Stay tuned...

The author has decided to keep this blog going as well as posting on POZ.com! We will continue with new entries here as we backtrack on the POZ blog site. This site may contain other posts that are more personal and not appropriate for the POZ audience. So we hope you will stay with us and continue following "Positively Confined" here and on http://blogs.poz.com/positivelyconfined/

Moving Up

"Positively Confined" is now an official blog of POZ.com, the online version of POZ magazine. You can now find us on http://blogs.poz.com/positivelyconfined/

We are very excited about this and hope to reach a new and larger audience but hope all of you who have been there with us from the beginning, will continue to follow us at the new location. Everything will remain the same, but after I repost some of the old entries on the new site to catch readers up, I will post new entries there as well.

Thank you for our support and hope to see you on the other side!

Make Up

Here's some random descriptions of my cell block's make up:

• 20% non-US citizens, half of which dont speak any english. 100% of them have immigration holds.
• Youngest is 17, oldest is 82.
• 20% each of white, black and hispanic, 10% Native American and 10% identify as other.
• Sons, brothers, husbands, partners, grandfathers and one great-grandfather.
• Drug addicts, drug sellers, drug smugglers, drug makers, all hanging out together.
• Also teachers, doctors, lawyers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, writers, even a nuclear scientist.

All here for every reason imaginable. It seems to be so easy to end up in prison nowadays. It is a fact that sentences for lessor crimes are getting more harsh, especially for second crime offenders or probation violators. Of course we all know money can, in some cases, keep you out of prison, even after repeated violations. I do see one quite common thread...drugs and alcohol. 

Happy Valentines Day

Editor's Note: The author sent this "Prison Art" Valentine to me and asked me to post it for all of his readers and thank you for your support of this blog.

Tic Tok Tic Tok

You remember sitting in class watching the big hand on the clock take forever to reach the closing of the school day and the magnificent ringing of the bell?  Doing prison time is like reliving that last five minutes stretched over years. Each day passing seems like forever. On the outside, days and weeks are speeding by.  There's never enough weeks in the month to get stuff done.
For inmate corresponding with the outside word, this can be an emotional roller coaster, especially during the first fes months of incarceration. Mall call come each day and with it, raised hopes and anticipation. Everyone wonders and asks, "Is mail being handed out today?", "Did mail already get passed out?", "Did my name get called for mail?" This is just one of the causes of stress in prison.

Hot Prison Sex

Someone told me that my blog would get more followers if I spiced it up a little, "Sex Sells"! There isn't too much to report on that front but I do have a funny true story.
A couple years ago a guy moved onto the yard with huge breast implants. Up to this point it had always been my experience that male inmates with breast implants and/or reassignment surgeries were not housed in GP (general population). To my amazement "Danni" as he called himself wasn't as big a distraction as I thought he would be, in fact, after the first week of giggles and cat calls, eh meshed right in and everything ran smoothly.   Smoothly, until visitation day. You see, Danni has long blonde hair, large breasts and wears tight prison clothes. A lot of wives and girlfriends visiting their men wanted to know why we are being housed with the women. Explanations had varied results.
Danni is home now and we are all better for the discussions he provoked.

Stop Wasting Time

Many institutions serve meals high in processed foods and low in fresh fruits and vegetables. They also serve the same meal and portion sizes to all inmates. People with AIDS or HIV positive for many years have special dietary needs. Multi-vitamins are vital and most institutions provide them. Extra protein in your diet is also needed but much harder to get. The medical "wasting" or "high protein" diet is ordered through medical. My institution is only giving "wasting diets" to people who are below normal on BMI chart. This is an incorrect way to diagnose HIV wasting. BMI measures body weight. Wasting away muscle while gaining fat is as a side effect from meds will cause you not to fall below normal on BMI chart, thus never getting the added protein you need. Muscle mass is measured through BIA test of DEXA scan. Protein is needed to help your overworked immune system and build muscle, cells and organs. Get a high protein diet if you can. Fighting for one is important.

Back to ER

Update on my friend with the high blood pressure on an endless wait list to see a specialist. He is still waiting and was taken out by ambulance in the middle of the night a week ago. All his stuff was packed and removed by guards. Probably will never see him again. I said a prayer.