november, donation, sleep

It's November. The leaves are still falling and Halloween is done for another year. I had a really great time with my costume on campus and I think the people I visited had fun too. I got a few screams and lots of laughter - and a surprising dose of awe that I'd made the mask myself. That was pretty cool. I sometimes wonder if I should keep doing this - but I got such great feedback this year that I'm encouraged to keep going.

Election day is tomorrow and I'm planning on leaving work a little early to get to the voting place. I've got my notes and my map and a good book picked out - should be fine. I'm not expecting any problems, but woe be it to anyone who challenges my right to vote.

I heard a news story about a woman who refused to give out candy to children - or presumably their parents - who didn't support McCain. What kind of a wanker would bring their political views into Halloween treats with kids? How fair is that? I would have lied to her about my political affiliation to get extra candy - then egged and TPd her house just for spite.

I went to give blood today and the drive was doing some kind of time survey on a little card that you carried from station to station where they noted the time. So, I thought I'd play along to see how it was going. Here's what I had - and I actually had to correct one guy (more on him later) since he filled in the wrong boxes at his station.

Arrive at blood drive location: 4:03 PM (my appointment was for 4:30 - not that it matters)
Enter the history area: 4:35 PM (already we've got a problem)
Leave the history area: 4:56 PM (I had a trainee)
On the table: 5:04 PM
Start the prep work: 5:16 PM (the other table had a problem and no one came to help the staff person)
Needle in: 5:26 PM
Off the table: 5:36 PM

At first glance, it would seems like today was not a good day for them to be checking the time it takes to process a donation. With a little thought, however, maybe it was a good day. These times are an indication that they were understaffed - though I actually thought they had enough people, they just weren't being utilized well. Maybe next time they'll have more than enough people to make up for the times and things will go quicker.

So, let's talk about the trainee. It's fortunate that I'm an old hat with blood donations - he would have scared me off otherwise. He had to repeat the steps a few times, had trouble with the finger stick, got some of the info wrong, had trouble with the blood pressure/pulse and just generally made me nervous with his manner. I know a lot of that comes from practice, but a little more 'non-donor' practice would have suited me fine. I got through it, but it could have gone smoother. How to I keep ending up with the trainees? Seems like the law of averages would help me out sooner or later. Or maybe it's for the best since I'm not going to get scared off and they can practice on me for the new donors.

In other news... I swam a mile today and that - along with my blood donation - should help me sleep well tonight. My arm was still bleeding with I took off the bandage - which is a little worrisome. So, I put it back on and I'll keep it covered for the rest of the night.

I guess that's it for now... already getting sleepy.

(yawn) later....