yesterday....
i just tried to give blood.
tried.
after over an hour of waiting in line, answering extraordinarily personal questions, getting poked in the finger (anemia check), blood pressure taken, temperature taken, lectured, and asked more personal questions, i went over to get stuck with a large needle so that they could collect my blood. now, i've give blood before, several times, so i have kind of a perma-hole in my left arm. since it's already there, nurses generally just use that hole. not the nurse today. oh no. she needed to be all rebel-like and said, "i'm going to make you a new hole." well, she didn't do so well with that. she kept jabbing the needle in deeper, saying, "hmm... it's not coming out very well." then she really really jabs it in deep, at which point, i involuntarily screamed. not a really loud scream. but a scream. and perhaps a few choice words. something to the effect of "holy fuck!" ... and then, after an excrutiating pain that radiated throughout my left arm, i lost feeling for a moment in my left hand. "oh," she says, cavalierly, "i must have hit a nerve. oh well. do you want to try your right arm?" feeling a bit wary, not to mention woozy, i just said, "uhm. i think i'm done for the day. thanks. i have to get back to work now."
yeah.
it still hurts.
and now i'm kind of sad. because saving lives is important to me. and i spent all that time and got hurt for nothing. so i am perhaps a bit cranky. =(
[sigh]
well, i turned in my volunteer form to usher at the hispanic cultural center today. that will be good. i will help people find their seats and give them the little programs for the performances, and then i get to watch, too. and the best part is that i get to pick which performances i want to attend and volunteer for. so i've picked the Mexico Ballet, and the Manoa Youth Project, and the Santa Fe Choral Society. ahhh. see? it all balances out in the end, right? life is still wonderful. despite all bruises and incompetent nurses.
can i have some pie now?