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Author Topic: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2  (Read 20335 times)

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Offline heartforyou

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,132
  • I must be a survivor in many ways...
Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« on: June 03, 2006, 07:28:38 am »
With your permission Cliff. Thinking of the dial up members I thought a second part could speed up downloading.

Herman
Infected 1983. Diagnosed in 1987 and still kicking
Dovato once daily. Hydrea

Happiness is the freedom of breathing fresh air every day.

Offline PeteNYNJ

  • Member
  • Posts: 979
  • When life gives you AIDS...make LemonAIDS!
    • Dance for Me, Puppets
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #1 on: June 04, 2006, 04:12:10 pm »
Hi everyone  I'm Pete

I kept the screenname I used on the old boards even though I am not so confused but still pretty new :)

Talk to you all soon

Offline stupid_muppet

  • Member
  • Posts: 13
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #2 on: June 04, 2006, 05:18:44 pm »
Hi

A quick Intro about the me and the situation i am in.

Well my names Tony and i currently have a friend who has been diagnosed HIV+. Myself i am going through testing and just got a 6.5 week negative.

Well i am into traveling. Been to Spain, Germany, Holland, USA, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, France, Tunisia, Morroco, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore. Most of the European countries were to watch Football.

I was born in England and for work i sell mobile phones. Pays ok tho and better than no work at all lol. I love to travel, as i said before, especially to South East Asia. A friend was diagnosed HIV+ and that made no diffrence to me because he is my friend and always will be. Unfortunatly some people didnt take to the news very well and have been funny about it. I asked him about joining up and he said he wasnt sure that he was happy just dealing with his doctor, which is a fair enough comment. After speaking to a moderator i decieded that it would be a good idea to do a quick intro and keep reading and ask questions so that i can help my friend. After he got his news we decided that we would do something together this year and so we booked a holiday back to Thailand and then head into Cambodia. Next year we plan to visit China.

Im hoping that learning on here and asking questions and doing a lot of reading i can be of more use to my friend than what i am now.

Someone said that one of the best wepons you can have is knowledge and that is so true. So for me learning here i can be more help

Well sorry the intro is all muddled a bit but i was writing my thoughts and feelings as i went along and sometimes they come out a bit jumbled.

Well thanks for reading and look forward to making some new friends

Tony (muppet) 

Offline Cliff

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,645
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #3 on: June 05, 2006, 06:51:15 am »
Bump.

Offline cmhjeff

  • Member
  • Posts: 870
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #4 on: June 05, 2006, 04:46:25 pm »
POOF it's gone, guess I need to start over ???

Except for lunch I spend the better part of the last seven hours reading through this thread. There are other things I could be doing but I find myself riveted to everyone's responses, touching to say the least!  You might ask yourself why has it taken him seven hours to read through to threads but before I go into my introduction let me start by saying that I have vision problems due to PML and most copy text into a text to speech program because I have difficulties reading.  It's taken me seven hours but it's definitely been worth it!

So I'm Jeff a 36-year-old gay male living in central Ohio with my partner Jeffrey and our two dogs Judd and Jodi.  In December we will celebrate our 10 year anniversary together.  I've been HIV+ since 1991 when I was 21 years old.  At 22 years old my first partner died from AIDS related lymphoma.

As a child I was sexually abused by an older brother, my parents divorced when I was three, and my high school days I grew up in a home with an alcoholic stepfather.  I was accepted to Ohio Northern University to the school of pharmacy but my stepfather would only help with tuition if I were to attend OSU.  So I decided to go to OSU but to study early childhood development in hopes to open a day care were teach kindergarten through third grade. At the start of my sophomore year I told my parents I was gay and my parents stopped paying my tuition.  I'll never forget my mother telling me that no parent would want their child taught by a gay man.  So I dropped out of school and worked at a restaurant.  For the last 15 years I've worked for Discover Card.  I started in collections and worked my way up with no degree to a management level position in HR handling disability claims for employees in our Phoenix location.  That was until about a year ago when I began to notice problems with my vision.  After seeing an ophthalmologist and having an MRI I was diagnosed with PML.  I had been HIV+ for 15 years at that time had lost many friends to AIDS including a lover but up until then had no idea what PML was.  I turned to the Internet and found no current information and from what I did find I thought I would be dead in a year.  So in a year I was told I was blind left of center which basically means I have no peripheral vision my left.  In that first year I also quickly began to lose coordination on my left side.  I could no longer walk and quickly found myself homebound in a wheelchair or in the bed.  I get started on new meds that quickly attacked the HIV which in turn slow down the progression of the PML. With only one setback, seizures related to the PML, I've had an incredible turnaround.  I'm walking again with the brace and a cane and then beginning to regain use of my left hand and arm.  I still have a long way to go but I have hope and faith that once again I will beat HIV and returned to work someday.  I say that because about 12 years ago I was also out of work and on disability because of AIDS-related complications primarily weight-loss,thrush, molluscum and depression.  I beat it once and they do believe I will beat it again.

Just other interesting side note before my first go around on disability I took a leave of absence from discover card and worked two seasons on the Sea Spirit a boat owned and operated by RSVP.  It was the gay Love Boat :)

Until my recent PML diagnosis I had also Did many years of volunteer work with the Ohio AIDS coalition.  Over the years I have received two Spirit of Healing Awards from OAC.  I was nominated for the first award when I returned to full-time work after my go around on disability when most people weren't ready yet to go back to work.  I received my second award for my fundraising contributions over the years for the organization.

As I bring this to an end I just like to say that I am so thankful for finding AIDS meds.com!  PML has made this last year difficult but I'm lucky to have my husband by my side and supportive family and friends.  So many of you have become just that to me, family and friends!

Take care and don't ever give up hope

Love you all
Jeff

Offline scotslassie

  • Member
  • Posts: 82
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #5 on: June 05, 2006, 04:50:03 pm »
Well I kind of feel a bit wrong posting here, because as I have posted, I received a negative last year after a day of worrying about the testing procedures and having multiple blood samples drawn- not a nice day at all. I had had a few broken condoms with slightly risky people so I thought I should be safe

But here I am- I still think about the disease and how it affects people, Id like to think I have compassion enough to be able to see what someone goes through with the disease( I had time to think about if I did have it or not and I started realising what it would be like)

Im hoping to go on a course this year to work with HIV positive people as a buddy or something, I amnt sure yet what role I could fulfil but Im hoping I can be of some use. Im also a teacher, and I am hoping to be able to do sex ed at school so I can pass on some of my knowledge and information onto the kids I teach

And thats me  :) Hello to you all

Offline scotslassie

  • Member
  • Posts: 82
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #6 on: June 05, 2006, 04:51:47 pm »
POOF it's gone, guess I need to start over ???

