I’ll put it right out there, I’ve never actually had a STD. I do, however, have a very close girlfriend who has lived with herpes as part of her daily life for over 25 years. She is a good deal older than me and her story started back in the days before our society was as open as we are now about sexual risks and such.

She is the anti-poster-child for things like STDs. Careful and monogamous, she was in a long-term relationship with a man who stepped out on her from time to time. Of course, this did not come out in the wash until she suddenly realized she had herpes and talked to him about whether or not he thought he could have given it to her. Turns out he had realized he contracted it and traced it back to a brief fling he had during his relationship with my friend.

Well, that boyfriend did not last forever, but the consequences of his actions will. I cannot tell you how many times I have watched my friend start a relationship with a man, only to finally have to come to the time when she needed to have “the talk” with him. The break-up rate after “the talk” was staggeringly high. Even with protection and specific information and education, the men were usually not willing to deal with the reality of the situation.

I suppose that is understandable. It’s a massive commitment level some people might never be able to reach.

I can happily say that she is now married and a mother and life is absolutely not one huge train wreck. It’s just that the obstacles have been more intense for her in the relationship realm. Love really does conquer all, it seems.

Of course, it is one of the goals of the medical community to one day find a herpes cure. In the meantime, there are ways to those who live with the virus to strengthen their immune systems and head off chances of an outbreak. The homeopathic approach is to look at overall health: physical, mental, diet, etc. I’m sure anyone who gets cold sores knows that outbreaks are more common in times of stress or illness. It is the same for all strains of the virus. Natropractica is a program that teaches total health, homeopathic approaches to living. In fact, their Immune Boosting Protocols work for cold sores as well. There is a differnce in the stigma associated with type 1 and type 2, but the health of your immune system is key to BOTH.

In all reality, strengthening the strengthening the immune system is the absolutely most important part of dealing with Herpes Simplex, Cold Sores, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Epstein Barr, Fibromyalgia, Shingles and HPV. You’d be surprised how related all of these conditions really are.

I tend to be more aware of innovations on this front since becoming friends with the individual I mentioned above. Heightened awareness is a good thing on many levels. It’s made me more aware of my own safety, more aware of the pasts of the people with whom I have relationships, and more open to the information I want to pass along to my daughter.

Who would have ever thought that the University of South Florida is what would keep our state in the top spots on the Associated Press Top 25 poll? UF, the University of Florida in Gainesville, has been a given on that list for a while now. Things are changing, though, as UF sits at a precarious #15, Tampa USF powers up to #2.

The rest of the nation might not see the fine distinction between UF and USF, but the Gators and the Bulls are more than just different animals. The schools have different places in the hearts of Floridians. And before this year, not that many really considered USF at all when it came to their football program.

Having lived in Gainesville, I very much enjoyed the feel of a swarming, vibrant college town. I can only hope that Tampa is able to appropriate some of that zeal and fervor

Unless you’re new to using the internet, then you can look around and see that things move faster online. A website that has been around for 10 years has been around a lifetime in internet terms. Marketing trends online are probably one of the aspects of the wired world that have changed the most over the years.

Gone are the days where flashing banner ads are actually attracting customers. In order to attract and HOLD the attention of today’s web savvy culture, you have to employ something that not everyone has in abundance – creativity. Interactive technology is sophisticated now. Most web developers need to continuously adapt, learn, and strive in order to stay ahead of the pack.

The same goes for anyone who hopes to establish a true presence on the net. You can no longer stand by the old adage that “if you build it, they will come.” You have to go out and tackle your audience. You must bundle your product and your concept with interactive “bang”. You develop a strategy and then use technology to your advantage. You don’t work for technology. Technology works for you.

Take Terralever as an example. They have worked with such heavy hitters as Red Bull, NASA, Microsoft, hp, and the NBA. All of thee companies have a massively successful online presence and I’m willing to bet that you could sum each brand up in one sentence: what they stand for, what they do, and who they target. Why? Because they have all employed an interactive marketing company that knows how to navigate the internet.

The internet is a legitimate business territory. Treat it like one.

I’m all for fundraisers, especially for private schools. Why is it, though, that those in charge of fundraising rarely tend to exert even an ounce of originality when planning said fundraisers? My daughter goes to Pre-K at a private Christian school. My nephew is in Kindergarten at the same private Christian school where my daughter attended pre-pre-K (heh) last year. They are not affiliated, but both are using the same lame book of boring, engraved, Christmas cards as their fundraiser. And, there is a lot of pressure to make sales.

I hate my bad attitude, but I seriously don’t know people who will overpay for middling-quality cards. People are much more prone to either buy very inexpensive cards at Wal-Mart. Or, if they do want to spend the extra cash, they go for photo cards.

I can think of a lot of unique fundraising ideas off the top of my head – things that would actually make your friends and neighbors WANT to buy items, rather than just feeling obligated.

How about selling $1 or $5 scratch cards? Some could contain valuable gift certificates donated by local businesses. The others might not yield a prize, but for the $1 or $5 donation. Most people would not mind. (You could forego the expense of scratch cards and use notes inside of inflated balloons, instead.)

Take the time to compile a cookbook with recipes donated by the parents of children at the school. All the family favorites would be represented and people in the community might just be up to purchasing an item unique enough to change each year.

If you want to sell out of catalogs, plenty of candle companies offer fundraising programs. Some even feature the popular soy candles.

I could come up with more ideas, but this was supposed to be a rant, not a brainstorming session.

*Sigh*

Now I have to log off and fill out the forms to buy a bunch of Christmas cards I don’t actually want.