I've received my Brazil assignment

The assignments for the IBM Corporate Service Corps Brazil 2 team have come out. I found out yesterday that I will be on a team with Sandhosh for the organization called Instituto Rodrigo Mendes. It's going to be fantastic! This organization was started in 1994 by Mr. Mendes after he'd become a noted artist despite a handicap from an accident. His artwork gave him identity, hope and a means to support himself and he wants to give that opportunity to others who are challenged. He's created a school that caters to the physically handicapped and our job, I still need to ask ALOT of questions and listen hard, will be to research and create a plan to introduce new technology that will expand this school's ability to serve their community.
Phew, it will be a challenge, but can you think of a better organization to consult with?? My first thoughts are to google search the Denver area. I think that it will be helpful if I understand the "industry" around the arts and the physically challenged, the lingo, the challenges, and especially the finances. None of the projects that my bigger IBM team is consulting with will involve large financing. Being non-profits, we have to always keep in mind that our clients are working with an extremely tight budget. So, if I visit some schools near me that offer programs for the handicapped, I can see what they are doing. I know that IBM has a tool that's in my field of expertise (Voice) called Via Voice. Via Voice can do text-to-speech and help those who are visually impaired "hear" a webpage, or to use their computer for word processing. Also, Via Voice has voice recognition so that a user can dictate what they want to be entered into a program. I'm not sure that this is helpful for an arts program. I would think that electronic pads with a fancy mouse might work better for those who have less dexterity? I wonder if braces for limbs and just plain old paint and canvas might be the best? Oh well, I cannot get bogged down in specifics until I speak to my client and see what they are really asking for. It might be that me and Sandhosh will just be making their website more friendly, maybe adding sound for the visually impaired?
http://www.institutorodrigomendes.org.br/english.htm

So? Anyone out there know anything about cool technology tools that help with artistic expression?

And, in other news, my daughter Lexie graduated last Friday night. 'Twas pretty cool, she wore her giant heels under her dress and gown. They specifically told the class to wear walking friendly shoes because the steps down to the floor at the event Center are steep and narrow, but not my daughter.... she loves her fashion statements. But she didn't take a digger and embarass herself or skin her nose. Well done.
Family was in town for 5 days and we had every bed in the house full; that was nice also. I'm not sure if my mom and dad enjoyed themselves, but they are always good sports. We had fantastic food and drink at the party Saturday morning and I got to see alot of old friends. People from high school, oh my!

Alright, need to get back to researching art institutes.

Too much to do

So, I am all wrapped up in graduation preparations and family descending on us to stay for the festivities. Randy's mom came into town last Wednesday and we were able to spend some good time with her. She's been at a sister-in-law's for the last 2 nights and we'll see her again this evening before dropping her off at Randy's brother's house for the weekend. My folks and my sister will be arriving tomorrow. 'Twil be good, we haven't had them over in a long time.
We've spent the last month updating the house, so it's clean and polished and has alot of new stuff like lights, paint, tile and a cabinet here and there. It's kinda exciting and a great way to force us to start and complete projects.
Brazil is only 4-5 weeks away and coming WAY TOO FAST! My team from IBM meets each Thursday morning and we've been moving through a bunch of learning modules. The modules keep getting harder and require quite a bit of research and team participation. So, each module is assigned to one team member and then that team member asks others to provide a snippet of information, summarization or opinion. I've received 2 assignments this week and I volunteered to check into a travel agency that specializes in group travel in Brazil. It's getting a little overwhelming and I feel like I am running out of time and ill-prepared. I have to find out how much gender equity there is in Brazilian technology companies and also numbers for charitable giving both domestically and internationally for Brazil and Sao Paulo - YIKES.
I still haven't begun to buy clothing for either of my trips.... they will be completely different wardrobes - it will be winter in Brazil, and while they still have a temperate climate even in winter (rarely below 50` F) the buildings do not have any heating, so dressing in layers is recommended. But I'm such a BIG girl, I hate buying clothes, but I'm losing weight with Jenny Craig (yay Jenny, I totally want to be like Valerie Bertinelli) so I don't want to buy clothes that fit this minute, but that might be too big by the time I leave (yeah right, like I'm really going to lose *that* much *that* fast - ). And then I'll be back in the states for 2 weeks before leaving for summer in the middle east - HOT, HOT, HOT!! But me and Lexie won't be able to dress in shorts and tank tops cuz we must remain modest. Not to mention, that I don't want to spend a fortune on buying clothes.
Nontheless, things are progressing. I get my yellow fever vaccination on Monday and am wondering about Malaria meds. The Kaiser travel clinic doesn't think that I'll need the malaria stuff, but I know that at least half of the people on my Brazil trip will be taking it. Isn't it wierd how different medical facilities determine different needs?
OK, need to get to work finding out the charitable giving. And I need to send a few more emails to my friends from high school to see if they want to come to the graduation party on Saturday. I'm using my daughters shindig as a way to reconnect with all of my old friends. And why shouldn't I?? I'm paying, I cleaned and tiled the house....
:)