It feels really weird that I didn't talk about Scott at all this year, given that he's the reason I do this, and the reason I choose SFAF every year. I still miss him sometimes, even though he died 15 years ago... I guess if he's in my heart and mind he doesn't necessarily need to be on the pages...

I'm gonna go snuggle up with my kitty and pass out for a while.

We did it!

Last one! I'm sad to see this game go- but so ready to sleep...

(Posting some content I had left over- originally slated to be posted during the hours I ended up posting via iPhone)

From the Grove's website

"In late 1988, a small group of San Francisco residents representing a devastated community were looking for a positive way to express their collective grief. They envisioned a serene, natural setting suitable for memorial services or individual mourning and remembrance. From this initial concept, a team of architects, landscapers, designers, and lay people volunteered countless hours to create a living tribute to those lost to the disease."

The Grove and the endowment that helps to ensure its ongoing care and maintenance have been created primarily through private funding. Although the names in the Circle of Friends and other dedications offer personal remembrances, the Grove as a whole honors the memory of all who have shared in the struggle against AIDS.

In 1996, a milestone was reached when Congress and the President of the United States approved the "National AIDS Memorial Grove Act", which officially designates the historic deLaveaga Dell in Golden Gate Park, as the nation's first AIDS memorial. True to its origins, the Grove is a dedicated public landscape where anyone who has been touched by AIDS can find comfort, grieve openly without being stigmatized, and experience feelings of hope that nature can inspire.

Come on people! I know we're tired, but get guessing!

Established in 1982, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation is one of the oldest and largest community-based AIDS service organizations in the United States. The mission of the agency is to end the pandemic and the human suffering caused by HIV.

Global AIDS Programs

The Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation is an affiliate of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Pangaea’s mission is to broaden access to HIV/AIDS antiretroviral treatment and care around the world, with special emphasis on resource-limited settings. Pangaea provides assistance to in-country and international partners in the development of healthcare infrastructure for HIV treatment efforts.

• Since its founding in 2001, Pangaea has played a significant role in developing and implementing HIV treatment access initiatives in several countries, including Uganda, South Africa, and Rwanda.

• Since 2004, Pangaea has partnered with the William J. Clinton Foundation’s HIV/AIDS Initiative in China, assisting in the development of national HIV treatment guidelines and training of healthcare professionals. Pangaea is also working with the Clinton Foundation in Ukraine, helping to develop the government’s HIV treatment initiative.

• Pangaea is currently active on treatment scale-up and training projects in South Africa, Ukraine and Zimbabwe.

Still surfing monitees- Congrats to everyone who is still in this... only 2.5 hours to go!

I had planned to post a lot more AIDS related stuff, my my cat decided to be an attention whore.

Established in 1982, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation is one of the oldest and largest community-based AIDS service organizations in the United States. The mission of the agency is to end the pandemic and the human suffering caused by HIV.

Advocacy and Public Policy Efforts

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation advocates at the federal, state and local levels to ensure that hundreds of thousands of people affected by HIV and AIDS have access to care, treatment, housing and prevention services, and that they benefit from related research efforts.

• The AIDS Foundation’s Public Policy Department plays a leading role in securing federal, state and local government funding for crucial HIV/AIDS-related programs. Public policy staff members also work to ensure passage of sound HIV/AIDS policies and legislation.

• The AIDS Foundation’s HIV Advocacy Network organizes and mobilizes AIDS advocates, service providers, and people living with HIV/AIDS to advocate for effective AIDS policies.

I can't believe that we're almost done. Yes, these next hours are the hardest, but I'm sad that my game is winding down...

Still two unguessed songs in previous hours... Let's stay strong!

Any doubt I had whether or not taking Julie to the vet tonight, inconvenient as it was, was a good idea, was laid to rest on my most recent trip upstairs to check on him. I was worried about him because he was acting in a manner very very unlike himself- lethargic, refusing canned food, running away and hiding when I walk into the room- that is so unlike him. Usually, if I touch him, he purrs. It just didn't feel right for all of those things to be happening.

The vet gave him two shots, one of which was, get this- Pepcid.

He got those shots 3 hours ago. I just went upstairs, and he followed me all over, rubbed his face on my feet, and then jumped up on the bed and purred! I'm still going to watch him closely, but I'm over the moon right now...

I'm feeling like a bit of a California Yuppie- my stomach is feeling kinda iffy, so I'm eating pita chips and sipping Pelegrino hoping to settle it a little...

