Name: Blind Person Tanja Milojevic | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #215
Uploaded: 2019-07-18T15:50:37.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Blind Person Tanja Milojevic | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #215' from Theo Von on Comedy Buff. Published 2019-07-18. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Blind Person Tanja Milojevic | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #215' from Theo Von on Comedy Buff. Published 2019-07-18. Transcript available.

Blind Person Tanja Milojevic | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #215

Today's guest is a, she's blind man, I'm gonna be honest with you, if you think
she's not blind, you're nuts.
So today's guest is a woman who's, she's like kind of like the Amelia kind of
sight heart, kind of.
She's just that pioneer, you know, she's that peepin' bad girl.
So, she is, oh man, I don't know what I'm talking about.
But she also is a voiceover actress, she is a teacher, she works with people
who have suffered from the same thing she suffers from.
Today's guest is blind, and I've always wanted to meet somebody that's blind
and sit down with them.
And so I'm really grateful already.
Ladies and gentlemen, the talented and lovely Tanya Milojevic.
I'm just sitting over here right now, Tanya, I'm not doing anything.
Really.
Drinking some water.
Yeah, just drinking some water.
Kind of have some notes, but I'm not really looking at them.
And is it fun for you when people like kind of describe to you what they're
doing around you?
Or do you feel like?
It's helpful.
It is?
Sometimes I can tell by audio cues.
So, for example, I could hear you opening your water bottle and taking a swig.
Mm-hmm.
So, but yeah, especially sometimes if I can't tell by someone's tone, I'll ask,
are you this or that, or did I interpret this correctly?
But, you know, once in a while.
Usually people's voices are expressive, so I can tell.
Mm.
And so you are 100% blind, like you've always been blind?
Actually, I have retinopathy of prematurity.
So, I was born sighted.
Mm-hmm.
It was just that I was premature two months and had to sit in the incubator for
a couple months.
And then the oxygen, extra oxygen, detached my retinas, so I had to have some
surgeries to reattach.
And I was very lucky to be able to come to the U.S. from Serbia, where I was
from, and have those reattached somewhat.
Here in the U.S.?
Here in the U.S.
Yeah.
Dr. Rossi.
Like, how blind are you, though?
Like, if I had to guess, like, do you feel pretty blind?
Oh, total.
I mean, I have enough vision to get me into trouble, but it's about 22,000 in
one eye and 2,700 in the other.
So every time I have a laser surgery, because I developed glaucoma due to the
scar tissue after my surgeries initially,
the laser surgeries that I do or did every couple of years, haven't done one in
a while, thankfully,
those reduce my acuity each time.
And there is a risk that I can go totally blind in both of my eyes or one of
them, depending.
When you say acuity, what does that mean?
I mean, like, what I can see, how well I can see things.
So the clarity and the detail that I pick up.
For example, if I say I have 22,000, what you can see at 20 feet, or rather,
what you can see at 2,000 feet, I can see at 20 feet.
So, you know, let's say you have better distance vision.
The clarity of your vision is a lot more detailed and all-encompassing.
So your field is a lot wider than mine, minus tunnel vision, which means my
field is 10 degrees.
Okay.
So a lot of times, like, I hear about people that are colorblind, and to me,
that seems like, honestly, like, kind of a bunch of bullshit.
Do you feel like that?
I mean, I think colorblind is definitely a thing.
There are people that are born colorblind, where their hues are, like, gray,
black, and white.
And that's all they can really see.
They have different monochrome tones of...
But to call it colorblind, like, I feel like it should be, like, do you ever
feel like, oh...
Color deficient?
Yeah, let's call it, like, let's call it, like, hey, kind of confused, you know?
Yeah.
Like, let's don't go all the way to blind.
Like, blind seems like almost something that should be a little bit more
reserved for people that actually can't really see that well.
Do you guys, is there any vibe like that in the blind community, where there's,
like, kind of, like, you know, like, darkness beef with, like, people that are
colorblind or anything like that?
In terms of that, not that I've noticed, but people do get upset over the terms
visually impaired versus totally blind.
Some people like to say that they have a visual impairment or they are low
vision, depending on what their acuity is and how much, whether or not they can
read, print.
So, for example, someone that can see traffic lights outside in the daytime,
they can read signs, they can read print, and navigate maybe with minimal use
of a cane.
They call them high, high partials.
And then there are people who are totally blind or who are lights, who have
some light perception.
And we do like to categorize ourselves, some of us, in those various categories.
But then there are a lot of people for the sake of the public who just say,
even if they're not totally blind, I'm blind, and just call it a day.
Because the public gets really confused.
That would be me, yeah.
Yeah.
Because I don't want to be a high parcel.
That sounds like somebody that's trying to be fancy to me.
Like, I would rather be.
Right, I know, it's us.
Yeah, I'd rather be like, look, guys, I'm out, okay?
I'm a high parcel.
I don't associate with you.
Go away.
Yeah, high parcel sounds like somebody that's like in one of those, like that
movie with Katniss Everdeen, you know?
Oh, yes, I'm a high parcel.
Put me near the cornucopia first.
Yeah.
So I can get the best weapons.
Yeah, that's what it sounds like.
It does.
Because there's a lot of high parcels, even just in regular, especially in
Hollywood.
This place is full of high parcels, man.
Oh, man.
Jesus, it's really, it's a little bit creepy almost out here.
So do you, like, so if I reach across the table right now and touch your hand,
like if you put your hand out, right?
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
All right.
Do you tell by, like, touching my hand, like, how old you feel like I am, or do
you get...
