We got a NOCO GB70 battery jumper. It was a little pricey & took a while to charge, but it worked. It was also easy to use. Whether or not the van will continue to start on it's own, has yet to be seen. I'll check that in a bit. If it starts today & tomorrow, I'll probably chalk it up to a low battery. If not, there's an issue. The there will be more time spent with the mechanics.
That's it for now. It looks like we may have met our monthly rain totals. If not we're close. This month is almost over, good. Take care.
Cya...
Friday's here & the month is almost over. I'm beginning to really remember why I didn't like the holiday season. October wasn't physically as hard as the rest of the year, but it wasn't a kind month. In fact it was a lot of crap piling up on top of previous month's worth of crap. It's been way too much this year. There's been too little down time & very little that was pleasant.
Beyond being a physically, financially & emotionally difficult year. It's been the year of the flake. I've lost track of how many times something or someone's flaked out on us. It was almost always avoidable drama & stress. Still, it happened often.
October has been an expensive, stressful & flaky month. It won't be missed.
Cya...
This month has been a bit much. We went looking for a couch yesterday. Both places we went have closed since the last time we were there. I"m not sure what the next step will be, but for now it needs to be a pause. Just too much has been going on & ongoing. I probably shouldn't be this tired, but I am. Oh well, best laid plans & all that.
That's all for now. I have no plans for today beyond a shower & some cooking. Maybe I can get through that without anything screwing up.
Take care,
Cya...
It was windy all weekend long. The noisy, arid, debris ridden air left me feeling like crap. During all that, at least it was bright. Yesterday, was a wet dreary mess all day. It's still dark & raining this morning & the wind's back. This weather sucks. Even with this rain, we'll still be shy of our rain averages this month. That'll make 2 in a row.
There isn't much more to write about this morning. I'll let this be for now. Take care.
Cya...
The 1st month of Autumn has passed. It wasn't very pleasant. It mostly acted like a tepid Summer. All the previous season's issues continued; it was hot, there was yard work, there were bugs, etc... The only Fallish thing we got were the weird temperature shifts & the darkness, nothing good. So far, Fall is failing.
I'm always out of step with things. As I got to where holidays weren't such an issue for me, people started stepping away from them. Over the last decade, there's been a decrease in Holiday spirit. Everything has slowly waned; the decor, music, specials, events... Christmas music used to drive me crazy when I'd go shopping. Slowly it faded. I think I heard a couple of songs last year at Walmart & that was it.
I'm not a big holiday person. But if everybody else is losing their interest as well, what does that say? Are we losing wonder, dreams, merriment, awe, anticipation...? If so, nothing good seems to be replacing them.
So far, Autumn is bombing & the pre holiday season is a dud.
Cya...
October hasn't been as quarrelsome as September. Still, it hasn't been an easy month. It's been nearly as challenging as the rest of 2022. Yesterday was windy. It howled all day. For whatever reason, the sound of debris it was driving, the wind exhausted me. Unfortunately, it looks to be windy again today.
I guess everything has taken a toll on the holiday spirit. Besides celebrating Halloween on the wrong day, there's been few decorations. There are a few houses in my neighborhood that are normally decked out for every holiday. So far there a few questionable pumpkins & tattered gossamer ghosts. Nothing like normal. The holidays are changing & I'm not sure they're going to last much longer. I was never a big holiday person, but I didn't want them to die off.
Maybe October's treating others better. Take care & Happy Halloween.
Cya...
We got through yesterday. Nothing went too wrong. We got our errands ran & went shopping. We had a hiccup while getting new tags. Some idiot delivery man decided to park right behind us while he handled his run. He finally had to be told to move his truck. I don't think he was purposely trying to be an ass. He just didn't bother checking on anything but his own needs. So, he made other's days more difficult. Not paying attention, is no excuse for being rude.
Any way, all that was handled. The van got driven. We got home & stayed. My roomie, is still having some issues with the flu shot. Hopefully, she'll do better today.
That's it for now, take care.
Cya...
Luckily it's warming up a bit. After I get around & get cleaned up we have shopping & errands. Besides the normal, we need to pay the car insurance. Afterwards, we're going to give the van anotheyarr go. Hopefully, it starts without issue.
