Hug me I gave blood....

OK, so don't hug me just go get stuck & bleed for a cause yourself sometime. Damn pta. They are the BEST at guilting you into donating time money and now blood. I know, I know, I KNOW I'm glad I donate and am a part of our pta at the kids' school. The workers were all commenting on how many new donators we had here and how active the pta is at our school. It is a blessing, but I swear some of those ladies are related to Hitler. Seriously. They can convince you to do ANYTHING and do it with a smile. The pres. lives just up the street and I love her, but MAN they're good. We had teacher conferences today, both teachers still love my children. Isn't it wonderful when kids are young enough to still WANT to go to school? The pta had a LOT of good cookies donated for the blood drive, so I had a wonderful excuse to sit down and eat 6 oreos for breakfast. mmmmmm.

Knitting news, still knitting my little fingers off for the last of the bags ordered at my sale. I'm hoping to get it felted by Sunday and in the mail on Mon. Then what should I make???? I've been working only towards sale stuff for so long I can't imagine what I should do for fun. I think I'll finish my clapotis as I really REALLY am ready to wear it now with the temps falling into fall-like days. I need to check the class schedules at the LYS's to see what I wanna do. Maybe a few socks. Maybe that entrelac bag? who knows.

OK, so blood story..... I get there, conference one done. conference two done. Sign up for a FIRST TIME blood donor. I get the finger prick and am not ultruisitic enough as I'm praying with my entire being to be too anemic to not donate. (the other criteria were having the flu--nope, being under 110 lbs--HAH, and having HIV or something else equally horrible.) I was mid-range on the anemia thing, so off to the big chairs I go. Before I go any further in the story here I want to state that 99% of all the blood center employees are WONDERFUL and I think EVERYONE should donate. I just happened to get the one biotch in the bunch. lucky me. I go sit down. I tell her I'm a first timer, please be nice, and I smile my sweetest frightened smile. no sympathy given here as she's pissed that some other chic got to go on the first break and she wanted her cigarette dammit. I think great. She checks my veins, I say "oh, they sometimes roll a bit, so just wanted you to know..." she says "huh" and goes on yelling to someone on the other side of a screen about how SHE needs a break more than JULIE did....etc. great. I sit there, she tells me that she's going to start with a side vein and then move to the big one I say "no thank you, only one stick and then I'm out of here." I smile again. she says "huh" again....pattern is NOT going my way. I ask if she'd rather check out my right arm. It apparently has a small main vein that should work. She pokes me. She missed a bit, told me it was my fault as I must have been squeezing my fist too tight. I think it's because she was still mouthing off at her boss about her damn break. She wiggles it into the right spot. I only grimace, it's not too bad. After a bit it starts to sting pretty good, I think, OMG is this going to be this way the whole time? Another worker comes to check on me and I ask about the stinging, it's the de-coagulant, no biggie, it only lasts a minute. Ms. BIOTCH comes up and says "I TOLD you that." I said, no, you didn't. and smile sweetly.

It's now a piece of cake, laying there, checking out the blood filling up the bag, thinking I am Ms. Humanitarian....I am woman.....hear me roar, or see me bleed, or whatever. Time goes on. They come to check and ask why I'm not squeezing a ball. I said what? Ms. Biotch again pipes up "I TOLD you to do that." I don't even have a ball to hold onto. I said "no you didn't" she said "yes I did" I say "NO YOU DIDN'T" It was all I could do to not say "nuh uuuuuhhhhhhhh" and stick out my tongue. I think WTF??? You're arguing with me NOW?????? Another lady gives me a ball and asks me to gently squeeze. I'm no longer smiling when the biotch comes to check (all the while arguing with someone about her damn cigarette break) and apparently I'm a bit pale as all the workers keep asking if I'm ok, how am I doing, etc. Even Ms. Biotch calls me "hon" "you ok hon?" I'm NOT your hon, HON. I clench my teeth to keep from letting any stray words fly that would not be appropriate in a school cafeteria surrounded by teachers, fellow parents and their small children. At the end I finally am done, waiting for them to pull the damn needle out and she STOPS to carry on her conversation. I'm done smiling, I'm done with the whole thing. I tell her, "I'm sorry you didn't get your break, but could you PLEASE pull this needle out of my arm before I pull it out myself and bleed all over your station? I'm getting a bit CRAZY here..." Another lady comes and helps me out.

All in all, I felt good about what I did. I'll do it again. BUT next time I'll find the NICE one to stick me.