Except for lunch I spend the better part of the last seven hours reading through this thread. There are other things I could be doing but I find myself riveted to everyone's responses, touching to say the least!  You might ask yourself why has it taken him seven hours to read through to threads but before I go into my introduction let me start by saying that I have vision problems due to PML and most copy text into a text to speech program because I have difficulties reading.  It's taken me seven hours but it's definitely been worth it!

So I'm Jeff a 36-year-old gay male living in central Ohio with my partner Jeffrey and our two dogs Judd and Jodi.  In December we will celebrate our 10 year anniversary together.  I've been HIV+ since 1991 when I was 21 years old.  At 22 years old my first partner died from AIDS related lymphoma.

As a child I was sexually abused by an older brother, my parents divorced when I was three, and my high school days I grew up in a home with an alcoholic stepfather.  I was accepted to Ohio Northern University to the school of pharmacy but my stepfather would only help with tuition if I were to attend OSU.  So I decided to go to OSU but to study early childhood development in hopes to open a day care were teach kindergarten through third grade. At the start of my sophomore year I told my parents I was gay and my parents stopped paying my tuition.  I'll never forget my mother telling me that no parent would want their child taught by a gay man.  So I dropped out of school and worked at a restaurant.  For the last 15 years I've worked for Discover Card.  I started in collections and worked my way up with no degree to a management level position in HR handling disability claims for employees in our Phoenix location.  That was until about a year ago when I began to notice problems with my vision.  After seeing an ophthalmologist and having an MRI I was diagnosed with PML.  I had been HIV+ for 15 years at that time had lost many friends to AIDS including a lover but up until then had no idea what PML was.  I turned to the Internet and found no current information and from what I did find I thought I would be dead in a year.  So in a year I was told I was blind left of center which basically means I have no peripheral vision my left.  In that first year I also quickly began to lose coordination on my left side.  I could no longer walk and quickly found myself homebound in a wheelchair or in the bed.  I get started on new meds that quickly attacked the HIV which in turn slow down the progression of the PML. With only one setback, seizures related to the PML, I've had an incredible turnaround.  I'm walking again with the brace and a cane and then beginning to regain use of my left hand and arm.  I still have a long way to go but I have hope and faith that once again I will beat HIV and returned to work someday.  I say that because about 12 years ago I was also out of work and on disability because of AIDS-related complications primarily weight-loss,thrush, molluscum and depression.  I beat it once and they do believe I will beat it again.

Just other interesting side note before my first go around on disability I took a leave of absence from discover card and worked two seasons on the Sea Spirit a boat owned and operated by RSVP.  It was the gay Love Boat :)

Until my recent PML diagnosis I had also Did many years of volunteer work with the Ohio AIDS coalition.  Over the years I have received two Spirit of Healing Awards from OAC.  I was nominated for the first award when I returned to full-time work after my go around on disability when most people weren't ready yet to go back to work.  I received my second award for my fundraising contributions over the years for the organization.

As I bring this to an end I just like to say that I am so thankful for finding AIDS meds.com!  PML has made this last year difficult but I'm lucky to have my husband by my side and supportive family and friends.  So many of you have become just that to me, family and friends!

Take care and don't ever give up hope

Love you all
Jeff

Wow- what a story and you sound like you have a great support network there mate. I really hope and pray you will go on to beat it x

Offline Matty the Damned

  • Member
  • Posts: 12,277
  • Antipodean in every sense of the word
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #7 on: June 05, 2006, 05:09:31 pm »
Scotslassie,

Unless you're HIV positive or directly affected by the virus (ie a family or loved one has HIV) it's preferred that you don't post in Living With. Read, by all means. But don't post.

If you want to get to know us better, you can always post in the Off Topic forum.

Regards,

MtD

Offline scotslassie

  • Member
  • Posts: 82
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #8 on: June 05, 2006, 05:23:42 pm »
sorry, didnt mean to cause offense I guess because I have been affected by it in my own way I maybe felt I could post, but of course I dont want to offend anyone

x

Offline Sdgirl

  • Member
  • Posts: 247
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #9 on: June 05, 2006, 07:12:07 pm »
Hello, my name is Lisa and I came to these forums in March of this year after being diagnosed positive on 2/21/06.  I became infected by my boyfriend of 3 years who ended up in the hospital with PCP.  He did not know he was infected and although he almost died twice, he is up and around.  The medications have had a tremendous affect on him only in the short time he has been on them.  They saved his life, unfortunately, his soul still really sucks!   ;)

I am a 42 year old woman living in San Diego, California (Southern California born and raised) and I live with my cat Moe (aka Moe-Diddy-Licious) and have only disclosed my status to my friends.  I am not particularly close to my family and my mom is 80 and I am going to out live her, so no use in giving her any undue stress.

I feel okay, my numbers are good so no meds yet.....still trying to figure the whole damn thing out.  I do know that there are not a lot of resources out there for heterosexual woman who are HIV+, but I intend to change that.  I have a voice and I am going to make sure it is heard.

I love these forums, they have helped me tremendously.  I feel a kinship with all of you, yet I have never met anyone on here.  We are all linked together in this bizarre disease and in knowing that, we trust, support and love each other.  The forums are like a warm blanket on a cold day.......

Lisa
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves.."Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?  Actually, who are you not to be?"

Offline jack

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,578
  • fomerly the loser known as Jake
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #10 on: June 05, 2006, 07:20:55 pm »
"a warm blanket on a cold day" wonderful!!!!!!!!!!  thats what it is.

Offline CD4_123

  • Member
  • Posts: 5
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #11 on: June 06, 2006, 02:54:03 pm »
Hello!

My Name's Thang i am living in viet nam,very nice to know all of you here ;D

Offline heartforyou

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,132
  • I must be a survivor in many ways...
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #12 on: June 07, 2006, 05:12:42 am »
bump

for the sake of the dial up members
Infected 1983. Diagnosed in 1987 and still kicking
Dovato once daily. Hydrea

Happiness is the freedom of breathing fresh air every day.

Offline dplush

  • Member
  • Posts: 5
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #13 on: June 08, 2006, 12:41:00 am »
Hi ,

My name is David. I have been hiv poz for twenty years now. I was notified that I was poz by a registered letter from the red cross that the blood I had donated tested positive. What a scary time. I remember that there was some legislator who wanted to put hiv poz people in some kind of camp. I suppose they still do. Let see, I was in the AZT trial, a trial for ribavirin, a trial for blood transfusions. My t-cells over the past twenty years have been usually in the 600 range. They once dropped to 179 but slowly rose to the 800's but the last five years they have been in the 600 range. I started on meds again after a four year break from them.