The guy came by & dealt with the bushes. It as a little pricey, but it's done. The flu shots kicked in a bit more than I'd hoped, but not horribly. Other than some things, we've been putting off, we're mostly done for a bit.
That's all for now, I hope today is easy.
Cya...
Yesterday was stressful & exhausting. It started out cold. A few days before it hit 93 & the night before it dropped downed into the low 20s. That's a 70 degree drop. That was rough. Allergy issues are still holding on & the light is changing. The yard still isn't finished yet.
Add to that on top of regular Wednesday errands, we needed to get flu shots. The van decided not to start. Apparently the battery needs more drive time. It was fixable, but stressful. It took time, a call to AAA & a trip to the mechanics. None of that was needed. To end things, our food order was massively screwed up when we got home from all of that. Because, of course it was.
I'm tired & we're having people over. I didn't have had a bad reaction from the Flu shot this year. Yay! 1 good thing. That's all for now. Take care.
Cya...
Woke to the 1st morning below freezing. For at least 8 hours it was below 32. It's already above freezing & can stay that way. I hate frigid temps.
We have some errands today. They're nothing big, but we need to get our flu shots handled. I hope it doesn't get me this time. Sometimes, they can make me feel flu-ish for about a day.
The yard people are supposed to be here tomorrow. Maybe the yard stuff will be handled finally. That'd be nice.
That's all for now, take care.
Cya...
I had to be up early yesterday to get an estimate for handling the bushes in the yard. The man actually arrived. If all goes to plan, the bushes should be handled by Thursday. Yay!
I don't have much more. I feel fairly off. 2 days ago we hit 93. This morning was in the low 30s. Tonight could see the low 20s & then returning to more seasonal temps. All of this & allergies has done me in for a bit.
Take care.
Cya...
I'm up earlier this morning. Someone's supposed to come by & give an estimate on handling the bushes. I hope this works. I did the 2 smaller side bushes & the messed up crepe in the front on Friday. Thanks to the weather shifts, I'm still feeling that.
After that, I need to shower. Then we'll go shopping. I think that's it for today.
Take care.
Cya...
I have different sleep modes for the seasons. I don't sleep as deeply when it's warmer. However, I'm more apt to sprawl & roll, so when I wake up I'm not stiff & achy. It's generally a more restful sleep. My cooler weather sleep is deeper with me more balled up & still. I wake less, but I'm probably going to be stiff & sore.
Cool of the year sleep also leads to jolty wake ups. Sudden waking & sometimes cortisol surges. I wake shaky, nervous & frazzled. If it continues, it gets worse. I eventually wake up an anxious, exhausted mess. There is little I like about the dark of the year. Most of September through most of April shouldn't even be on the calendar.
So my 1st dark of the year sleep happened, just great.
Cya...
We're midway through October. Maybe the downhill slide will do better. I'm not holding my breath on that. It's supposed to rain tonight. We need the rain. We don't need some ballistic storm BS. My neighbor has a rooster. I hate this bird. It has the strangest crow & it sings all night long. He needs a bottle of red, some aromatics & a pot.
There isn't much else going on here. It doesn't feel like Halloween's just 2 weeks away. Then a month and a half later will be Thanksgiving. There's a fair bit of disconnect for me this year. I'm not hating on the holidays, I'm just sort of not registering them. Just another part of the social veneer, that's peeled away. Things like these take effort & need maintenance. Neither have happened often enough.
Oh well, we're halfway to November.
Cya...
I'd hoped October would be a better month than what came before, but it hasn't been. This month has been a weird, dry, starting to chill annoyance. Nothing is quite where it should be, stuff is breaking & everything is taking more than it should. If we can get the bushes handled, that will be most of need-to's for a bit.
There's stuff to do this week. The gas bill will get here, I'll need a refill from the pharmacy & there's the matter of getting a flu shot. I have things on my plate. After that, maybe I can can see about replacing the couch. It needs to go.
Anything else that wants to break, just don't. No breaking, no complaining, no causing me more issues. I'm spent & probably won't take well to much more BS. Take care.
Cya...
This article is about HIV in children. I think the best way to start is to just state.
