Day: April 28, 2005

Here are a few pics of my apartment. It's starting to feel hom-E-y. I didn't put any pictures of the bedroom because there's only a clothes rack with my laundry in there right now, but I'll put some more when I get my own furniture.

Edited cause you're all pervs.

Nurses warn over teen group sex

Teenagers are taking part in a group sex activity known as “daisy-chaining”, nurses have claimed.
School nurses at the Royal College of Nursing's conference in Harrogate said colleagues in parts of London had become aware of the practice. Nurses warn daisy-chaining, where acts are performed with multiple partners, puts teenagers' health at risk.

They said the problem showed how school nurses' work had changed from checking for “nits” or giving immunisations. Concerns about binge drinking and drug abuse had also changed their role, school nurses said.

Judy McRae, a sexual health nurse in London, said: “Colleagues are coming across reports of groups of young people having sex in large groups. “It is known as daisy-chaining and is obviously very worrying as far as sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy is concerned.

“As we understand it, it involves groups of older teenagers going round to each other's homes and having sex in a similar way as swinging. It is very new and is only just starting to be talked about.”

Steve Jamieson, an RCN sexual health adviser, highlighted a case involving a 14-year-old boy who was diagnosed with HIV, which he had contracted through sexual activity, though not through daisy-chaining. The boy had been shocked to realise that someone so young could be diagnosed with HIV.

Other sexual health nurses said peer pressure was causing young boys to become sexually active earlier. Liz Allan, chairman of the RCN School Nurses Forum, said some children felt under pressure to provide sexual favours because they are part of a gang culture.

“Most school nurses at some time in their career will work with children and young people who are subjected to sexual exploitation, that's boys and girls who prostitute themselves. “These are children who are being exploited sexually who prostitute themselves as a result of coercion, violence, trafficking,” she said.

Ms Allan said children could also sell sexual favours for money.

Research involving more than 1,200 school nurses in the UK, conducted by the RCN, found that 90% were dealing with providing sex advice and support. Two thirds said they had also supported youngsters with substance abuse, and 90% had dealt with obesity problems.

A spokesperson for Terrence Higgins Trust said: “Risky sexual practices like this are the fastest way to spread sexually transmitted infections like HIV.

“It's very worrying that young people are putting themselves at risk in this way.

“Sex and relationship education must improve so that young people know how to protect themselves and their sexual partners.”

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/4489967.stm

Apparently, British weatherpeople are just as useless as their North American counterparts. After being soaked yesterday, they were forecasting more of the same today so I didn't really want to go out, but it ended up being a nice day. Went to run an errand for the Katygirl at Barclay's bank – which they bunged up – and then went to Tesco's again to get a new frying pan (the one that I had here was poo), a potato masher (cause mine is probably somewhere on the Atlantic at the moment) and a roast chicken (cause they make a really nice richard-no-death-allergy one and it goes well with chip night). I'm starting to get my bearings now. I know how to get to Tesco (food), Asda (walmart), Boots (pharmacy), Heffers (bookstore) and a few interesting shops I will need to patronize when I get paid.

We tried the fare from the chippie near my house. Nice. Really nice. It's times like this that I really really hate my allergies, cause the smell in that chippie is something else. Their curry gravy for the chips is droolworthy but would proably be death-in-a-styrofoam cup. I keep saying that the day I want to off myself, I'll simply sit down at an all-you-can-eat international buffet. One very positive point about moving to the UK is that their label laws are really good for my peace of mind. I've discovered a ton of new stuff I can eat, which is good for morale but potentially bad for my waistline. Hmmm, jaffa cakes and penguins.

Going to stay in tomorrow and start doing a bit of background reading for the job I'm going to start on tuesday. Yup, tuesday. Time stops for no man.