So, for anyone who's interested...

On January 1st, 2006 (what a way to start the new year!) I had sex with
a friend (used a condom).  Five days later I noticed what looked like a
large white-head zit in my pubic region.  I wasn't particularly
concerned, as I have a foggy recollection of having a zit in my pubic
area (and practically everywhere else) sometime in the distant past.  I
tried to pop it, it wouldn't pop.  Whatever.

A day later, I felt really sore down there, like something was chafing.
Guess what?  Another large whitehead pimple had popped up somewhere
else in my pubic hair.  And this one was pretty painful when touched.
This was when I started to get concerned.  Did some research and saw
that folliculitis is often mistaken for herpes.  Since this pimple had
a hair in the middle of it, I was a little relieved. (I couldn't
remember if there was a hair in the middle of the first one, which had
since popped and drained on its own).  I also called my friend and had
an awkward conversation with her.  She said she never had any outbreaks
but didn't know 100% sure whether or not she was a carrier.

I popped this second one, but it soon refilled with white pus.  Worse,
a little distance away from this second one, a third swollen, painful
red bump was arising.  This also eventually came to a white head
(although it may have been filled with clear liquid earlier -- it was
difficult to tell, but I understand it is a bad sign).

For peace of mind, I spent hours on the internet, reading everything I
could find and looking at pictures.  I would see a post on a message
board saying folliculitis or that herpes was usually a cluster of
small, clear blister -- my heart would feel lightened.  Of course, then
I'd read something saying that herpes comes in many manifestations, so
there was no definitive way to tell without a lab test, and then my
heart would sink.

So, Monday, January 9th, a little over a week since I had the encounter
and about four days after I noticed the first pimple, I made my way
over to the county health clinic.  I was told they didn't do herpes
testing (even though their website said otherwise) but that the doctor
was pretty good at making an eyeball diagnosis.

After giving a blood sample (I thought I might as well get tested for
HIV while I'm here -- wouldn't it be a bitch if it turned out
positive?) I went to see the doctor.  He took a look, felt around down
there, and looked inside my urethra.  Then he popped the last pimple
(painful as hell) and swabbed a sample (apparently they do test for
herpes).  He told me that it didn't look like herpes, but it sounded
like herpes.

So much for peace of mind.

Now the waiting starts.  Two weeks from today, I'll go back and they'll
tell me.  I'd put my chances at 50-50.  On the one hand, the doctor
said it didn't look like herpes and that everything else seemed normal
(no enlarged lymph nodes).  I also used a condom during sex with my
friend and she claims not to have had an outbreak (I know, I know, most
people don't know they have it).  I also didn't suffer any flu-like
symptoms or painful urination.  On the other hand, I don't remember
ever experiencing something like this and the proximity of it to my
latest sexual encounter is at the very least eyebrow-raising.

This whole thing has definitely changed me.  It's weighed on my mind --
will I ever be able to have sex again?  I mean, how does someone react
to you telling them that you have herpes?  There is such a stigma
attached to it (even though apparently 20% of the adult population has
it) that, unless the relationship is already strong and committed or
she is also infected, I can't see anyone reacting positively.  Indeed,
before this experience, if I heard that from a prespective partner, I
probably would have to suppress a instinctive recoil, smile, say
something fake, and decline.  That cliche about walking in someone
elses shoes is a cliche because it's true.

Whatever the results, I definitely have a new perspective on at least
this aspect of life.