New Year's Eve...

The bearded, old man is walking out the door & baby 2019 is crawling up.  There are less than 16 hours left in the year.  Not much time to wrap up your 2018 business.  I've said my peace about this year.  It's been alright by me, not high or low.  I can use this kind of year.  I'd like a little more upswing, but I'd rather have neither than down.

We're ending the year nearly 2' (that's feet) above average for rain.  Most of it came in August.  I'm trying not to be me & see mountains ahead that might just be molehills.  I'd like to go into the year peaceful & calm.  A weird thing for me.  

Goodbye 2018, thank you for all you brought.   Best wishes to all you out there.  May the new year be kind to you.

Cya...

Grey Skies Are On Us...

All but a 2 days in the 10 day forecast are shown as overcast or cloudy.  Many have rain chances.  I know we need rain, but I need sunlight.  This will be the 1st major gloom of  Winter.  I'm going to try to make it through it as well as possible.  But, let me preface this matter with, WINTER SUCKS!!!   

That's it for now.  Take care.

Cya...

It's Back...

After a few warmer days, the cold snapped back.  It's just now 29 F here.   The taps were dripping & the stove was burning.  Still, it's not terribly cold, considering it's almost January. 

New neighbors started moving in last night.  I'd hate to have to start moving into a new home on a cold, dark night.  But, sometimes you don't have a choice.   They left a small light on overnight.  It wasn't as bright as before, but at least wasn't pitch black.   They've got someone working over there this morning.  I hope it's for cable or something.  Having to have repairs done to your house on the 1st day would suck. 

I don't have much else for today, so this is it.  Take care.

Cya...

Darkness...

When we moved here, half the block was empty.   It was dark & a little strange.  Like someplace zombies would attack in movies, desolate & abandoned.  Slowly people moved in & we got used to them.  There's been a few people who lived in the house north of us.  Most didn't stay long.  But the last owner was there for quite a while.  

When they moved in they had the habit of leaving their outside lights on at night.  The yard stayed lit up & it shone through my windows.  I had a nightlight.   Yesterday was their final day & last night the house was dark.  There was no light outside my windows.  It was odd.  I'll get used to it again.  But for now, it's weird & a reminder no one lives there at the moment.  

The new owners should be here soon.  I hope they're decent neighbors.   We'll see.  I wonder if they'll leave the lights on or if it will stay dark outside my windows at night.

Cya...

Lotta Rain...

From dusk yesterday to this morning, we've had between 2.5 - 3"+ of rain.   Flood warnings are out again.  The river was already up.  No back roads for us, for a bit.  Glad we didn't have anything planned for today.    

The birds are checking out the ground to see what tasty things came up for them.  My neighbor is finishing her packing.  Soon she'll be gone & the new people will be here.  Here's hoping they're good neighbors.

Endings, even those that need to happen, can get to me.  My neighbor was unnerving, but I was used to her.   2018 is leaving, but it wasn't a horrible year for me.  I have what may be my last doctor's appointment with my primary care this month.  Unless, he's figured something out with issues on his end, I won't have any choice, but to go elsewhere.  It may be for the best.  But, as often as I've had to, I still hate burning bridges.  Once done, there's no going back.

Here's to 2018, even if I'm getting a little skittish about it going away.  Still, it's nearly closing time.

Cya...

Batteries Please...

2018 has 5 days left in it.  It's spring is winding down & so is mine.  It's been  decent year for me.  Still, I'm tired & I think this year needs to come to an end.  We need a new start & I'd like some new batteries please.  I just don't seem to be capable of recharging well anymore.  Even after sleeping, I'm still tired.  Maybe the gloom is starting to get to me a little.  

Our warmish weather  will be leaving after tomorrow.  It's shouldn't be too frigid, but the faucets will be dripping & the heater will stay on overnight.  It's supposed to rain a lot tonight. We still need some for the month.  I hope it's not a bad storm.  

The holidays are mostly handled.  Only New Year's Eve is left.   We're supposed to go see a friend then for lunch.  Then 2018 will leave us as the new year begins.

Take care.

Cya...

Happy Holidays....

I'd love to say Merry Christmas & be on my way.  But, it's happened again.  I noticed this yesterday,  but it took until now to find a good article.  This piece details how a hospital in New Jersey failed to follow proper sterilization procedures & may have exposed over 3,000 people to bloodborne illnesses, including HIV.   We should be past this.  An hour or even a day -long screw up is an accident.  Incidents like this are simply negligence or worse & should be treated criminally.

