So, bit of a ... I dunno. Not really a negative update/vent, but, more just life being life.
I can't remember how much I've said here, so I'll do a quick synopsis. Unfortunately, my step-mother's cancer issue was not fully gone, they went and did more tests, didn't come back great, went and did more tests to see what they can confirm and that's where we stand. Huge question mark, but liver related so is either nothing random lesions) or really, really bad with not of possibilities in between... With my sister also going off to college soon, she has been acting out. Not like someone about to turn 18 tomorrow, but like a 12 year old. Which is hurting her mom, who is obviously stressed and terrified, and also everyone else, myself very much included. I've recently come to a few realizations of my own that... are not particularly great, though it was important I recognized these things for safety's sake. (I'm pretty sure this was behind the nose piercing impulse as my own outlet.)
So basically, I acknowledged to myself that given the way I intend to my live my life in the foreseeable future, I am definitely a high risk candidate for HIV infection. As such, I have scheduled an appointment to get a prescription to start PReP so it is in my system by the time I am in Atlanta. I don't intend to go crazy or do anything blatantly unsafe, but the reality is what it is for the trans community. Particularly in Atlanta for those of us attracted to guys, as apparently the rates are a bit higher in the south and the south means Atlanta. This has caused me to really consider a lot of things, as I have lived such a sheltered life and was not someone who ever even remotely considered something like HIV before. I dunno, it's hitting me in a weird way. Not sad or depressing, just weird.