Children infected with HIV are significantly more likely to do worse in neurological assessments despite having well-controlled HIV disease, according to new research.
This meaning children living with even well controlled HIV are more likely to face neurological, cognitive & psychiatric issues. This could present as physical limitations, learning difficulties, or mental disorders. At this time, researchers are trying to understand the severity of the issue. Why is it happening, can it be avoided, can it be treated?
So far, the research only points to this being a phenomenon that is occuring. More research is needed for any further understanding of the issue. Some are fond of saying that HIV is no longer a death sentence. Maybe not, but certainly isn't a life as we knew virus either.
Cya...
PS - Plumber came & replaced the front room heater.
Things have been stressful lately. The guy that was supposed to do some yard work, didn't show. The heater stove in the front room decided to die. It was about 7 years old, we replaced it in 2015. Hopefully, we'll get at least that long out of the new stove. I'm not sure when they'll get here to install it. I could've gotten this model about $50 cheaper if I'd ordered it, but who knows how long that would've taken. The last time I ordered something from Home Depot, it was a no show. So, we paid a little extra to avoid gas costs, delays & stress. Plus, it helped a local business out a bit.
It'd be nice if all this was handled soon. It's being stressful & my sleep has already be less than restful. That's it for now, take care.
Cya...
For normal people, COVID was problematic. For more vulnerable populations, it was devastating. Across the world, those living in the harshest of conditions or on the fringe, such as being HIV+, saw their worlds grow much worse as COVID ravaged the world & it's economic infrastructure. Many resources used to help these people, to fight HIV, were suddenly gone, slashed or diverted to deal with COVID.
Every bad factor that led to HIV & the horrors of living with it iwas magnified. COVID undid years, if not more, of the fight against HIV. It brought out the worst in people & situations as fears grew, isolation increased & the economy plunged. There is very little in regards to the fight against HIV that isn't worse off now than before COVID.
With all of this; testing, awareness & outreach are more important than ever. Be as safe as possible, get tested. Be kind to others, but especially be kind to yourself.
Cya...
It's a dreary, drizzly morning & we have stuff to do. This is going to be short this morning. I have to get around. We're still trying to get some services handled. The bushes need trimmed & now the heater in the front room needs serviced or replaced. Either way, things have left us somewhat frazzled.
More tomorrow. Take care,
Cya...
It's another Sunday & we shouldn't have anything to do. I've been staying stressed lately. The light's dimming, the temps are dropping, little things keep being issues they shouldn't be. Everything wants a moment to be annoying. I'm just trying to clear things off my plate for a while so I can relax & catch my breath. Everything else keeps dumping more crap on it. I can't take care of everything. Most of the time, I'm doing good just to halfway get myself by.
We have some cooler weather things that need to happen. Some of it is being more of an issue than I thought it would. I didn't want to, but I might have to handle it myself. The rest of the Wintering things should be easy enough.
That's all for now. Just a preemptive, "To hell with the dark of the year." Take care.
Cya...
Because of a mobile childhood & familial situation, I was never good at the community thing. I can be very social. It's how I survived. I thrived around bar folks & all the various acquaintances I had there. At least before most of them dropped over from various issues like AIDS & OD'ing. But for the most part these people & places were just diversions from everyday life. Some of them were very nice & considerate people, but most were just background noise to get me through the moments.
Usually when I've had community in my life, it's been due to some conditions or qualities I shared with other people. Being gay or being a college student, hell even being HIV+ isn't enough to form a community or real relationship with someone.
I guess the closest I got to a community was back when I was still actively gaming & going to Cons. We shared more than a location, we had common interests. Sometimes extremely opposing POVs, but on shared passions. It was nice. But time passed & people went separate ways.
Sharing a arbitrary trait, having the same illness, or having a trauma in common, may gives you grounds to meet & converse. But, it's not enough to form a community or relationship. I'd rather not have a community than be in a situation where the only commonality I have with others is my sexual orientation, disease, location, etc... That would just wind up feeling desperate & fake. Then I'd feel worse than before it all started.
I hope you find what you're looking for, but a community has to be about more than being Gay, HIV+, trans, or some other arbitrary quality you happen to share with others.
Take care.
Cya...
