The calm after the storm...

What an experience. To work on a project for 5 months, night and day to see it actualize has just been amazing. The 20th Annual AIDS Walk LA has come and gone and it was a rush being part of it.

And the record stands...For those of you who have followed my blogs over the last year know I have a knack for being entangled in natural disasters and insane weather situations. AIDS Walk LA was NO DIFFERENT. Our call time for the day was 4:00 am - and as I groggily got up I heard the strangest noise. Something not very familiar to this Los Angelean. Running water...no...could it be? YES, RAIN! What the hell?? It doesn't rain in LA. I parted the curtains to see some of the most torrential rain I have ever seen - and I lived through El Nino!

I made my way to our venue which we had started to set up the night before. When I arrived I saw the havoc the rain had already caused. Signs had been ripped off their stands. Huge lake size puddles stood all over the venue and our work was just beginning. We had 3 hours to get things set and HOPE the rain would stop for the walk. For those of you not from Southern California, FYI. When it rains (which is RARE) the city of LA shuts down. People don't know how to handle weather in LA and mostly will just stay inside.

So here we all are in our $.99 plastic panchos that looked more like body condoms running from over hang to over hang just tring to salvage what was left and to continue preparing for the 25,000 people we hoped were about to show up. It was intense, hilarious, frustrating, empowering, overwhelming and completely exciting to see our team work together as fast as we could with such major obsticles.

As the start time of the walk approached we all crossed our fingers in hopes that our event would not be rained out. At just about 8:45 - fifteen minutes before the opening ceremony - the clouds parted, the sun came out and the walkers appeared. We sat holding our breath hoping the trend would continue.

For the next three hours the weather couldn't have been better. The sun stayed out, it got up to about 70 and it couldn't have gone smoother. And here I thought mother nature just hated me. As we confirmed the last walker was out of the venue and it was time to clean up...the clouds rolled back in, the sky got heavy and BAM - here came the rain again just in time for breakdown. I guess it's a love / hate relationship. ;)

All the best!

Aye Dios Mio!

Well, we are on the eve of the 20th Annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles and I am doing all I can just to keep my eyes open. After 4-16 hour days I'm beginning to understand what my sister went through in residency for four years. Although, I don't have a scalpel in my hand. Jesus, what was she thinking? :)

I will be seeing you out on the route this Sunday. It's still not to late to register. Check out: http://www.aidswalk.net for more details.

Just finished booking my Boy Meets Boy trip to Costa Rica. I can not wait. It will be a very much needed R and R when we finish the campaign here in LA.

What's next? Who knows. Some definite changes are on the way. :)

Hey All

Augh - I am fried. The pace here at AIDS Walk is really stepping up.

Thanks to everyone who's sponsored me for the walk. Just about to my personal goal - and the support has really been great.

Headed down to SD this weekend to spend one last weekend with one of my best friends before he heads back to Australia. It should be a crazy weekend for the both of us. :) I am going to really miss him. Haha - he has been one of my main voices of reason through all the chaos of the past year and a half.

Other than that - just work, work, work- oh wait and more work. Squeezed in a date last night, however, which was...interesting to say the least. ;) Haha - that's where I'll stop with the details.

Have a great weekend.

-W

Hey All!

Atlanta was a blast. Trevor did really well - and it was great seeing the support and turnout for the event. I'll get some pictures up soon.

I am just about to head out to Gay Days at Disneyland. I'm helping out my friend / run both of the parties. Reichen from Amazing Race, Genesis from Real World Boston and some other reality TV friends / folks will be there. Come out - be proud - and wear red. ;)

http://www.gaydays2.com

I also wanted to post the release from MoveOn.org regarding the presidential debate last night. I was unfortunately on a plane back from Atlanta with an 80 year old Greek man kicking my seat the entire way. I'm not sure which would be more painful that or watching Bush.

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John Kerry's performance was very strong. But what sealed the deal for many commentators was how rattled Bush got when confronted with the truth about his policies. The Washington Post derided his "stammering and pausing," the New York Times said he was "scowling and grimacing" and "petulant," the Boston Globe noted his "sighing, clenching his teeth, rolling his eyes," the LA Times said he seemed "tired and annoyed," and CBS News described Bush as "scowling at times and looking away in apparent disgust at others." Mark Halperin of ABC News summed it up: George Bush was "remarkably angry-seeming."

Kerry has said before that George Bush lives in a "fantasy world of spin." Last night that fantasy world began to crumble. Bush appeared angry that anyone would dare to challenge his view of the facts. Faced with the reality of the mess he has created in Iraq, and challenged for repeatedly misleading the American people, he retreated, falling back on his trite slogans over and over and over.

Even the conservative pundits gathered on Fox News had to admit that Kerry looked pretty good last night. Bill Kristol said, "I think Kerry did pretty well, and...We're going to have a real presidential race." And right-wing commentator Joe Scarborough conceded: "I don't see how anybody could look at this debate and not score this a very clear win, on points, for John Kerry."
And the voters agree. ABC News said, "John Kerry won the debate," pointing to a poll of independent voters who declared Kerry the winner, 45% to 36%.

CBS News said, "John Kerry won the debate," and found Kerry up by 15 percentage points among uncommitted voters. Even Gallup, a polling firm which has consistently skewed Republican, found Kerry winning by 16 percentage points, with a whopping 46% of the viewers saying that the debate made their opinion of Kerry more favorable. On the web, clickers delivered a landslide: with over 250,000 votes cast on the CNN website, 77% of the viewers thought that Kerry won, as opposed to only 19% for Bush.

Kerry's win last night will transform the presidential race. As voters get to actually meet the man Karl Rove has demonized, they realize he presents a serious alternative to Bush's reckless policy of endless war.