The Countdown Begins...

So the event I've been planning for all year, the 2008 Desiree Alliance Conference is finally here and right now I'm a combination of excited, nervous, and downright frazzled. Of course I've been dealing with a onslaught of media inquires over the past few days (love how they wait until last minute and expect to attend for free) and the planning process has been a bit stressful since it's happening here in Chicago. People are expecting a lot from us Chicago ladies and they might be a bit suprised to find out that there's not that many of us.

Tonight I get to meet some of the people I've been admiring from afar...people such as Carol Leigh, Margo St. James, Audacia Ray, Robyn Few, Amber Rhea, Melissa Gira, and the awesome sex workers behind Spread magazine. So exciting! It's really the icing on the cake in what has been a very productive year for me as a sex worker advocate and activist.


It's going to be a busy week for me, but I will post my thoughts, experiences, and opinions about the conference here when I get a chance. It's my first Desiree conference and one that I took a large part in the planning of...and I will also be a presenter for my panel discussion with Bethdeath and David Law called "Challenging Discrimination Among Sex workers: Reconstructing Sex Work." Whew! It's gonna be awesome.


On a sad note, I got news today that Jewel Scott the writer at Sex-Kitten I mentioned in my last blog passed away earlier this evening. It was expected and I was lucky to speak with Jewel one last time before she entered hospice last week. It was rough for me to find the right words to say, but she was in good spirits despite her condition and appreciated the call. She'll definitely be missed over at SK and by all her friends on the web.