Years ago I worked as director of an agency for people living with HIV/AIDS, and although the work was satisfying, I was irritated with one principle of the agency: "You don't know what it's like if you are not HIV positive."

Really? It seems our caregivers get a pretty good idea. One of the most unintentionally hurtful things my brother Dick's late lover said to him, as my brother cared for him throughout his illness, was "you don't know what it's like." My brother had a horrific front row seat to his lover's disease and dying process. Isn't that close enough to understand?

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Greetings, all my viral and not-so-viral friends! Yes, I do get flip from time to time, but blame it on my extremely good mood. Because this month my video blog features an actual, for-real phone call from the folks at the Oprah Show. Yes, the Mother of All Gab Fests turned to yours truly for ... what, exactly? Watch the blog and find out!

Meanwhile I remain the luckiest damn fool alive; my recent doctor appointment showed no viral load and more T cells than one man deserves (800+). I'd like to chalk it up to cigarettes and double chocolate brownies made from scratch (why oh why am I single with such talents?), but the name of the game, my sweet infected friends, is compliance. I take those damn pills rain or shine, keep the refills coming and treat my mental and emotional health as seriously as I treat this rockin' bod. OK, now I'm just giddy.

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This is one of those weeks when my diseases -- HIV and addiction -- take a back seat to "real life" and the pleasures it can provide. Although, like a noisy passenger, sometimes the back seat is just as intrusive.

My brother Dick is visiting this week. He's also gay, in recovery, and we share a healthy sense of humor as perfectly as our shared DNA. He's here to rehearse and perform a show we've written for a conference this weekend for gays and lesbians in recovery. It's a silly show with serious undertones, and that's an apt description for our time together.

Dick somehow escaped becoming HIV positive himself, but lost a lover of 13 years to the disease. Memories of that terrible time have faded but stubbornly remain. His subsequent drug addiction raged terribly until he found recovery and has been clean for 14 years now. What an inspiration he is to me.

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I'm tempted to begin with, "I'm Mark, and I'm a drug addict," because so much of my life is caught up in repairing the damage of many years of addiction. If you don't have experience with addicts, never fear. I can easily convince you how functional I am and have been: Years of leading an AIDS agency; long term relationships with well adjusted, handsome men; and a fairly successful vocation as a writer and columnist.

I wish I could tell you what to expect from this blog, but will guarantee only that it will be an honest account of my life living with HIV and as an addict in recovery. Beyond that, life is unpredictable so hopefully the blog will reflect that.

As you may have noticed, I'll be video blogging as well, which I'm really excited about because so much can get lost in translation -- humor, sarcasm, and other such tools I often call upon -- in the written word. Check out the video blog if you are able.

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