2002-06-29 
 

home alone

G wore himself out today cleaning our place, so I'm over at Hug's place giving it the once over before his return tomorrow. Jacuzzi - clean. Stairs - swept. Trash - consolidated. Cat - back in main house after a lengthy game of hide and seek in the garage. So now I'm just waiting for the towels to come out of the drier and whiling away my time on the internet. Searching around for a SF weblog ring, I found an interesting article by one of the originals here.

* posted by me at 1:57 AM

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2002-06-27 
 

that's my mom!

I couldn't figure out how to link to this page and I'm afraid that it may someday no longer exist, so I'm cutting and pasting it into the blog. A modern day newspaper clipping.


Battling myositis is a climb all her own

By KIMBERLY ROOTS
The Patriot Ledger


Dagmar Slaven was diagnosed with myositis 13 years ago. A climber from Baltimore is climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in honor of her. (Gary Higgins/The Patriot Ledger)

Dagmar Slaven has days when the stairs to the second floor of her Walton Street home in Weymouth might as well be a towering mountain. Those are the days when myositis, the degenerating neuromuscular disease that Slaven was diagnosed with 13 years ago, hinders her movements even more than usual. Activities like standing up, making dinner and swallowing cause pain and require a concentrated effort.

There is no way that Slaven, 60, could participate in an upcoming mountain climb fund-raiser, the proceeds of which will benefit myositis research. So a Baltimore woman is doing it for her.

Tara Neavins, a 30-year-old graduate student at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, is planning to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa in July as a member of the first Kili Climb for a Cure. Each climber is set up to climb in honor of a myositis patient; Slaven and Neavins were joined because they both live on the East Coast.

Slaven said that she and Neavins have not met but have communicated through E-mail.

‘‘Thank God I've got Dagmar,'' Neavins said in an interview from her home in Maryland. ‘‘She's been wonderful with fund-raising and morale. She E-mails me little notes.''

The climb is a fitting myositis fund-raising activity because it serves as a reminder of everything myositis patients cannot do: walk on rough terrain, hoist themselves up steep inclines, carry heavy loads and spend large amounts of time outdoors.

According to the Myositis Association of America, the disease affects 30,000 people across the country. It is an autoimmune disorder that attacks skeletal muscle tissues, causing weakness that worsens slowly over the course of months or years.

Early signs of the disease include difficulty rising from a chair, climbing stairs or lifting the arms.

Slaven said she used to enjoy gardening and hiking but now cannot make it from her front door to the car without the aid of a cane or walker. Those in the more advanced stages of myositis require wheelchairs.

‘‘I can't knit or play the guitar,'' Slaven said. ‘‘The finger dexterity isn't there anymore.''

She is happy for the freedom she still has, though, like the ability to drive and to spend time with her husband, Bill, and her two grown sons.

Because doctors often are not educated about myositis, Slaven said, those diagnosed with the disease must educate themselves. If she hadn't insisted on a repeat muscle biopsy eight years after her diagnosis of polymyositis, doctors would not have realized that Slaven actually has Inclusion Body Myositis, which requires a radically different course of treatment.

She jokingly refers to her medical history as an ‘‘odyssey'' and encourages people with myositis to speak up on their own behalf.

‘‘It is very important to have a positive attitude,'' she said. ‘‘I had the choices of either being a victim or having some control and taking charge.''

Slaven is also being proactive in trying to raise awareness and money for the July climb. Neavins and the other participants have pledged to donate 90 percent of the money raised to the Myositis Association of America. Neavins said she is taking out loans to finance her equipment and trip to Moshi, Tanzania.

‘‘I'm used to doing that,'' said Neavins, who is studying clinical psychology. ‘‘We're all paying for the climb individually.''

Neavins noted that many businesses exhausted their charitable giving in the wake of Sept. 11 and are unable to support the cause in the way they might normally.

In addition to keeping in touch with Slaven and trying to secure funds, Neavins spends her free time getting in shape for the trip. Her workouts include running, climbing, hiking and weightlifting, and should be ample preparation for the six-day climb.

Meanwhile, Slaven continues water and occupational therapies in order to maintain what mobility she has left. She will not be able to contact Neavins during the climb, July 20-25, but said she will think of her the entire time.

