Flirting

I was sitting on our couch reading a book while the rest of the family watched something on the telly. This included my four sisters and my brother. A man walked in and stood by the hallway entrance. He seemed familiar but I didn't/couldn't place his face. He motioned my brother to step outside with him for what I assumed to be a private affair. After a few minutes my brother comes back in and beckons to my other siblings. Realizing this was odd I just kept on reading. The minutes dragged on and finally everyone reconvened back in the living room, including the man.

The man came to sit across from me and waited silently. Finally I looked up. His eyes were the most beautiful hazel eyes I have ever seen. I stared willing a memory to resurface but I must have been staring hard because he flashed me a brilliant smile. Blushing I went back to my reading. "Ahem....I came to ask for your hand in marriage.***insert long silence***I talked to your family and they will support whatever decision you come to. **blink blink**All I am asking is for you to hear me out." I turned to look around to make sure this was really happening. A strange man walked into my house and asked for my hand. My siblings looked back at me with expectant faces.

I turned back to my suitor and examined him closer. His pants were ironed, his teeth were straight, he sat up straight, his nails were clipped and clean and by instinct I sniffed in his general direction. The scent he had on was unmistakable, it was Black by Kenneth Cole. I got up from my seat and motioned him to follow me. I lead the way towards the door and he followed close, holding the door open. In the crisp air outside, he took charge leading to me to a black Audi parked next to my Camry.


Beep Beep Beep Beep. I hit my alarm with my arm as I turned to squint at the clock. It was all a dream. This I find peculiar because I never dream. When I sleep I rarely get into REM sleep but I must have to dream this vividly. What remains to be answered is what it means.

Xcruciating pain

I once broke my wrist bones and refused categorically to take pain meds. I dealt with the pain. I strained ligaments in my ankle and hobbled my way up the gangplank of a ship and through an airport with a heavy backpack. I didn't whimper then, but now I did something to my MCL and every time I climb into my car I scream in pain. When someone bumped into me at work I laughed with pain.

It is unbearable, nerve raking pain. I take my anti-inflammatory tabs and ice my knee when I get home but I almost feel like hacking the goddamn leg off. The doc asked me if I wanted pain meds and I resolutely refused, now I wish I had taken them. Turning in my sleep makes my nerves ring out the alarm bells.

How do these athletes do this? I swear if someone intentionally tackled me at a football game and caused this much pain I would probably hunt them down and cause them as much pain. Instead my dislocated patella and subsequently MCL injury was caused by testing out a MATTRESS. Yea, I know dumb but it happened. I just wish this doc would hurry up and see me and give me an answer as to how I am to survive and heal. Gosh, my body is giving up on me already.

Be kind to your body parts you never know what it means to function without it. I miss stretching my leg languorously while reading my books.

World's AIDS day

December first marks the one day the world set aside for one of the deadliest epidemic; AIDS. I would like an opportunity to highlight a program that President Bush heralds as one of the success of his presidency Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief - commonly known as PEPFAR.

This program was launched in 2003 and its aim was to provide treatment to two million people (afflicted with HIV) in 15 focus countries. 13 out of the fifteen countries are in Africa.

....... In FY2007, PEPFAR-supported programs reached 57.6 million people with support for prevention of sexual transmission using the ABC approach (Abstain, Be faithful, correct and consistent use of Condoms). The U.S. Government (USG) has supplied nearly 1.9 billion condoms worldwide from 2004 through 2007 — as Dr. Peter Piot of UNAIDS has said, more than all other developed countries combined. From FY2004 through FY2007, PEPFAR has supported prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) for women during more than 10 million pregnancies. For PMTCT clients who have been found to be HIV-positive, antiretroviral prophylaxis has been provided in over 827,000 pregnancies, preventing an estimated 157,000 infant HIV infections. With Emergency Plan support, focus countries have scaled up their safe blood programs, and 11 of them can now meet more than half of their annual demand for safe blood — up from just four when PEPFAR started.

PEPFAR has supported HIV counseling and testing for over 33 million people to date, and supported care for more than 6.6 million people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, including 2.7 million orphans and vulnerable children. Through September 2007, PEPFAR partnerships have supported antiretroviral treatment (ART) for approximately 1.45 million men, women, and children — approximately 1.36 million of whom live in 15 PEPFAR focus countries, and over 1.33 million of whom are in sub-Saharan Africa. Illustrating the broader effect of treatment, PEPFAR treatment support is estimated to save nearly 3.2 million adult years of life through September 2009, and many more beyond that time frame. These additional years of life are ones in which people can play their vital roles as parents, teachers, or caregivers......... (PEPFAR)

It is common place for people to make fun of Bush's presidency but with an initiative that has such results I will give credit where credit is due. Whether this program will continue to flourish and help in easing the burden of many AIDS/HIV afflicted families in the Africa is yet to be seen, but for now it seem to be accomplishing what it set out to do.

We can all do our part to commemorate World's AIDS day by increasing awareness of this deadly virus. More so in our culture where it is taboo to talk about anything sexual. Many of our teenagers and adults practice unprotected sex cocooned in the firm belief that none of us could be a carrier of the virus. It is a childish assumption and instead of sticking our head in the sand pretending that sexual encounters don't happen in our circles, we should instead seek to spread the ABCs of AIDS; encouraging abstinence, being faithful, and using condoms, with abstinence as the only sure way to avoid the sexual transmission of HIV/AIDS.