I live in Phoenix, AZ. I just relocated here form Chicago and completed a masters in education last December. I am an aries. Thats about it for now.

 :)

Offline leximancer

  • Member
  • Posts: 21
    • a thousand words
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #14 on: June 08, 2006, 06:42:48 pm »
Hi.  I'm Patrick.  I'm a lurker.

I've been poking about on these forums for since January, when I tested positive.  I was infected through my partner probably around August.  My viral load spiked to more than 100k copies in March, which alarmed me, but my doctor recommended I wait on the meds.  True to his word, my viral load is declining and my cd4 has climbed to 849 now. 

I'm 24, four credits away from my BS in chemistry, and completely burned out on school.  Right now, I'm between semesters and taking a course in AutoCAD so I can get a decent-paying job and make enough money to go back to school and finish up my degree.  I live in Austin.

Being positive hasn't really changed me too much.  My friends have all been extremely supportive.  I had an HIV scare a year and a half ago, and at that time, I read up a lot, so I didn't have too many illusions about the state of the medical technology.

I'm a dork.  I play video games, read sci-fi and fantasy, play D&D type role-playing games.  On the weekends, I do things like gather a posse and attack my friends' apartments with Nerf guns.  I operate the acoustic guitar badly and the digital camera passably.  I try to eat as healthily as possible, forgoing completely fried foods and fast food burger joints.  I'm a Texan boy born and raised, and I despise everything about the American government and a good majority of American culture.  I don't believe in soulmates, but I have a loving partner of two years hate Valentines Day.

Um.  That's it, I think.
« Last Edit: June 10, 2006, 03:57:11 pm by leximancer »

Offline Oceanbeach

  • Member
  • Posts: 3,564
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #15 on: June 09, 2006, 01:33:12 am »
My name is Michael, I live with my dog, Kaiser (as in permanente) in the Russian River resort area of Sonoma County.

I have been an advocate and an activist for as long as I remember.  I used to cut school and get on a plane to Sacramento to march on the Capital to protest the Vietnam military involvement.  I was the one who carried thje sign, Get out DICK out of ASIA as Richard Nixon was the president.  I wrote a parody in the school paper once claiming David Eisenhower asked Julie Nixon for a match, she said, "your breath and a buffalo fart."

My current enjoyment is bashing President Bush and his policies.  I have designed and market my website to lobby support for the Ryan White CARE Act reauthorization.  I am an active voting member of the Sonoma County Commission on AIDS, the Persons Living With HIV/AIDS Committee, the Executive Committee, the Basic Needs Committee, one of the founding members of the Community Re-Connect Task Force and am currently considering being on the Board of Directors of the AIDS Nutrient Bank as the co-founder recently passed away and kept most of the information in his head.

I handle the Press for all of these non-profit organizations and serve as the spokes model.  I am from Los Angeles, have lived in Spain, Hawaii and up and down both the left and the right coasts.

Having been diagnosed with HIV in December of 1994, I continued to work as the EVP of the nations front runner in workers' compensation reform, served as chief designer of our safety product line and produced a weekly radio talk show on employer/employee issues.

I was hospitalized with PCP in June 1996, told I would never work again and my first visitors were the firms attorneys.  I was bought out of the firm, called a friend for my laptop and began working on a private industry specific safety program for the medical service industry and have spent the past 10 years marketing that program with no sales.

I get up every morning and before I have my coffee, I check the forums, walk the dog, have my coffee and start writing.  Each night before I go to bed, I check the forums again and write until I run out of things to say.  That is what I do.  Have the best day
Michael

www.Commission-on-AIDS.org

tendai

  • Guest
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #16 on: June 09, 2006, 06:37:46 am »
hie, i'm tendai, i'l b 27 in september.  female.  live in harare zimbabwe.  diagnosed in april 2005. not yet on meds but i'll be getting new numbers this month so .. u never know.  but i'm not ready for meds. i stay with my sister but she doesnt know about it. the only people who know are my ex-boyfriend and my doctor. i spend most of my free time reading or watching movies or visiting relatives.  i'm still unsure how i feel about being poz, its a bitch though. so far i'm just taking it one day at a time. 

Offline Bucko

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,947
  • You need a shine, missy!
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #17 on: June 09, 2006, 02:27:39 pm »
I'm late to this picnic, which isn't all that unusual for me, truth be told.

My name is Brent. I was diagnosed in September of 1996 but was infected many years previously. I resisted testing until the advent of PIs and better meds in general because, prior to their introduction, most people just died. I was quite sick by the time I was tested, but my health has stabilized tremendously over the last few years. My current CD4s are well over 1000 and my VL is very low, but I've rarely, if ever, been undetectable despite excellent compliance with the meds.

I was born in 1960 and grew up in the close suburbs of Boston. I came out gay (as a virgin) in 1975 to selected friends, to everybody in 1977, at the age of 17 in an environment that no one would consider nurturing and supportive, either at home or elsewhere.

By my late teens I was already part of the scene in Boston and enjoyed myself immoderately. I have been independent and self-reliant since my last day of High School in 1978. I worked hard, played hard and loved hard and within ten years had gone through five lovers, over a dozen apartments and established a career that brought me from stocking a beer case to managing a furniture store on Madison Ave in NYC.

In 1990 I fell in love on a beach in Spain and moved to Paris, where I lived for two years until he died of AIDS. Of all my myriad loves and diverse adventures, my time with Jean-Marc remains the peak experience (not that I've given up in any sense of the term). The hideous irony of my move is that I ran in his arms to escape the devastation wrought by HIV/AIDS that hit almost everone I knew. I stopped counting many years ago at 60, which seemed enough, after all. By the time I returned to Boston in 1992, virtually everyone I knew...all those beautiful, brilliant men, had succumbed to either AIDS, drugs or depression and I was left entirely alone (except for my sister, whom I love more than air or water).

Starting over was enormously difficult for me, but I eventually took jobs that led to my specifying and designing custom, solid-hardwood, hand crafted furniture for clients in what is perhaps the most splendid furniture experience in all New England. In addition to my duties as a designer, I managed the sales effort and purchased rugs, upholstery and other items of home decor. I was also the merchandiser, which meant moving heavy furniture up and down the three levels of an old mill building in New Haven. A series of work-related accidents exposed an underlying degenerative cervical disc condition which continues to cause me much chronic pain, although I've been coping without opioid medication for almost two years.

I moved to South Florida in 2003 to escape the bitter New England winters. But through a combination of circumstances I'll not bother with here am no longer working in my career. In order to remain eligible for Ryan White funding (following the cancellation of my health insurance), I am obliged to live on less than a third of what I made in CT. My financial collapse is total and seems insurmountable.

