Sexual Health Buzz

Friends – this is your mid-July St. Pete 2009 update. Important information below, so reading the whole thing would be a good idea!

REMIND ME – WHAT’S ST. PETE 2009?

The St. Pete National Beach Event is a big annual gathering for the H community, that is generally attended by between 200-300 people each
year. Like all the national H events, it’s more fun than a summer day in a water park!

This year, it will be held Thursday-Sunday of the first weekend in November in its usual location: gorgeous St. Petersburg Beach, Florida.

EVENT WEBSITE

REGISTRATIONS

It’s been less than 3 weeks since the website launched, with 3-1/2 months left to St. Pete 2009, and 139 of you have already registered – we’re more than half full!

This means the hotel is filling up, because successfully registering for the event approves you for the hotel’s room block and accompanying group rate. So if you haven’t registered, better hurry up!

EARLY BIRD FEE PERIOD

A reminder that Early Bird fee payment period ends in two weeks, folks!
After midnight on August 1, the event fee goes up $5.00 more.

Your event fee payment instructions go out within a day or two of registering for St. Pete 2009, so if you’ve registered and haven’t received your fee payment instructions, write us. You might have accidentally entered a wrong email address on the registration form.

VARIETY SHOW

The Saturday afternoon St. Pete Variety Show is seeking acts of all kinds! You don’t have to be particularly talented – just have a great idea for an act, get it together and tell us about it! Details on the website.

LEAD AN ACTIVITY!

Got an outing you wanna organize? Take a look at the weekend schedule, find a good time to fit it in, and tell us what you want to do.

So far we have Gr8legs leading a golf outing a couple of mornings (contact us to participate), Weavie leading the traditional informal acoustic jam late Saturday night, and we’re still looking for a volunteer or two to help with the Beachfront Pub Crawl on Friday afternoon.

As always, contact us through the website’s contact form with questions and comments.

Gosh, I’m so excited, I’m bustin’ outta my skin…

Cat >”<
Lead Planner, St. Pete 2009

This was posted strictly for informational purposes at my own discretion. I am not part of the ST. Pete planning so if you have questions about it make sure you find Cat and ask her.

I am going to be posting this information on my message board as well as the SSNA in case you are more familiar with those areas of the internet. This event sounds like it’s going to be a lot of fun. I wish I was there to enjoy that pub crawl. I’ll definitely be thinking of you guys in November.. that’s for sure.

Angela aka: Yoshi2me

I’m making my rounds through the blogosphere and posting what I stumble upon pertaining to healthcare. If this Universal Healthcare plan gets passed and the 1,018 page monstrosity is shoved down our throats without a 2nd glance, we are surely in trouble. Leave it to our government to mess it all up. I don’t understand what the rush is to be honest. I would prefer if they are going to offer up a plan that it would be something that was carefully thought out. Seriously, our lives hang in the balance and so does our beloved country. I’ll start with this political cartoon and come back to add more. You’ll want to check back often to see what new links I’ve added.

Hat Tip: GetLiberty.org – All politicians should be the first to be enrolled into the new government healthcare plan against their will. They should not get to keep their current plan. They should be expected to set the example and show the country that it’s not just about doing what they say we should do.

Here are some of the posts I’ve had on Healthcare this week:

Sotomayor and Healthcare
How’s that hope n’ change you voted for working out?
About government healthcare in Canada
Tell congress to vote no on government-run healthcare
Hands off my healthcare
This is what Obamacare will be

Out there in Blog-Land, this is what I found:

The Hidden Cost of Obamacare
ALG in the News: Iowa Politics
Massive, Growth-Killing Tax Hikes in House Dem Health Care Bill
Tax Increases in House Dem Health Bill
Read the House Dems’ Health Bill

Read the Healthcare Bill for yourself here because you know Congress will not have time to. That’s just how it is… ya know?

