Short post, I have to be to at a medical appointment in a bit. Just routine, shouldn't be anything big. But, it's a little early.
The car thing at the mechanic sort of happened. They told us the problem. Then they told us it might be fixable for quite a bit time & cash. They weren't exactly sure & leaned towards living with it for now. So, we are.
That's all for now, take care.
Cya...
More storms rolled through last night. The weatherman was giddy. For over 2 hours, he was positively beaming while talking about the potential of a tornado or other serious weather in our area. It came off as creepy, grubby & inappropriate.
This weather isn't making for good sleep. I keep waking up stiff & achy. It's brighter, but hazy this morning. After 2"+ of rain, it's not surprising.
We'll go shopping then drop the car off at the mechanic. After that, we wait & see what they say. That's our plans for today.
Cya...
The month is ending dark & stormy. So far, it's a lot of bluster & not too much rain. Still, we're over the monthly average. Tomorrow we'll go shopping & to the mechanic. On Tuesday I have a medical appointment. Then the 1st of the month stuff will begin again.
This weather isn't doing me favors. It's making everything dark & pushing my SAD. It's also making me achy, so sleep isn't great. It's needs to brighten up & dry out some.
That's about all I have this morning, take care.
Cya...
I'm not going to cite this, it's everywhere online. The topic of vampire facials is back. To start with, what a stupid concept. People are trusting beauty "professionals" with who knows how little actual training or licensing to perform risky treatments on them. This facial involves your face, micro needles & human blood. Even if this didn't sound sketchy, why would you let anyone near you with needles & blood from some unknown source. If it isn't a recognized medical office, how are they getting that blood? Was it tested? Now people who had no other known risks for the virus are turning up HIV+. The concept was desperate, risky & stupid.
Hopefully Optimum can keep it's crap together & we can go about our lives. I need a bit more recovery time to back to normal. The weather's crap, my stress has been high & we've been busy. Screw Optimum for sucking & adding more stress to my life.
That's all, take care.
Cya...
Optimum replaced Suddenlink. There was little to notice, they suck just as bad, possibly worse. This is the 3rd outage in less than 6 weeks. The 1st lasted over 24 hours. This time will probably be at least that. The customer service is automated & useless. When you can get someone, count yourself fortunate if you understand them. Stop packing call centers with people who have accents that heavy.
On top of that, the weather's crap. For some reason AT&T can't keep 5G up & I keep slipping into 4G. Nothing's working well & I hate doing things on the phone.
This sucks, hope your day is better.
Cya...
For a lot of my life I've had issues with sleep. Most were due to nerves, stress & anxiety. For over a decade I've avoided my more serious sleep concerns. Still, I have the occasional issues due to stress, aches, illness, noise, etc...
A single night isn't bad. Past that, I go downhill pretty rapidly. I've come up with some means to help me get to sleep, but they don't always work as well as I'd like.
This article is a little thin. Still, it's about the lack of sleep impacting a person's health, specifically those living with HIV. Sleep deprivation can lead to inflammation, which can worsen your overall health. Again, not the most thorough of writings but worth a read.
Take care.
Cya...
I got decent sleep the last couple of nights. It needs to happen a bit more before I'm anywhere normal. It takes longer for me to recover from stressful things these days.
We had an outing yesterday & it went well enough. They only offered a later viewing. I didn't seem too bad at 1st. As the day wore on, it was noticeable. If a showtime is later, we'll have to adjust our plans. Yesterday wasn't hard, just a little tiring.
We have to handle trash & run to the pharmacy. That should be about it.
That's all for now, take care.
Cya...
According to this piece & others, Grindr is being sued in the UK for selling personal user data. Not to blame the victim, but why would any user think a for-profit site isn't going to take advantage of every opportunity to cash in?
This dating app asks for a lot of personal info, the input entered is up to the user. However, once there, anyone looking at the profile can see it. The point being, is even if Grindr hadn't sold the data, it could've been gathered in other means.
Again, not siding with the corp, but users entered basic demographics; age, description, pics, ethnicity, etc... But some entered pertinent medical; HIV status, meds, last test results, etc... Why would anyone list some of that info on a dating app? OK, HIV status I get. It cold avoid some later issues & rejections. But the rest was unnecessary.
If Grindr did this, they should be reprimanded. However, why would you disclose this level of personal information if you weren't comfortable with it being public? I've posted a lot about my medical situation on this blog. I'm fully aware anyone that reads will know quite a bit about me. But I choose to post that info. These people opted to enter these things about themselves. They weren't forced. If the company did this, Grindr is in the wrong. However, the users had a responsibility to protect themselves as well. If you're on a dating app, the training wheels are off.
Cya...
The waiting game continues. I can't find out about my renewal until Monday. I slept a little better than the night before. At least it's a brighter this morning.
I've never been the best with stress. But, it's to the point I really can't handle much of anything well these days. I don't bend anymore, I break. Sometimes it feels like I shatter & never get all the pieces back. Even if I do they don't seem to be in the right order. Stressors are beyond difficult for me, they're wrecking me. I try to do what I can to avoid them, but there's always something.