‘‘She is very committed,'' Slaven said of her climber. ‘‘She and a lot of people have given over and above anything we could have expected.''

For more information on Kili Climb for A Cure 2002, contact the Myositis Association of America, 755 Cantrell Ave., Suite C. , Harrisonburg, Va., 22801 or www.myositis.org

Copyright 2002 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Tuesday, June 25, 2002

* posted by me at 6:13 PM

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relaxing

Took a little blog break - Tuesday was all about hanging out at Hug's place with the cat and just relaxing. If we'd been at home, we probably would've felt the need to take care of a hundred little projects, but being up the hill we just hung out. The best sort of vacation. Been hearing from a lot of friends this week. M sent me a lovely card and an incredible gift. Spent last evening catching up with MB and got several nice e-mails when I returned to work yesterday. Especially nice to hear from Denver. Was thinking about it and realized that she's one of my oldest friends. Then this morning I heard from Fuzz. I've known them both of them for half of my life. Which, in a strange way, made me feel young.

* posted by me at 1:10 PM

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2002-06-24 
 

strange day indeed

Song for today: Doot Doot by Freur.

Didn't wake up until just before noon today due to the fact that the one present I opened last night (actually at 1 a.m. this morning) was the Special Edition of American Beauty, and naturally I had to watch it right away. Big thank you to G's parentals for that one. (and Harry Potter too - yay!) Had cake for brunch while doing the crossword and then opened up some other gifts. Got a card from Mom and Dad that got me all teary-eyed. (I'm such a sap, but I love myself for it.) Also a hilarious and uplifting book - Pushcart's Complete Rotten Reviews & Rejections. Dad found an old edition of short tales by Dickens at a yard sale and included it in the package. Beautiful cover! G got me a killer pair of leather slippers that I'm probably going to wear as shoes. Love them!


I think we'll finally go see Star Wars: AOTC this evening.

PS I'm 32 and the world has indeed gotten smaller, but it thankfully stays just as silly as ever.

* posted by me at 5:10 PM

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my turn

Happy Birthday to me! We're at Hug's house right now spending time with the kitty, but I think it's time to head home for some of that yummy birthday cake...and to open one of my presents. Yay!

* posted by me at 3:00 AM

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2002-06-23 
 

and eat it too

HAPPY BIRTHDAY G! Yip, it's official, my husband's now older. Of course, tomorrow I'll catch him up again. Been a lovely, relaxing day. Had a lot of fun watching him opening the presents. I think sometimes that it's more fun to give presents than it is to get 'em. (not that I'm going to turn them down mind you) Besides, presents for G are a bit like presents for me too. His parents gave him a full set of Triomphe pots and pans which I'm sure I'll share in the benefit of.



Thought for the day: As a bit of a joke, I gave G a batch of little Lego sets along with each of his other gifts and we ended up spending a good hour or two playing with them. Every day you should make sure to do something to keep you young, and that's double true on your birthday.

Now it's time to go help make our birthday cake...

* posted by me at 8:01 PM

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2002-06-22 
 

flowers

Received some lovely photos from my mom today. I love San Francisco, but I do miss spending time in the backyard with her and dad. She's going to be in their local paper next week! The Kili Climb is coming up quite soon and since she's an honoree, they did an interview with her. I'll try and post a link once the issue comes out.

* posted by me at 4:34 PM

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tgif

Well, not much to say today. A nice mellow start to a long weekend. Due to the double birthday's - (G's birthday's on Sunday and mine the day after) we're planning on going up towards Point Reyes to get away from the big city for a day. We're also catwatching and housesitting for our friend Hugs, which is an added bonus since he has a jacuzi and has let us know we should make ourselves at home there. It's a bit of a practice run for us. We've often talked about gettting a kitten of our own, and this experience might just cement it.

* posted by me at 2:31 AM

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2002-06-19 
 

friends i've never met

Caroline Knapp died about two weeks ago, but I've only just found out about it today. In my young adulthood, I eagerly awaited each new column chronicling the saga of Alice K. (not her real initial) I'd vary between ecstasy when she described an internal emotion I knew all too well, or agony at her stupidity. (why must she always go for Mr. Wrong?) A Sex In The City for the early 90's. I won't go too far and rave on about how she changed my life, but she definitely affected it. A weekly friend in the Boston Phoenix...a friend I'll never get to meet.

