me I should leave a message for him and that Peter is extremely nice. She suggested that I should mentioned my bad experience with the box office guy to Peter.

TRANSFERRED TO PETER, TICKET MANAGER AT SAN JOSE BOX OFFICE – OCTOBER 27. 2011AROUND 10:52AM:
Peter answered and I told him that I need help with accessible seating for Yo Gabba Gabba and before I even told him what had happened, he quickly told me that yes he can help me even though they do not sell the tickets directly. I then told him what had happened and that I was told that they are not able to help with accessible seating and he confirmed with me that it is not true. He said he is able to look at the same seat map as ticketmaster and he saw available seats for accessible seating. Since he cannot sell tickets directly from his box office, Peter put in a request for Kathy from ticketmaster to contact me with my reserved accessible seats. I think at this point I was relived because there’s actually someone that is reasonable and know what the hell they are talking about. But at the same time I think I was still thinking about that nasty useless box office guy and how stupid it is that I had to go through all that just to get seats.

All this ended pretty much when Milo was done with his swim lesson and I am sure parents and teachers at the pool were wondering what was wrong with me since I was on the phone and was so emotional. Milo had no idea of course what happened.

When I got home, I called Claudia to thank her for her help and to ask her for the name of the rude ass box office guy. HIS NAME IS MICHALE. Claudia assured me that a verbal complaint has been made to a supervisor and that an internal talk has happened and that he is or has already gone through some people skill training. (In my opinion, Michael needs more than people skill training.) She again apologized and said that box office staff should have excellent customer service and she did not know what happened.

CALL FROM KATHY AT TICKETMASTER.COM – OCTOBER 27, 2011 AROUND 12:30PM:
Kathy got Peter’s message and helped me processed the accessible seat tickets that Peter had reserved for me. I asked her why is it that Peter can see the availability of the accessible seating in his system but the representatives I spoke with at ticketmaster.com could not. She said that she could not see them as well. I was confused because Peter told me that his system for the seating map is the same as ticketmaster.com. Why do they make it so difficult for people that need accessible seating to get a ticket? It’s already annoying that people that needs accessible seating have to call or email versus getting it online like a regular seat. And since San Jose box office does not sell tickets to this show directly how will people get accessible seating if ticketmaster cannot see those accessible seat or if they get someone like Michael that is no help. ANSWER THAT TICKETMASTER.COM AND SAN JOSE BOX OFFICE??!!!! Please refer to this ADA requirements on ticket sales ticketmaster.

CALL TO PETER AT SAN JOSE BOX OFFICE – OCTOBER 27, 2011 AROUND 12:50PM:
I called to say thank you to Peter and told him that I got my tickets. He apologized for my horrible experience and told me that they had talk about it internally.

Yet again, I learned a lot via my kids’s disabilities and how hard things can be and will be for them and for many out there. When things like this happen, I really wish I have more time to get involved to help. But as of now, all I can do is to be a constant advocate for my children and to blog about it so that others can see and will pass it along. I will for sure share this eperience with Early Start’s teachers and parents. Please kindly re-tweet this or share this on your blog and pass it along. I have every intention to email this to the producer of Yo Gabba Gabba, to City of San Jose, to ADA.gov, to my local news team and to other places that I can find along the way. If you can think of anyone else, tell me. I love sharing!

THIS SHOW BETTER BE GOOD.