Pain is Weakness Leaving the Body

As things were winding down to AIDS Walk New York this Sunday, I wanted to make sure I was up to snuff physically. I'm a fanatical inline skater, and Ive skated AIDS Walk New York 8 out of the 9 times I've done it. Here's the link to my donation page in case you can donate. Every now and then Mother Nature looks like she's gonna give New York the finger with rain, but she's been pretty good so far.

I just checked the weather report, and it still looks like rain. What are ya gonna do, eh? So I have to walk. That sucks. It sucks even more because one of the reasons I skate AIDS Walk New York is to blaze through the 10K route in order to help at the last checkpoint where all the refreshments are. There are at least 5 freight trucks there loaded with food, snacks, water, & supplies. That's a lot of stuff, but then again, there was something like 50,000 people at AIDS Walk New York last year. I like to start early and help out as long as I can.

I'm in fairly good shape, and while I've been training like a madman for this, I could always train harder. I'm not going to be in any shape to bust out a triathalon anytime soon, but I'd like to aim for that as opposed to ending up like a big fat slob. I've been going to the AIDS Walk New York office headquarters to volunteer as much time as I could lately. There were loads of envelopes to stuff, label, and mail out as well as prep work on a massive scale. They can always use more volunteers, and I was good to go. A little over a week ago, I must have blown out my right knee on the way to the office. As I was skating at the time, the adrenaline and endorphins must have masked the pain up until I was walking. Blessed Buddha it hurt. The weird thing was that it hurt walking and especially going up and down stairs, but it didn't hurt while skating.

A few days ago, I put some Phiten Titanium tape above and below my right kneecap.

That made it easier to cut down on the ibuprofen, and I have more flexibility, but it royally sucks to be immobile. Essentially Phiten products act as a heat sink regulating energy ionically. I've been wearing a Phiten necklace for years, and it allows me to train longer & harder with less pain and shortened recovery time.

It still sucks that my girlfriend and I will have to walk, but we're still going to bust our humps and volunteer as long as we can. I still have faith that Mother Nature will shine down on us.

Party at Central Park on May 20th!

First, off, allow me to apologize for not posting in a while. I had my head foresquare up my hindparts, and while I always say I'll do things differently next time, I always end up waiting 'til the last minute to do my taxes. And then a lot of shit hit the fan with Don Imus acting like a jackass, and the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech. I've been pretty bummed out about that, and I'll tell you more soon enough.

I'm also looking for work more than freelance (read: mercenary) as a content manager/ editor, and that's frustrating as Hell. It's taking a lot of strength not to get terribly frustrated or depressed, but there are far many who have delt with far worse than I will ever know.

Hey, if you're seriously looking to hire, drop me a line.

Now about the party next month. I'm preparing for it in a big way, but then again, AIDS Walk NYC is a pretty big event. I've skated through NYC for the past 13 years or so, and in that time, I've skated AIDS Walk 4 times. 10K of New York City streets without cars? Woo Hoo! On top of that, I have NEVER seen so much good karma in one location as I have with AIDS Walk. Something about being part of it inspires you to do more. With the festive atmosphere and goodwill, it's important to never lose sight of the fact that while it is fun, people are dying.

One of my heroes is Lance Armstrong. That man has gone through more Hell than most people will ever know, and he has shown an amazing amount of grace and skill. He's not from Krypton. He's not a mutant with rapid healing & metal claws. He's a regular joe, not a superhero. Over the past few years, I was fortunate enough to find replicas of three of his Tour de France Winner's Jerseys. If anything, he has shown that people are capable of doing great things. Every life has the potential for similar greatness, and to see that hope taken away by AIDS is heartbreaking. The next poor soul to die of AIDS could have written something as deeply eloquent as "Bohemian Rhapsody."

For me it is a race, and I want to do more. It doesn't take all that much time to skate the AIDS Walk, and if you really push yourself, you'll find that you have loads of time to spare. I help out at the Finish Line, because there's always gonna be people who need help. One year it was scooping ice cream throughout the afternoon. Another year it was unloading trucks.

I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd think about sponsoring me for this year's AIDS Walk NY on May 20th. To make things easy, you can click here for my donations page. Your help means a lot, and hey - if you're already registered as a participant, look for me at the Finish Line checkpoint unloading trucks & helping to serve stuff. I'll be the guy in the Tour de France 2006 Winner's Jersey.