Amarama's Journal

Subject:	Thanks Time!
Time:	5:29 pm.
Mood:	thankful.

I love the thanks portion of the new year celebrations!

Thanks to

hhholiday and

lovelikeyeast for beyond generously accompanying me home to see my parents and for doing the tough job of witnessing my weirdness, horror, dissociation, love, and skittishness around them. It was amazing to have your support and feel loved by you.

Thanks to

grenadinegirl for being a stand-up friend and support person during difficult, ongoing work strife and disaster, and for showing me how the Gen Yers do it around self-acceptance with introversion. (I'm an introvert, and it's just how I am!) Also thanks for cooking me amazing food and hosting me in your house, and generally being a smart, lovely pal.

Thanks to Allister for being the best multimedia pardner of all time, for sharing your vast technical knowledge with me without being a misogynist asshole, for spending/tolerating the most cumulative time with me in 2007 of anyone, and for old school masculinity done right.

Thanks to

agenthandy for getting me a job and being an amazing maniac!

Thanks again to

lovelikeyeast for being a fantastic friend, birthday lavisher, poutine and pierogi eater, clever aphasiast, traveler during hardship, bogeyman/creepy idol endurer, dating psychos hilariator, west coast mover, hem-hanging tolerator, and superfreak.

Thanks to

beccawrites for being a fantastic listener, hard tryer, presser on, and leader of the post-revolutionary IV danglers.

Thanks to

serazin for being the kind of Californian intentional family who sticks around during hardship and bullshit as well as parties and popularity.

Thanks to Rutabaga for the love, wacky thinking, gymNasts, furiosity, limit testing, trust, devotion, and superstarness.

Thanks to

maeve66 for being an amazing friend, turning me out as a Bollywood enthusiast, being a fierce supporter, water aerobicizer, medical self-advocacy attender, nice thing sayer, Target accompanier, vocabularian (thanks to the triple H for this, too) and older sistery pal.

Thanks to the person to whom I owe money for your incredible generosity to me and for being supremely mellow about the money's repayment given my general (thankfully lessening) financial instability.

Thanks to

drmardi and E-Shem for being reliably loving family people.

Thanks to

nicejewishbutch for being a super Shabu Jew, dear new Friday movie friend, and Emasculation Tourette's counselor.

Thanks to

cornbreadboi for your near and far dearness.

Thanks to

ilipodscrill for still being my number one gay boyfriend, despite our trials, absences, and medication problems.

Thanks to

seyewailo for inviting me to speak at your school and being a fantastic role model. Thanks to

fattest for being a dear friend and community wrangler. Thanks to all of the Thermalians for opening your home to me and everyone else, for the hot tub privileges, for the safety and warmness that you extend to me, and for the open invitations. I am super appreciative of your generosity. I will gladly be your designated lifter and stair climber when at all possible.

Thanks to

goodbadgirl for being a badass superstar and affirmator.

Thanks to

plaid_is_best and

lil_hay_seed for hosting my birthday dinner in Portland and for the love from afar!

Thanks to

qthebrave for the adventures and for witnessing my big, ridiculous thinking and tears (er, like maniac tears--rip, rip--not crying tears) from time to time.

Thanks to the LJ people for the comments and support from afar! Thanks to all my friends and pals scattered all over the place! Thank you for helping to keep me around and easing my way. If you can read this, thank you!

Comments: Read 18 or Add Your Own.

Subject:	Cake Lady Logo Contest
Time:	9:13 pm.
Mood:	cheerful.

Pals,

I need a logo for my cake lady business. As some of you know, people have been paying me to make cakes lately, and because of this, I would like to make a business card before long. My original vision was to have an old-timey tattoo-style, fat, curvy pinup lady holding a big cake as my logo. I still would sort of like this logo, but I am open to anything that you lovely and talented folks may come up with.

Here's the good part: ANYONE SUBMITTING A LOGO WILL RECEIVE A FREE CAKE! Yes, you might have received a free cake anyway, but now, YOU DEFINITELY WILL RECEIVE A FREE CAKE! Draw me a cake logo, and a cake is yours! If you don't live in my geographical region, you must wait until we're united to receive your FREE CAKE! I am not prepared to freeze and ship.

Love,
Ama

Comments: Read 19 or Add Your Own.

Subject:	Sat 8/25 1-3pm: Sexuality @ Fat Health & Med Advocacy Group
Time:	8:59 am.
Mood:	awake.

