Gina Duncan announces historic run for Orange County City Commissioner

Check out the Watermark story for more details: http://www.watermarkonline.com/w-news/orlando/item/6981-duncan-makes-historic-bid-for-county-commissioner

nondrivers = #roadkill: a Central Florida automobilist epidemic RE: Bicyclist dies under the wheels of a Winter Park firetruck

Winter Park bicyclist killed by fire truck

I think the Sentinel could have done more to highlight the serious issue of pedestrian/ bicyclist safety in Central Florida.

I am not saying that the firetruck is 100% at fault but Orlando drivers rarely care about or pay attention to pedestrians or bicyclists.  I am sure that the driver feels horrible for what happened.

Sadly, I have been honked at, run off the road, and even hit by a car on my bike. 

Drivers don't realize they are supposed to share the road.  Until I started bicycling, I was pretty ignorant to this as well and used to get very frustrated with people biking on the road when I drove.

It surprises me that the accident happened where it did because Winter Park tends to be more bicycle friendly and I have biked up and down Lakemont many times. 

I was taking the bus home from UCF last night on Link 13 which goes by the ER and we had to go a different route because of the accident.  I immediately searched "Winter Park" and "accident" on my phone and found a news report about a bicyclist being killed.  The news really hit home with me.

I travel to work and grad school at UCF via LYNX, biking and walking and everyday I fear for my life because people see nondrivers as an inconvenience who are in the way. I have had many close calls because everyone is in such a rush. I sometimes just want to yell "slow the heck down!"

When I was hit by a car on my bike, the woman got out of her car and before even talking to me, she inspected her car for damage.  She did not apologize and told me that I should have not been in the road.  Unfortunately, the stretch of Corinne/Virginia that goes through Audobon Park does not have a bike path so I have to bike in the street with cars. I called the police to report the incident but they kept getting held up with other emergencies and after waiting 45 minutes for a police officer to come, I gave up and went to an appointment that I was already late for due to the accident.

The driver didn't understand that she was supposed to share the road and when she tried to pass me, her passenger side mirror hit me.  I honestly don't think she was paying attention and didn't see me.

It amazed me how she seemed to lose her of sense of humanity behind the wheel.  She forgot that her mass of metal, glass and rubber was no match for my flesh and bones on a little bike.  That is the sad part about suburbia, everyone is isolated and disconnected.  We hide from the world and each other and having a sense of community through our cars.  We can easily go from place to place without ever interacting with anyone along the way.

When I ride the bus or walk or bike, I am amongst people.  I am present in the space I am navigating.  I see varying life situations, I see suffering, I see people who are different from me and it keeps me in tune with reality unlike the apathetic and systematic, suburban cycle of socioeconomic and cultural avoidance promulgated by a automobile-centric society of commuting.  This consumer self-centeredness  seems to define the lifestyles of so many Central Floridians and other Americans around the country.

The bible story of the Good Samaritan comes to mind when I think about the current situation of our country and the disconnect between the haves and have nots.  It seems like everyone is crossing to the other side of the road and passing people by or tragically running right over them in some cases.

This has to change or we will continue to have tragedies such as last night's accident happen.  Central Floridians need to be more mindful of pedestrian and bicyclist rights.  Local government also needs to stop making it so convenient for cars to rule the roost and get away with it.

Don't wallow in your failure #tableforfive

"I'm going to admit that I have failed...I have let many people down but I also have succeeded beyond people's expectations...you have to take the good with the bad and continue to work towards doing better next time...no matter what...don't wallow in your failure...misery may desire company but it doesn't mean you have to sit down at his table...there is a seat reserved for you next to forgiveness and happiness and love and success...you just have to claim it and take it. Now."

I feel betrayed #houseofcards

This is one of those moments where you want to lash out and blame everyone else for something that is primarily your fault.  Why didn't anybody care about what happened to me? Probably because I never truly cared what happened to me, until now.  I don't even. remember. what happened.  I built this house of cards and how quickly it has fallen.

A is for ADD, Anxiety-ridden #toobigtofail

I continue to battle with my anxiety and ADD and I continue to feel like I haven't made a whole lot of progress.  It's like being a witness to a slow, agonizing murder and there is nothing you can do because you are frozen with fear...stuck in the mud.  I feel like my dreams and aspirations are too big to fail but at the same time I am so arrested by my mind. It feels like it is practically impossible to do the simple task I am expected to do, impossible.  But I want it to be possible and I wonder if it ever will be.

know your HIV status #fcukstigma #windowperiod

just because you decide to get tested for #HIV doesn't mean you have sex or do drugs or had a blood transfusion...it doesn't mean you are positive or negative or inconclusive...it doesn't mean you are gay or straight or bi or polyamorous or pansexual...it doesn't mean you are a certain sex or gender...it doesn't mean you are a saint or a sinner or the "anything goes" type...it doesn't mean you are a slut or promiscuous or even a "Goody Two-Shoes"...it doesn't mean you are white, black, brown, yellow, red, or any other color of the rainbow...it doesn't mean you are rich or poor or middle class...IT JUST MEANS that you care enough to know your status...and that is all that matters #fcukstigma

PS: Do you know what the #windowperiod is?

The only way to determine if a person is HIV positive or not, is through an HIV antibody test.  A positive result means you have been infected and can pass on the virus to others. It does not tell when you were infected or how healthy you are.  A negative result means you have not been infected.

The time it takes a person who has been infected with HIV to seroconvert (test positive) for HIV antibodies is commonly called the “window period.”  This window period is about 3 months long.  In the window period, people infected with HIV may not show HIV antibodies in their blood.  However, the person may already have high levels of HIV in their blood, sexual fluids, or breast milk.  HIV can be passed on to another person during the window period even though an HIV test will not show that one is infected with HIV. *image and explanation of HIV testing process from http://brownkiss.ca/docs/hiv_testing.asp