Hi, Everyone,
We hope your November is treating you well, and that you’re gearing up for a holiday season that’s perfect for you. We hope you’re feeling cozy, happy, and enjoying what’s left of 2023.
Before we talk about our upcoming annual tradition, I want to take a minute to apologize to our community as a whole. As many of you know, Chris took on a fulltime gig just over a year ago, and since then most of the front-facing parts of Mystic have been run by me (Kim). As a result of a lot of things moving from two-person operations to one, things sometimes take a lot longer than we’d like, especially since I’m a perfectionist by nature, and am juggling additional plates besides Mystic. I feel like I’ve recently dropped one of those plates when it comes to communicating well with our community, and I want to humbly apologize for that. Mystic would be nothing without our wonderful clients and customers who have stuck with us through thick and thin over the years. When so many businesses folded during the height of COVID, you kept us afloat. Many of you were here during the happy days of our wedding planning, and you’ve witnessed the changes and sometimes challenges we’ve experienced both before and since. I just want to say a huge “thank you” from the bottom of my heart for your support. I hope I can learn to bounce all these balls and spin these plates a bit more successfully in 2024 so that we can hopefully release some awesome new products, update some that we’ve recently retired, and keep you all informed of everything along the way. Please know how much we value and appreciate you.
In the meantime, don’t forget that a good source for news is via our bi-weekly podcast, which is released every other Tuesday. Our next episode will drop on November 28. I know a newsletter is often a quicker source of info for many, so if listening isn’t your jam, I get it. However, if you didn’t know about the podcast, or just haven’t listened in a while, we’d love for you to check us out when you have the chance. As assistive technology users like yourselves, we discuss the developments, struggles, and adventures that always come with the territory. Plus, there are usually some laughs in most episodes; we don’t take ourselves too seriously around here when we can help it. LOL
Now, on to some event-related news!
Before I get to the main event, I wanted to let you know that on our podcast we’d recently mentioned running an event on the Smart Vision 3 cell phone and how it compares to other options such as the BlindShell and iOS/Android phones. I should have brought that to the immediate attention of the Events mailing list, so thanks to those of you who pointed that out to me. That was a mistake, and I’m very sorry. While we ultimately decided to cancel the event, we’re going to offer it on our free downloads site as soon as we can get it recorded. Then, sometime in January, we’ll offer a live Q and A so that anyone who’s interested and has questions can ask us live. Again, we hope to get the download out by mid December at latest, and I’ll drop a post to Events when it’s available. We’ll get the live Q and A set up and scheduled after the holiday break. So, if you’re interested in learning more about this very accessible phone, please stay tuned to our Events list. I’ll be posting right away when more info is available.
If you’ve been around our community for any length of time, you may know that we do something very special the Friday after Thanksgiving. And, yes, we’re doing it again this year! Our free annual open house will take place on Friday, November 24, between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM Eastern time. Some of you may note that it’s a little shorter than usual, but we promise it’ll still be packed with all the fun, learning, laughs, and occasional reunions of long-lost friends we’ve become known for. If you’d like to get to know us or other wonderful folks in our community better, it’s a great opportunity to stop by, pull up a virtual couch cushion, and hang out a while. We have folks from around the country and the world each year, and we absolutely love it! You can drop in for ten minutes, or stay the entire time; it’s up to you. And no, if you don’t want to talk, you never have to! This is a very informal gathering, so bring any assistive technology questions, Mystic Access questions, or just stories of your own experiences. And we don’t just talk tech, either. While technology is usually our main subject, and some obvious topics are definitely off limits (politics for one) we love getting to know one another better in these gatherings. If you’ve been there, you know!
A couple notes:
1. Yes, unfortunately, you will need to register again this year for the event. The process is quick and easy. Just visit:
https://www.mysticaccess.com/openhouse
and enter the required info.
We have to manually approve each registration, so please be patient with us if you don’t get the joining info right away. We promise to get everyone approved as quickly as we can.
2. The event is never recorded. These aren’t teaching events. They’re just fun hangouts.
3. If you want to bring virtual pieces of pumpkin pie or turkey sandwiches to share, please feel free. LOL
Again, please visit:
https://www.mysticaccess.com/openhouse
to register your seat. We can’t wait to visit with you on Friday, November 24!
Until we meet again, have a wonderful Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating, and a great rest of your week.
Warm Wishes,
Kim and Chris
The Mystic Access Team