World AIDS Day 2010.

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Today is World AIDS Day - a day of remembrance and awareness. Here's to all of us living with the virus and those of who have lost the great fight. ?

A great way to contribute to HIV/AIDS awareness and give money to the cause is by buying and wearing an Until There's A Cure bracelet. I've worn one every day for 12 years (it's about ...time for a new one, haha!) and I wear it proudly.

Today I remember my parents and not only their deaths, but their work as activists in a time when having HIV was enough to be completely ostracized and stigmatized. They worked to show the world that it wasn't a virus limited only to the lowest members of society, but that it could happen to anyone, including you. And I remember their fight. Thank you for making me who I am.

Today I remember my own struggle with HIV and am thankful for my health, my doctors and the never ending support of my family and friends. Thank you and I love you all.

Photo Meme.

I thought this would be fun to post here.  Just silliness.

1. Your Facebook profile photo:

2. A photo of yourself a year ago:



3. A photo that makes you happy:



4. A photo of the last place you went on holiday:



I haven't gone on vacation in a very long time, but here's one on my last birthday.

5. A photo of you:



6. A photo that makes you laugh:

7. A photo of someone you love:



8. A photo of your favourite band/musician:



9. A photo of your family:



If I had one of both of us with Throcky it would be complete.

10. A photo of you as a baby:



11. A photo of your favourite film(s):



I have many favorites, but this is one of the top.

12. A photo of you:



13. A photo of your best friend(s):



and of course



14. A photo of one of your favourite family members:



My gorgeous brother Cody.

15. A photo of you and someone you love:



My mother in law, Rhonda.  I love her because she gave birth to the man I love.

16. A photo of you at the last party you went to:



17. A drunk photo of you:



I honestly don't have one of those.  I haven't drank to excess in years, but here's one of me smoking the hookah.

18. A photo of one of your classes:



I don't have one of my entire class, but here's one of me and some friends in the seventh grade.

19. A photo of you on a school trip:



Me and Rubi in Florida on our junior year band trip.  I shaved my head that year.

20. A photo of something you enjoy doing:



Crocheting



Reading



Writing.

21. A photo of you standing up:



22. A photo of your town:



23. A photo of your friend as a baby:

I honestly don't have one of those.  =/

24. A photo of you that your hair looks nice in:



25. A photo of a night you loved:



Our cemetery adventure.  Mike is there in the back, center.  This is right before he passed away in the accident.

26. A photo of your favourite weekend:



All of us at RenFest a couple weekends ago.

27. A photo of last summer:



More like the spring, but it will have to do.

28. A photo of what you ate today:



Lemon pepper chicken wings!  One my my faves.

29. A photo of someone you find attractive:



Jason Schwartzman is my celebrity crush.  My one free pass. =D



I'm also quite partial to Scarlett Johansson.

30. A photo of you when you were happy:



Most recently, at RenFest with most of my favorite men.

Hand of the Soul

Once, when I was little, my dad asked me what my favorite part of my body was.  I said, "My hands and my soul."

I was quite a child.

My hands have aided me in both my own destruction and in my survival.  They've brandished the weapons I've used to harm myself, both physically and mentally throughout my life.  They've hurt me, burned me, spurned me and bruised me, but they've always sustained me.

They hold the pills that keep me alive and allow me to thrive.  They work till they ache so I may create.  They pen the words to paper that free my mind.  They transfer and absorb energy from everything they touch.  They send tenderness and lust to my lover.

They can be both gentle and cruel.

And oh, the soul!

Whether you want to debate the existence of such a thing, or where it emanates from and whence it returns when it leaves our flesh, one thing I am certain of is that my soul is the core of who I am.  It is not my body that makes me me, it is the force created by God, or the Universe, or whatever there may be.  It is who I am and mine is a survivor, a lover, a creator and sometimes a fighter.  Whether it shall find another body after this one turns to dust I do not know, but know it's who I am and I'm here to learn.

To learn to work with my hands, love one another and find inner peace.  Everything comes together - all the loss and the pain, the joy and the tears.  Nothing is ever lost, for we are a force of nature.

Short Update

THROCKMORTON TROUBLE

I'm just here to say that I made my dog Throckmorton a blog over on Tumblr.  Ya'll should all follow him for a regular dose of cuteness!  =D