Hi everybody
The reason that I'm blind is because a gypsy woman cursed me.
My disability means everything just takes a little bit longer.
The wheelchair and iPad and headwand don't define who I am.
I'm fully blind in my left eye and I have about 15% vision in my right.
Like these glasses, the left lens is just a piece of plastic.
The only reason I don't have a monocle is because I can't afford the monopoly man lifestyle.
My name is Josh Davies, I am 24 years old. I also do stand-up comedy. I have terrible depth perception
from only being able to see from one eye.
Do I really want this on camera? I don't think I do...
Like, I can't really see the difference between the stairs.
I am visually impaired, I'm fully blind in my left eye. I have about 6/38 vision in my right eye.
It is a genetic disorder called X-Linked Retinoschisis,
which I think sounds made up. I really feel like the doctor made it up on the spot
Retinoschisis sounds like a word somebody forgot they were writing halfway through
but what X-Linked Retinoschisis does is it uh it attacks the X chromosome which is the female
chromosome, so women don't typically go blind from this because they have two X chromosomes and if
one has it they've got a backup, right? So my mum had two X chromosomes, and she gave me the broken one?
I enjoy my house, I've got it set up how I like with my two flatmates, and we have a cat
mulling about looking for food "aren't you Alice? Looking for food."
Alice, what's your opinion on me as a flatmate?
"Really good, he feeds me all the time and I love him"
I get woken up at about 5:30/6:00 by my cat wanting to go out for a pee
back to bed until about 7:00
I do a bunch of push-ups and sit-ups
I don't do it because I enjoy it, I do it because I have to, because I eat like a child
and then go to work.
Oof, no light there
I mostly rely on public transport
because for some reason they don't let blind people drive I'm not--I mean it's pretty ableist in my opinion
I rely on the buses most of the time, which isn't ideal
things like crossing the road are always a bit more exciting
but I can tell the difference between a car and a person.
I work for Blind Low Vision New Zealand as a trust and foundations fundraiser
helping to raise money for blind and low vision.
The tools and mobility aids that I use are pretty minor in a lot of respects.
Using a magnifying glass was very uncomfortable doing out in public for a long time.
For that specific reason that it drew attention to the fact that I couldn't see.
I have a pocket magnifying glass that my mum got me for Christmas one year, I think as a dig?
But it turned out to be incredibly useful.
I definitely feel more comfortable at home than I do out in the community--out in the world
I know where everything is
I like to keep organized, so I will like, make sure that the cutlery drawer is in the correct order
I've basically ordered it like the food pyramid with the most important things at the top
down to the boring things at the bottom.
The most accessible part of my home is my bedroom I have it set up in all the ways that I'm used to it.
Alcohol, a card for my 24th birthday
Got a nice big screen for my computer, and an even bigger screen for my PlayStation
Kept all the clothes in the correct order and keep the room as tidy as I want it to be
Aside from the cat hair
that's a losing battle.
Uh my favorite thing to do when I'm getting out of the house is
going for a walk somewhere nice and quiet.
Going up Mount Eden, this is my regular walking spot.
In terms of accessibility it's pretty good.
Being a tourist spot there's plenty of ways to get up.
There's that way, which is very inaccessible and very slippery, and there's this way which has steps.
I think having accessible spaces for exercise is important
I don't think I have anything interesting to say on the topic
of exercise, other than it's boring as [ __ ] but ultimately necessary.
I used to live with a flatmate who would constantly worry
There we go - oh three in a row, there we go - see
I also do stand-up comedy, so I will--I have to go out to do that.
That you--you get like sort of a different experience growing up when you've got low vision, like
"I Spy" was always a short game
"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with 'B'" - "is it a blur, Josh? Is it a blur?"
Performing stand-up comedy can be--could be tricky with my eyesight because it is always in bars
which are always dimly lit and quite crowded.
Um, it's quite narrow
but it is well lit so that helps.
This is the green room, uh this is where the comedians all hang out
Uh going from the top, which is always risky as I usually wait near the bottom for my name to be called.
Um okay so we're just getting a taxi home because it's night time and it's--we're in Auckland Central
and that's just easier and more accessible, but that is the tricky part of trying to find the taxi amongst a lot of cars, um...
I got a taxi home, which is a rarer thing than normal because--because of the cost
like that's, I think, an issue with a lot of accessibility is, like, the easiest option is often the more expensive one.
if you can make it easier for yourself, why not.
Life's hard enough without making it harder for yourself by denying access to something as simple as a cane or an account with a taxi company
Um or to google maps or to a magnifying glass.
I've been Josh Davies, thank you very much, good night!