Stress Kills
The title is a bit ominous, but I honestly believe it's true! And, I'm not the only one. There are literally thousands of studies that show (and prove) that stress damages and deteriorates the immune system.
Stress and related issues is such an important topic to me that I've [...]
Sheepdog in Sheep’s Clothing
I am a warrior. And, I have warrior's blood flowing in my veins. My father fought in the Vietnam War and was awarded the Bronze Star for acts of bravery. That said, the joke is on me … I was born in the body of a hemophiliac. And, on top of that, I contracted HIV back in the 80’s from a bad blood transfusion. That is why I call myself a sheepdog in sheep’s clothing. You see, I am constantly on the lookout for the wolf, but if I find him, we may both [...]
A Son’s Eulogy for Julien Kim Ripley
My dad, Julien Kim Ripley, died on December 4th, 2011 at 1:12 a.m. It has been almost a year and not a day goes by that I do not think about him. In tribute, I decided to blog a eulogy.
Often when you see a headstone in a graveyard [...]
My Dream is a World Without AIDS
My claim to fame is being one of the longest surviving HIV+ people in the universe. This isn't exactly the coolest title to have, but I am proud of the fact that I've made it so far. I attribute much of my success and survivability to [...]
P90X Redux
Many moons ago (actually two years ago) I bought and started the P90X® training routine. It was crazy tough and time consuming ... I only made it [...]
Social Media is Here to Stay
I occasionally hear some old school folks put social media down and I've even heard some say it is a passing fad. To that I say, "Bunkum!" Social media is not simply a passing fad. What you may find is that some of the social media SITES are passing fads. They come and go so fast, many don't even know [...]
Mountains of Misery 2012
I have a mighty tale of intrigue, adventure, and excruciating pain. A few months ago my good buddy, Keith, sent me an email calmly asking if I'd like to join him on a century. For the uninitiated, a "century" is a 100-mile long bicycle ride. As you can imagine, 100-mile on a bike is a long and painful trek. This particular ride (aptly named: the Mountains of Misery) was beyond [...]
Epic Training Day
It has been a little while since I shared one of my ride stories with you fine folks ... So, I thought I would tackle today's training trek, because it was a bit epic ... At least I like to think so, as I sit here with my back aching, thighs singing, feet pounding, calves tight, triceps burning, tingling hands, and neck hurting. Did I mention that [...]
Why I Powerlift
With my third powerlifting competition coming up, I’ve been mulling a question that seems to recur before each competition: Why do I powerlift? I mean, it’s not like I don’t have enough to do, so why do I devote so much of my spare time and energy to getting stronger at the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Here’s what I’ve come up with.
What is Powerlifting? First, for those of you who don’t know, [...]
Jump Start Your Day
What if I told you that if you give me 13 minutes, I PROMISE your day will be more enjoyable and go smoother!!! What have you got to lose?
Lately I find that I am slower getting out of bed. Perhaps this is because [...]
Fit4LifeTraining
You've probably seen me touting Fit4LifeTraining lately (especially if you follow me on twitter @vripley). The hashtag #Fit4LifeTraining says it all. It encompasses so much in a compact package of words. As most of you know, I will be in an upcoming issue of Competitor magazine (I think May). There is a reason for that. Besides the fact that I've befriended professional athlete and one of my triathlete mentor/inspirations, Pip Taylor (she authored my article). And, [...]
Secret to Getting Fit
That's right folks ... You've always known that there was a secret to getting and staying fit and healthy. Today I am going to reveal this coveted secret and leak to you the hidden key to fitness success with health that no one else will share with you.
What the bleep?? you might be screaming right now. But the funny thing is, that is honestly all there is to it! Sure you can [...]
PEP Talk From the Grave
My dad taught me countless things. On a daily basis I relate more than a dozen things that I do that came directly from his teachings. He helped me to mold the base of loyalty and creativity that became the grown up me. Among the manifold things he guided me on, he impressed three things into me more than anything else. Those three things [...]
Life Balance
Balancing the different pieces of your life is a surefire way to improve and become successful. I strive to improve aspects of my life and therefore build a better balance. This goes back to a few previous articles I wrote about kaizen, and constantly working to improve yourself on a daily basis.
One popular method of working on your balance is called [...]
Hemophilia Days on Capitol Hill
March is National Hemophilia Awareness Month. Groups like the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) http://www.hemophilia.org and the Hemophilia Federation of America (HFA) http://hemophiliafed.org/ spend countless hours working diligently all year long to ensure that legislative action is kept up with and followed through to protect the hemophilia community’s rights and needs. Once a year, the NHF [...]