My love life continues to be both a blessing and a source of aggravation for me. In 1995 I met someone with whom I remained committed for nine years. It was while involved with this person that i was diagnosed HIV+. One of the reasons why this deeply flawed relationship endured so long was that, shortly after we met, a condom broke and it became horrifyingly apparent that he had seroconverted by accident with my virus. This was the 500-lb gorilla in the room throughout our relationship, his using this sad fact to keep me in a state of near-perpetual guilt and self-denigration. After a horribly acrimonious break-up, I started finding my sea-legs again and last September met (and fell so hard for) an individual who, it was eventually revealed, was a crystal methamphetamine addict. I lived that affair right here on the AM message boards.

So, here I am. I have flatlined twice in my life, once from a severe reaction to medication used to treat a VD when I was 20, a second time when I had bronchial pneumonia that led to a period of over six hours where my fever would not budge from 107. I am lucky to be alive, but I have always been very lucky.

Spiritually, I am a flaming pagan. I recognize the fact that spirits animate our world, believe with all my heart that we are born into a predestined fate which is our responsibility to live to its limits and know that I have a great and powerful connection with a force that exists both in our plane and beyond it. I cannot, however, believe in the sanctity of any organized religion to which I have been exposed.

I am currently finding an outlet for my creative impulse in writing instead of design. I am a co-founder and heavy contributor to a smutty literary blog called The Spin Cycle. It was I who came up with the tagline "Politics, Sex and Activism In Dangerous Times", which I find more descriptive than its actual title somehow. I share the blog with the legendary Matty_The_Damned (who knows me better than I know myself and with whom I share a passionate love), Ronnie (who has been somewhat inactive lately due to his personal demons) and Hermie, who started this thread and for whom I share the kind of affection usually reserved for people one has known forever. None of us have ever met face to face, although I shall finally be able to give Herman that hug and big, wet kiss that is so overdue when we meet in Montreal. I am intensely proud of my efforts there and the bonds shared with my blogmates, as both represent the triumph of spirit over adversity.

I live my life by a code of ethics and morality that certainly isn't shared by many. But I have never really relied on the approval of others when seeking to define my self-worth, as the approval of others has never been a factor in my life. Whether as a gay teen in Weymouth, MA in the seventies, a volunteer and AIDS activist in the eighties, half of a partnership in the nineties (as both widow and husband at different times) or the guy typing this out right now from his tiny apartment in SoFla, I seem to have a knack for inspiring either adoration or contempt, but never indifference.

Oh, and my favorite color is green, my favorite foods Steak au Poivre and creme brulee. If I were an animal I'd be a migrating bird. I am an authority on silent movies. My personal goddesses include, but are not limited to Brigitte Bardot, Louise Brooks, Uma Thurman and Exene Cervenka. I refrain from eating organ meats because anything called offal is just that  :D

I shall alway be grateful to AIDSmeds for so many things. Without my association here, it is fair to say, I would have thrown in the towel and just given up. I owe this place my life.

Love,
Brent
(Who is nothing if not verbose)



 

Blessed with brains, talent and gorgeous tits.

Blathering on AIDSmeds since 2005, provocative from birth

Offline et in arcadia ego

  • Member
  • Posts: 95
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #18 on: June 09, 2006, 09:06:14 pm »
Hi:

I must be getting old; don't recall if I posted to this thread.

I've been around the forums since March 2003. I guess if nothing else I add diversity; I am over 50, straight, a husband, a father, a grandfather. Oh, yeah, and I'll also reveal my status as HIV-negative. In addition to those things, I am a person who has come to believe that the HIV/AIDS pandemic is one of the most important issues facing the world, and that if only young/gay/poz people are paying attention, we have a problem.

I'm a journalist full time and a fiddler part time.  I've also come to love a lot of people here, some of whom I was lucky enough to meet in Nashville.

Mike

Offline TedEBearNC

  • Member
  • Posts: 263
  • ~Cuddly~
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #19 on: June 09, 2006, 11:28:58 pm »
HI all,

My name is Phil and I was diagnosed with HIV in Feb. of 2006.  I discovered the AM site the following month and I've been here ever since.  My old forum name was TedEBear and with the change to the new forums I decided to add the 'NC' to it since I use that name already for other accounts I have.

I'm 45, gay and single and I live in Charlotte, NC where I was born and raised.  I am the youngest of four and the only son.  I was raised Baptist in a fairly religious family so we went to church 3x a week.  I also went to private Christian schools which had 'chapel' on Fri as well.   Talk about fun for a kid!  And if I was really lucky, note the sarcasm, there was some kind of revival type thing going on where we had to go to church every night and often chapel every day in school.

Of my three sisters, the oldest was the one I was closest to.  I spent many happy weekends and summers at her and her husband's house.  She died when I was 21 as a result of breast cancer.  She was 36.  She was my link to my family and after she was gone I was never as close to my family as I know they wish I were.

I work as a computer operator for a local retail chain.. in other words I sit in front of a computer all day, most of which is spent surfing the net unless there is some kind of problem.  A lot of my free time at home is spent on the computer as well... trying to keep up with this forum (among others), websurfing, researching and playing computer games... my favorite being City of Heroes/Villains.

I like to read though I don't do as much of it anymore as my eyes don't want to cooperate.  I mostly like fantasy and horror/suspense thrillers and some of my favorite authors are Robert Jordan and Dean Koontz.  I also like reading books on quantum physics and metaphysics as well.  I like techno/dance music and trance in particular.

I have a lesbian roomate who just got a miniature schnauzer named 'Tucker'.  He's still a puppy so he's still doing all the cute puppy things.  When I get my camera working I'll have to post a pic of him.

I feel very fortunate that in the 2 years since my diagnosis my numbers are very good and I am still med free.. knock on wood (taps his head).

Well.. that's pretty much it, I guess.  I'll stop so I won't bore you all further.   :P

Oh.. and here's a pic.

[attachment deleted by admin]
Member since March 2004

Offline otherplaces

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Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #20 on: June 10, 2006, 01:01:19 am »

Hello AM,

My name is Brian. I live in Chicago. I moved here 7 years ago from Memphis where I got a degree in music performance. I came to Chicago to be a musician. For a long time that's all I wanted out of life. I play the double bass and compose. I did mainly jazz or avant garde jazz. I have also played country and rock music. I spent many years here focused on nothing but music. At one time I had five different bands exploring different musical ideas. I had some mild success in the local underground music world here, but not much of any real note. In early 2004 I was able to take one of my bands on a tour of Germany, Austria and Poland. That would be where things peaked for me. After the tour alot of my music fell apart. My bands broke up and I became dissillusioned with the music I was making and began creating electronic music. Depression set in and all that. I spent the next year just sort of coasting and unsure what to do.