Songs 15 and 19 are still unguessed. I know it's late but let's stick with it people! We can do this! Of course, I chose the times for these clips randomly, and this one might be a bit obscure...

Yep. I'm awesosme. Go listen to my blogger interview on the main page. Or I could make it easy and you can just click here

I'm tired.

Man. I was doing really well with the tired thing until that trip to the vet. Stress makes you tired. Time to haul the caffeine back out.

Okay, so, back home. Kitty is sick, but most likely not life-threateningly sick. The vet said it's not his bladder, but his intestines felt very gassy, and while he looks rather uncomfortable, he didn't look like he was gravely ill. It's likely that the change in his diet and the medication he was on caused some intestinal distress but again, likely nothing serious. They gave him a couple of shots that should help make him more comfortable, and I need to monitor him closely, but we should get through this. Oddly enough, now I'm the one not feeling great...

Many thanks to Kathy who was going to step in and guest post for me, and also to Keegan, whose iPhone made guest posting unnecessary. Thanks to the magic of iPhone (man I need to get me one of those!) I managed to not miss a single post. Had things not gone well at the vet, you can bet I would not have been posting, but I'm glad it did go well and that I was able to keep up.

Back from the vet. More on that later.

Still on the iPhone at the vet. Be back as soon as I can. Sorry for the unexpected lack of content and thanks for stopping by. Good thoughts for my kitty, please please?

Still at the vet. Posting via iPhone.

Posting from the vet via iPhone. Be back as soon as I can. Sorry for the unexpected absence, and thanks for stopping by.

Off to the vet with my cat. Kathy will be posting for me for a bit 'til I get back, if I can't post via iPhone- but so I'll be unavailable by email or IM for a while.

Still have friends over, have only managed to eat my salad and not my steak, but I've managed to check my monitees and keep up my posts. Now I need to go check on the kitty again.

Eating dinner, friends over, still freaking about cat.

Sorry for being cryptic before- i was rushing that post.

This is my baby, Julie:

He'll be 9 in September, and I've been lucky in that he's been really sweet and healthy for most of that time. He had one bout of trips to the vet- a very expensive 4 visits and 2 lab tests in 10 weeks. But that was 5 years ago and he's been doing well ever since. A few days ago he started peeing on my laundry pile, which, sadly, is not unlike him if he's mad at me or if his litterbox isn't to his liking. He was acting weird, so I called the vet, which resulted in this:

It's terrifying when you call the vet and they say "Yeah, that could be life threatening- you need to bring him in". He's got a history of bladder crystals and they were worried that he was "blocked". In that photo, he's getting fluid under the skin so he'll absorb it and help flush any toxins out. It's also about 2 in the morning in that pic.

We were sent home with medicine and the instruction to only feed him canned food for a few days. He was *thrilled* with that idea last night, scarfing down his dinner. Today, he ate the first half a can, but in the last several hours hasn't touched the second half, and also refused a treat when I was upstairs a bit ago. So, the vet got called again, but they don't seem concerned. I, on the other hand, am freaking out because it is very scary to see your pet not acting in accordance with their personality.

Keegan is bringing me babyfood to try to feed him tomorrow, and the vet doesn't want me to give him his medicine tonight. That in itself is freaking me out, because doesn't he need the medicine to get better?

Anyway, that's where I've been.

Sorry- no content this time- I'm busy handling a bit of an emergency.

Now everyone go visit Laci, who is blogging for WHAS Crusade for Children. She's doing Mad Libs, and the entry I've linked is the 'Lib I submitted words for. Pretty awesome if you know me ;)

She's also a Monitor, so she's cheerleading a bunch of bloggers, so go cheerlead her.

I'm watching VH1's Top 100 Teenage Stars (on tivo). How did I not know that Shaun Cassidy sang "Doo Run Run"? It's also giving me ideas for other stuff to watch. Little House on the Prairie is on 3 times today. Not that I'm going to watch it. At least, not all of them...

Okay, so Orbit gum is all about "Dirty mouth? Clean it up!" and they have this hilarious commercial where there is (what I assume is) a married couple and a mistress, and they're having a yelling fight, where all the words that would be swear words are replaced with something more innocuous, and I LOVE it, so you get the transcript here. You're welcome.