Obamacare will reduce your choices
Health Rations and You!
Small business owners react to Obamacare
America’s healthcare is better than Europe’s
National health is national suicide
Healthcare plan is not about health or caring
Obama begs senate: we must pass my disastrous healthcare bill ASAP
Putting a face on the casualties of obamacare
Inside the monstrous Obamacare bureaucracy
Video: Health Rations and You
Socialized Healthcare and the Death of Choice
Congress should be required to enroll in Obamacare

Hat Tip: RedState

Senate Health Overhaul Bill Lays the Trillion-Dollar Groundwork for a Government Takeover of Health Care
IBD: House Dems Bill will make Individual Health Insurance Illegal
Bad Economy to Get Worse With Obamacare
Um, Free Healthcare?
We MUST Stop the Socialized Healthcare Bill
By The Way, Abortion Isn’t Healthcare
Punishing Success to Pay for Obamacare
What do you think of this?

Summer of My Discontent – I don’t blame her! I totally understand where she is coming from.

Late Breaking … people are seriously ticked off and PROTESTING.

Today: Nationwide protest against socialized medicine & cap-and-tax

Hat Tip: Domestic Divapalooza: TGIF Government-Run Healthcare Roundup

Our discussions are so heavy on PUP I thought I’d share some lighter fare associated with a girl I took to Jamaica after knowing her for only two weeks.

We share a strong mutual attraction, but decided to wait before having sex. Wheew! I can relax about having “the talk” during our vacation.

Day one was filled with rum punch, long talks and nude walks on the beach. That night our passion tested us, but success! we made it to the morning without doing it.

On day two experiences as routine as a conversation over breakfast revealed connections with the excitement of finally using those discarded puzzle pieces from previous relationships. The sun went down on day two, but we brought its heat to the bedroom. OMG! She cradled my face with her hands and said “I’m ready”, but I refused. Again success! we are 2 for 2.

The next morning we awoke looking silently into each others eyes and my inner voice kept urging me relentlessly. Tell her, tell her, now is the time, tell her! I succumbed and at the risk of ruining a beautiful moment (not to mention a $3K vacation) I committed.

“There’s something very important that only three people know about me and we have to talk about it before we have sex”.

“I have to go to the bathroom”, she said immediately. She returned and laid next to me. ?Did I miss the toilet flushing?

Her face was strangely relaxed. Still nervous I blurted, “I have Herpes“.

“Me too”.

Stunned I said, “I have to go to the bathroom”. I stared in the mirror at myself, grabbed my toothbrush and brushed my teeth talking to myself out loud in disbelief. “I memorized my facts and figures, and rehearsed my story so what the hell kinda answer is that!” Then I realized that my inner voice was forcing us to reveal yet another connection. Two more pieces fall together.

Fear hit me and I freaked out.

I wasn’t ready for a serious relationship. I opened the bathroom door stating, “You’re early!”, like I could pop her back in the oven `til I was ready for her. “Honey, come and let’s finish our talk”, she said softly. Then she said something only us “PUPies” could understand, “I was hoping that you had Herpes“.

Oh how I cherish life’s irony.

Don’t leave your soulmate out there alone because you have Herpes that’s just fucked up. Happy searching yall. -Anonymous

Read more Telling Stories
Read more True Inspirational Stories

The big talk was something I was so scared of doing after I found out but it was the biggest reliever after it was done. If someone can’t accept you for who you are and the fact that you have herpes then they are obviously not worth it! Don’t limit yourself to people who have it because there is a whole world out there love! I have it and my bf does not and he is ok with it and gave me so much respect for telling him!

More Telling Stories

Greetings from eHarmony!

Free Communication Weekend July 2 – July 5

Free Communication Weekend is back!

From July 2nd to July 5th, eHarmony users can communicate with their matches absolutely FREE.

See what else people are saying about eHarmony

Dear Glaxo Smith Kline,

I’ve been meaning to give you some feedback for quite some time and a member that joined our group today has motivated me to take some time to contact you.

I feel, as one of the largest and most respected drug manufacturers, you have a tremendous opportunity to educate the public but you seem to be avoiding the topic in your advertisements. I am one of the moderators of a worldwide support group for those with HSV (herpes simplex virus) and we have seen a disturbing rise in members joining that have HSV1 genitally and contracted it from someone through oral sex when the person honestly believed that it was ‘just a cold sore’.

It would be so awesome if just one company (you?) would have the nerve to identify cold sores / fever blisters as being herpes especially since up to 80% of the population has it and it CAN be transmitted to someone’s genitals.