August of '05 I was seeing a girl and it was going badly. We had a fight and she told me to fuck off. I left and the relationship was over. I was upset and sad. The next night I went out, got pretty drunk, and went home with a stranger. She gave me HIV.  It was a bad weekend.

I was diagnosed in Sept. of '05 and now I'm just trying to figure things out. I stopped playing music. I'm making attempts to rearrange my life. I started working alot. I do some computer work in an office. I work in a record store. And I do some freelance work. But really I'm trying to figure out a new career move. A whole new way to go.

I have to admit I have a strong interest in politics. I always have and I've tried to avoid it. I know that period is most likely coming to a close. I HEART Barrack Obama and almost got teary eyed when I voted for him. :P

I have an affinity for Asian cinema and culture that I'm unsure if I could really explain. I HEART Wong Kar Wai movies and all sorts of Japanese cinema. I visited Tokyo in April of '05 and basically fell in love with the city. I guess Mishima would be one of my favorite authors. I've tried to learn Japanese but it's hard...still working on it.

I like sushi, but haven't had it in months. I guess I'm waiting for my CD4 to be above 500.

My labs are fine right now. Not great. I'm not on meds but that could be not far away, but then again you never know.

These days are just huge transition. Alot of thought. Alot of trying to bring the stress down so I can go back out the next day. I make it sound worse than it is. It's hard, but I'm ok.

I have other interests that I've discussed before, but I'm going to let those slide tonight.

That picture is the tattoo on my left arm.

And for the final interest. I enjoy going to the gym and working out. I of course started because of my diagnosis, but now it's something I enjoy doing. I'd do it poz or not. Thank you HIV!!! :P

much love and thanks for all your support,
brian

Offline someone somewhere

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Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #21 on: June 10, 2006, 07:58:45 pm »
I am yet another lurker who is coming out of hiding. I am single female 38 and have been positive 3 years now.

I have been reading these forums since April and thought it was time to say hello.

I am lucky that my friends are supportive because my family is not.Their thing is we don't talk about it it is not happing.

I work full time read a lot of everything,walk the dog, torment the cats and am coping the best way l can.

I hope in time to get to know you all.

Offline Matty the Damned

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Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #22 on: June 11, 2006, 05:00:04 am »
Matty the Damned requires no introduction.

MtD

Offline DingoBoi

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Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #23 on: June 11, 2006, 05:06:07 am »
nope... you require a warning label :P

Offline BeachNYC

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Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #24 on: June 11, 2006, 09:27:27 am »
Hi!

I'm Robert, new to AIDSMEDS and relatively new to my diagnosis, which took place in February. My belief is that I was probably infected some years before, having gotten involved in the NYC crystal meth sex party scene, etc., and foolishly allowing myself to play recklessly.

Anyway, I'm 52, have lived in New York since 1989, when I moved here from Charlotte, NC with my ex-wife and two daughters, who continue to live in the city. I have been blessed with two relationships, each lasting 6 years, the most recent ending earlier this year. My recently ended relationship was with a guy 19 years younger, who, though he partied and played with me over the years, remains thankfully negative. I was an investment banker for many years, now focus on voiceover work and public relations. The last few years were difficult (crystal and myself, of course, to blame), but I have felt surprisingly empowered since receiving my diagnosis...I had avoided being tested for many years, and I am just now realizing what incredible stress that caused in my life.

I just started my meds about a month ago, no side effects that I can tell, and I'll get the first bloodwork back next week. I'm hopeful.

This website and these forums have been wonderfully therapeutic for me; I have learned so much, and am grateful for the people here.

Right now my focus is on staying healthy, being comfortable living without a partner, and looking forward to whatever friends, companions, and lovers the future brings.

Thanks for the opportunity to introduce myself.

Robert
BeachNYC

Truvada, Reyataz, Norvir - started 5/13/2006
5/13/2006 - CD4 186; VL 52,000
5/30/2006 - CD4 117; VL 56,400 - (Somethin ain't right!)
6/19/2006 - CD4 295  VL 113
7/21/2006 - CD4 245  VL <50

Offline carousel

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Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #25 on: June 11, 2006, 12:19:20 pm »
.
« Last Edit: February 15, 2007, 01:07:17 pm by carousel »

Offline catfan

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Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #26 on: June 13, 2006, 07:36:52 am »
Hi,

My name is Edward, I live in Portland, and am 38 years old.  I was diagnosed 4/28/06 when I went to the local walk-in clinic with a temp of almost 103F and pneumonia.  I have advanced HIV with a t-cell count of 37.  I still find this fact absolutely terrifying.

I had not even the slightest idea I was positive and needless to say I was shocked  I had the added bonus of being told on 4/27 that I was negative, then being called in on 4/28 to be told I had "full blown, late stage AIDS" by a doctor with a less-than-stellar bedside manor.

They sent me to the county clinic where I am now being treated.  My doctor seems good, and she only deals with AIDS patients.  It seems I'm otherwise healthy (pneumonia cleared up in about two days after getting antibiotics--I also learned via a nice itchy full-body rash I'm allergic to Bactrum). 

I've been on meds (Truvada and Kaletra plus two antibiotics) for three weeks now.  In a week I go back to my doctor to see what my current count is, along with viral load and whatever else.  I realize I'm still in shock as at this point I'm scared to even know answers to what are some pretty basic questions and don't know the standard terminology.  The fact that I'm posting here is, I hope, an indication that the initial shock is fading and I'll return to my normal info-hungry internet-scouring self on this subject.

I'm mystified as to how I acquired HIV as my last two girlfriends have both tested negative (which covers back to about 1994), and I've purposely avoided sexual involvement with anyone since 2002.  I haven't shot up drugs since 1995, and never shared a needle.

Ironically, just before my diagnosis, I was signing up for health insurance so I could go to a doctor and make sure I was in good shape.  After my diagnosis, I got a letter saying they wouldn't insure me because I went to rehab for booze in 2002 :(  There seems to be a program here in Oregon underwritten by Blue Cross that will cover/is covering me. 

I've not informed my parents, as I know it crush them.  I'm hoping these meds will improve my various statistics so when I tell them I will have something to say that will leave them hopeful. 