Tomorrow morning I'll find out what I can. Until then, I wait. I hate waiting. There's no reason for the government not to be 24/7.
Take care & I'll try to do the same.
Cya...
This weekend went south. I was already tired from the week. Then the weather turned into a dreary, wet & cold mess. Add to that my benefit renewal application has apparently gone sideways. I can't even find out what happened until Monday morning.
Being tired, the weathers sucking & bad news arriving makes for a crap weekend. Add to that, I didn't sleep well. There was too much weather noise, cat ruckus & nerves for me to settle. Another shoe drops.
Cya...
We're heading for a cool down this weekend. It's been muggy & overcast the last few days. We had a busy week & it's not over. All of this has left me a little out of sorts.
If I can just pull back & get some light I'll be fine in a bit. Next week won't be quite so busy. Maybe there'll be a little more sunlight. That'd be nice.
That's all for now, take care.
Cya...
I've posted on the topic of long lasting medications before. This piece isn't the most scientific of articles. But I think it will get the point across of the issues & possibilities of such HIV meds may be in the upcoming years. For those not up on the topic, it'll serve as a good primer. Give it a read.
We're over midway through our busy week. I have to admit, yesterday left me a little wiped out. I had my dental cleaning & they didn't bring up anything needing to be done. I made my next appointment & we handled the rest of our day.
I'm glad I'm mostly done with things for a bit. That's all for now, take care.
Cya...
I have a dental cleaning today, so this morning's a bit of a rush job. I still have to get cleaned up, deal with trash, eat, rebrush my teeth, then drive over to Fort Smith. We'll grab something to eat & run an errand.
For the interesting point. This piece is looking at whether of not common HIV meds may inhibit Alzheimer's. Apparently there was enough of range difference in HIV+ people on meds & HIV- people to garner a look.
Onto the idiot, Aaron Rodgers. This pro football QB must be the most qualified person in the sport. It seems he's a world class physician, immunologist, virologist & vector theorist. He's still saying HIV was a government made illness & it was just a precursor for things like COVID. He believes people like Fauci, CDC officials, drug companies & others made up the illnesses. It sounds like some capitalist, social control conspiracy. He claims being villainized for doing his own research. After all, he can read. Yeah, but so can a lot of kindergarten children. Just because you can read the words, doesn't mean your comprehend what's being stated.
So appointments, interests & idiots is how I'll start my day. Take care.
Cya...
This has been a rough morning for waking. It's dark & windy out. That looks to be the theme of the day. I didn't want any of that, but oh well.
Yesterday was weird. For whatever reason my blood pressure was low. I hate how that feels. I didn't take that med & it took most of the day for my pressure to come back to normal. It's doing OK so far this morning. This happens with season changes, just like aches & swelling. The joys of being HIV+ & getting older.
We'll do some of the errands today instead of tomorrow. I have a dental cleaning appointment then. Then things should be back to normal for a bit.
That's all for now, take care.
Cya...
I've seen post on how we're in the 5th decade of the fight against HIV, sort of... The virus existed before that. It was discovered in the early 80s & took nearly a year to get a name that stuck. So yeah, we're sort of 40+ years into the game.
That doesn't leave me very optimistic. Newer meds have led to far less death. Newer meds last longer, are easier to obtain & easier to tolerate. Still, the push has been more on meds & maintenance instead than awareness, education & prevention. If prevention is mentioned, it's to push PrEP.
No people aren't dying like the 80/90s. But there usually aren't posters & condoms at bars anymore either. The youngest generation prides itself on modern knowledge & knows the least about HIV. COVID happened & nothing has recovered completely.
I had far more hope for the end of HIV during the early 2000s than I do 20 years later. Then I believed it was possible. Now, I think it'd cost the drug companies too much profit for them to try. There's a lot of lip service to ending HIV. I think it's more like they're controlling it, corralling it, so they can keep it scary & profitable.
I won't say it's simple, but when it comes to HIV the rules are. There is no such thing as "Safe" sex only safer. Even with condoms & PrEP there's always a chance & that doesn't take in other STD's, illnesses or crime. Read everything you can about HIV, testing, meds, trends, diets... just everything you can. You are the only person who's going to educate & protect you. It's your life, you can't trust anyone else with that.
40+ years in, the message is the same, be as safe as possible, because HIV doesn't care who or what you are. Be kind to yourself & others. You don't know their story & they don't know yours.
Take care.
Cya...
There isn't much going on this morning. Hopefully that lasts the weekend. We have a reasonably busy week ahead. Nothing big, just more than we usually handle.
It's bright & warmer. I'm glad the sun's out, I need the light. Someone can stuff the dreary stuff up some conservative's ass. That's probably the closest thing to a hell there is. They can put the bugs up there as well.
That's it for now, take care.
Cya...
Since the beginning of promoting HIV meds there's been the problem of relatability. I remember an ad for Combivir & it showed handsome man of color climbing a mountain. I remember he was very bright, smiling & looked like he'd never been tired, let alone sick, a day in his life. I was on the med at the time & I didn't even feel like going outside, let alone something as strenuous as rock climbing. It was so bad, the concept of accurate advertising of HIV meds made it into a Queer As Folk episode.
