Today I learned it takes 13 times for me to stop being excited about giving blood. Lucky number 14 today, with a slow donation time of 10 minutes.

Gave blood tonight. A new record of 6 minutes and 15 seconds. I was apparently rather pale afterwards. Stupid heat.

I had been under the impression that I was ineligible to give blood because of the medication I was taking. Tonight I got a call from Canadian Blood Services urging me to make a new appointment, and I explained to the earnest volunteer on the line that I was currently ineligible, and so she transferred me to a nurse to put a note on my file so they wouldn't call me until I was better. From this nurse though I learned that I was still eligible to give blood.

Happy Sanguine Days are here again!

Rather to my surprise the blood donation last night made it to a total of 10, for which I received a shiny pin. Wheeee! Sadly, this was not a speedy donation like the last couple, this one dragged on and on for 17 minutes. I brought Alfy along on this one, to chauffeur me home, which was much nicer than walking to catch a bus.

I finally got a hold of the people in charge of dealing with the High Prairie health complex incident last night. Assuming I don't get a letter in the next two months, then my involvement is at an end.

I wrote my last midterm of the term this morning. Overall it is has been a good midterm season; but this last one was, as we say, sadtimes. I think I'll just scrape enough marks together to pass.

( Boring midterm run down...you have been warnedCollapse )

Any way, with the end of midterms, I get to turn my attention back to...assignments! I went to bed early last night, as in soon after I got home from my exam and was actually rested this morning.

My stores of homemade soup run low, hopefully I get to make some more this afternoon. I finished the last of the borscht for breakfast this morning. The herbs on the balcony are starting to the die off. Except for the rosemary, despite the first snow today, it still looked cheery and green under the ice. The green tomatoes I brought in have started to ripen on the counter. Today I am going to see if the peppers are fine still green.

I got some disturbing news from my mother. There has been a rather serious scandal in the *grits teeth* lovely small town where I went to high school. It appears health care workers at the local health center were reusing syringes.

http://www.globaltv.com/globaltv/bc/story.html?id=9e332f05-b037-46dd-832b-ef252262c98b

Seeing as I had my wisdom teeth out in two surgeries, one in the Summer of 2004 and the other in Summer of 2005, I guess I get to call the toll-free number and find out if I need to be tested.

This may mean no blood donation tonight.

Halloween party Friday night, trip to Guelph on Saturday....assuming I get OS finished....

EDIT: Canadian blood services has their shit together better than any of the other half dozen health organizations I just got through calling. Their response was to say that seeing as all my tests with them, in 2006, in 2007 and 2008, have come back negative, and the exposure was so long ago, I am as far as they concerned, just fine, and good to come in tonight.

Really, you can make a snappy title out of "Blood and Any Random Noun". Food nouns, provided the food isn't, say, meaty, work especially well.

"Blood and Bagels"

"Blood and Gingerbread"

"Blood and Kraft Dinner"

"Blood and Mock Turtle Soup"

The possibilities are truly endless. Someone should write one of those ceaseless mystery novel series with these titles. I wonder if has already been done?

Anyway...

Today was pesto day. I harvested most of the basil from the balcony and with the magic of a food processors turned it into tasty, tasty pesto.

Today was blood day. I gave blood again. This time coming in at a new personal best of just under 7 minutes. We can thank Pallin. She came on the tv news just as I started and likely raised my blood pressure. By the time I was finished though, I had missed the 8:35 bus home, and there wasn't another for an hour. I ended up taking a bus to camps and walking the rest of the way, which given how light headed I was feeling by the end may not have been the best choice.

I gave blood today. I kind of forgot I was scheduled to until my calender reminded me. Good job calender! It was a record setting (well, for my pathetic veins anyway) 8 minute donation. It was very smooth donation, after some difficulty finding a vein, and slow start, it picked up and I kept my green light on till the end. There was a volunteer there to stamp my card. She was originally from the cold Lake Area; but hasn't been back since 1969. Apparently, in her opinion Alberta has much deteriorated. There was also a man on his 93rd donation. Someday, I want to be a person who has donated a great many times. I consider this a worthy goal that I should be able to accomplish. My celebratory cookie and apple juice consumed I took the bus home, where I was greeted with rare strip loin in Madeira sauce.

You are, Alfy, as a very wise person once said, a god amongst men.

This weekend we had M. and J. over for Pad Thai, with tasty white wine provided by M. Much interesting and lively conversation followed, and the chocolate Mojito was (re-?)invented. I also went to Vincenzos for the first time, and got cheese, chocolate and fresh pasta.

And now to bed to replace my lost blood.

I fail at updating.

On Friday  we had sbranzei over for tofu pad thai. I was quite happy with how it turned out; but I think something more to flavour the tofu would have been good.

