There was a blood drive at my school today. I intended to donate blood last year, but I forgot to turn in the permission slip. I was really excited about it!
The entire experience was really painless. I answered a bunch of questions to ensure that my blood was usable, and then my finger got pricked so they could take a sample for the same reason. I was moved to the chair where about six other people were getting their blood taken. The nurse put the needle in and let it do its thing. I drank my water and relaxed. This kind of stuff doesn't bother me. I don't freak out at the sight of needles, I don't get queasy around blood, and I have a high pain tolerance. So there was nothing to worry about.
However, about five minutes before I was done, my hand started to go numb. I wiggled my fingers, thinking that it must have had something to do with losing blood. The numb feeling spread to the rest of my arm. I looked up at the nurse and asked him if my arm was supposed to be numb. He loosened the blood pressure cuff and asked if I was okay. The room started to spin, and then I passed out.
About five seconds later, I heard a woman's voice saying, "Honey, come back, come back to me." I reassured her by telling her that I wasn't going anywhere. (Oh the wonders of semi-conscious ramblings.) I opened my eyes and stared at the three nurses standing around me. "Well hi!" I greeted them. They told me that they were going to stop drawing blood, and that it was okay. "You've given enough for the unit to be usable," one of the nurses told me. I was feeling absolutely fantastic after I regained consciousness. I drank some Gatorade and ate some Oreos as I thought about how wimpy it was to pass out while I gave blood. Most people pass out afterwards. Not me, apparently.
But the entire experience was awesome. I feel really good about giving blood, and I hope to do it again in the future very soon. Hopefully, by that time, I'll be able to do it without passing out.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
My intent.
One thing I would really like to do is come into contact with people from all over the world. People from every continent (hell, country even) is ideal.
I am interested in the lives and cultures of people from all over the place, and I would love to hear your stories.
I am interested in the lives and cultures of people from all over the place, and I would love to hear your stories.
You've got a dark heart.
I actually have the intent to keep this blog relatively updated, and not with trivial every-day things. I hope to achieve some kind of meaning behind this blog.
I was inspired to keep a blog after beginning the book Baghdad Burning, a book that I highly suggest every single human being reads, regardless of your opinion on the occupation in Iraq. It is an enlightening and very insightful book based off of the blog (http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/). Unfortunately, I have not seen any updates in a long time. In any case, it's an excellent book, and everyone should read it.
So, I don't really know where to start. Ever since reading Riverbend's blog, my interest in politics has heightened. I want nothing more than to know the truth and be as unbiased as possible. However, living here in America, that is slightly difficult seeing as our media is quite one-sided. Don't get me wrong, I love my country. I love the many opportunities available to us here. There are just so many things that I don't particularly agree with that go on here.
We've got the next big election coming up soon. I remember when George W. Bush was elected. I believe I was in 5th grade. We did a lot of political activities (or as many as a 5th grade class could handle) and tracked the election. I remember more vividly when he was reelected. It's amazing how many people were against his reelection, yet ... there he was! (Then again, California was about 54.4% Democratic during the 2004 election, so that would make sense.)
To be honest, I don't like the way that Hillary Clinton words things. "When I am President" this, and "When I am President," that. I understand that it adds to the confidence and should be appealing to listeners/readers, but to me, it just spells "arrogance." I do, however, like the idea that she wants to make America greener.
I like that Obama supports tax cuts for low- and middle-income families, and that he disagrees with Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy. I come from a middle-income family, and I know that a tax cut would definitely be beneficial. Despite the fact that it is not necessary, it would be more "fair" than to just give cuts to the wealthy in order to "encourage spending."
I do not affiliate myself with any particular political party. When I registered to vote, I registered as "Decline to State." And apparently, if I remember correctly, the number of those who declined to state has jumped to somewhere around 10%. So, that's interesting.
Well, my niece is being a wrecking ball. I'm off to entertain her.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California#Federal_Politics
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/issues/candidates/hillary-clinton/
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/issues/candidates/barack-obama/
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/issues/candidates/john-mccain/
I was inspired to keep a blog after beginning the book Baghdad Burning, a book that I highly suggest every single human being reads, regardless of your opinion on the occupation in Iraq. It is an enlightening and very insightful book based off of the blog (http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/). Unfortunately, I have not seen any updates in a long time. In any case, it's an excellent book, and everyone should read it.
So, I don't really know where to start. Ever since reading Riverbend's blog, my interest in politics has heightened. I want nothing more than to know the truth and be as unbiased as possible. However, living here in America, that is slightly difficult seeing as our media is quite one-sided. Don't get me wrong, I love my country. I love the many opportunities available to us here. There are just so many things that I don't particularly agree with that go on here.
We've got the next big election coming up soon. I remember when George W. Bush was elected. I believe I was in 5th grade. We did a lot of political activities (or as many as a 5th grade class could handle) and tracked the election. I remember more vividly when he was reelected. It's amazing how many people were against his reelection, yet ... there he was! (Then again, California was about 54.4% Democratic during the 2004 election, so that would make sense.)
To be honest, I don't like the way that Hillary Clinton words things. "When I am President" this, and "When I am President," that. I understand that it adds to the confidence and should be appealing to listeners/readers, but to me, it just spells "arrogance." I do, however, like the idea that she wants to make America greener.
I like that Obama supports tax cuts for low- and middle-income families, and that he disagrees with Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy. I come from a middle-income family, and I know that a tax cut would definitely be beneficial. Despite the fact that it is not necessary, it would be more "fair" than to just give cuts to the wealthy in order to "encourage spending."
I do not affiliate myself with any particular political party. When I registered to vote, I registered as "Decline to State." And apparently, if I remember correctly, the number of those who declined to state has jumped to somewhere around 10%. So, that's interesting.
Well, my niece is being a wrecking ball. I'm off to entertain her.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California#Federal_Politics
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/issues/candidates/hillary-clinton/
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/issues/candidates/barack-obama/
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/issues/candidates/john-mccain/
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