Oh, that's an interesting question.
I've actually never got that.
Well...
Because I could imagine your senses are better than mine, or this is my
perception, is that your senses are way better than mine.
So I'm thinking, like, you know, do you, is your sense of touch, like, at a
level that I couldn't even imagine, you know?
So I would say that it's all in how much you use it.
I think anyone is capable of developing sense of touch more, or hearing, vision,
et cetera.
So you focus mainly on what you see around you, and maybe don't focus as much
on audio cues, because you don't need them as much.
You can see what's around you, and that sense compensates for the others.
That is your primary sense.
Mm-hmm.
For me, I would say mainly my hearing is my primary, and, of course, I read Braille,
so I use touch for that.
But what's interesting is I would say my sense of touch in my index fingers is
better than my sense of touch in my other fingers,
because I use that for Braille, and I've developed that sensitivity in those
fingers.
So do you learn something then about, like, almost do you feel like...
So then with that being said, like, so your sense of touch in your index
fingers is much more acute because you use it for Braille.
That's your main fingers you use for Braille, right?
I would say so.
Do you then, do you think that this could be possible, that if somebody used
their shoulder for Braille for long enough,
that they would be able to develop a sense of how to read, even?
Or their toes.
There are folks that, like, I've seen...
Oh, toe-offs.
You're talking about people that are just toeing off, huh?
Or they use their toes to read, yeah.
That sounds like a guy, like a guy, like, that sounds like a line a guy would
use on a girl, you know?
Like, hey, I can use my toes to read.
Oh, yeah.
Like a pickup line at a bar.
Yeah.
Let me read your shirt.
I can use my toes, you know?
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I mean, they do make Braille shirts, right?
And it says, don't read me or don't touch me or something in Braille.
And then as you're reading, you realize that?
Oh, yeah.
They have a bumper sticker, I know, that says you're driving too close and it's
in Braille and it's on, like...
Nice.
Which makes sense, really.
I'd love to see that.
Yeah, if you're that close, I think you've got to back off.
You've got a problem.
You're going to get run over.
Yeah.
But so you feel like for you, your sense of hearing is really acute?
I would say I've developed it more so and I pay attention to minute sounds,
whereas that kind of goes both ways because in dance music, my boyfriend loves
to put up the music really loud because, you know, sometimes, like, especially
working out or something.
So there are, in dance music, high-pitched, buzzy noises that almost sound like
an electric chair, you know?
And it's painful.
Like, the louder it is, the painful it is.
And I just have this, like, instinctual, ah, you know, recoil reaction, put my
hands over my ears.
No, and he thinks it's the funniest thing ever.
Who makes some of the most painful music out there?
Because, obviously, you have very acute senses.
There is a German band that I've heard.
I think it's called Republic One or something.
Oh, yeah.
And it is.
I'm just, I sit there.
I'm like, no, turn the volume down.
I'm scared.
What about an American artist, maybe?
I mean, that makes some really, really, you know, just some real junk.
Like, I mean, I'm thinking, for me, it's Nicki Minaj.
Oh, yeah.
Some of her songs are interesting.
I could see that.
But is there a band or something that kind of you're like, oh.
Hmm, I would say probably some of the death metal bands.
Like, and I used to love death metal, so I'm not trying to rag on them here.
But Cannibal Corpse, for example, they got some, it's just painful, high notes
in the solos.
Well, they don't want you to live through the songs, a lot of it sounds like.
No, they want you to become a Cannibal Corpse.
Yeah, they have ulterior, it sounds like they have really ulterior motives.
Yeah, I think so.
Is there, it's just so interesting, so it almost, it seems, so to your sense of
hearing,
to me, would almost be like, almost, it would seem like a superpower, almost, a
little bit.
Ah, I don't know.
I mean, if I were Daredevil and had a weapon in my cane, that'd be awesome.
But, yeah, no, I wouldn't say it's that good.
But it does certainly help in picking up cues and what's going on in the
environment around me.
So, especially for navigation, I use my sense of hearing.
Let's say there's a waterfall that I know I'll have to pass or keep behind me
as I'm traveling forward.
And then there's an ice cream parlor and they play particular music.
And there are smells associated.
All of that not only triggers memory to help you, like, sort of map it out in
your head,
but it gives you a constant that you can rely on as you're traveling.
Or even when you're watching films without audio description.
Do you feel like a detective a little bit then?
Like, every day when you wake up, do you feel like, almost like Inspector Gadget
a little?
Because you've got to kind of, like, figure it out?
Hey, maybe that'll make my mornings a little easier, especially when the week
drags on
and I just want the weekend to be there so I can enjoy and record and have fun.
Ding, ding, ding, ding.
Yeah.
Hey, I'll try that.
That's a good suggestion.
But do you feel like, like, I'm just trying to think of what it's like to not,
like, you know,
to be, to not have sight, to be blind, to be sight impaired?
Like, I'm trying to think of, like, if my brain would wake up every day and the
world would seem, like, more...
Vibrant?
Yeah.
Is that what it seems like?
It can, certainly.
Especially if you're looking forward to the day and you're in a great mood,
it can definitely seem filled with a lot of different things.
It can get a little overwhelming sometimes.
Not having sight, you mean?
Yeah.
If you're in a loud environment, for example.
Oh, yeah.
Like, being at a bar or a club, even at a convention or...
Or at, like, a Chelsea Handler.
Yeah.
Concert.
Listening to her.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Sorry.
Just somehow slips out of me.
But, so, places like that, because, why, there's too much going on?
There's too much.
And sometimes what I do, what helps in those situations, b