Friday's here & we'll go shopping soon. We've got 1 last monthly bill to handle & another errand. After that, we should be in for the weekend.
Nothing went wrong yesterday, great for us. Still, there's been so much going awry lately that it made it hard to relax. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop all day.
For people in these situations, even good days are stressful. You never know what could happen. They tell you not to worry about it, don't stress. But, stuff usually does happen. So, even when it doesn't, you're still overly alert for it. It can be exhausting.
Cya...
A friend stopped by yesterday & we got some things done that needed to be handled. It was a good visit, but we're not used to having people over. It lasted long than I'm used to & we ate a little later.
About the time I'm heading to bed, the sinks clog & need to be fixed. It's handled for now, but who knows how long my fix will last. After all of that, I was a bit wired & it took me forever to get to sleep. Thanks to the cat, I didn't stay asleep well either. At some point she decided to howl in my ear & got sent flying off the bed.
So far it's bright morning, but I'm tired. Here's hoping I can handle today.
Cya...
I don't have elaborate wants. I'd just like a day that went relatively smoothly. Things should just work, little plans should just get handled without drama, no unwanted surprises or add ons. Apparently those are huge requests at this point in my life.
Today should be simple enough. It's trash day & we have some minor errands. Then a friend is coming over for a bit. Then there might be some TV. None of that is outrageous & it'd be nice if it just happened without incident.
Those are today's plans, we'll see how things play out.
Take care.
Cya...
I knew yesterday was going to be a little busy. We had the 1st of the month bill stuff starting & shopping. We got started a little bit. That was a the only thing we were responsible for the rest of the day. The day turned out to be a series of stupid, unnecessary, avoidable annoyances & inconveniences.
As I said the late start was the only thing on us. Maybe the thought that things would just go as they should have, as they usually do, was just too arrogant of us.
We thought once we were home, we'd be done with the mess. Not at all. Because of the flighty, indulgent nature of another person, a plan for later in the week got screwed. Nothing we had going was big, difficult or demanding. Still these things got bombed. The day was stressed & filled with efforts to correct other people's fuckery. I hate having to fix other people's stupid problems.
Oh well, it's a new day. So far, so good. Don't screw up Tuesday. Take care.
Cya...
Slightly busy morning, we need to 1st of the month stuff underway. I didn't notice any articles this morning, so this is going to be an opinion matter. People say HIV is no longer a death sentence & shouldn't be criminalized or have a person required to reveal their status.
Let's be clear, I don't anyone should be charged simply for being HIV+. Onto my issues with this matter. As for HIV no longer being a death sentence. How 1st world of you. If you can get the resources; medical treatment, meds, food, housing, etc... HIV probably won't kill you. There's a lot places where none of those things are givens.
Again, back to HIV not being a death sentence. It most certainly was to the life the person was living before they knew they were HIV+. They will never be the same. They will never live that same life again. It's gone, it was replaced with a life of being + & taking meds, seeing doctors, facing stigma, etc...
Finally, as for not revealing your status. If you have sex with someone & you didn't reveal pertinent info about yourself, like being HIV+, that was a non-consensual encounter. By not revealing that knowledge, you robbed that person of being able to give informed consent. You violated them, their trust, their life. You may not have used force, but you raped them & potentially ruined their life.
HIV shouldn't be criminalized. But it shouldn't be legitimized & normalized like it's a common cold. Any one who feels HIV isn't at least in part a death sentence, is mistaken. Any one who opts not to inform their partners is a monster.
My opinion on the matter, take care.
Cya...
Besides being assaulted by ragweed, not much is going on here. That blasted allergen has refused to leave & it's taking its toll on me. My allergies have led to sinus issues, which have left me with aches & mild fevers. Allergies are exhausting & irritating.
Started the holiday business & put up our scant decorations. It's not much, but it works for us. Take care.
Cya...
Hello October, the 1st full month of Fall. Here's hoping you're a good month. With what came before you this year, the bar is very low. Still, a decent month & nice Autumn would be very appreciated. I guess, we'll see how that plays out.
That's about it for now. I don't know of any plans for the month besides holiday stuff. 1st of the month stuff will start on Monday. Then the month will be underway.
Take care.
Cya...
