From England to Beaumont, Texas

I went to Beaumont, Texas this week to speak at conference organized by the Triangle AIDS Network, an incredible group of folks who are giving AIDS a good kick in the ass down there.

Of course, I was honored to be a part of the event.  I spoke about my experiences, and got some gold just before I went up there when the speaker before me was asked why he didn't have masturbation listed as a form of HIV prevention.

So, when I introduced myself, I said I was an expert on HIV prevention, and made a reference to the previous statement.  Everyone laughed; I think in that room of 400 people- doctors, nurses, students, positoids and negatoids- there were a lot of experts. 

It was a good time.  Sure, it's serious work, but for me to be good at getting my message across, I have to approach it with a healthy attitude.  And even though  my job is discussing my experiences living with HIV/AIDS- what most would consider depressing- I really enjoy doing it. 

And meeting really cool people along the way, like the gang from Barnes & Noble, who came with a truckload of copies of My Pet Virus.  They got really excited when I told them I was writing... a vampire book!  "Who better than a hemophiliac to write one?"  I reasoned.

Grazia Magazine, the UK's version of People.  Perhaps that's why, as of this morning, we were awarded custody of Britney and Kevin Federline's children.  I gotta say, Sean Preston is wearing my ass out.

Earlier this year, Now, another UK magazine, did a story on us.  Maybe we should have been traded for Becks and Posh?  I'm not sure who gets screwed on that deal.

One interesting thing that came up with Grazia occurred earlier this week.  Gwenn noticed the mention of our story on their web site as: "Meet the young woman who risks death every time she sleeps with her husband!"

The nice people at Grazia took it down immediately after Gwenn- obviously upset- emailed them.  It was just some ignorant webbers attempt to get people to read the magazine.  Haven't seen the article yet, but they assured us that it wasn't a squash piece.

It better not be, or we're sending Becks and Posh back.  And I'm going to sneak this Sean Preston brat into their luggage.

Positively Yours,

Shawn