BTW, I do wish you all a Merry Christmas or whatever else you may be celebrating.  Take care & best wishes.

Cya...

Twinkling..

This doesn't have much to due with HIV, but it's important.  People judge those who decorate for the holidays, especially the poor.  Sure, some people go overboard, some are  tacky, some may even be a little depressing, but that's OK.   Those twinkling lights & plastic reindeer are more than they seem.  Those decorations light up the night & give some of us a brief moment  of happiness.  A reason to smile for nothing more than seeing something joyful.  I'm very thankful for all those people who decorate, it makes the holidays a little easier.

People really go after the poor for decorating.  But maybe, all those poor people wanted was to show that they were still there.  Those decorations allowed them some sense of still belonging & being part of something that included everyone else.  Maybe those colored lights are the only way they make it through the holidays.  My roomie & I only minimally decorate, but we still love looking at what little we do. So, sit back & enjoy the decor or walk on by.   But, please stop trying to ruin what little joy & belonging some people have. 

Today is my roomie's birthday.    Later, she'll to her family's to celebrate Christmas Eve.  I hope it all goes well.

I've done well this year with the holidays.   But, I'm ready for them to be over.   I think I'm nearing the end of my tolerance for all things holidayish.  The nostalgia gets to be a little much after a while.  I haven't really listened to Christmas songs this year.  Not even the novelty types I usually enjoy.  

So have a wonderful holiday season & be kind.

Cya...

Tomorrow & So On...

Tomorrow will start the last week of the year.  It will be my roomie's birthday & Christmas Eve.  Then Christmas, then a few days & then New years & then no more 2018.  

Often, I'm very ready for a year to end.  Not so much this time.  It's been weird & some unpleasant things have happened, but it didn't feel like I was constantly under siege like other years.   2018 may not have been great for me, but it was far from the worst.  For me, the last half of it just seemed to disappear.  It's like we just entered July & now it's almost January.

2018, may not have been my best year.  It is however, a year I can make peace with & say my farewells.  Many times, I just try to hurl myself into the upcoming year.  

Like or not, the clock's ticking & soon 2019 will be here.

Cya...

Bright, Chilly Morning...

It was nice to wake up to sunshine pouring in the windows.  It's still chilly, but not bad.  A nice weekend before the holiday.   

Not much in the way of articles this morning.  Then again the orange trumpster fire did cause another government shutdown.  That might be some of the issue there.  

Take care & best holiday wishes.

Cya...

Winter Yule...

Yule time is here again.  It's now officially Winter.  So long Fall.  Now, the real cold begins.  I hope we don't get too frigid this season.  Just kill the bugs & the grass.  

That's all for now,  Take care.  Best wishes for whatever holiday you celebrate.

Cya...

HIV & The Military...

In the past months, I've read articles about cadets at military academies being denied continuation after testing + for HIV.  According to this piece,  the same practice of dumping HIV+ people is happening in the actual military.   They say these soldiers aren't deployable & should be discharged.  This is due to the US considering them unfit to be deployed in the Middle East.  Apparently we let those people decide which soldiers we send.  It's just another demonstration of stigma against HIV & Gays. If these people are discharged, I hope they can find other places that fill their desire to be of service.

Take care,

Cya...

Next To Last Wednesday...

By Christmas we'll be counting single days of the week left in the year.   Soon, we'll be in the final 10 days.  2018 has rushed by & was a weird year.  

My meds didn't arrive yesterday.  This time, it was UPS instead of my pharmacy.  They're supposed to arrive today.   Thanks for the delay.  

Our neighbor, sold her house.  It's bittersweet.  She annoyed us with her constant mowing &  leaf blowing/burning.  But she was seemingly stable.   Now, the dice have been rolled & we have no idea of what kind of neighbors we'll have next.  Hopefully, not too loud or problematic.  Only 1 lady remains on the block who's lived here as long or longer than my roomie.  She's in her 80's.  If she passed, we'll be the old people on the block.  Not a title I want.  It'll be weird to be here longer than anyone else.  This isn't a survivor I wanted to play.

Cya...

Right Stigma...

Some would like to believe, ignorance is the cause of the stigma held by those on the right, against people with HIV.  It may be the case for some.  But, for many it isn't ignorance.  It's hate.   

When people hate something, the chances of you getting them to leave that hate behind is slim.   Some do eventually leave their hate behind, but only after major overhauls in their own life.    You can't get people to stop hating.  Their anger against HIV & the stupid things about + people are driven by rage not ignorance.  You can't educate people to be sane.