Hi Folks,

We've had a month of lapse in the Fat Health and Medical Advocacy Group, but we're back in August for a facilitated group discussion (no guest speaker this time) on Fat Bodies and Sexuality. Thanks to Abra, we are trying out a NEW LOCATION this month, the Dimond Library in Fruitvale. We will meet on Saturday, August 25th from 1-3pm in the Dimond Library meeting room.

The Dimond Library is located at 3565 Fruitvale Avenue, Oakland, CA 94602. You can find directions and public transit instructions here: http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/Branches/dimond.htm#directions. As always, please email me if you need a ride from BART, and either I will pick you up, or I will find someone who will.

Topics covered will include:

* Perceived sexual scarcity and fat bodies
* Fetishization of fat
* Fat's location in the queer community
* Heterosexual dynamics and fat bodies
* Fat and sexual power
* Sexual abuse
* Cultural location as a component of fat sexuality
* The internet and fat sexuality
* Fat sexuality in the media

If you have something that you'd like to discuss that I haven't covered here, please email me and I'll add it to the agenda!

The group cost is $0 - whatever you can pay. This project is operating with the help of NOLOSE (http://www.nolose.org/), the non-profit tax status of which has helped secure reduced-rate access to facilities. However, the direct cost of the group to me will be around $40, which I hope to cover with the help of contributions.

Please RSVP for the group as soon as possible by writing to me at amandapiasecki@yahoo.com. I will send a confirmation message once I receive your RSVP. Attendance will be capped at 20 people.

Please email with any questions or concerns.

I hope to see you there!

All the best,
Amanda

Comments: Read 6 or Add Your Own.

Subject:	Behavior: Fat Health & Med Advocacy Group 6/16
Time:	7:45 am.
Mood:	awake.

Hi folks,

On Saturday, June 16th, 2007, from 12-2 pm, Dr. Elena Escalera, PhD, has generously offered to do a guest presentation on Behavior Change and Health at Any Size as part of the Fat Health & Medical Self-Advocacy Group. Topics covered will include transforming self-harming medical denial and fear into harm reductionist thinking and self-love, and the theory behind what happens in our brains in order to enact behavior change.

Dr. Escalera is a professor of psychology at St. Mary's College, a fat warrior, and a badass community leader.

The group will be held on Saturday, June 16th from 12-2 pm in the meeting room at the Lakeview Branch of the Oakland Public Library.

The group will be focused on self-identified fat women and queers. If you'd like to attend and you're not a fat woman or queer, please email me and let me know a bit about who you are and why you'd like to attend.

The Lakeview Library has a parking lot, is accessible, and is easily reachable via public transportation. The parking lot may fill up quickly on the weekend because of the Farmer's Market, in which case parking under the freeway between MacArthur and Lake Park is the next best option. The NL line of the transbay bus stops about a block away on MacArthur and Lakeshore. AC transit line 12, which picks up near the Oakland 12th St BART station, stops on Grand and Lake Park, and the AC transit line 57, which picks up near MacArthur BART, stops on Grand and MacArthur. If you need a ride from BART, please let me know and either I will pick you up, or I'll find you someone who can.

The group cost is $0 - whatever you can pay. This project is operating with the help of NOLOSE, the non-profit tax status of which has helped secure reduced-rate access to facilities. However, the direct cost of the group to me will be around $40, which I hope to cover with the help of contributions.

Please RSVP for the group as soon as possible by writing to me at amandapiasecki@yahoo.com. I will send a confirmation message once I receive your RSVP. Attendance will be capped at 20 people.

**IMPERATIVE: IF YOU HAVE TO CANCEL AFTER YOU RSVP, PLEASE DO SO IN A TIMELY MANNER, SINCE THERE WILL BE A WAITING LIST, AND IF YOU CANCEL AT THE LAST MINUTE, THE WAIT LISTED PEOPLE WON'T GET NOTIFIED IN TIME TO ATTEND.**

Please email with any questions or concerns.

I hope to see you there!

All the best,
Amanda

Comments: Read 5 or Add Your Own.

Subject:	Managing Shame: Fat Health & Med Advocacy Group 5/19
Time:	11:21 am.
Mood:	busy.

Hi folks,

On Saturday, May 19th, 2007, from 1-3 pm, Matilda St. John, MFT, has generously offered to do a guest presentation on managing shame at the doctor's office as part of the Fat Health & Medical Self-Advocacy Group. Topics covered will include addressing shame as a barrier to obtaining care, strategies for sticking to a medical self-advocacy agenda while managing shame, and dealing with a trauma response to healthcare environments. After her presentation, Matilda has offered to spend some time consulting on individuals' specific barriers in the context of the group.

