Project Kengikat

Busy Bee

// March 9th, 2010 // Uncategorized

Last night I had my very first Oscar party and man was it fun. I invited two friends over and we had a blast. I made some dips and I also cooked. I just wanted to make sure we had a great time. My two friends Donald and Franklin were my guests.

As always the Oscars were pretty uneventful, in fact they were rather boring and after ll the hype that was put into how wild and crazy the two host would be, I must say that the show was even double boring. They really need to go back and let Whoopi or Robin Williams host the show. At least then we can get some laughs. They should also consider bringing  back some entertainment as well. The highlight of the show for all three of us was the win by Mo’Nique for best supporting actress for her role in Precious. If you have not seen this movie I strongly suggest you check it out on DVD.

The rest of the night was all about my food, fun with friends and all the laughter we shared. It’s been really cool having my own place again and being able to have friends over for dinner or even just to hang out. I cant even begin to tell you what it has been like knowing that at the end of every day I have a place that is all mine, where I am safe, wont have to worry about someone taking my things while I am gone or asking permission to go into the kitchen to cook or if I can stay out and see a movie if I feel like it.

The menu was pretty simple, but I must say I did have a hard time deciding what I was going to cook. At first I wanted to cook prime rib and shrimp, but I thought that might be a bit much for them, then I that I would do some enchiladas or maybe some bbq chicken and ribs. In the end I went with cornish game hens, wild rice, garlic whipped potatoes and fried shrimp. I also made some dips as well. For dessert I made a very simple cream cheese cherry pie. This was the very first pie I even made on my own and I have not made it in such a very long time.

The pie is pretty simple when I think about it. The pie crust is a gram cracker and is often store purchased, the filling is cream cheese, condensed milk, lemon juice, and can cherry pie filling on top once the pie filling has had a chance to get solid. It’s simple, but packs a smooth awesome taste to any meal and was a major hit with the guys. In all the night was fun and I am so glad I had the chance to do this with my friends.

After a long hot bath late Sunday night and some much needed down time with Dodger, I turned into bed and had an awesome nights rest which in turn made Monday start rather slow. Yes, I slept late and even after I woke up I stayed in bed just resting. I didn’t rush to get up. Even after I took Dodger out for his morning walk I still came back in and got back into bed. I sent a text to my friend Leah and after about another hour of laying in bed I got up and took a long hot shower and started my day.

Last week I got an email from someone who wanted to speak with me about the work I do for a documentary they are working on. We exchanged emails, but last week got away from me and before I knew it I had forgotten all about it. Which may not have been a bad thing since I have had several people tell me they would like to meet with me to talk about my community work and nothing ever comes of it. However this time was very different. This morning I called the number supplied and I had the chance to speak with someone regarding the project in great detail and after speaking with him I later got an email asking to have a meeting with me tomorrow morning.

I then needed to touch base with the person who is my contact for the Los Angeles County Commission on HIV. I learned that I will be attending a commission meeting as well as meeting the other commissioners and then going for my interview next week. After speaking with my contact and getting all the dates and details down, I needed to break away and take Dodger out for a walk. I am glad I got up and took the time to step back and breathe.

Back at home I started making sure I have all the things I need for my rectification for the housing authority and I also need to make sure I have all the things I need for my appointment with my social worker. While going through all of this I also needed to make some time make plans for what is shaping up to be a very busy end of March and a jam packed April.

I have my 3rd Easter Basket outreach already underway and so far this has been pretty smooth. However I still need to shop for the items and this will be very different from the last big outreach I did last month when I had a car to do the shopping with, but I am sure I will be able to get it all done. This will be the third outreach I have done with Easter Baskets and each one has been a HUGE success. This year the outreach will once again impact the lives of children who are from low income families, but the sweet things is that all the children are right here in the same building I live in. I am so looking forward to doing this outreach, it is going to be great.

I also have my two year anniversary of being HIV positive and my 2nd Kengi’s get tested party. I will also do an outreach down on Skid Row for my Unpluggin HIV outreach that takes place for 40 residents. The plan is have a speaker come talk to the residents about their HIV labs and teaching them how to understand their labs. This may sound very easy, but believe me trying to get people to come speak on Skid Row is very hard. You would think that since they are taking information to the people who are greatly affected by HIV and AIDS, this would be something people would jump at and welcome, but since I am a small grass roots organization that does not have non-profit status nor a budget to offer anyone any money or incentive other then taking very important information on HIV and AIDS directly to those who need it the most, is very hard to make happen, but I am not going to give up. I will make this happen.

I also want to do an outreach to Chess Park and Venice beach, shop for clothes to wear when I am in Washington and then my trip to Washington. So April is a jam packed month for me. Plus I have so much more to prepare for as well.

Being able to spend a night laughing and having fun with friends over dinner while watching the Oscars was awesome. Now it is back to work for me.