Let's face it

Guess I haven't been fully reporting to youse guys about the recent changes in my face.

I never really thought of myself as a particularly bad-lookin' guy, but lemme tell you: These days, I am UGH-ly, as Redd Foxx might say.

My sister-in-law was in town this weekend and came by my apartment for a visit. We haven't seen each other since late spring, and she was a bit startled at the changes in my appearance when I greeted her in the lobby of my building. But she quickly adapted to my new face, and over the hour of her visit gave me a lot of encouragement.

Among other things, my sister-in-law reminded me how I haven't let HIV get the best of me after all these years. When she said that, I remembered that today marks exactly 18 years since I got my HIV and AIDS diagnosis. It's been easy to remember the date over the years because it also happens to be my brother's birthday.

Her visit was the best part of the weekend. Otherwise, I have left my apartment only to pick up a case of water and toilet paper, and grab the newspapers in the morning.

I wish I had skipped picking up Saturday's edition of The New York Times, however. It published a piece on the editorial page that summed up key plot developments in the early episodes of the third season of "Mad Men," which I won't get around to seeing until they're released on DVD next year.

I know I could watch the new episodes for free on Hulu but I'm stubborn that way. I'd rather wait several months so I can watch the third season on DVD rather than watch the new episodes on my computer now.

By next spring, maybe I'll forget that a secretary mauled a boss' foot while riding a lawn mower in the Sterling Cooper office, that Don Draper is visting his daughter's teacher at suspicious hours of the night, and that Salvatore Romano has been "unjustly and cruelly fired."

Each plot point seems pretty ugly. Maybe it's for the best that I save the third season for next year.

I've got all the ugliness I can stomach in my life right now, from the collar up.