Birthdays, Blood and Movies! - Part 1

Today is a very special day. Not only is it my cousin, Duncan's, birthday, but it is the first birthday he has had all year! So a very happy birthday to him! Big up Dunx!

Yesterday I did all (or at least I thought it would be all) my admin for the week. I have accepted the fact that my Monday's seem to be turning into complete write-off days as far as achieving any work is concerned. I always seem to end up wasting my entire day to admin, TA'ing or simply lying in my chair at my desk thinking, 'I really should be working...perhaps I should go for lunch now, seeing as it is only 45 min to lunch. It practically IS lunchtime!'

However, this Monday was different to the usual. I was doing all my admin, as usual, and as everyone knows, doing admin alone is horrible, so I had dragged Helen along with me. I had almost done everything and I was walking into Senate House (practically the admin building of our campus) to post a severely overdue postcard to my friend Joe in England. As we arrived at the post office I had a minor moment of confusion as to whether airmail could be placed into the same postbox as local mail (I seem to remember that at some stage, this was considered a crime by anyone who worked in the post office; they are odd people...). It was then that both of us noticed the beds.

In the centre of the building, which is open so that the building is practically hollow, were numerous beds and tables. There were people all over the place and most were being tended to by nurses. Helen instantly recognised it as a blood donation drive. I instantly felt my stomach contract and every hair on my body stand at full attention.

After a little persuasion I managed to get Helen to leave. The problem is, you see, I can't handle giving blood. Just the thought of it totally freaks me out! I have a tendency to pass out when I lose blood in any way. Somehow I am fine with other peoples blood - that doesn't bother me in the least. But the second that I am seriously hurt or lose lots of blood, the lights trip. I'd love to give blood from a moral point of view and I applaude all those that do, but I am just too freaked out to try.

So while we continued on my admission (admin+mission=admission; I often make up new words, it's fun) Helen tried desperately to persuade me to just try donating blood. Eventually, I gave in and said that I would try, but if I freaked too much, I'd have to give up. She was okay with this and promised to hold my hand if I wanted. I said it wasn't necessary.

Come lunchtime, for this was the decided time for the donating, we both left to give blood. I was REALLY nervous and, quite frankly, terrified. As we walked, all I could think of was the time I had to give blood samples for a test once and passed out. Eventually we arrived after what felt a bit like a 3 day hike more than a half minute walk and we went to fill out our forms. The forms were laiden with stuff about how many sex partners I'd had and how I must NOT under any circumstances lie about this stuff, which I totally think is a good idea! After the forms were done, one of the nurses called me over for an iron level test. As I gave her my hand, Helen pipped up with, 'Don't look! This is the most painful part of the whole thing! It hurts like hell!', which naturally made me feel just dandy. But she really wasn't kidding!

That tiny little prick of the finger was BLOODY (excuse the pun) sore! I was amazed that it hurt as much as it did! While I was clasping at my severed finger, the nurse let a drop of my blood fall into a copper sulphate solution to see how much iron I have in my blood. As it turns out, tons! I was then sent off to the next nurse to have my blood pressure checked and to go over my questionaire. While there I was hit with the bad news that I couldn't give blood.

I like to tell people it is because of my promiscuity...

In truth, it was because I had been a little ill over the weekend and so I had to wait at least 48 hours before I could donate blood. And due to the fact that the blood people wouldn't be there in 48 hours time, I couldn't do it. To be entirely honest, I was disappointed. I had worked up every ounce of courage I had to do that and then I was turned away! Bummer...