Went to see the Vampires Today....

Well, I went to see the blood sucking vampires today.......

Otherwise known as Canadian Blood Services. I know I'm probably weird but I actually enjoy giving blood. No - I'm not talking about having the actual needle stuck in my arm (although it's really not that bad) but I'm talking about being able to meet the people that are volunteering and working and to have that feeling that I'm doing something good for the community.

I was asking one of the nurses today how many people actually donate and she said that only 3% of Canadians actually donate! I would have thought the number was a lot bigger than that!

What this tells me is that we are not selling the need of blood to the right demographic. As far as I'm concerned every person aged 18-35 should be giving blood on a regular basis (obviously excluding those who can't for health reasons)

If you have never donated before let me give you a quick run-down of what to expect.

1. You are going to need to set aside about 1 hour of your time (it's best to make an appointment which you can do by calling 1-888-2donate - this will also tell you the closest location to your house/workplace)

2. Drink lots of fluids and make sure you have a good breakfast the day that you are donating.

3. Bring your license to the clinic (they will need your info so they can set you up in the system send you your Blood donor card!)

4. Read through the info duotang that they give you.

5. Get tested for the iron in your blood - (small little prick on your finger and then watch the blood drop down before the timer goes off!)

6. Answer some basic questions about your current state of health

7. You will be then be taken to sit with a nurse for about 5 minutes while she takes your blood pressure and temperature. She will also ask questions of a personal nature.

8. If everything checks out then will be ready to give blood - the nurse will take you over to one of the comfy chairs where you can relax!

9. A new nurse will greet you and help you to get comfortable and then begin to take blood from your arm (your choice of which arm) The actual giving can take anywhere from 4-15 minutes depending on how fast a bleeder your are. (4 minutes for me on a good day :)

10. After donating you will be taken to the best part - cookies and juice/coffee.

Now I know you're asking yourself - what kind of cookies and juice.... :)

The cookies are everything from Oreo, Fudgeeoo, Oatmeal, Chocolate Chip, and my favorite the ones with the sugared jelly in the middle... mmm mmm

For Juice you have a choice between Orange and.....PEACH!! Mmmmmm Peach juice. :)

After that they tell you not to exercise or lift anything heavy (a great excuse if you don't want to do any work around the house....)

So that's it - pretty simple procedure.

My challenge to you is if you have never given blood - why don't you go ahead and give it a try? And if you have - why don't you pick up the phone and book yourseld an appointment to donate again.

All joking aside as much as I love the cookies, juice, and company the main reason that I donate is because I owe it back to the system. I've had relatives and friends that have been in the hospital that have required A LOT of blood so I figure if I'm healthy enough to donate why shouldn't I?

C.

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So disappointed....... :(

Man. What a bummer.

Ever since Dean Kamen (one of the greatest inventors of our time) announced the creation of Segway HT I have wanted to own one. Unfortunately at this time the price was.......

a little steep for me ($5000.00USD) However I realized that there are places in North America that will actually rent these machines and the first one in Canada was opened in Vancouver!! Sure enough I jumped onto Google and found the following company located in Vancouver - The Future Human Transport Solutions Company(tm)

The coolest part was on their site they were advertising a 4 day special where I could rent a Segway for $129.98CDN I'm sure you can only imagine my joy and celebration at this discovery. I told my family, I told my friends, I told my parents dog!! So I'm sure you're now wondering..... Why so disappointed then?

Well as it turns out I contacted the company by both e-mail and found last Thursday expressing an interest to rent one of the machines while I'm in Vancouver.

Thursday - No response (Ok - I understand, I'm sure they are just busy)

Friday - No response. (Hmmm...that's strange, I would have thought they would want to contact someone who is talking about renting for 4 days!)

Saturday/Sunday - No Response. (alright - what the heck is going on?????)

I haven't given up completely yet, but I have forced myself to consider the possibility that they are not going to return my call and I will not be renting a Segway while in Vancouver.....

So that's my story! If anyone reading this lives in Vancouver and owns a Segway please feel free to leave a comment to let me know how much you would rent yours to me for while I'm in Vancouver.. :)

C.

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