I just wanted to give you my feedback and, hopefully, you’re listening.
Thank you! – Jennifer

I believe GSK sent back some sort of automated response. So… we decided to go ahead and post this letter via the blog just in case someone high up would see it here. Thanks!

Here’s what other’s had to say about Valtrex Commercials

I was booted from MPWH for something I did OFF the MPWH website. I hadn’t even logged on in months. One good friend of mine also got booted some time ago for mentioning a different herpes organization on another yahoo group message board (not on MPWH). Finally, I don’t know whether you belong to any other yahoo groups, but in the past couple of days, there have been several other stories of people who have been terminated for OFF-MPWH behavior.

The point is a member can get their account terminated even if the “violation” is OFF the MPWH website. The MPWH Terms of Service includes a sentence that reads: “The sole subjective opinion of MPWH Administration will determine whether any action ON or OFF of the MPWH site rises to the level of a TOS violation.” Note specifically the phrase “ON or OFF of the MPWH site.” – Anonymous

So basically no corner of the internet is safe, not even private emails. Thank goodness I never invested my time OR my money into this particular herpes dating site back when I was single. Thank God! In my opinion, MPWH is not a site I would want to spend my time on whatsoever. I feel sorry for those people that have been booted for no good reason at all other than to just try and socialize with other people whom they share common ground with. Sad Indeed.

MPWH the New Big Brother

There is only a couple of days I subscribed to match.com. I am really amazed. Match.com makes everything possible to help people to find the relationship they need.

After 3 days I could have a date. It didn’t work, but it was very interesting. The quality of service for the price is really worth it. Match.com is not responsible for your lack of success. You cannot mix their service and what happens when you date.

Match.com gives you all the tools and everything possible to help you. If you fail, you should question yourself. It’s not an easy task, but being awakened to consciousness can be painful. And nobody wants to suffer.

Anyway, all the people working at Match.com have my affection for their terrific job.

- JT

See what others had to say about Match.com

See what others had to say about other online dating sites

Check out our listing of niche dating as well as regular dating online

Have you heard of MPWH?

MPWH stands for Meet People With Herpes.

For some strange reason I have been getting TONS of feedback on them lately. I think it’s because I provide feedback pages for various sites and products on things. People send me their positive and negative experiences all the time. But lately it’s been A LOT about MPWH and how they run their online dating site.

Take for example the following:

Yeeeeah. I had a situation with them a few months back. I had sent someone a link to like my facebook profile or myspace something, and they blasted me saying no solicitation for other sites. So I argued with them. If I’m paying for a site, whoever I contact, and whatever contact info I decide to provide, is MY business. Pre-H days I was on a few like… ‘pay’ sites for dating. They at least wanted you to correspond with the person maybe a time or two, but hell if you were paying and sent someone a message with your contact info it wasnt like you were being ‘big brothered’ the whole time. So ultimately, I’m paying you to contact other members, and you’re telling me I can’t give them my profile information for like… a social networking site. Which mpwh is NOT. They put fu*%in limits on your socializing. The site is pretty wack actually. But they’re quick to cite how many members they have on their site as some type of testament to their supposed greatness.

So basically what seems to be happening over there is that you pay for the service and while you are trying to meet people with herpes…your private correspondence is monitored and if they do not like what you are saying in private with the people you are trying to meet…they slap your hand OR worse…remove you from the site.

WOW. Most online dating sites don’t do that and ESPECIALLY if you are paying for the service. MOST online dating sites take your payment and then you are on your own to meet, socialize, and correspond with whomever you so choose.

If it were me… I wouldn’t give such a site the time of day. I’ve actually heard through the grapevine that you can not correspond freely and if you mention other sites or social gatherings you get slapped on the hand or your membership removed. WOW.

It would be like Walmart turning me away for shopping at Target the previous day. OR Walmart refusing to check me out because I mentioned an item I had bought at Target OR vice versa.

I think if somebody is paying for something then they should get what they pay for instead of every piece of private correspondence monitored and as this individual said, “big brothered.”

I was booted from MPWH

There were two posts in May and June that were the most interesting on Sexual Health Buzz. These two had the most views AND the most comments.

Obamacare: What number will you be?

Talk About Telling – My opinion, when I found out I had H in 2001, I continued to date men that did not have it…