Subscribe to this blog's feedSince my last blog entry, the tears have finally dried up. It's probably because I have shed so many there's nothing left to shed. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I will be spending it with my oldest sister who happens to live upstairs from me. My other sister will probably show up as well. I just pray she doesn't bring her alcoholic boyfriend with her. Whenever he shows up, it's bound to be drama. I will plaster on a fake smile, maybe even a Joker smile. By the end of the evening my face will probably hurt. I will go through the motions of pretending nothing is wrong. I would never give them the satisfaction of knowing that anything is bothering me. It is the only time of year besides Christmas where my dysfunctional family makes the attempt to act like we care about each other. My thoughts will be about my father, the past Thanksgivings we shared with each other and how much I miss him. And I will even make the attempt to be grateful. I will then go on to try to get over the next miserable holiday.....Christmas.......BAH HUMBUG and all that.
And on a final note, I wish to thank those that left me comments. It really meant a lot to me to see that other people can relate to what I am feeling and going through. Your words have given me reason to try to get through the muck that I call life. Though I still feel hopeless, I will still be around.
Hi Michelle,
I am the co-creator of a virtual island in Second Life dedicated to collecting and sharing the experiences of those dealing with HIV/AIDS.
The island is funded by a National Library of Medicine grant written and administered by The Alliance Library System. It also has the support of such prestigious organizations as the CDC, AIDS.gov, CFAR, NIDA, and IBM.
We will celebrate the opening of this island (entitled Karuna, which means to ease suffering) on World AIDS Day (December 1, 2008) in Second Life. You can read more about the project and myself, and see pictures of the island and the other organizers here: http://www.karunasl.info/Information/ and see pictures of the island as it was being built here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/verdeo/sets/72157608590656238/
I have been reading your blog and wondered if you would like to contribute a story to the Story Wall on Karuna.
If you would like to come into Second Life, see Karuna and share World AIDS Day with us, we would be delighted to have you. An account in Second Life is free and I folks lined up to help you get in and show you how it all works.
I look forward to hearing from you.
All the Best,
Jenaia Morane
Writer, Editor, Educator
World AIDS Day Organizer for Second Life
Hi Michelle,
I always follow your blogs, and keep up on how you are doing; I will always be your number one fan; I wish that you would mail me when you are feeling down and wish to talk; I would love to be there for you when you need someone; I think that you are far more special and wonderful than you realize.
luv,
James
Jen--
I checked out your site. It seems interesting. I would be interested in knowing what kind of story you would like from me.Hopefully you will see this and leave an email to reach you. I didn't see one for you on the site.
James---
Hey, it's good to hear from you. I was wondering how you were holding up. Thanks for keeping up with me but you know you can always reach me on Yahoo.
Hello Michelle,
I just now found that my colleague, Jen, had left a comment on your blog, so please forgive how slow our response has been to your own comment in response! I was pretty excited to see it, too, because in fact your blog is one I'm following.
In Second Life, I'm Carolina Keats, the coordinator/consumer health librarian for this project that's funded by the National Library of Medicine. In real life, I'm Carol, a doc student at UNC Chapel Hill, and I've been in libraries for a whole lot of years (20). I've been involved with Second Life for 2 1/2 years now, with 4 different projects that are all about consumer health.
For so long, I've felt that healthcare institutions and situations can be alienating to people, so the whole idea for me is to figure out how we can help each other through - by collaborating and learning from one another.
For the Karuna project, for the first time (which I think is really cool), we have Jen's story project as well as a more 'fact based' resource center. She's a writer and teacher, and has been working to create a space where people can share their experience, or create a work of art, poetry, music around the experience of HIV/AIDS. This is what Jen was talking about. We've talked about bridging between the worlds ('real' life and second life) by reaching out to web forums, etc. - so that our reach is extended, so that people know what's going on, and so that we learn more about what's going on.
There's a lot more to say, but I'll stop now.. I hope you see this. Sending you my best thoughts, as well, and a warm hug. I'm sorry you're hurting.
Please feel free to email me with any questions you might have.
Carol/Carolina
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