Coolest Thing Ever Written About Us (by Charlotte Martin)

June 17, 2011

So Gwenn and I have been out as a sero-diverse couple for over a decade now. Safer sex with a smile and trying to enlighten people that positoids, people with HIV, can have a healthy relationship is at the top of our list of goals. As a result of being out there, we’ve had more than a few articles written about us.

On the best side of things, our message is understood, and shared beyond what our capabilities to reach people are, such as when Poz profiled us back when My Pet Virus was published, or when CNN.com did a story for World AIDS Day a few years back. The worst case was a British tabloid that chose the tag line: “SLEEPING WITH MY HUSBAND COULD KILL ME!” When they published that fictitious quote from Gwenn, I could have killed them.

Anyway, as everyone knows I love nothing more than a tall, cool iced mocha. I really enjoy my coffee shop dates with Gwenn. We’ve gotten quite friendly with a lot of the baristas in town, some of whom know a lot about our work and others who know very little. So I was really touched when Charlotte, a cool barista at Shenandoah Joe, wrote about us on her Tumblr page, A Heart Like Mine.

I’m posting this because lately I’ve felt so burnt out on AIDS. I receive so much encouragement about the work that Gwenn and I do, but I would be lying if I didn’t say that 24 years of being diagnosed with HIV- and spending the last 15 years talking and writing about it- is wearing on me. I do the best I can to stay motivated and mocha’d. Big thanks to Charlotte for handling both sides of that.

Positively Yours,
Shawn
———-

Shawn and Gwenn
blog post by Charlotte Martin

I know this great couple who have been on the list of my top favorite customers at SJ for my entire employment there (a very long time). They are the ones who keep me sane a little bit. They have all the qualities of FCM (Favorite Customer Material): they don’t take themselves seriously, they get coffee to stay, they dress uniquely, they are smiley, they give a shit (constant theme of people I like), they make good jokes, they understand, and they aren’t like everyone else.

Shawn and Gwenn are great. I really like them even though I don’t know them that well. Shawn is slightly goth, has hipster glasses, great graphic t-shirts, and a disarming smile. Gwenn is very much a woman. She always looks fashionable without belonging to one sort of genre of clothing. They’re married and Shawn is HIV postive. They travel around the country on a regular basis raising awareness about their relationship, safe sex, and the realities of the controversial illnesses that are HIV and AIDS. Shawn has also written a book which I recently read called My Pet Virus. The book pretty much changed my life a little bit.

In his book, Shawn talks about what it was like growing up with a disease that he acquired from tainted blood products. Growing up during a time when ignorance about HIV/AIDS was more widespread and deathly than the disease itself, Shawn found himself getting kicked out of school for being HIV positive. Consequently, he became very secretive about his condition during his grade school years. Upon graduating high school, he decided to come clean about his secret on the world wide web by creating a website called My Pet Virus.

What I love about Shawn’s life is that the best thing he ever did was come clean. His life helps other people. When he and Gwenn go to high schools and colleges to talk about these issues, people become knowledgeable, less ignorant, less afraid of these things: sex, STDs, and AIDS. It is necessary and vital that people be educated about this. AIDS is a huge epidemic that a great deal of the world faces. There are still people who point the finger and force shame on those who don’t deserve it. Shawn’s hilarious and forgiving perspective about his condition brings great things to people and schools in the US.

I also love that Shawn and Gwenn’s life is not normal in any way. They aren’t your normal run-of-the-mill couple who went to college, got engaged, had a nice American wedding, and lived happily ever after with their 9-5 jobs, picket fence, and kids. Shawn didn’t go to college. He blogged and wrote music instead. Gwenn was the one who proposed. Their wedding was far from “normal,” their job is more of a travel log, full of late nights, and iced mochas. As for their picket fence and kids? To quote Gwenn’s words: “I have no maternal instincts.”

I LOVE THIS COUPLE.

I love that they don’t hide. I love that a potential secret that could have made them fearful and quiet, instead has made them live life to the fullest, enjoy their coffee to stay, talk loudly and proudly about sex and HIV, and be the confident, kind, and quirky people they are.

I wanna be like them.

-C

Posted by Shawn Decker | Filed Under Blog, Shawn's Favorite Things

Happy Birthday to Gwenn

May 19, 2011

The love of my life. Thanks for making this journey worthwhile. I love you with all of my positoid heart!

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Posted by Shawn Decker | Filed Under Blog, Shawn's Favorite Things

Synthetic Division “Out of Time” Music Video

April 4, 2011

Here it is, my band’s first ever music video, featuring stop motion and Playmobil toys- including a hospital! Funny thing is, the inspiration for this song came in part from a hospital visit in late 2009… so the creator Dirk Roth’s concept really fits the song and release perfectly.

I hope you enjoy the video and share it with friends!

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Watch, Friend and Follow me on:
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
Website: ShawnandGwenn.com Also check out the lovely Gwenn’s Fashion/Coffee Blog
My CD, Synthetic Division, A Symptom of Life, is on iTunes!

SHARE THE BLOG. NOT THE VIRUS.

Posted by Shawn Decker | Filed Under Blog, Music, Shawn's Favorite Things, Shawn's Videos

Meet Dirk Roth, Watch His Cool Video

March 30, 2011

I love music videos. The only time I see them is when TiVo picks up 120 Minutes on VH1 Classic, which I highly recommend watching if you haven’t seen it. They show the best. I know, I know, you can YouTube videos anytime… but 120 Minutes really sorts out the quality stuff, and there’s always a Depeche Mode video on the 2 hour program.

