penguin:
(i have absolutely no idea what all those fancy buttons ^^^ mean, so I'm just going to go ahead and type. Hopefully it will work)
umm...I guess this is where I introduce myself. I live in England, the home of posh people looking foolish as they try to squeeze landrovers into tiny parking spaces at Waitrose. I don't have a landrover, but I do quite like Waitrose. I acquired my viral "houseguest" sometime in 1995, I believe. Went a little crazy at first, but think I've got to grips with it now. In between T-20 shots and other assorted potions, I sometimes even manage to forget about it. Up until(fairly) recently, I used to work for an HIV charity, until I a) got sick of commuting into London every day, b) got sick of all the bureaucratic crap, and c) just got sick. These days, I work part-time in the prison service, with 18-21 year old young men. Psych-ed groups, rehab stuff, life skills etc. It's still full of bureaucracy, but for far fewer hours per week! Some other things I like... -My allotment, where i grow assorted vegetables -Cooking, anything really, but especially north african and italian food -my i-pod. actually, just music in general. At the moment, I'm listening to Joshua Radin, Jose Gonzalez, Orson, and the red hot chili peppers. -pottery/ceramics. I'm not very good at it, but i keep trying. -converse trainers and birkenstocks -climbing(indoor mostly) and canoeing. I am lucky enough to have the river thames within (almost) spitting distance, so often head down there for a few hours on the water(or in the water, as the case may be!)
I don't like banana flavoured custard. I just found that out this morning. Nor do I like horror films or excessively revealing clothing on people who should know better.
so that's a bit about me :) look forward to "meeting" you all soon!
Ann:
Hi Penguin, welcome to the forums!
I live on the Isle of Man and if you think posh gits driving around in Landrovers look foolish on the mainland, you should see them driving around in big vehicles on the narrow streets of Peel. Our streets (at least down in the old section of town where I live) were designed for people on foot or a horse and cart at the very biggest. We even had someone driving around in a Humvee for a while. It's disappeared now, and I like to think he got it stuck between two cottages somewhere and had to have it taken to bits. ;D
I like gardening too - but I only grow flowers so far. I don't have an allotment and my garden doesn't get enough sun for veg.
Anyway, good to meet you. Don't worry about the fancy buttons, your post was just fine. Check out the Off Topic forum if you want to play around with the buttons. You can learn how to use them HERE
Don't forget to check out the rest of the AIDSmeds website by clicking on the different links in the upper left-hand corner of any forum page.
Ann
penguin:
hi ann ooo...I worked out how to use a button :) thank you for your reply! So, you are an islander...I visited the Isle of Man a few years ago, and thought it would be a beautiful place to live. Not sure I could navigate those little roads on anything other than my own two feet though!
Thanks for pointing out the other features of the site, too...I will have a little investigate. Am so far very impressed by what I've seen!
Ann:
The Rock is a beautiful place to live and there's a strong sense of communitiy here, but it's perhaps not the best place to live when you're hiv positive, not because of the people but because of the health care situation. I'm lucky and because I fly to Liverpool for my care. I say I'm lucky because the doc they bring in to the Rock once a month from Manchester has got to be the least respected hiv specialist in all of the British Isles. Anytime I mention his name in Liverpool, people just roll their eyes and say... "oh, him..." I feel sorry for the people who have to use the clinic here and one day I'm going to gather up enough courage to start getting something done about the local situation.
I think it's great what you're doing in the prison service. May I ask which charity you were working with in London?
Ann
J.R.E.:
Hello Penguin,
Just want to say hello, and welcome you. My name is Ray, was diagnosed positive in 1985, And live in the Tampa bay area of Florida. Will be looking forward to hearing from you.