World AIDS Day.
In observance of World AIDS Day, hit-or-miss.org is participating in a Day Without Weblogs.

Today, please take a few minutes to learn about the global AIDS crisis and find out how you can make a difference.

The AIDS Quilt is in Kirksville today for World AIDS Day.

What has Matt written about AIDS on hit-or-miss.org before?

HIV Live – an column by Mark Price, about living with AIDS.

If AIDS is associated in my mind with a single face, it would be Mark Price. Mark wound up being a fellow graduate student in my library science program, but I first meet Mark when I went to get the results of my HIV test 2 years ago.

I had no real reason to believe I had AIDS — I went mainly as a support for my friend (who was getting tested to allay his fears regarding his boyfriend’s past). Walking in and getting a little prick on my finger was the easiest thing to do in the world. Going back 2 weeks later a piece of cake. But hearing that our test results would be delayed for two more weeks because of lab problems caused me to pause and think.

Why was the lab having troubles? Why couldn’t they just tell me right away that I didn’t have AIDS, that I was safe? Suddenly, those few times I had enaged in some brief, unprotected oral sex didn’t seem like they had been such a good idea.

Two weeks later – one month after getting tested – I was shown into a small room by Mark, one of the counselors at Positive Link, the anonymous HIV/AIDS testing service in Bloomington. I had heard Mark speak once before about living with AIDS (as he often does around Bloomington). Mark quickly put me at ease, telling me that my HIV test had come back negative. But we had a good 20 minute talk about my sexual practices and patterns.

A short time later, Mark began his weekly opinion column in the Indiana University student newspaper – HIV Live. Truthful and non-apologetically, Mark has written now for over a year, putting a face on AIDS for the Bloomington, Indiana community.