Offline allopathicholistic

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thanks for sharing
« Reply #27 on: June 13, 2006, 08:09:40 am »
Hi Edward. I'm Alex. Thanks for posting and being so open. Just want to say "stay strong" - I had a tcell count of 42 10 months ago and the current count is 419 (nearly 10x rise, percentage is 18) ... the vl is <70

its great you live in the Pacific Northwest because the air there is so good. STAY STRONG BUDDY! We're here for you.. there are threads on this site about disclosing to parents, meds, nutrition, public policy etc ... a truly great site
« Last Edit: June 13, 2006, 08:13:44 am by allopathicholistic »

Offline purpledragonfly

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Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #28 on: June 13, 2006, 11:22:36 am »
Hello, my name is Wendy
 I have been reading others stories here and decided that i need to introduce myself. Well here goes. I was married for 13 yrs. to my exhusband who decided to make the millitary his career. I loved the millitary, too bad our love didn't last.When i decided that my marriage needed an overhaul so to speak, i sat down and told my ex that i wanted a seperation. He was never a violent man, till that day. It really hurts when you get a phone broken over the back of your head and punched in the face.Plus the name calling wasn't good either, and all of this with our 3 boys watching and screaming.We separted but the abuse didn't stop there.He decided that my face needed a change one day and hit me pretty good. The funny this is the next day on the ship he was a cook on, he ased me and the boys to come down and eat supper with him. I was sitting there when one of the young guys on the ship walked by and asked what happened to my face, of course i lied and said i ran into the door, but my youngest who was only 3 at the time said with pride," that is where my daddy hit my mommy" needless to say he got into a lot of trouble and we were divorced a few months later.He took the boys from me when i had a restraining order on him nothing i could do the cops said. I love the law sometimes >:( I was involved with a man i thought i could trust, we were planning on getting married. Then one day i found out he was in jail and was told he had tested poz. I was in shock, didn't know what to do. I had just started going back to church so i turned to it. A few of the people there were great but for the most part they turned their backs on me and my sons
I was working 3 jobs and got enough money together to get an attorney and fought like mad to get my boys back, i did get visitation rights finally and it was on the day i picked them up for 2 wks. at Christmas that my middle son begged me to not take him back. He said he would run away if i did. He showed me the bruises his dad and his new wife had left on him a week earlier. Well i got my sons back on the same day i found out for sure i was poz. I can remember riding in the car going back home from getting custody and thinking and praying what now, i had so many questions.How was i going to raise my sons and what would happen to them if i died?
Well that was 1989, and i am still here, doing pretty good.I didn't get sick till winter of 96,97. I was put on meds of April of 97 with my cd at 29and vl at 29.000. I have had to change meds a few times but other than that i am doing pretty good. Because of the meds. i have to take heart med. now and have a bad time with the weight that the meds have added on me.My stress level is very hight any more, thanks to family, got to love family right?!
My boys are all growen now, i live with my youngest who is 22, and the other two have given me 8 grandkids whom i love so much and get to see almost ever day.I have a few friends that i hang with and a dog to keep me company when my son is at work.
I am 50 now, i still can't believe that i am that old, i still feel like i am 30 and i try to live like that also. I feel that acting younger then you are helps you stay healthier. I am not married and am trying out the poz. personals. with not much luck. I want so bad to have a life partner and maybe one day i will. I can't work any more and am on ssi. So it is tough here since my son gets about 9.95 an hr. We do ok but i want so bad to be able to go and buy the things that i like not just the things we need.
Well i think that is about all, I do want to say that this site has been a life line to me since the day i found it back in Feb. of this yr.I have ment some great people here whom i call friends.and thanks to Trish and Zeph. for being so strong and stepping out and letting their voices heard, I have decided to start up a support group in my home town. We don't have one and i have found out that there is a few of us here. So wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed that everything goes well for me.
I know this is long and for the most part this is the first time i have told anyone some of my past.
I love you all and one day hope i too can go to a gathering and meet you all face to face. Until then, stay safe and well and don't ever give up.

Love Wendy

Offline CalvinC

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Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #29 on: June 13, 2006, 02:55:29 pm »
Wow. Wendy's story, just above mine, is quite inspiring, as are the others. You're all strong and you're all here!!

Me: Calvin, 40s, in excellent health, fit and fine, just tested poz 25 or so days ago. As I have mentioned elsewhere (under "new diagnosis: triple whammy?"), the guy I was dating dropped me the day after I told him, not because of HIV he assured me, but other things. Yes, it sounds convenient, but I am struggling to let it go and forgive him. I have been caught up in the pain of losing him, mostly, but only now am I coming out of the fog and realizing that I need to take care of me. Thanks y'all for being here.

Background: like many (but not all) gay men growing up in the 60s and 70s, I was rampantly promiscuous, and I continued on, modifying my behaviours to ensure I was safe, around the 80s. But even then I knew there were problems. I went into a 12-step program (SLAA) in the early 90s and have been to rehab twice in order to deal with this intimacy issue. Strangely, I never contracted syphillis or gonorrhea etc in all these years.

But for me it was a numbers game, I guess. I was safe about 97% of the time....which translates into likely about five contacts a year where, after a few beer, condoms appeared to be a barrier to "intimacy." No fluid exchange, ever, but as I realize now, what you can't see is still there.

My work in and out of SLAA has shown me how much I have pushed intimacy aside, never finding Mr Right because I was deeply interested in the various Mr Right Away's. Outwardly, I'm a fit, good-looking guy, a good listener and things to say, but inside it's all poor self-esteem and poor self-image, which often translates into indifferent, cold behaviour. It keeps people at bay. Somehow, despite the ups and downs, I went back to school and I became a doctor.

Right now, I feel incredibly angry at myself, mostly because I have I have known my issues and yet always thought that I knew better, that somehow I was special or blessed or (god forgive me) different, and that I wouldn't contract HIV. I now know I am not special or blessed or different, at least not in the self-serving pity-party ways I imagined myself to be.

So, the triple whammy is 1) losing this guy 2) losing my status and most importantly 3) needing to change and NOT going back to self-destructive behaviours. A very close friend of mine, HIV+ for 8 years, who is wonderful and kind, nevertheless cruises rampantly, engaging in always-safe anonymous encounters. I could easily follow his path. That is the monster in the corner I am beating back.

I'm lucky: great friends, family, doctors, job I love. But for me, the key to remaining healthy is to finally discover a life outside a lifetime of Mr Right Aways.

Jann Arden's "Good Mother" builds to a stong finish, and though it reads like a cliche, it closes with "Heart in hand / Feet on ground / Facing forward / Be yourself / Just be yourself / Just be yourself." What I need--that #3--is just to be myself, and this is the perfect opportunity. Say a prayer for me that I might, finally, after so many years in hiding.

cal

Offline livingpositively

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Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #30 on: June 13, 2006, 03:53:13 pm »
I am Shane.  This is actually my first post on the new forums (since the official switch) as I have been super busy rying to get settled into my new house.  What a long and arduous that purchase process was.  UGH!!!  But I love the house, so it was worth it.  I live in Milwaukee, WI and am still getting used to life in the mid-west.  I have pretty much always lived on a coast, most of which was West coast - Seattle to be specific.  LOVE Seattle.   :D  I am currently going through an online MBA program which added to work and home keeps me very busy.  Can't wait until THAT is done.

