saving a life

today was my r.d.o. i spent it well. i got up earlier than i would ever get up for work and ate a nice healthy breakfast, drank lots of fluids, hopped on a tram and went to the blood donor service in the city. i've been meaning to donate blood for a few years but just never got around to it. i finally remembered to book an appointment a few weeks ago (there's a 3-4 week wait for the city donor centre). i wanted to do it on a day i didn't have to work just cuz i wasn't sure how i'd be feeling afterwards (i am prone to fainting but usually in smoky, enclosed rooms) and didn't want to have to rush to work. i got there and went thru the whole interview process to confirm my eligibility and then had my hemoglobin tested (iron levels). it has to be between 12 and 19(?) to donate. the first test came up as 11.9 (followed by the question "are you vegetarian or something?") then he retested me and it was 12.5 so i was ok to donate. it all went good (and i almost finished my book) and afterwards i hung around the recovery area making sure i felt all good eating and drinking (they have quite a good menu of free drinks and snacks there). i walked around the city and then met zac at trippy taco for lunch. i wandered up brunswick street for an iced coffee at jaspers (any place with "caffeine dealers" on their awning is my kind of place) and eventually caught a tram for the last 2km home. i felt fine all day until the ride home. i think it was the caffeine (although they offered coffee and black tea in the recovery area at the red cross). for the next several hours i felt lightheaded any time i'd try to walk around (just slightly though, not enough that i was gonna pass out). it all went well though and i think i'll be a regular donor (you can donate every 12 weeks but i'll only be able to do it on my r.d.o. once a term or if i get a day off during school holidays). its a easy way to help save lives and it was all pretty relaxing (it made me slow down a bit the rest of the day and not push myself too hard-- its my excuse for not cleaning the house like i said i was going to do today).