End of June update
Swine Flu missed me. Yet the eyes of suspicion and semi-paranoia were upon me though at PS42 as I told everyone about my trip to Mexico. A flu went through our school for a few weeks causing mass hysteria and low class sizes. Any kid with a fever was out of there. One fourth grade class had 9 out of 30 students present one day. Rather crazy May it was. Now we have this mysterious Fifth disease that is going around. It gives kids red cheeks as if they’ve been slapped around. Seems to always come around this time of year so as to add some fun to the end of the school year. I’m amazed that being HIV+ I haven’t contracted one of these ailments from the kids and croaked. Guess it has to do with sturdy genes—thanks mom and dad and all the generations before them.
Felix sits and stares at me as if he wants to tell me something. I think he’s just figuring out a way to snuggle between me and the computer. Forget it cat, it’s blog time. I have been more attentive to my cats’needs than my blog needs as of late. Speaking of cats, Mama Suly’s cancer has ebbed in the back of her mouth thanks to Dr. Wen’s Chinese herbs. I can’t believe that a dire diagnosis in January of 3 months to live has come and gone and now it’s 6 months later and here she is snuggling on my arm on the couch. Guess she has tough genes like me. Suly and I have been taking 1.5 hour drives out to Speonk on Long Island every two weeks to see Dr. Wen and track her cancer. One treatment didn’t take, another didn’t either and her mouth was inflamed red with the spreading cancer. The third and last protocol of herbs worked and we’ve kept the cancer down and her mouth looks a healthy pink colour. With a month-long trip to India in my future, such news makes me happy and relieved. Now I can go to India with not such a worried soul. Hampton Vet in Speonk is a great place. Everyone is so friendly and loves Suly (what’s not to love), the other petowners and I strike up conversations about our “kids” and how fabulous Dr. Wen is. I feel pangs of parent-ness when I ready the car for Suly and make the drive out there. Some think it’s rather excessive but she’s worth the time, gas, and money.
Rain, rain go away! How much water can we have? My garden doesn’t really mind it but after weeks of it, come one!! Puts a damper on all the outdoor barbeques I want to have and of course weekend street fairing. Luckily it hasn’t affected the weekends too much. Money is still being made. A new flea market has opened up near my house, the Park Slope Flea Market, which I’ve doing on Saturdays. It’s rather dead right now but slowly it will be a happening neighborhood event. I’m trying to get other local artists and designers down there to make it a fun market and get the cheap crap out of there.
Last week was Brooklyn Pride and after a day at the market (cut short by a rain storm) I decided to be prideful and go watch our little parade strut down 7th Ave. Haven’t been in a few years so I decided to get in touch with my gay side and do my civic duty as a homo. The Brooklyn Pride parade is so tiny that if you blink, you’ll miss it. Still it is compact, neighborhoody and full of pride. Being an election year, it was full of wannabe politicians pressing the flesh for the gay vote. In between were the various gay/lesbian groups, Dykes on Bikes, the Queer Cheer Squad, churches, fire and police departments, and of course the pro marriage brigades. I haven’t been to a gay parade in years and it was nice to go hang out with friends and show our pride. Things sure have changed since I came out years ago. Coming out doesn’t seem to be a big deal now, being gay isn’t such a shock to people, it’s more accepted. Still there are things to struggle for: equal marriage rights, HIV and AIDS is still a problem among the young gays. Where do I fit in to all of this? Is it enough to help run a monthly contra dance at the GLBT Centre? Should I be doing more in the community? Probably. I have some ideas on how I can be involved but we’ll table those until September. Right now I have to focus on my summer in India with the Afghans.
India with the Afghans? Well, if you know anything about me, you know that I go off to Central Asia to work on a US-funded high school program for students from Afghanistan. Things have been rather crazy the past few years with a large portion of students running off to Canada, still the State Dept. doesn’t cancel the program. Today the kids who are in the US now will be going back home after their year in the US, so it will be interesting to know how many get on that plane. About half of this year’s kids left for Canada (about 16 out of 37) so far, we’ll see what the final tally is when the plane takes off later today. In any case, I’m looking forward to going to India. After 5 times flying through Delhi, I finally get to leave the airport. Who knows how many kids we will have this year (so far 40 are planned but the US embassy in Kabul hasn’t issued one visa), in any case I plan, hire teachers, get the curriculum together, buy supplies—I’m ready. Leave in about two week’s time and much to do before that. House stuff, bills to pay in advance, classes to finish, a wedding in Maine to go to, a few more street fairs, maybe a dinner party…it just never ends. Maybe that’s a good thing.