Give an Inch
I’ve struggled for a few weeks with whether to write this. I’m not sure whether this about Christianity, my personal faith, charity, or Al Pacino. I still don’t know, but I’ve started writing, so here we go. The Thursday before Valentine’s Day, sometime during the mid-morning I decided that I was going to buy my wife something. This was kind of unusual because, although I’ve got a great marriage, we don’t usually [...]
Shoes of a Hemophiliac
We often hear statements like, "Oh yeah ... Well you should try walking in my shoes..." Today, I'd like to offer my shoes and allow you to see through the eyes of a hemophiliac. Let's start off by explaining what the heck hemophilia is. Hemophilia is a rare bleeding disorder in which your blood does not clot normally or properly. It is carried in the X chromosome, and is called an X-linked genetic disorder. Cutting through all of the obfuscation, it essentially means that I inherited a factor VIII (factor-8) deficiency from my mother, who was a carrier. Dumbing (is that even a word?) it down even further, it means that unlike average boys and girls, if I get bruised or cut, I will not stop bleeding without medical assistance.
[...]Learning How to Live After Cancer
About five years ago, I was preparing to celebrate my son's first birthday in July of 2007. Two days prior to his birthday, I received news that rocked my world and flipped it upside down. I was positive for breast cancer at age 30. It was invasive and aggressive. I was also told that it was a gene that had caused it. I am BRCA 1 positive. After picking myself up off of the floor, we got to work on starting to formulate a plan of action. First was a bi-lateral mastectomy. After the surgery, I went to Shady Grove Fertility in order to harvest eggs just in case I was not able to conceive after chemo, which was about a 50/50 chance. I had to give myself shots in the stomach twice a day, while trying to heal from my mastectomy. I was then told [...]
Sunrises and Sunsets
Do you take the time to stop and smell the sunrise? I know most folks say "roses," but I'm more of a sunrise kind of fella. My ride to work takes 61 or more minutes, yet I don't complain and it flies by. One of the main reasons for this is because I have [...]
Longevity, Life, and Joy
For as long as I can remember I have heard people talk about getting to a ripe old age or wanting to live forever. We as a humanity have for the most part, believed that is what we should do, as if we should do anything to postpone death.
It has come to my attention that the fear of [...]
A Quarter Century and Counting
A quarter of a century is exactly how long ago that I found out that I was HIV positive. I'm really not sure when I contracted the virus, but I do know that I was told in our den by my mom and dad on Saturday [...]
Giving Back
Happy Valentine's Day!!!
It is sort of fitting to have an article about [...]
Find Vaughn Online:
My memoir, Survivor: One Man's Battle with HIV, Hemophilia, and Hepatitis C is available at bookstores and online. You can buy your copy here.
And, be sure to checkout all of my books here.
Advertisement
Categories
- Guest Blog
- Inspirational
- Journals
- My Books
- On Writing
- Philosophizing
- The Secret to Longevity
- Uncategorized
- Vitality
Hemophilia and/or HIV Blogs
- Andrea Echavez's Hemophilia Blog
- Find a Cure Transit
- Hemo Hijinks Blog
- Hemophilia is for Girls
- HIV Is Hilarious
- Jay Bishop's Hemophilia Blog
- Jen Loving's Blog
- Jennifer's Lessons
- Shawn and Gwenn Decker
Other Blogs I Dig!
- Amy Reinink's Blog
- Clever Dude
- Cube Farm Fitness
- Dawn of the Red (Hat)
- DocJulie's Blog
- Emergent's Blog
- Grace Burrowes' Blog
- Healthy Wealthy Tribe
- iHatequotes
- Jon Nash's Blog
- Katie's (AKA Water Girl) Swim Blog
- My Life as a Monster
- Photography by Sol Roller
- Puck Daddy
- Selfemployed Serenity blog
- Seven Sentences
- The Simple Dollar
- WordPress Planet
Stalk Vaughn Online
A Discussion Forum- Authorized Website
bebo
Facebook
GovLoop
Hookit
LinkedIn
My Space
MyLife
oDesk
Picasaweb Photos
Plaxo
Second Life
Tobri
Twitter
WhoHub- XeeMe
YouTube
Hot Topics
aids Arnold Schwarzenegger author bicycle bike blog book c&o canal century children death depression disease exercise family Fit4LifeTraining Fitness guest blog happiness health hemophilia hiv improve inspiration Journals kaizen life life expectancy live live longer longevity love medicine money motivation prescription race results ride run steve jobs strategy strength stress success survive survivor the secret training triathlon vaughn ripley weight workout writingPages
Archives
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- September 2009
- August 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009