Wife: (throws something at husband's head) You son of a biscuit-eating bulldog!
Husband: What the french, toast?
Wife: Did you think I wouldn't find out about your little doo-doo head cootie queen?
Mistress: Who are you callin a cootie queen you lint licker?
Wife: Pickle you cumquat!
Husband: You're overreacting!
Wife: No Bill, overreaacting was when I put your convertible into a wood-chipper! (dumps box at his feet) Stinky McStinkface!
(women go aftereach other in a slap-fight)
Orbit Girl: Fab-ulous! New Orbit cleans another dirty mouth.

Dill in the ranch spices is a good addition, but I used too much. This batch is definitely "Dill Ranch" as opposed to "Ranch With Dill". But yummy veggies are a good snack for tiding over to dinner...

Here's your song! Props to Rasee who finally got song 5...

Established in 1982, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation is one of the oldest and largest community-based AIDS service organizations in the United States. The mission of the agency is to end the pandemic and the human suffering caused by HIV.

Education and Information

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation continues to be a leader in educating at-risk communities about HIV/AIDS prevention and in connecting thousands of people to the critical information they need to make informed decisions about HIV-related risk and health.

• The California HIV/AIDS Hotline (800-367-AIDS) is a toll-free anonymous and confidential hotline answering 70,000 calls a year from across the state.

• The AIDS Foundation’s treatment publication, BETA (Bulletin of Experimental Treatments for AIDS), provides in-depth treatment information and news on the latest advances in HIV care.

• In addition to www.sfaf.org, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation maintains several other websites that provide a range of information about HIV/AIDS issues and the activities of the AIDS Foundation. These include www.aidshotline.org, www.pgaf.org, and www.aidslifecycle.org.

Mmmm. I made ranch dressing, and so I'm having some veggies and dip. Mayo was another thing I needed at the store. I bought the buttermilk at Whole Foods last night but forgot to pick up the mayo. I also added dill weed to my spice mix, I'm interested to see what that will do to the flavors. I love me some dill weed.

Here's this hour's song. #5 is still unguessed.

Seriously, nothing helps keep it perky and together better than IM conversations. I had the following chat with my friend's sister-in-law:

Judiknyght2000: hey did you know that my cat's name is Julie?
julie: hehe, really?
julie: no i didn't know that
Judiknyght2000: yeah
Judiknyght2000: it's Julius actually, but he's always been called Julie
julie: :) cute
Judiknyght2000: there'll be a post about him at some point today
julie: hehe, my cat's name is Fea
julie: it's spanish
Judiknyght2000: for?
julie: ugly
Judiknyght2000: ha!
julie: but it's okay because she doesn't speak spanish
Judiknyght2000: still, awesome
julie: hehe

Surfing monitees- no time for substance-

Which Is why I'm going to tell you about my deodorant.

In the last few years I've developed chemical sensitivities to a number of fragrances, especially the really sweet smelling ones and sadly that has extended to personal hygeine products. Thank goodness for companies like Ivory and Dove that seem to use either less or gentler chemicals.

Anyway, every time I find a deodorant scent I can live with- and let's face it, most deodorants smell like ass- it gets discontinued. It's happened to me no less than three times. So you can imagine my dismay when the last time I went to buy deodorant, I could not find Dove's "Radiant Silk" scent anywhere. So I bought "Original Clean" scent, thinking it must be pretty close to unscented. But no, it smells like I have rubbed a bar of soap in my armpits and failed to wash it off. (sorry for that- anyone hungry?) But, one needs to wear deodorant and so I just sucked it up and wore it.

But then today. Today! Glorious today and the Walgreen's down the road. I found an entire rack of "Radiant Silk" and so I bought two. Sadly, I still smell like a bar of soap because I don't have time to take another shower, especially when the sole reason for said shower would have just been so I could change deodorant.

Okay- no more talk of deodorant or my armpits. Promise.

This hour's tune comes with a shout out to Ionut Alex Chitu of Google Operating System. I found the player I'm using on his site, and this would have been a much harder theme without his post on the subject.

You know, I thought song #5 was going to be another gimme, but it's *still* unguessed...

So I ran to the store between my 1pm and 1:30 postings. How, given the fact that I always forget that St. Francis is 3 blocks down and not two and always turn down it, did I not know that there was a street called "Sunnydale" in this city, let alone near my house? Also, taking Laurel through downtown on a Saturday when you have time constraints is not a good idea.