I joined the forums here in April of this year after a diagnosis in mid-March.  It has been an interesting road thus far.  I have learned SO much already and have so so much more to learn, I'm sure.  RAB, I think it was, "laughed" at me once because I said that prior to my diagnosis, I had never been 100% sure whether T-cell count was supposed to be high or low.  I had just never really known anyone with HIV, at least that I was aware of.

I am so grateful that I found these forums.  I have learned so much about and from, and care about so many people that I have never even met.  It's a pretty amazing place.  I can't wait to meet some of you in Montreal.

Part 2***

Great - now the flow is all wrong.  LOL

Oh well...So anyway, I am single and gay as sin.  hehe   :D  Although, being brought up in a pretty strict baptist household, I thought if I got married and joined the army and did all those things I was "supposed" to do, I could make the whole gay thing go away.  uh-uh, no way, nadda.  Just didn't work.  So I was married for 8 years, and in the army for 8 years, 8 months and 14 days.   ;)  My ex-wife and I are still the best of friends.  The day I disclose to her will be one of the most difficult days I will ever have, I'm sure.  Sooooo, not looking forward to it.  In the army, I went through training to become a radiologic technologist (x-ray tech) and then trained in CT.  After the army thing came to an end (which was my choice, not a don't ask, don't tell thing), I worked at a large Children's hospital as a CT tech.  Then I decided I wanted to train people how to use the equipment, so moved into that.  With the army and traveling every week in my training job, I have been lucky enough to have been in all 50 states and 20 countries around the world.  I love to travel and experience/learn about other cultures.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading everyones intro posts in these two threads.  Thanks all for sharing your life.

Shane
« Last Edit: June 13, 2006, 05:24:01 pm by livingpositively »
4/6/07   CD4 450, % 23, No VL
2/19/07 CD4 487, % 26, VL 47,500
1/4/07   CD4 357, % 27, No VL
10/3/06 CD4 500, % 26, VL 18,000
7/6/06   CD4 530, % 29, VL 83,800
4/6/06   CD4 555, % 28, VL 13,000

Offline bobik

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Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #31 on: June 13, 2006, 04:25:46 pm »
My turn:

Coen, born in 1964 in Rotterdam, came out as a gay man when I was 15. Have the most wonderful parents in the world, so that wasn't a problem.

I live together with my partner for 20 years, and we have marriageplans. It is an open relationship, we both are allowed to have sex with others. So that is how I got in touch with the handsome man who must have been the source of my infection. It was 1987. I tried to be safe but life turned out to be a bitch in those days.

I know it was 1987 because I found back the symptoms of my acute infection in the diary I am keeping. But it wasn't until 1993 that I found out really. I had KS on my legs, so the moment I found out I was positive was also the moment of my aids diagnosis. In those days I worked in an inner city hospital in Amsterdam as an HIV nurse. The situation was pretty complicated but I stayed in that job for another 6 years. Two of those years were really years of illness: I had a mysterious bowel infection that almost killed me and caused me to live in pain for a very long time. Also I have had almost all the side effects that exist but never mind, I am alive and happy. Happy with my man. Happy with my new life as a musician (In 1999 I decided to go for my dream: I started my conservatoire study in singing), happy with my life as a leatherman, going out in the Amsterdam leatherbars, and very much enjoying my sexuality.

My man is negative, which in the beginning affected my sexlife with him, we were both afraid. Now we feel comfortable with what we are doing with each other, and our sexuality is expressing what we feel for each other. I'm lucky I've got him in my life, he is wonderful.

Right now I work as a nurse for a homecare organisation part time, and I have a blooming practice as a singer and singing teacher: www.coenhonig.nl

I love life.

Aidsmeds has become an important place for me even though I am not here dialy.

Hug to you all!

Coen
Coen Honig at Facebook

Offline Gary

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Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #32 on: June 13, 2006, 06:10:27 pm »
Hi Everyone,
I'm Gary, was on the old forums briefly as Manchesterlad.  I'm 30, live in Manchester in the UK and was diagnosed three years ago this month (June 06) after getting PCP.  I'm recovering from acute pancreatitis which struck about 18 months ago, losing me over half of my body weight, its almost back now though.

I don't know what I'd do without the aidsmeds site, particularly the forums so thanks guys and long may it continue.  I'm on combivir and sustiva and my dc4 has gone from 60 to 350, my dream is to get it above 500.
 :)


Offline livingpositively

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Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #33 on: June 13, 2006, 09:11:31 pm »
Hi Everyone,
I'm Gary, was on the old forums briefly as Manchesterlad.  I'm 30, live in Manchester in the UK and was diagnosed three years ago this month (June 06) after getting PCP.  I'm recovering from acute pancreatitis which struck about 18 months ago, losing me over half of my body weight, its almost back now though.

I don't know what I'd do without the aidsmeds site, particularly the forums so thanks guys and long may it continue.  I'm on combivir and sustiva and my dc4 has gone from 60 to 350, my dream is to get it above 500.
 :)



Hey Gary,

Here's hoping your dream comes true.

Shane
4/6/07   CD4 450, % 23, No VL
2/19/07 CD4 487, % 26, VL 47,500
1/4/07   CD4 357, % 27, No VL
10/3/06 CD4 500, % 26, VL 18,000
7/6/06   CD4 530, % 29, VL 83,800
4/6/06   CD4 555, % 28, VL 13,000

Offline lydgate

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  • Virgin, can't drive
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #34 on: June 14, 2006, 07:12:08 pm »
New member, joined today. Was infected in August '05, but did the confirmatory testing only in January. Only one set of numners so far: CD4 absolute 757, CD4% 38, VL 70 copies. This was March of this year, going for second set of labs soon. (Hope they're as "good" as the first set.)

Currently a grad student in Iowa -- this is my first stint in the Midwest; it's a good thing I like college towns. The academic year began with my getting infected -- he was a great-looking guy, it was alcohol-fueled late-night hot sex, I didn't wear a condom for once (after years of keeping the condom companies in business). And the academic year has ended with my breaking my right wrist (couple of weeks ago). And I'm right-handed! So I'm a bit grumpy. I can't even go to the gym, which I've been using to get in shape as well as keeping myself sane (and of course, there's the vanity factor as well). And don't even get me started on masturbation problems... ;D

More seriously, I'm glad to have joined this board, looking forward to getting to know many of you online. I'm lucky (or unlucky) enough to know a lot about this disease; I've done a lot of reading and research on the subject, even when I was negative. I've had friends who've been poz since the early 90s.