A video you won’t see on VH1 Classic is one that I came across when a friend of mine, Mike Johnson of the band Ego Likeness, shared it on Facebook. It’s a video for the band Joy Division, created using Playmobil toys and stop-motion. The creator, Dirk Roth, basically took a live TV performance and recreated it, making something even better than the original.

Compare the two… the real band:

Now check out Dirk’s version…

Pretty awesome, huh? What’s equally awesome is that Dirk agreed to make a music video for Synthetic Division last month… and it debuts soon! More information in a couple of days- stay tuned.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Posted by Shawn Decker | Filed Under Blog, Entertainment & Pop Culture, Music, Shawn's Favorite Things

Tribute to Mr. Hahn

March 2, 2011

Earlier this month, I received some sad news via Facebook that one of my Friends on their had passed to spirit. The Friend? My Speech Communications teacher from my senior year in high school, Duane Hahn.

Duane was a Waynesboro High classic, one of a handful of teachers that you remember as vividly as the first day you stepped foot in his classroom. His personality was infectious- and he kept you on your toes with his quick wit. My senior year, I had him for first period. It’s a slot I usually skipped out on, cashing in on the “sick excuse” that an HIV diagnosis allowed.

The first semester of my senior year, my attendance was pretty good. That’s because the first half of Duane’s class was about public speaking. I loved preparing little speeches educating classmates about the return to the WWF of former champion Bob Backlund, and going on the morning announcements where I sang a line from the Modern English song “Pillow Lips” to a confused student body one fall morning. I had no idea I’d apply that stripping of the fear of public speaking to my adult life as an HIV educator, and that’s what made Mr. Hahn special… learning was fun.

For the second semester, Mr. Hahn was teaching sign language, and my old habits of missing school and sleeping in allowed me to fall embarrassingly behind in his class. I changed my schedule around a bit second semester, dropping all academic classes because I realized I wasn’t going to college. There was a bit of a reality check going on, subconsciously. Since I’d been unable to pick up the basics of sign, I dropped Speech Communications, too. Whenever I saw Mr. Hahn in the hallway after that, he’d give me that Rock-esque cocked eyebrow, as if saying, “Oh, it’s you.” It was in jest, but I could see that I had let him down by dropping his class.

Maybe he thought it was personal? I wish I’d been mature enough to explain to him that I was embarrassed by how far I’d fallen behind, that I just wanted to sleep more. Or that I found the first semester way more interesting.

A couple of days after I read the news of Mr. Hahn’s passing, Gwenn and I spoke at a conference for guidance counselors in Maryland. I thought about him all day- and how his class was my favorite that last year of high school. I wished that I’d sent him a message saying so on Facebook when I Friended him a couple of years ago. Either way, I thank him dearly for all the laughs, and for helping me overcome nerves when speaking in front of people.

You will be missed, Mr. Hahn.

Positively Yours,
Shawn

Watch, Friend and Follow me on:
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
Website: ShawnandGwenn.com
Also check out the lovely Gwenn’s Fashion/Coffee Blog
My CD, Synthetic Division, A Symptom of Life, is on iTunes!

SHARE THE BLOG. NOT THE VIRUS.

Posted by Shawn Decker | Filed Under Blog, Shawn's Favorite Things

A Valentine’s Tale by Gwenn

February 15, 2011

I can’t leave you with Tommy Morrison as a valentine from yesterday. But I can share a very nice post that Gwenn wrote on Valentine’s Day, over on her A Latte Style tumblr page. I’m a lucky guy. - STD

when?

February 14, 2011

“Shawn and I have never been big Valentine’s Day celebrators but this year we had some fun, very low key, things planned. I saw a flyer last week at the coffee shop advertising heart shaped scones, delivered by a cherubic bike rider, for a donation to a cause I thought was good. It sounded fun and I emailed them to set up my delivery to the coffee shop where we planned on having our valentine’s day drinks. I had also planned on making fondue for dinner, which is something we like but don’t make often.

This morning I woke up feeling pretty bad. Sore throat, achy body, just blah. I really wanted to go out for a bit so I showered (which helped with all symptoms), and felt ok enough to make it out to see my scones delivered. When we got to the coffee shop we found out they had delivered the scones, with much fanfare, 3 hours earlier. I was bummed. The scones themselves were ok, but we really did this all for the delivery. Oh well. I went home and Shawn went to his Monday night pool league. When he got home he brought me the best fruit plate ever that he had made for me. I was sad that our original plans didn’t work out but so thankful that we celebrate each other every day. I know a fruit plate might not sound romantic but it was the sweetest thing he could have done.” – Gwenn

Watch, Friend and Follow me on:
YouTube, Facebook and Twitter
Website: ShawnandGwenn.com
Also check out
the lovely Gwenn’s
Fashion/Coffee Blog
My CD, Synthetic Division, A Symptom of Life, is on iTunes!

SHARE THE BLOG. NOT THE VIRUS.

Posted by Shawn Decker | Filed Under Blog, Shawn's Favorite Things

5 Things About HIV They’re Not Telling You- by Mark S. King

January 21, 2011

Mark S. King of the wonderful site, My Fabulous Disease, recently sat down with Sean Strub to discuss “Five Things About HIV They’re Not Telling You”. It’s the antithesis of Death Anus, in that they discuss real science and hopeful information about HIV and how much we’ve learned since the death ads of the late 1980s. This is such a great conversation between two long-term survivors and thrivers with HIV. Watch and learn.

Plus you get to see them in a one point ping pong match to determine the greatest ping pong player of all-time with HIV. SPOILER ALERT: Mark wins.