Don't waste your time trying to change haters.  It won't work & might get you hurt.  Put your efforts to those who are actually open to listening to what you have to say.  Those other people just want a target.

Take care.

Cya...

Countdown Again...

There are only 14 days left in 2018.  That means a week until Christmas Eve & 2 weeks until New Years.  Then 2018 will be a memory.  January 3rd is my Blog anniversary & my HIV-Day.   This year is wrapping up.  I hope it's for the better.

Take care & may this Holiday season treat you kindly.

Cya...

Still Talking About It Sort Of...

Many of the articles I see are over stigma &  HIV.  People make a circus over fighting the dark cloud associated with being +.   This isn't something parading famous people or shame can solve.  Demystification is how this is going to happen.   The only way to take the shock & mystery out of HIV is to make knowledge of it common place & treat it like every other illness.   This starts by educating as young as possible about health &  illnesses like HIV.  It would require that testing for HIV become a standard action at medical centers.  Treat HIV like other illnesses, provide proper awareness & eventually the stigma will ease up.  It will never go away.  Some people just love hating & look for any reason to justify it.  There's no fixing that.

Cya...

Sun Peeking...

The sun is peeking out past the clouds & it's not raining.  That may return mid-week, but for now it's done.   We got over 2" in 2 days & there's local flooding.  Not bad, but the river is up.  

Not much in the way of articles, but it's the holidays.  I'm still contending with seasonal sinus issues, including nosebleeds.    Heaters give me issues, but you need them to stay warm.  

I hope this last month of 2018 is going well for you.  Just 16 days left. So far, this isn't a year I have to make peace with & that's nice.  I know that's not the case for some.  I hope you can leave what baggage you can in the passing year.

Cya...

Somewhat Drained...

It was dismal grey yesterday.   We got about 1.4" of rain.  We need the rain, but is all the gloom necessary?   Today, looks to be the same.  It's already rained almost half an inch.  There are flood warnings close by, but shouldn't affect my direct area.  

Drear is draining.  I know we need the rain, but I hope we get some serious sun shine soon.  That's some alliteration there.   I'm drained & I  know it's not easy on any one else either.  

That's all for now.  Take care.

Cya...

Gloomy Rain...

I woke up to utter grey this morning.  There's no real light & the sky is seeping instead of actually raining.  It's damp & the light levels are making it hard to focus on much.  I'm still dealing with a lot of allergy/sinus issues.  My nose is a little less swollen & sore.  I really hate Winter.  Maybe I'm feel better tomorrow.

Cya...

Winter Allergies..

Not very with it this morning.  Winter allergies are awful.  The temperatures have been up & down.  The heaters have been on a lot.  There are fuzzy blankets & blowing winds.  My sinuses hate me.  My eyes are watering.  I've got a bit of cough.  My nose is slightly swollen & tender.   I'm just not getting passed being ill.  This sucks.

Until tomorrow, say well.

Cya...

Trump, Abortion & HIV Research...

President Dickwad Trump sided with the conservative, christian, "pro-life" zealots.  He has shut down funding for any research using fetal tissues gathered from abortions.  He may have ended HIV research as we know it.  But hey, he gave those crazy, religious nuts a win.    

Here's an article over it, there are a lot more.  May every person who feels their ideology gives them the right to interfere in the health, welfare or liberties of others get the worst disease ever.  Yes, I am now to wishing a pox on this asshats.

Great morning so far.  Take care.

Cya...

Errands Morning...

We have a few errands & shopping. We'll be heading out soon.  There wasn't much in the way of articles this morning.   Neither of us has completely recovered from the illness we endured.   It's been 2 weeks for me & more for her.  We're beginning to wonder if we'll ever be entirely over this ick.   That's about it for this morning.  Take care.

Cya...

So Far In December...

So far this month has been rather blah.  I started out under the weather.  I'm still not fully recovered 2 weeks out.   I did better yesterday.   

I used to get really down this of year about the holidays.  That's not the case now.  I'm just not involved.    I helped my roomie get her stuff.  But most of her plans are different this year due to a death in the family & illness.  Directly & vicariously, my holidays are even more nonchalant than usual. 

So far, my seasonal crap (SAD) is going fairly well.  I'm aware of it, but it's not nearly as intense as last year.   That's strange considering how dreary it's been.  There's been a lot of change this year for my roomie & me, most of which we didn't ask for.  Unwanted change, even if it's for the better, is still unwanted.  

