AIDSLifecycle 2014 Update #2 (The Holidays are Upon Us!)

Hey everyone!  I know that I have to go ahead and accept the fact that it is the holidays. I mean, we all get to hear those same ol' silly jingles right about now, and CVS has had their X-Mas stuff out since Nov. 1, but the holidays are always (thought to be) about giving.

I am not always the most happy guy around the holidays. I find that people can sometimes be a bit much. People are running about with their blinders on, while everyone is forced to grimace a smile, (if they can manage) as they get bumped into, knocked around, and there's only so much 'HAPPY!HAPPY!' you can handle. Instead of going out into the madness of commerce and buying me a gift, donate instead. I am not materialistic. I do like nice things, but I should be the one working for those nice things. 

I appreciate the thought of a gift, but appreciate the thought of donating towards a worthy cause much much more.

Donate to my fundraising goal instead. I have everything I need, because I have you in my life. There are many others out there, who are nowhere near as lucky as I am. There are people out there who need more than Starbucks or iTunes gift card.
If you decide to donate, your money will go somewhere beyond Starbucks, and Apple.

THE L.A. GAY & LESBIAN CENTER is the world’s largest organization dedicated to serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and has been working to build the health, advocate for the rights and enrich the lives of LGBT people for more than 40 years.
The services and programs that your money will go to include: low-cost LGBT and HIV/AIDS specialty health care; housing, food, clothing and support for homeless LGBT youth;support services for LGBT seniors; low-cost counseling and addiction recovery services;legal services; health education and HIV-prevention programs; transgender services and medical care; mentoring for LGBT youth; cultural arts etc.

This is where you can make a huge difference in the lives of people who really need the help. 

I have raised $75 since Thanksgiving. My goal is to raise $1,500 by Dec. 31. Then I will keep raising as much as I can until we ride out!!

Forget the gifts. This is a real chance for us to help people, and truly experience the pride we can have in ourselves and our community!

AIDSLifecycle 2014 UPDATE #1 (Matthew Mullins, creator of Underground Voice LA, will be riding in AIDS Lifecycle 2014.)

Today, I give thanks for my friends who are living life to the fullest, and pay homage to the ones who have fallen from HIV/AIDS. In support of the mission to fight and put an end to AIDS, I made a very big decision this morning.

From June 1-7, 2014, I'm bicycling in AIDS/LifeCycle with my team, The Payasos. It's a 7-day, 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to make a world of difference in the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS. My team plans to raise $50,000, and I hope that you can find it in your heart to donate whatever you can to help make a difference in our community.

On this day of friends and family, I do not celebrate Christopher Columbus and his conquest of annihilating the natives in America. Instead I celebrate my friends and family, all of you so dear to me.

After his first voyage, Columbus was appointed Viceroy and Governor of the Indies, which gave him power he ruled those territories from 1494 to 1500. He created work camps (where Indians were worked to death in as ghastly a manner as anyone in 20th century), led the troops, established slavery & mines.

Christopher Columbus used disease, firearms, and power to try and decimate the Native Americans and Spaniards.

Bartlome de Las Casas said,

'There were 60,000 people living on this island [in 1508], including both Spaniards & Indians. So that between 1494 and 1508 more than three million people died from war, slavery and the mines.'

Even if his figures were exaggerated, either 3 million as he says, a million, as some historians calculate, or some think it was 8 million, it was Columbus,who was responsible for the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people, in 6 years.

521 years later, we have other problems.

According to AIDS.gov,

'More than 1.1 million people in the United States are living with HIV infection, and almost 1 in 5 (18.1%) are unaware of their infection.
Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM),1 particularly young black/African American MSM, are most seriously affected by HIV. By race, blacks/African Americans face the most severe burden of HIV.
An estimated 15,529 people with an AIDS diagnosis died in 2010, and approximately 636,000 people in the United States with an AIDS diagnosis have died since the epidemic began.3 The deaths of persons with an AIDS diagnosis can be due to any cause—that is, the death may or may not be related to AIDS.'

AIDS and Christopher Columbus have a lot in common, but AIDS hasn't been stopped and has no 'estimated death date.'

Ending the reign of this virus is part of my mission in life.

Riding in the Haunted Hollywood Halloween Ride

I am HIV negative, and I will stay that way, but I have held more than a few hands of friends as they died from Aids related illnesses. I don't want to lose anymore. Lets stop this TOGETHER. Please donate to me today, I will be eternally grateful, and you will help my friends, my family, our community, and me.

Follow the link to my AIDS Lifecycle homepage: Donation Page for Matthew Mullins

HIV Incidence (new infections): The estimated incidence of HIV has remained stable overall in recent years, at about 50,000 new HIV infections per year. Within the overall estimates, however, some groups are affected more than others. MSM continue to bear the greatest burden of HIV infection, and among races/ethnicities, African Americans continue to be disproportionately affected.

HIV Diagnoses (new diagnoses, regardless of when infection occurred): In 2011, an estimated 49,273 people were diagnosed with HIV infection in the United States. In that same year, an estimated 32,052 people were diagnosed with AIDS. Since the epidemic began, an estimated 1,155,792 people in the United States have been diagnosed with AIDS.3

CDC estimates that 1,148,200 persons aged 13 years and older are living with HIV infection, including 207,600 (18.1%) who are unaware of their infection.1 Over the past decade, the number of people living with HIV has increased, while the annual number of new HIV infections has remained relatively stable. Still, the pace of new infections continues at far too high a level— particularly among certain groups.

 

 

 

 

Opinion: Fitness as a Lifestyle Choice by Matthew Mullins

Matthew Mullins

This week I celebrate the anniversary of my new lifestyle choice in being physically fit. I was looking over my photo progress diary, and I was surprised to find what I looked like then vs. now.
Last Fall, I was told by the Health Office at LACC that I was showing signs of pre-hypertension. I committed to a strict caloric diet to shed some pounds, started taking a drug for hypertension that made me feel like crap, and decided I didn't want to be dependent on any drugs or die early.

Since last Fall, I have run over 500 miles (cue The Proclaimers), started working out, changed some of my diet, and began strictly adhering to my exercise to continue on with my fitness journey.
Now it's Nov. 2013. My weight has gone from 206 pounds to 171 pounds, I help create The #Tags Runner team, and most recently began biking with the Payasos and some really cool bears. I am going to work up to possibly riding with them in AIDS/LifeCycle.

BEST PART: I can look at myself in the mirror, and feel comfortable with what I see! Also, my blood pressure has normalized.

I am not bragging, just posting this with the hope to inspire more people to make a change in their life that will truly make them feel so much better. It isn't easy, but it CAN happen! But do it for yourself, no one else.