Today is World AIDS Day, an annual time to renew our commitment to continue the fight against HIV and AIDS. And while we no longer live in a time where HIV/AIDS-related deaths are as common as they used to be, there's still an alarming number of new HIV diagnoses every month. And at my age, I have quite a number of friends who continue to deal with HIV as a part of their lives, so naturally, that acts as an extra incentive to continue to fight for the rights of PLHIVs.
Sharing one's HIV status takes a lot of trust, and I'm honored when friends decide to tell us about this part of their lives. The stigma remains very much alive, but it's a lot subtler than it was in the 80s, yet still quite as pervasive. And even with a law in place that attempts to protect the rights of PLHIVs, there's still a lot of casual stigma in practice in different circles, whether personal or professional. We've come a long way, but we still have a long way to go.
Work was quite busy - the start of the month is always hectic. It's also the last month of this calendar year, so we have a lot going on as all clients try to wrap up their initiatives before the holiday period (or during the holidays themselves). But we still got through it and now have the rest of the week to look forward to.
We got massages after work because my regular therapist wasn't on duty last night, so we had to wait for today. Then we tried a different Korean barbecue restaurant in the area. They had decent food but just okay service, but no lettuce today, which was a major bummer. We might give them another chance, but we'll be sure to ask about the lettuce first before even entering.
Happy Monday.
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