For years, TV & net ads have followed a similar path of being unrelatable. While White Gay men still get the blame for most of HIV & Gay issues. They're also the group that got this ball rolling in regards to health, awareness & treatment. But now, they're fairly underrepresented in ads. Teens are a pressing group, but nothing there either. It's not uncommon to see an HIV med ad without any woman who weren't trans.
What do they use? They use very niche, upbeat POC's mostly. Nothing wrong with that if others are included. Few, if any of these, are presented as the proverbial, straight person. A lot of awareness is focusing on glitzy, ethnic musicians & drag queens. Sure that'll normalize the way people see HIV & those living with it.
The worst part of it is still, these people look upbeat, happy, energetic & super healthy. Maybe some people do feel like that on these meds. I haven't really felt any of that since I've been diagnosed & the meds didn't fix that. Not only are these ads not relatable to a lot of people, they're very unrealistic. You won't be Maria singing your lungs about as you hikes up a mountain. You might very well be struggling just to get through your day.
I know their picture is prettier, but it's a lie. When that doesn't happen for a newly diagnosed person, it'll just make their life that much harder. When it comes to health matters, ugly truths are kinder than pretty lies.
Take care.
Cya...
Not much going on this morning. My roomie had appointments this week, now it's my turn. I have a dental cleaning next week & then I'll see my medical provider the end of the month. Other than that, there aren't any plans.
There's been a lot of wind & rain. That's caused a bit of a cool down. Not too bad, but tonight could dip into the mid 40s. This needs to end, it's nearly mid April.
There isn't much else going on, so this is it. Take care.
Cya...
It's gloomy this morning & supposed to rain most of the day. We won't have any issue meeting this month's rainfall average. Maybe the rest of the week will go better.
I found 2 articles this morning, both dealing with National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The 1st piece is more educational about HIV & prevention. It's well written.
The 2nd article is more like a PSA for social media. It is more eye catching & has social banners, posts & other graphics. Hopefully they reach their target audience.
That's all for now, take care.
Cya...
The eclipse happened & it was neat to see. The powers that be in our town & surrounding areas highly overestimated the number of people that'd be out. If anything, that's the least amount of people I've seen out on a Monday morning in a long time. So much for Arkansas' state of emergency. Still it was an experience.
Our older cat Millie turns 8 this month. We don't exactly when. The youngest will be 6 months soon. Where are all these smart, graceful cats people talk about? We keep getting clumsy, awkward doofuses. We love them, but smart, elegant or graceful are not words we'd use to describe them unless we were being sarcastic.
It rained a lot last night. Somewhere just over 3". It was loud & bright. I didn't sleep well through that storm. It wouldn't find a rhythm.
For the miscellany; I forgot yesterday was National Native American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. There are more articles out about how British, heterosexual adults got a rude surprise in finding out they weren't somehow exempt from contracting HIV. Lastly, there's been quite a few pieces over HIV in young people. This isn't surprising. They test to have the least understanding of the illness. This is entirely due to awareness & education programs being taken away from their age groups via schools other outlets.
That's all for now, take care.
Cya...
It had some loud, wind rain last night, but now it's sunny & warm. There's supposed to be an eclipse tomorrow. People have some odd thoughts about it. I guess we'll all find out tomorrow. Then the forecast calls for rain & some cooler temps later in the week.
That's all for now, take care.
Cya...
It's a slightly windy 1st April Saturday. It's going to be warmer for a bit. The eclipse & some rain may lower the temps mid week, but nothing near freezing. It's almost time to start washing & stowing all the Winter gear & blankets.
We have the house bills paid. I did a little bit around the yard again. We're still waiting to see what shrubs survived the Winter. The wind is blowing pollen & debris everywhere. If something's been still too long, it's pollen green.
Got another text telling me the Affordable Connectivity Programs is ending. There will be no more discounted service. If nothing else raises too much, we'll be OK. If not, we may be looking for other options. That may not be much to some folks, but to others that discount was all or half of another bill. Now, there may few or no options for them.
That's all for now, take care.
Cya...
The temps are warming again. Maybe this time they'll hold. We'll finish household bills today. That'll just leave some online things as they roll up. Then April will be paid.
This month is going to be a month of appointments for us. Both of have a couple. Nothing big, just normal things. Still, they have to be handled.
I'm not sure of anymore outings for the month yet. We'll see what comes along. If not, we've already done more than we did most of 2023 put together. Things may not be quite back & they probably won't ever be the same, but we're trying.
That's it for now, take care.
Cya...
We handled the beginning of bills yesterday. The rest will get handled on Friday. Other than, we don't have a lot planned this months except for some routine appointments.
That's all for this morning, take care.
Cya...
We'll handle 1st of the month stuff today. April is not making things easy. Besides all the pollen & iffy light, it's cooled off again. Not freezing, but notable after being warm for a bit. The whole thing is trying to give me a cold or something.
We went out yesterday & did normal people things again. It's still not like it was, but we're getting better at it. We enjoyed the movie & the food. Probably won't do anything much next week. There's an appointment & we haven't noticed any films we'd like to see. It'll give us a bit to recoup.
That's all for now, take care.
Cya...