In an oddly related note, I wonder how Phoenix is finding things up north? I hope he's having a swell time and getting settled in. (Especially since I'm sensing the need to take a little road trip north sometime later this summer!)

* posted by me at 10:21 PM

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cupcakes

So today was another stressed out day at work. So nice to come home and find G here with a big smile on his face and a yummy dinner. And cupcakes for desert! Watched Ghost World tonight. Made me think about my own life. What I realized is that I got on the bus some years back, and this is all just part of the ride. I'm just glad I found a seat next to G.

* posted by me at 2:26 AM

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2002-06-18 
 

film fest

Our friend's been in town for the 26th annual San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. We had a little barbecue in his honor last night and tonight we got to see Outer Limits, a collection of strange shorts. They were all actually pretty good, my favorites being g.p. and Pussies from Outta Space. Thanks J!

ETA: (in January 2010) Hey! This is about James visiting SF! We live next door to him right now! Okay, exciting to about three people in the universe, but it's still my blog so thhhpt!

Labels: dose of mikey, linkage

* posted by me at 2:09 AM

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2002-06-16 
 

pizza and a movie

Spent a quiet evening in tonight. Had a little blue, watched A.I. and ate homemade pizza. What a trippy movie! It was totally not what I was expecting, but very good none-the-less. When we sat down, I think we both expected it to be a dark sci-fi adventure film, which it was, but it went much deeper than that. It left us both feeling a bit sad about the human race. The bonuses on the DVD are minimal, but it does have one of the better websites. Try talking to the chatbot. Kinda spooky. (but only if you're on a high speed connection I'm afraid)

Labels: g, linkage, random review

* posted by me at 1:26 AM

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2002-06-14 
 

hamabilism

I love the Muppets, but there is something deeply disturbing about the fact that Miss Piggy is currently starring in advertisements for Denny's breakfasts. I mean there's BACON in there folks! Ick.

Labels: random review, seen and heard

* posted by me at 11:11 PM

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2002-06-13 
 

inspirational drag queens

It's almost 12:30 and I'm about to go to bed, but I just saw something that reinforces why I love San Francisco. There was a drag queen on San Francisco Public Access cable who was simply lounging on her couch and waxing - quite eloquently - on the state of the world and sharing her life experiences. Love that I can flip through the stations and find someone spouting forth on how important it is to believe in oneself. A message which has even more resonance when spoken by someone who truly knows what it's like to live on the edges of what society likes to term "normal". Another sliver of hope clinging to the bottom of Pandora's box.

Labels: san francisco, seen and heard, spirit

* posted by me at 3:25 AM

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2002-06-11 
 

Well, it seems to have randomly fixed itself....and people say that computer programs are predictable.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 7:02 PM

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this is not my idea of a good time

I'm having a bit of an argument with Blogger Pro. It keeps randomly changing my fonts on me. Very annoying. It also published a blank entry. What's that about? I know you don't really care, but that's what's going on for me right now.

Labels: blogging

* posted by me at 4:59 PM

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2002-06-10 
 

saucy

About a month ago G bought a portable Weber Grill for us and, I must admit, my initial skepticism about how useful it would be has been blown away.

Totally worth it! We went for the authentic charcoal model vs. the quicker gas version. The grill is small enough that the coals only take about 1/2 an hour to heat up to cooking temperature, though it's large enough to cook a meal for four people at once. Not to mention that there's something more primal about cooking over coal and mesquite vs. gas. So last night we had chicken with the world's best marinade. I'd tell you the recipe, but G's entering it into a marinade contest and I don't want to spoil his chances by giving it away to the world just yet.

In other worthwhile expenditure news, we rented Mind Walk this weekend because it's not available on DVD. It's a dialogue movie. If you're only into action and Hollywood candy, you'll want to give it a miss since it's a film that requires you to think. So, run, don't walk to the local video store and rent this film. If anyone can tell me who to contact to get this film on DVD, I'd be most appreciative. I enjoyed it so much that I'm going to finally use my Borders gift certificate to purchase the book it was based on: The Turning Point by Fritjof Capra.