Matilda St. John is a member of Oakland's amazing feminist psychotherapy practice, Psyche, and is a dancer in the Bay Area's famous fat dance troupe, Big Moves.

The group will be held on Saturday, May 19th from 1-3pm in the meeting room at the Lakeview Branch of the Oakland Public Library (http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/Branches/lak.html).

The group will be focused on self-identified fat women and queers. If you'd like to attend and you're not a fat woman or queer, please email me and let me know a bit about who you are and why you'd like to attend.

The Lakeview Library has a parking lot, is accessible, and is easily reachable via public transportation. The parking lot may fill up quickly on the weekend because of the Farmer's Market, in which case parking under the freeway between MacArthur and Lake Park is the next best option. The NL line of the transbay bus stops about a block away on MacArthur and Lakeshore. AC transit line 12, which picks up near the Oakland 12th St BART station, stops on Grand and Lake Park, and the AC transit line 57, which picks up near MacArthur BART, stops on Grand and MacArthur. If you need a ride from BART, please let me know and either I will pick you up, or I'll find you someone who can.

The group cost is $0 - whatever you can pay. This project is operating with the help of NOLOSE (http://www.nolose.org/), the non-profit tax status of which has helped secure reduced-rate access to facilities. However, the direct cost of the group to me will be around $40, which I hope to cover with the help of contributions.

Please RSVP for the group as soon as possible by writing to me at amandapiasecki@yahoo.com. I will send a confirmation message once I receive your RSVP. Attendance will be capped at 20 people.

**IMPERATIVE: IF YOU HAVE TO CANCEL AFTER YOU RSVP, PLEASE DO SO IN A TIMELY MANNER, SINCE THERE WILL BE A WAITING LIST, AND IF YOU CANCEL AT THE LAST MINUTE, THE WAIT LISTED PEOPLE WON'T GET NOTIFIED IN TIME TO ATTEND.**

Please email with any questions or concerns.

I hope to see you there!

All the best,
Amanda

Comments: Read 7 or Add Your Own.

Subject:	Fat Health and Medical Advocacy Group: Saturday, April 21 1-3pm!
Time:	3:23 pm.
Mood:	working.

Hello!

The first Fat Health and Medical Advocacy Group will be held on Saturday, April 21st from 1-3pm in the meeting room at the Lakeview Branch of the Oakland Public Library!

During the first hour, I'll give my Medical Self-Advocacy for Fat People talk, which was a big hit at NOLOSE 2006, and distribute an article I've written called The Fat Girl's Guide to Dealing with Doctors. During the second hour, we'll discuss individual group members' obstacles to obtaining health care, using our collective knowledge to begin drafting health care action plans for everyone in attendance.

The group will be focused on self-identified fat women and queers. If you'd like to attend and you're not a fat woman or queer, please email me and let me know a bit about who you are and why you'd like to attend.

The Lakeview Library has a parking lot, is accessible, and is easily reachable via public transportation. The NL line of the transbay bus stops about a block away on Grand and Lake Park, as does AC transit line 12, which picks up near the Oakland 12th St BART stop, and the AC transit line 57, which picks up near MacArthur BART. If you need a ride from BART, please let me know and either I will pick you up, or I'll find you someone who can.

The group cost is $0 - whatever you can pay. This project is operating with the help of NOLOSE, the non-profit tax status of which has helped secure reduced-rate access to facilities. However, the direct cost of the group to me will be around $40, which I hope to cover with the help of contributions.

Please RSVP for the group as soon as possible by writing to me at amandapiasecki@yahoo.com. I will send a confirmation message once I receive your RSVP. Attendance will be capped at 20 people. Please email with any questions or concerns.

I hope to see you there!

All the best,
Amanda

Comments: Read 7 or Add Your Own.

Subject:	Kaiser Members: If You Want a New PCP, Mine is Good!
Time:	4:41 pm.
Mood:	chipper.

Folks, Priscilla Flores, who is a D.O. without a full practice at Kaiser Oakland is good! She was absolutely NOT a panicked obesity epidemic freak and in fact, said nothing about my fatness at all. She was outstanding about all the referrals I needed and kindly dealt with the extra administration to get me tests that I wanted that she didn't initiate--that is, she seemed to trust my judgment about what I needed and didn't seem to be in the mindframe of limiting my access to resources because of expense. She let me run the show unless I asked her for her advice, which seemed smart, calm, and fairly non-judgmental.

Get her if you're unhappy with your doctor, Kaiser people! She's pretty good!

Comments: Read 3 or Add Your Own.

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