Saturday was a busy day. In the morning we went around to garage sales, and got a 24-port switch for the apartment. Then onto the market where meat and veggies were picked up. I got some fiddle heads; but got distracted and forgot to eat them. We had K. and J. over for dinner. They provided a chicken that needed eating, and we provided corn. and an oven. I, Alfy and K stayed up past 2am playing Diablo 2.

On Sunday, when I went to replace my flat black tire, I found my adjustable spanner had gone missing. Thus foiled, I made a tasty dish involving eggplant and black beans on brown rice for my lunches this week.

Monday,  I gave blood at the clinic on Bridgeport. I think I'll keep going there instead of to the mobile unit on campus. The couches were so much more comfortable. There was first timer on my left who did alright. There was a lady who passed out though. The needle placement was not smooth and it was in at a bit of an angle and hurt more than usual. The blood was also very slow coming out, and they gave a small heated squishy thing to squeeze to keep it flowing. Despite this, it as a pretty easy donation overall. I felt unusually good afterwards.

During this, Alfy picked up new tools; but this time were prevented from fixing my bike by our combine inability to get the tire. My lunch was tasty. My boss announced he was leaving for California on Tuesday.

Having admitted defeat, on Tuesday, we took the bike to a shop, where it was fixed immediately for less than $11. I was quite impressed with the service I got. My lunch was tasty.

Wednesday was an uneventful day, my lunch was ... pretty tasty and I finished reading Slan.

Thursday I returned some books to the library and got out new ones. Just as Alfy got home he got a call from the police for me. My passport was found near Bridgeport. I am not sure how it got out of my zipped pocket; but it must have happened after I gave blood and was somewhat out of it.  We biked down after dinner to pick it up. I was happy to be eating the last of my lunches.

Today my boss returned from California, and I had a tuna sandwich for lunch.

We are now in London visiting Alfy's family for the long weekend.

This Morning I gave blood for the fifth time. It was going pretty well, I remember looking down the machine and noting I only had another 20ml to go, and then my vision got a little a blurry. And then the nurse asked me if I was okay. "I think I am okay. I think so." And then I was lying down and there were lots of nurses all around me, and cold wet cloths on my head and neck.

Damn. There goes my perfect no-fainting during blood donation record.

So, I spent the next few hours quietly sitting around waiting for my last class, where I then lost my hat. I noticed I didn't have it soon after I left the building; but when I went back and checked, I could not find it. I retraced my steps to the SLC where it wasn't on the floor, wasn't with TurnKey and wasn't in the same room as the blood donations. I checked the CSC with no luck.

My poor hat! Headless!

On the bright side I did solve the last half of a problem I got stuck on last night.

I gave blood for the 4th time yesterday. The usual sort of sickish, spacey, sleepy feeling after; but I still had a three hour class to get through. While walking to my Russian class I found myself walking beside someone in the class and I commented that I was out of it becuase of giving blood and he then made a comment that utterly floored me.

"You know, giving blood isn't good for your health."

Well. Duh. Losing a pint of blood isn't good for you. That is rather half the point of the screening measures (the other half being that your blood is healthy for whoever gets it). That is why they give you cookies and juice and tell you to drink lots of water, eat well and get a good nights sleep. That is why they have a team of nurses standing by the whole time. I am healthy enough that I can lose half a pint of blood and still make it through my day. That makes me pretty healthy. It isn't 'fun'. People don't give blood for 'fun' (Okay, some people really like that high on blood loss feeling; but we don't talk about those people).

I give blood because other people need my blood to survive. I give blood because lots of people who would like to can't give blood. I am *lucky* enough to be able too. If I don't, who will? Someday. I, or someone I care about is going to need blood to make it through some medical emergency. Today, someone is going to have a better chance of living because I did something 'not good for my health'.

I don't generally give this much thought. Somewhere along the line in childhood I got the message that giving blood was a really good thing to do and if you could, you should. I looked forward to being able to do so from elementary school. I don't give as often as I can. I don't think I am 'better' because I give. I just think giving blood is one of those things you do if you can, because you're a good person.

It is hard on my body for the rest of the day. So far, I am always back to normal the next day, although I wait until the day after the day after I give to lift weights again. And I do think people should cut me a little slack if I am out of it or sleepy the day of.

Maybe what bugs me about the comment is I think this guy would actually not give blood because it wasn't good for him; not wasn't good for him as individual because, I don't know, he has low iron, or bleeds easily or always passes outs when he tries; but because he wouldn't be 100% after giving. Or maybe someone misled into thinking that giving blood has some long term negative impact on those who donate.

I kind of wish I could pin down and then dismiss why this comment has gotten under my skin so much. It has turned my 'I-gave-blood-today-whee!' post into this rant about the deep moral reasons I give blood and I don't want to make my giving blood into some 'holier-than-thou' act because it isn't. It is just something I do to help other people. It involves a little pain and a little sacrifice; but it makes me feel like I have a made a real difference in some one else's life and that makes me feel good.