Tuesday, September 29, 2009

A Terrible Case of the Junkies

You ever wake up on the wrong side of the bed? My grandma used to tell me to go to bed and get up on the other side. Yesterday, that’s how I felt. I had a terrible case of the junkies.

Now, for those of you who don’t know, the junkies refer to just an overwhelming feeling of BLAH. There is no real reason for them, and every now and then we have the misfortune to contract them and hold on to them for a day or two. It hasn’t happened in a while, so I guess I was overdue.

Poor Traci. She had to bear the brunt of all my frustration. I just completely unloaded on her, and I thank her for not getting upset with me!

Thankfully, I think I found the cure. I had some good alone time, talked to some people who are close, and had a good days work today.

I don’t know what your junkie cure is…it’s different for everyone. I hope, though, that I am through for a while because a terrible case of the junkies is never something fun!

~Rebekah

Friday, September 25, 2009

A Product Sharing the State of the Heart

Hello readers.
Today i was hoping to share with you a poem I wrote during one of our Tuesday night gatherings. For those of you reading who are wondering what I mean by "gathering" on Tuesdays the four of us workers and our program director, Jackie, get together to "Share the state of the Heart". This is a St.Joseph tradition that we are now very familiar with. It involves sharing a meal in community and then discussing basically where we are at using one simple word (which describes our heart's state). We can then choose to elaborate, chat about our word, do some journaling or whatever we see fit. Recently, we did a guided journaling session in which the question set forth was "What is my Truth?" This is what came out for me. I would invite you to ask yourself this question...

My Truth

Respect, compassion, unconditional optimism

My truth rocks the boat of convention

I float on waves of happiness

And eat uncertainty for breakfast


Real, warm, testing the limits of this world—

My truth;

My words on fire


Awake, starkly & beautifully aware…

Of this remarkable existence and its inhabitants


My truth shines like the stars

My truth lets the past go,

It does not brood over the future;

My truth just is…

I am.


Thinking, growing, learning

A Mecca of uncharted territory—

Crashing into others;

My truth stifles fear and burns with intensity


Free is my heart

Open is my soul

Gorgeous is my body

Brilliant are my surroundings

My truth makes love with this life and its curious beings

Friday, September 11, 2009

Empowement 2009

Hey guys, Rebekah here. Just thought I would update you a bit on a conference I attended a few weeks ago.



Let me back up a bit. Daughters of Charity had there staff meeting about a month ago. At that time, I was given a handout. This handout stated information about registering for a walk to help NO/AIDS raise money to help treat and support the people of New Orleans with HIV. So, being particularly drawn to this population, I immediately went to the website when I had a free chance and registered to participate.

While on the website, I couldn't help but notice the Empowerment 2009 conference (it was the first thing on the website). As I read more about this conference, I learned it was open to the public and free. I was elated! So, after getting the permission from work and all appropriate people, I went.

There has to be something said about someone who shares their HIV positive status. There is a large portion of our society that still looks negatively on this population. Being a relatively new disease, only about 30 years old now, I feel there is still a large deficit in information to the general public. HIV truly effects every person on this planet. An estimated 40 million people are thought to be infected with HIV worldwide, and only half are aware that they are infected. And if you think about the six degrees of separation, I am sure you know someone who knows someone, etc.

So, when I entered the Marriott on Convention Center Blvd., I was pleasantly surprised to see the room packed so full people were standing. People from all different races, men and women. All together to understand this virus a little better.

The introduction was by a man who was diagnosed with HIV in the 1980's. He was an active participant in his care, and even challenged medical providers to give him more than one medication to treat his condition. He encouraged people to be active in their role as a patient, and to speak up. He said, "I just wasn't going to be scared anymore! If there was something I wanted to do, I did it." And he is here now, because he had an active role in his health care.

Possibly the most moving speaker was a young women. She was diagnosed in the early 90's when she was pregnant. Her child is HIV negative. She spoke to the crowd with intensity. I can still hear her words echoing in my head, and I think that everyone can use them. She said, "We are not here to empower you. We are here to give you the tools to empower yourself!"

Such a powerful speech.

It got me thinking. I am here, but I can't fix all the problems. New Orleans still is suffering a lot. More than the rest of the country is aware, and you really can't tell until you are here experiencing it. The thing I see mostly are those people who don't have jobs. Migrant workers without social security numbers. Everyone still gets sick, and everyone still needs health care.

Maybe I can't make it free for all. But I can help make the clinic a little better. Whether it be by following up with patients, helping to organize a little or even doing small tasks that no one else has the time to complete. I work where I am needed, and hopefully when I leave there will be something I have done here to make it a little easier for those people who need the clinic.

Empowerment.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Traci's Bicycle Adventure

So let us talk about riding bicycles. They are fun, can get into places that cars can’t, and offer a sweet way to see a city AND get your daily dose of cardio. Now, if any of you are familiar with me and bikes, well we do not seem to mix very well, although I really do love riding. When I lived in Sacramento, after swerving my bike tire into a lite rail track, my bike made me eat the tracks and pavement….and I affectionately dubbed this occasion as “taking a dump on my bike”. The people of Sacramento did NOT get my humor.

Fast forward to today. Zzzp.

I have been fortunate enough for a departed lowernine.org staffer to pass on her awesome green Huffy to me! Today, being my half day at work, seemed like a great day to take my first official bike ride home from work. I had my route carved out through the French Quarter, and was looking forward to the 8 mile pace.

The ride started out fabulous; a brisk breeze whistling through my helmet, easy to navigate flat roads, and little to no traffic, since it was after the lunch rush. There were however, a bunch of ominous black clouds that came up the river and headed my direction, fast. I figured, “Ah, I will make it to the Ferry, get across the river, and will scoot home and miss this storm”.

“Muhahaha” Said the Gods…

As I hit mile 3 on Decatur and slowly coursed through the busy French Quarter, the clouds opened up! Now, let me tell you, when people say it rains hard in N’awlins, they do not mean that solid upstate NY downpour (and even that is heavy rain). They mean monsoon like conditions; raindrops the size of golf balls (okay, maybe I am being dramatic..) and wind whipping the golf balls into a frenzy!! My point is, it rains damn hard when it does here.

So it rained and I got stuck, on a bike, in the rain. I continued through towards the ferry as all the tourists ducked into CafĂ© Du Monde. I think one onlooker snapped a picture of me as he and his wife laughed at my soggy shorts…not cool touristy man!!

The ferry gave me a moment to get cover.

Then, I resumed my crusade for home, now on the westbank of the river…my side, where home is.

“About one mile” I thought. I got this.

No I did not got this. Lol.

The rain came down heavier!! It was raining so hard, I couldn’t see, so I got off my bike and walked it through all the murky depths of the street puddles. Anyone walking past me would have thought I had spent the whole morning getting sloshed on Bourbon Street, or smoking a joint, because I was laughing so hard at my second unfortunate bicycle adventure.

I arrived home drenched; my feet felt like someone had replaced my sneakers with water jugs and my clothes were dripping. All the dirt that was caked on my body, from work, was now all washed off.

“At least I did not take a dump on my bike this time” I mused.

Oh bicycles. They are so silly.