But I picked up Coke Zero, Band-Aids (thanks Heather, I found the blister ones) and postcards for a thing I'm doing for a friend of a friend. I picked up a few other things too, and while in the grocery aisle I saw cake mixes and had an urge to bake a cake, but the last thing I need in this house is a cake.

Wow, are we really only at 7? Or should that be "already"? Hour 7 people? How did that happen? I know the morning hours go faster than the late night hours, but wow.

**Updated** Uhhhh.... yeah. um.... nevermind. But see, time is flying faster than I thought!

Everyone go visit Fida who is blogging for Hair For Hope (Children's Cancer Foundation). Maybe you'll see a picture of me with the hairstyle I sport every day... I'm going to attempt a store run. Need band-aids and Coke Zero.

Okay, comment fodder- why are they called band-aids?

I just had yummy breakfast from Hobee's courtesy of Keegan, and I think I'm in a food coma or something, because my brain has stopped working, and it's way too early for that to happen...

Here's this hour's song, and the 10:30 song is still looking for a correct answer...

Okay, I did work harder this year on having actual content, but friends dropped by and brought me breakfast and just left so there isn't time for quality this go round. Love you all!

Okay, company over, trying to visit all my monitees, so, just a song.

Two previous are still unguessed. Get on it people!

So I'm a monitor this year. It means I keep an eye on a certain set of blogs and make sure they stay encouraged in their efforts. Also to flag any problems, but that's my least favorite part of the job.

Some of my monitees are up to some pretty cool stuff, and several of them have been profiled on the main Blogathon page, so awesome job guys! I'll be highlighting people here as the day goes on.

Kamigoroshi is blogging for the Association for International Cancer Research. He gave a "getting to know you" interview, which you can listen to

Way of the Scribbling Ninja is posting sketches and taking requests- go visit him, his sketches are so fun!

So original with those post titles, eh?

I'm watching this week's So You Think You Can Dance on tivo, and may I just say, if I never hear "Waiting On the World to Change" again, that'd be okay. I've never really cared for it, and they have 10 dancers dancing the same solo, to that song. Gah.

Here's this hour's song, and last hour's is still unguessed.

My friend Lolly lives up in Washington state with her husband Palmer. They're struggling newlyweds, so they were unable to sponsor me, but I got the sweetest card in the mail yesterday, with a $25 Starbucks card.

The card says "We may not be able to sponsor, but we can pray for you and help keep you awake!"

Palmer works at Starbucks, so that's probably how they could send a gift card but have no sponsorship cash.

Couldn't have come at a better time. Got me my triple venti latte, a scone, and a new double wall cup. My last one started leaking last week.

Whoah, this one snuck up on me. But I want to say real quick, Yay! for the guesser of my last tune, Shan, who was one of my first sponsors this year. Shan, you rock my world!

and here's this hour's song... Title and artist please.

The last 3 years I've been really lucky to have a great contact in the fundraising department at SFAF. I'm a little jealous of him because he does the kind of job I used to do, and I miss it.

*waves* Hi Cal!

Established in 1982, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation is one of the oldest and largest community-based AIDS service organizations in the United States. The mission of the agency is to end the pandemic and the human suffering caused by HIV.

Services for Clients

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation provides a variety of vital services and programs designed to improve the quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS and to reduce the number of new infections that occur each year.

• The Client Services Department provides a wide range of services to hundreds of people living with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco annually. Highly skilled client advocates provide information referrals to essential community support services and medical care, and advocacy to help clients negotiate the complex set of issues related to HIV.

• Financial benefits counselors help individuals understand and link into the private and public benefits systems, including the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, General Assistance, Food Stamps, Medi-Cal, Medicare, Social Security and private disability plans.

• The Foundation's housing subsidy program provides rental assistance to more than 350 individuals. Through the work of our client advocates and the clients themselves, more than 95% of these individuals remain stably housed.

• Black Brothers Esteem (BBE) promotes the sexual health and well-being of African-American gay and same-gender loving men through a weekly drop-in group, workshops, leadership-building retreats, and other community-building activities. BBE addresses not only issues of HIV, but also the challenges of poverty, substance use, homophobia and racism.

• The HIV Prevention Project, the AIDS Foundation’s needle exchange program, provides more than 2.3 million syringes annually, helping thousands of exchangers and their partners avoid HIV infection and Hepatitis C. Staff and volunteers, nurses, and drug treatment counselors provide free, anonymous exchange and other vital services at various San Francisco locations.