Grew up in Bombay, big city boy here; went to college and grad school in Massachusetts in the 90s; second-time-round grad student, single, gay, 33-year-old man.

That's about it for now, I guess. Going to spend the evening watching "Sixteen Candles" and the first season of "Oz."

lydgate
Her finely-touched spirit had still its fine issues, though they were not widely visible. Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.

George Eliot, Middlemarch, final paragraph

Offline CalvinC

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Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #35 on: June 14, 2006, 08:49:55 pm »

Welcome lydgate....and as we get to know you, I hope you'll share more about Bombay with us!! It must have been fascinating to grow up in India.

cal

Offline jon

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Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #36 on: June 15, 2006, 05:35:07 pm »
Hello.  My name is Jon.  I used to post here as Jonnyboy13.  I'm 38.  I'm the straight guy who got HIV from sex with a man.  My father was gay.  He died from AIDS back in the early Eighties.  It was called GRID (gay related immune deficiency) back then.

When I was 22 or 23, I found myself single and wondering what my Dad knew that I didn't.  So I spent a weekend visiting bath houses.  Didn't 't care for it much.  Found it very intrusive.  Dont much like stubble.  Anyway...that's how I got it.

I found out I was positive in 2002 or so.  My girlfriend stayed with me when we found out even though she's negative.  Now we're Married.  Two years now.

By the time I found out I was positive, I had full blown AIDS.  I had a cd4 count of 12, and a viral load of 750,000+.  Started taking meds immediately.  CD4 is still less than 100, but my viral load is undetectable. 

I smoke cigarettes, I smoke pot, I drink beer, and eat spicy, fatty foods, because to me that's living.

I won't go down without a fight.
You'll have to kill Me before I die!!!

Offline Moffie65

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  • Living POZ since 1983
Re: Introduce yourself and meet others part 2
« Reply #37 on: July 03, 2006, 11:27:34 am »
Well, I guess it is now my turn.

Brent, you talk about being late to the party, well, I win this one.

Tim here.....  I was born in the Los Angeles area, on January 19, 1947.  That's 59 for those of you who are math challenged.  I was born into a very conservative Fundamentalist Christian family, and spent the better part of my first five years with my parents in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas, while they were doing missionary work.  We left the United States in 1954, as my father wanted to be a missionary in Tanganyika, East Africa.  Grew up there, and in 1963 moved to Kenya, and my dad built a home on the slope of Kilimanjaro.  I returned back to the United States to finish my High School, and graduated HS in 1965.

In 1967 I was drafted into the Army, as my grades in Bible College were dismal.  (I was in love/lust with the student body president, but he didn't know)  I did one year in Electronics school in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and then spent two years in Germany.  I loved my time in Germany, where to my astonishment, one of my dearest straight friends helped me to come out and accept my own "persona".  No we didn't do the nasty, as coming out has nothing to do with sex.  I returned to the U.S. and got a job working at the Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard, where I continued on with my Electronics Career.  Always loved it when the Australian ships came in to port, as they wore nothing but tiny shorts on deck.  ooh doggies!

I stayed in the San Francisco Bay Area for the rest of my working career, advancing from one company to the next until I was hired in 1978 by Eastman Kodak, and worked with them for nine years. 

I was infected sometime in 1983, at a time when none of us knew squat about why, when, where, how come, and any other question you can tag onto this disease.  I was given three months to live at that time, but I really knew in my heart that the doctor was full of it.  I continued on with EK until 1987, when I was confronted with a nasty little habit of the company that required three years at company headquarters in Rochester New York, before you could advance into management.  I hate snow, so I opted for buying a Kenworth, and living out one of my childhood fantasies to own and operate an "18 wheeler".  At the same time I was in school with North American Van Lines; Elizabeth Dole was given the job of Transportation Secretary, and through her insane edicts, made it impossible for a singular driver to make enough money to make the truck pay for itself, as you need two drivers and enough work to keep the truck running 24/7.  After 18 months, of struggle, and a loss of $27,000, I decided to unload the truck and sold it in one month.  From there I drove a cement mixer for one year in Sonoma County in the wine country of Northern California.  I absolutely loved this job, and quickly became the favorite of all the contractors, as they would call the dispatcher and say, "send the 'Fairy' driver, because he puts it where ever we tell him to".  Loved that job. 

In 1988, I met my HIV- partner, and he is still negative, and we are still madly in love.  (which is why you don't see me here on evenings and weekends)  We sold my apartment in San Francisco and we cleared escrow 12 days before the 1989 earthquake.  We purchased a 12 unit apartment in Deming, New Mexico, and immediately began a total remodel, which we did ourselves.  In 1994, after becoming involved in HIV work in New Mexico, I came down with PCP and was very shortly sent home from the Hospital in Albuquerque to die.  We then sold the apartments, and moved to Truth or Consequences, into a very nice 1972 Rambling Rancher, that was also in dire need of fluffing.  We started to remodel this one, and I very quickly became sick again, and ended up in the hospital again with PCP, and was again sent home to die.  We stayed there until 1999, when it became apparent that the doctor was becoming very challenged with my virus, and was giving up.  We needed a better doctor, and so we sold the home and moved to Huachuca City, Arizona where we currently reside, right near Sierra Vista. 

My new doctor has gotten me to a CD4 of 500, and kept me non-detectable for the better part of four years, and only recently has my virus begun to again multiply. 

I have been and HIV/AIDS Activist for the better part of 25 years, and formed our first ASO in New Mexico in 1994, and then again we formed one here in 2003.  Just recently I resigned from my position as Executive Director, due to the changes in my health, but I am continuing on with my positions on the Arizona HIV/AIDS Title II Advisory Council, and my seat on the ADAP Formulary Committee.  I will also stay on with the ASO as an adviser, and help the new people to take over the workload, and continue with my monthly HIV/AIDS column for the local paper.  I love living and working here in Southern Arizona, and hope to keep active for many more years.

I came to AIDSmeds.com, in Feb of '04, and find that it has been a place of comfort, support and love.  I was invited to start blogging here in August of last year, and if any of you want the "whole" story, please click on my blog and start at the beginning in August of last year. 

I found this thread this morning and thought I would bump it up, as there are so many of you who are new and not familiar with the rest of us, so I invite you all that are either new, or missed this thread, to loosen up, and let us know who you are and what you are thinking these days.


Thanks for indulging me and reading.

In Love and Support.


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« Last Edit: July 03, 2006, 11:31:01 am by Moffie65 »
The Bible contains 6 admonishments to homosexuals,
and 362 to heterosexuals.
This doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals,
It's just that they need more supervision.
Lynn Lavne

 


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