Giving Blood

Good afternoon ladies & gentlemen,


Forgive me if my typed rant is a little more...disjointed & flighty than usual. For you see, I have just returned from donating a pint of blood to the American Red Cross...and I suggest all of you to do the same. This is actually my first time donating to the blood bank. On three previous attempts, I wasn't allowed to donate because I had been outside of the United States within the last twelve months (Europe, Jamaica, & China). This last year, I spent about two hours in Ensanada, Mexico on a cruise about nine months ago but all I had there was a hangover & we toured a winery. I think I'm safe. Please allow me to go share my donating experience with you...and hopefully ease your fears about this noble cause.


It started when I arrived at work around 11 AM for my 11:30 AM donation appointment (See? Punctual.) and read over the requirements in a blue binder. Then a kind medical individual escourted me to a computer. (By the way, I say medical individual because she may have been a nurse or medical assistant or whatever but I feared not read the 3 point font on her name tag because then I'd be staring at her chest...and I'm told that is rude)


The computer had a questionairre with similar requirements to the information that I read in the binder. Apparently the requirements are basically that you live a healthy lifestyle (abstinence & no drug use), don't use a lot of medications, stay within the United States for the last year, & have never heard of Afrika or identified it on a map. I kind of lied on the last one too, but it was for a good cause. After completing that, I was escourted to a waiting area & then asked to sit in a reclining lounge chair by a gentleman in a white coat who had several tattoos, facial piercings, and a nice rat tail goatee.


Ryan was very kind & made a few jokes to lighten up the mood. "Hey Darren, am I supposed to tell them that it's my first day out of training?", "It's this end that goes in the arm, right?", the usual ice breakers that you like to hear from a medical professional. Luckily, I have an iron constitution & simply laughed away the anxiety of having an eighth of my body's life force sucked out of my body. That didn't sound very calm, did it? Trust me, I was a lot calmer than when I was having my laser eye surgery & the words "Don't take your eye off the red light" repeated in my head as...well, the procedure was done. I'll spare you the details.


People told me that there'd be a little pain when the needle was stuck in...and frankly, I was disappointed. There was the slightest of pricks & then just a little numbness in my hand after a few minutes of draining. Ryan kept up small talk to make sure that I was okay, but as I would do in the situation, he spent more time talking to the ladies & making them comfortable, talking about his past, & mentioning his EX-wife several times. Play on playa!!! My time was six minutes & eighteen seconds...and I had no idea that it was a race. He then went on to explain that it was an average time & it's really just for our own amusement. I still like to think that I won.


After I was patched up, I went to have a package of Famous Amos' bite-sized chocolate chip cookies & an orange juice. After sitting up for a few minutes, I started getting a little dizzy (tall guy losing blood in his head) so when my vision started getting a little funky, I laid down on the ground voluntarily before it went the other way. Shortly after, I was doing fine so I went to watch a little "Judge Alex" in the break room before working.


I was curious as to what my blood type was & if they found anything 'interesting' that I might want to be aware of. They informed me that my results will be mailed to me in a few weeks. Start placing your bets now for what my blood type is. My money's on Red. Anyway, that was my adventure for the day...not very exciting...but at least I'm trying to help people...and if I can help just one person a day & make another smile, that's a good day my friends.


News of the Day - This is actually a little something for my mother, who's an avid reader of my blog...and loves manatees. In the Florida Keys yesterday, an injured manatee named Pumpkin & her calf were released back into the wild after over a year of rehabilitation at the Miami Seaquarium (wonderful wildlife center & home of Ace Ventura's "Snowflake"). So here are a few pictures of the release...and manatees in general. Enjoy!!!





Celebrity Birthdays


Vin Diesel (Mark Vincent) turns 40 - The hope for a young American action star turns 40. Bruce Willis, Arnold, Sylvester Stallone, Jean Claude Van Damme, Jackie Chan, all the action heroes from back in the day are retiring. Even the 'new breed' like Jason Statham is 35. Jet Li's retired from martial arts movies in his 40's. About the only young action stars around are in Bollywood like Tony Jaa. Happy birthday Vin!!! Can't wait for that Riddick sequel...

Paul Verhoeven turns 69 - Director of violent movie gold like "Starship Troopers", "Robocop", & "Total Recall"

Red Skelton - Comedic genius. Period.

Nelson Mandela turns 89- The legendary activist against apartheid spent 27 years in prison for his beliefs & has won hundred of deserved humanitarian award & the 1993 Noble Peace prize. I think Danny Glover summed it up best: "FREE SOUTH AFRICA, you dumb son of a bitch!!!"

John Glenn turns 86 - Ohio senator, Congressional Medal of Honor winner, Presbyterian elder, Marine Corps fighter pilot, Eagle scout, Kentucky Colonel (wikipedia), master Mason, oh yeah...and he was an astronaut too. Armstrong & Aldrin may get all the glory, but John Glenn is truly an American treasure. Happy birthday Sir!!!