Felix sits and stares at me as if he wants to tell me something. I think he’s just figuring out a way to snuggle between me and the computer. Forget it cat, it’s blog time. I have been more attentive to my cats’needs than my blog needs as of late. Speaking of cats, Mama Suly’s cancer has ebbed in the back of her mouth thanks to Dr. Wen’s Chinese herbs. I can’t believe that a dire diagnosis in January of 3 months to live has come and gone and now it’s 6 months later and here she is snuggling on my arm on the couch. Guess she has tough genes like me. Suly and I have been taking 1.5 hour drives out to Speonk on Long Island every two weeks to see Dr. Wen and track her cancer. One treatment didn’t take, another didn’t either and her mouth was inflamed red with the spreading cancer. The third and last protocol of herbs worked and we’ve kept the cancer down and her mouth looks a healthy pink colour. With a month-long trip to India in my future, such news makes me happy and relieved. Now I can go to India with not such a worried soul. Hampton Vet in Speonk is a great place. Everyone is so friendly and loves Suly (what’s not to love), the other petowners and I strike up conversations about our “kids” and how fabulous Dr. Wen is. I feel pangs of parent-ness when I ready the car for Suly and make the drive out there. Some think it’s rather excessive but she’s worth the time, gas, and money.
Rain, rain go away! How much water can we have? My garden doesn’t really mind it but after weeks of it, come one!! Puts a damper on all the outdoor barbeques I want to have and of course weekend street fairing. Luckily it hasn’t affected the weekends too much. Money is still being made. A new flea market has opened up near my house, the Park Slope Flea Market, which I’ve doing on Saturdays. It’s rather dead right now but slowly it will be a happening neighborhood event. I’m trying to get other local artists and designers down there to make it a fun market and get the cheap crap out of there.
Last week was Brooklyn Pride and after a day at the market (cut short by a rain storm) I decided to be prideful and go watch our little parade strut down 7th Ave. Haven’t been in a few years so I decided to get in touch with my gay side and do my civic duty as a homo. The Brooklyn Pride parade is so tiny that if you blink, you’ll miss it. Still it is compact, neighborhoody and full of pride. Being an election year, it was full of wannabe politicians pressing the flesh for the gay vote. In between were the various gay/lesbian groups, Dykes on Bikes, the Queer Cheer Squad, churches, fire and police departments, and of course the pro marriage brigades. I haven’t been to a gay parade in years and it was nice to go hang out with friends and show our pride. Things sure have changed since I came out years ago. Coming out doesn’t seem to be a big deal now, being gay isn’t such a shock to people, it’s more accepted. Still there are things to struggle for: equal marriage rights, HIV and AIDS is still a problem among the young gays. Where do I fit in to all of this? Is it enough to help run a monthly contra dance at the GLBT Centre? Should I be doing more in the community? Probably. I have some ideas on how I can be involved but we’ll table those until September. Right now I have to focus on my summer in India with the Afghans.
India with the Afghans? Well, if you know anything about me, you know that I go off to Central Asia to work on a US-funded high school program for students from Afghanistan. Things have been rather crazy the past few years with a large portion of students running off to Canada, still the State Dept. doesn’t cancel the program. Today the kids who are in the US now will be going back home after their year in the US, so it will be interesting to know how many get on that plane. About half of this year’s kids left for Canada (about 16 out of 37) so far, we’ll see what the final tally is when the plane takes off later today. In any case, I’m looking forward to going to India. After 5 times flying through Delhi, I finally get to leave the airport. Who knows how many kids we will have this year (so far 40 are planned but the US embassy in Kabul hasn’t issued one visa), in any case I plan, hire teachers, get the curriculum together, buy supplies—I’m ready. Leave in about two week’s time and much to do before that. House stuff, bills to pay in advance, classes to finish, a wedding in Maine to go to, a few more street fairs, maybe a dinner party…it just never ends. Maybe that’s a good thing.
posted by Tom T at 5:23 AM
1 Comments:
Glad to hear about Mama Suly! Send some of the rain my way....and THANKS for blogging again. It's been a long, dry spell here in San Antonio - in so many ways!
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