Episode 113: Seeing Red
The clock tells me it's 2:03 a.m. on an early Tuesday morning. I'm playing a fickle game with the fan. Actually, it's not a game. I just can't decide if it's too cold or too warm.
Life can be described as the "B" word. And no, I don't mean bitch. It has been busy, the other "B" word. Teaching classes has been picking up now. I currently have almost 20 sessions to present this month alone, and I look forward to it. My first one was tonight. I presented for over an hour at Cypress College. The topic was contraceptives. I enjoyed the class, and I especially enjoy the teachers, Professor Susan Johnson and Professor Jim Dedick. Professor Johnson gave me a very rewarding compliment - she told me that my teaching style is much better than that of my coordinator (AKA boss). I promised her I'd keep it a secret from my coordinator. : )
It was a relatively nice Monday, which was a pleasant way to begin after a very nice weekend. Every year, Disneyland is invaded with men, women, and undecided wearing their red shirts. I have not attended the unofficial gay day since 1999. It was nice to be back. I went with my friend Dave. Paula and Dave's friend Christy joined us later. I was finally introduced to the Disneyland Gay Annual Passholders group. Dave is a member, and I think I might join. They are an incredibly nice group of people, and they go to Disneyland every second Sunday of the month. We were all invited to their hotel suite for cocktails and a balcony view of the fireworks show. One of the leaders (his name is Jeff) of this group played the soundtrack of the show in the suite as the fireworks shot off over the park. It was simply perfect! I can tell a lot of effort went into this, and I'm so grateful to have met such a nice group of people.
But other happy surprises were found at this cocktail party. The Blade Magazine, which recently published my article on breast cancer awareness, was there. I picked it up and read it with excitement. I shared the good news to my friends, and they all congratulated me. What makes this so much more rewarding is that a check is on the way to thank me for my writing! I'm eagerly waiting for it in the mail. The remainder of the night was spent in the park where we visited the Haunted Mansion decorated in it's Nightmare Before Christmas glory, and took off into the stars on Space Mountain.
In about 7 hours, I will be at the office for another productive day of work. Work has been more rewarding now that I got a raise. The Vice President of Health Education pulled me into her office to tell me that my salary was increasing significantly. Indeed it has - a huge 17 percent increase! I am so happy!
My left arm and shoulder is healing now. I was in such pain for the past two weeks. I almost thought I was having a heart attack, but my doctor assured me that I'm not. I just really messed up my left arm and shoulder while working out. And I've learned that pain can travel, as it did to my chest. Ouch!
My computer is on the verge of giving up on me. It keeps freezing, and when I turn it on, I never know what to expect. Sometimes it won't work, and sometimes it will. I need a new one.
Signing off at 2:48 a.m.