• The Speed Project works with gay and bisexual men who use crystal methamphetamine to assist them in understanding the connections between substance use and their sexual health and well-being. This is done through education, peer support, and alternative social activities.

• El Grupo is one of the longest running bilingual support groups for Latinos living with HIV in the nation. Open to all HIV-positive Latino/as and their families, it provides a safe forum to share information on managing HIV and reducing isolation and stigma.

• The Stonewall Project is a harm reduction counseling and treatment program for men who have sex with men (queer, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning or no label) who have questions about speed, want information and want help dealing with speed.

• Magnet, developed by community leaders and activists, provides sexually transmitted infection services, including HIV testing and screening to the Castro, the neighborhood which continues to have the greatest concentration of new HIV infections in San Francisco. Magnet also creates a space in the Castro for gay men’s social events.

One of my housemates came through a bit ago and was totally surprised to see me up so early. Thankfully the housemate that annoys me the most is camping this weekend.

Not sure how well known this song is, but I guess we'll see...

I will get more interesting, I promise. I'm just still trying to get stuff settled and ready because you know, of course I wouldn't have done that in advance... so yeah.

My latte is really sweet. I forgot to ask for caramel sauce rather than syrup, but I'm totally drinking it anyway because dude. Caffeine necessary. Also, I have my very first blister from a pair of shoes. Somehow I managed to go 31 years before that happened. I wonder if I'll have time to run our for bandaids at some point.... Keegan? Wanna help a girl out?

I'm feeling vaguely guilty for *driving* to the Starbucks 4 blocks away. That's normally my Sunday morning walk. I know I'm under serious time constraints here, but it felt wrong to be driving there.

Here's another easy one. But don't get cocky, they will get harder once you're all more awake.

I'm sort of impressed with myself. Last year I was so overwhelmed with the early start and worrying I'd be late with posting that I held off showering til Keegan got here around 10:30am. Today I've already posted twice, showered, and put on real clothes. Starbucks run as soon as I post this.

Oddly, I've got a case of the sneezes this morning. I'm allergic to waking up early on a Saturday. But I have tissues and will persevere!

Okay, it's early, I'm handing y'all a "gimme". Song title *and* artist please.

(I've opened with this post every year. It's become traditional, and seems only fitting.)

I did my first AIDS Walk San Francisco in 1990. From 1990-1992 Michael Callen sang this song at the opening ceremony of the Walk. In 1993, someone else sang it, because Michael had died. When I heard that, it ripped my heart out. I never knew him personally, but it still hurt. I thought that posting the lyrics here would be a fitting way to kick off the Blogathon.

LOVE DON'T NEED A REASON

by Peter Allen, Michael Callen & Marsha Malamet
Warner Bros. Publishing Co. (ASCAP),
Tops and Bottoms Music and Malamution Music (BMI)

If your heart always did
what a normal heart should do
If you always play a part
instead of being
who you really are

Then you might just miss the
one who's standing there
So instead of passing by
show him that you care
Instead of asking why
Why me? And why you?
Why not we two?

'Cause
Love don't need a reason
Love don't always rhyme
And love is all we have for now
What we don't have is time

If we always believe
all the madness that we're taught
Never questioning the rules
then we're living lies
we bought so long ago
How are they to know?

It's not who's wrong or right
it's just another way
And I don't wanna fight
But know I'm gonna stay
with you till the end
With you my friend

REPEAT CHORUS

I'll hold you close
time can't tear us apart
Forever, I will stand by you
We've got to start
with the beat of one heart
Together,
We will see this through

'Cause
Love don't need a reason
Love's never a crime
And love is all we have for now
What we don't have
what we don't have is time

Year 3, we are go. I completed signups on Friday, which means you can now sponsor me. I'm once again blogging for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

From their web site:
"Established in 1982, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation is one of the oldest and largest community-based AIDS service organizations in the United States. The mission of the agency is to end the pandemic and the human suffering caused by HIV. To that end, we provide a comprehensive array of services -- including financial benefits counseling, client advocacy, housing assistance, HIV prevention efforts, needle exchange, and the California AIDS Hotline (800-367-AIDS) -- that directly serve over 100,000 individuals affected by HIV/AIDS. We reach over 1.5 million others through community outreach, public policy efforts, prevention campaigns, and the Web."

Check out their site in the sidebar and find out more...