Labels: 1000 words, dose of mikey, linkage

* posted by me at 1:45 PM

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2002-06-08 
 

strange days indeed

It's official. Just as I thought the world couldn't possibly get any stranger, I discover the Van Gogh-Goghs. Kremlin Fried Chicken. Furniture Porn. (Not for the faint of heart.) It's all there reminding me that to think you've seen it all, is to be setting yourself up for a surprise.

Labels: linkage

* posted by me at 6:21 PM

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2002-06-07 
 

so that's how it's done

No wonder it took me so long to find other gay people in life. Nobody clued me in to this homo handshake. Imagine all the gays I could have met had I only known!

Labels: linkage, the gay

* posted by me at 8:59 PM

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write on

I'm finding that more and more of my friends are actually popping onto this site to see what's up in the life of Mike...and some strangers too. Overall it feels good, though a little intimidating. The intimidating part is actually good as well. One of my main reasons for starting this site is that I love to write, but I've always been afraid of putting myself out there. What a wonderful way to get over it! Knowing that someone from Singapore or New Zealand just peeked into my site is cool, but it also forces me to let go. I have no control over how they'll interpret my words or how they might use them to judge me as a human being. I need to have confidence that my intent comes through. More importantly, if someone doesn't like what I have to say, that's ok.

In a related topic, want to give a shout out to Bunny G. Rock on!

Labels: blogging, dose of mikey, writing

* posted by me at 2:10 AM

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2002-06-03 
 

hot job

I've decided that while frustrating, my job is better than digging ditches. So I will count my blessings.

Blessing # 1: A legitimate part of my job involves going to sites such as A&F, and surfing around past all those cute guys.

Blessing #2: Checking out a Kenneth Cole shoe auction on E-Bay invites compliments from my boss instead of reprimands.

Blessing #3: Speaking of shoes...I have, over the past few years, gotten some GREAT deals on shoes. Have I mentioned I'm a shoe whore? Not something many people know about me considering the ratty state of some of the shoes I wear. G knows the truth. He often calls me Imelda. Our bed doesn't have dust bunnies underneath. It has colonies of shoes.

Labels: dose of mikey, linkage, sharketing

* posted by me at 10:33 PM

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long walk

Went for an incredible walk today. G was feeling nappish and I'm really trying to get out and about more, so I headed on up the hill and didn't come back for a full hour and a half. I'd almost forgotten how great it is to wander the tops of the hills and just think. Halfway through my walk I came to the realization that I'm ready to write again. Really write, not just this random journal entry stuff. What hit me may sound simple, but I'm only human. Sometimes it's hardest to see something when it's right in front of our face.

The thing is, sure it's been a while, but if I don't start writing again now, I'll always have some excuse to push it away from me. Too busy, too stressed, too tired, too something. So I'm just going to do it.

I decided all this as I was running up the long flight of steps that connects Diamond to the end of Collingwood, just as I was reaching the top, and the wind really picked up - almost lifting me up the last few feet. It was as if nature herself was patting me on the back for finally figuring things out.

Now comes the hard part. Now I have to actually do it.

Labels: dose of mikey, writing

* posted by me at 1:09 AM

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2002-06-02 
 

not another bad movie

We watched Not Another Teen Movie and I was pleasantly surprised. It came and went in the theatres quite quickly and I was afraid that it might not be as good as it could be. I've always been addicted to teen flicks and really didn't think anything would live up to my expectations. Overall, I think it was marketed incorrectly as a movie for the younger set. Especially since they might not be ready yet to look back and laugh. In order to appreciate it fully, you have to not only appreciate the teen movies of today (for what they are) but also truly love the teen movies of the 80's. Though the main target was She's All That, there were liberal doses of the Hugh's trilogy and an appearance by Molly herself. If you can stand the gross-out humor, this movie does exactly what it promises. It manages to skewer the genre while paying homage to all that it stands for. I liked it.

Labels: linkage, random review

* posted by me at 1:20 AM

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2002-06-01 
 

counting

Interesting facts. If you haven't figured it out already...I LOVE maps.

Labels: dose of mikey, linkage

* posted by me at 1:10 AM

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