"It's a beautiful day to save lives, people."

Today I finally decided to donate blood. Remember that fear of needles I mentioned in an earlier post? WELL I FINALLY FACED IT!

Here's the story.

I knew that today was the day for me to donate. I called the place that I was gonna go to on Saturday and found out the hours. Then today after I got up, ate breakfast, and showered, my sister came to get me [around 2:15] to head off to this premeditated service experience. We got there and I was FREAKING OUT. And by freaking out I mean not that much because I knew that it really isn't something to freak out over. I filled out a little form and answered a bunch of questions... The bottom line is that I don't have HIV.

THANK GOODNESS!

Then Greg [the guy who sucked my blood] took me to a room to check my temperature, blood pressure, and iron level [finger prick]. I heard that this is the worst part. We were just talking about my major and school when he put a little blue thing on my finger and pricked me. It started to bleed [I sort of felt like I was in a movie... which is weird.] Then he took some blood out of there and checked it out. It didn't hurt until after he was done testing the blood, then it just twinged [for lack of a word at all] a little bit. He told me that I'm healthy and that its time for me to donate.

We went out and he made me sit in this ridiculously comfortable blue chair. Then he checked my veins and found that my left arm would be perfect for the job. My sister sat in a chair next to me and held my hand. [That's kind of embarrassing but I'M SO AFRAID OF NEEDLES.] I thought I was gonna cry... but I didn't. Greg told me to tell him about who I thought were the top five most beautiful actors. I began.

"Hands down, Hugh Jackman, is first" Then I felt the needle go into my arm. It didn't hurt at all, so no worries. Greg told me that I may feel nauseous or light headed, but to just let him know if I did. Then he told me to continue my list while I bled. Shandi took a picture. Then I continued.

Second I said I love George Clooney. I said that Heath Ledger is beautiful in somethings, but not in my top five. Then I couldn't think of anymore at the time.

[I know now. Hugh Jackman, George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr., Patrick Dempsey, and John Krasinksi. But that's beside the point of this post.]

While I bled, he asked me how I was feeling. I said fine. Then I burst out laughing and couldn't stop. I don't know what I was laughing at, but I just laughed. [Weird out of body experience]

After I was done [apparently I bleed fast], I sat in a chair and ate goldfish and drank water. He had wrapped a purple band around my elbow [I chose purple over pink]. When I started to feel light headed, he made me put an ice pack on my neck. Once I was better, Shandi drove me back to my room.

[I drank a lot of water. And I've had to pee a lot.]

Sarah and I went outside and I just laid out and slept while she did homework. Then around 7pm, her sister, Anna, picked us up to go get Chinese food from Smiths. While we were standing in line, something scary happened to me. I was getting a headache and I felt a little nauseous so I put my hand on Sarah's shoulder. They told me to sit up on the counter because I was wobbling a little bit. I did. Then everything went black, I felt pressure on my head, and I slid off the counter. When my feet hit the floor colors came back. Then I wobbled again and sat down on the floor. I drank more water while sitting on the floor of the grocery store. Now my head really hurts and I still feel like I could throw up.Oh, and I'm really tired.

Even though I don't feel so great right now, I did an awesome thing. I can donate again on June 14th and I fully intend to. I think my mom and my sister will do it with me.

It's a beautiful day to save lives, people.