Breathe

Today’s run was amazing. Maybe it’s because i’m geographically challenged, but it wasn’t until today that I’ve discovered a small lake right by my house, the very same one that eventually leads off to JFK Drive.

It was such a breath of fresh air, literally, to be running trails instead of sidewalks. Through the ups and downs of the dirty road I blazed along side typically boring Fulton Street. I’ve never sweat so much in a single maintenance run, but surprisingly it wasn’t tiring at all. Instead it was invigorating and I felt wholly cleansed.

Since I am running the San Francisco AIDS Marathon, I thought it would be a good idea to share this with you. I got tested for HIV last week. It’s a breather, literally, to know i’m negative. The last time I was tested was back in 2001 and it’s good to finally know i’m still alive and well in 2007.

I realise that this might be a taboo topic for some people, in especially for my friends who I don’t really share sex-related topics with. But it’s important to talk about these things from time to time, instead of having this topic being a dirtyand subliminal undertone. It’s not a dirty subject, and young people really ought to be more vocal about things like this.

As my parents would say, “It’s better to find a condom in my son’s backpack than to not have found it.” My parents are strangely awesome every once in a blue moon.

Breathe.

If you are interested in getting tested, and you really should be, you can get a very accurate HIV antibody test and have the results as fast as 20 minutes.

San Francisco AIDS Health Project
1930 Market Street
San Francisco, CA

Call 415-502-TEST (8378) between 10:00 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday. Hearing-impaired people may call 415-476-3587 (TTY).