I’m not really very sexually active but I agree that if you’re not in a monogamous relationship it’s a good idea to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases every now and then. Since I have a few routine health tests coming up (just a check up), I went over to the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center and got a full work-up of tests run for STDs, all for free. They provide some really excellent services, and you don’t even have to be gay or trans or whatever to use them. When I first moved to L.A. a few years ago and was pretty depressed, I even got a therapist there for about eight months at a fraction of what it would cost to see a shrink in private practice.

They’ve gotten really fast with the HIV test. They just swab the inside of your mouth and in twenty minutes you have the result: negative (which I had no reason not to expect). You have to wait five days for the results of the blood tests for those good ol’ fashioned diseases like gonorrhea and syphilis. It’s been at least two months since I’ve done anything even remotely risky, so unless you can catch something from your computer (or your right hand) everything should be A-OK. I’m kind of into tests and statistics, though, so I sort of enjoy the process and reading those little pamphlets they give you.