That's all for now.  December's going OK.  The holidays are functionally non-existent.  My health seems to be recovering.  Hope you're doing well.

Cya...

PS - Next time you're at a celebratory event with family, friends or acquaintances, don't gripe too much.  You never know when it will be the last event you ever attend with those people.   Then, there's no going back. 

Post Illness Exhaustion...

I'm not sure what happened last night, but I crashed early.  I was fine during the day & then about 7 PM, I went down & never came back up.  I was in bed early & slept in.   I must still be recovering from being ill.  That & the weather shifting back to cold has left me exhausted.  I'm still a little out of it, but way better than last night.  Getting sick is back enough & even worse when you you're already dealing with a chronic illness.  You're already half spent before the ordeal even began.

That's all for now.  Stay well.

Cya...

Collective Suggestion...

Something happened in the articles this morning that I've seen before.  There's a shared topic area with little development.  I saw several articles over eliminating the latent HIV reservoir in the human body.   

Great! That needs to happen in order to fully cure HIV.  The  problem is this has been a point of conversation for a while.  There have been numerous approaches developed.  This morning's selection of articles all detailed how this should happen without actually mentioning anything specific beyond what had already been discussed.  They rehashed without adding anything knew but wanted to sound knowledgeable & immediate.  When they offered virtually nothing new.

This happens a lot in news.  With a host of topics.  They'll all talk about something important without saying something.  That's not reporting or doing research.  It's just gabbing.  Don't waste our time with old, data.  It's already been published.

Cya...

Gloomy Morning...

It is astonishingly grey this morning.  The sky looks like a wet blanket.  Not at all comforting.   Everything is still dim, even with the lights.   We might actually moving into more Wintery weather.  They forecast chances for snow, but most of those were a ways north of us.  The white stuff can stay away from me.  More importantly, we don't need any ice.   We'll get some at some point, but we don't need it.  

We're heading out to handle more bills & go shopping. This is it for now.  Take care.

Cya...

Heater Dilemma...

During the Winter. I face an issue, heaters.  Do I use them or not?  This isn't just a cost thing.   If I don't turn them on, it's cold.  If I do, I'm warmer, but after a bit it's hard to breath.   It was colder last night, so the heater in the kitchen was on high all night.  I woke dehydrated & groggy.  I hate when we have to leave both heaters on overnight.  It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I wind up feeling pretty awful. So choose, do you freeze or not be able to breath?  Car heaters can be just as bad for me.  How about you?

Cya...

Let The Censorship Begin...

Tumblr has announced by December 17th, they will ban all adult content.  They want rid of porn & are blaming kiddie porn as the cause.   The problem is, they just did a big kill-off of pron & got a lot of non-porn sites.  They got sites about art, health, fashion, athletic, etc...  A lot of cosplayers post there.  Anything their little bots or some prude is offended by will be banned.  

This type of action never works.  Many of these people will just move on to other platforms, such as Twitter.  Possibly something new.  Tumblr, really isn't much without everything they'll be killing off.  People are referring to the company's action as slow suicide.  A lot of sites have already shut down voluntarily.  Some non-porn sites are leaving, because they don't want to be a platform that censors.

What Tumblr is doing will only restrict communication of those not comfortable enough to be in the mainstream places.  It won't stop porn.   It won't stop kiddie-porn.  But, it might very well kill their company.    Oh well, nice knowing you, even if you did turn out to be a misguided lazy coward of a company.

Cya...

Month Beginning...

Not much of a post this morning.    We have to get bill paying started.   That means a couple of extra runs before shopping.   I need a shower before we go, so I'll be a bit rushed.    We're starting to feel somewhat better, but the aftereffects of this crap are pretty awful.  Still tired, achy, sometimes queasy & having problems staying warm.   But, we're both better than last week.

Cya...

Forgot...

Dealing with the post-storm issues yesterday morning caused me to forget we'd entered a new month.  Hello December, please be an even keel month.  We don't need anymore drama, stress or sickness in 2018.   

Still recovering from being ill.  It's a slow, queasy process, but it's going.   Hopefully, it'll pass soon.

Take care, stay well.  Welcome December, be nice.

Cya..

Storm F'ery...

Barely here post.  There was a big storm last night.  It damaged part of an old, storage barn.  I spent an hour hammering it back together.  I feel more like crap now.  I have stuff to do, so this is it for today.  More tomorrow.

Cya...