Half a year ago, I bought a slate and stylus with the strong determination to become literate in Braille. It's almost like a numinous experience, I thought, to read with your hands. It's what prophets and wizards do. And there were other reasons too. But I clearly didn't know what I was signing up for.

The frustration from the process was driving me insane. If you want to feel a fraction of what I felt, try reading a book, but after each single word you read, make a five-second pause. During the pause, you can't look away, and you can't think of anything other than the shape of the word you've read. Try reading a whole page like that and not hurl the book at the wall.

It is said that people who weren't taught Braille from early childhood will never be able to read it half as fast as sighted people read regular text. So will it always be nothing but frustration?

My feeble sensory-deprived nervous system might not be well designed for such a slow pace. I haven't used public transport for almost five years, probably, but when I did, I sometimes couldn't bear the fifteen-minute walk from the bus stop back home. Step, step, step, then another step, then one more, then again... And so I bloody ran, as fast as I could, till I was out of breath.

Or maybe it's the type of activity that's most important. Not everything that is slow and monotonous frustrates me. I like writing on paper, especially logograms, even if typing can do the job so much faster. It's almost like a therapeutic experience for me.

I think of giving Braille another try. Maybe I will find a way to make it less frustrating and more pleasant.