A few weeks ago, my company announced that they were hosting a blood donation drive. Donating blood is something that I’ve been wanting to do for a while now but just never got up the courage to do so. Well, this time around, I signed myself up! (You see, in my increasing age, I feel like I should be giving back more, getting more involved in anything, but more on this later.) So, after filling out the requisite documents, answering an onslaught of questions, and going through the prep work (getting a hemoglobin count, blood pressure, body temperature, etc…), I was directed to my little lounge chair. I was feeling pretty confident while they were trying to locate my vein. I’m not needle-phobic, so when the nurse inserted the needle into my arm, I didn’t flinch. However, when the nurse called to the other nurse saying that she needed her NOW!, I became a bit concerned…I must warn you who are faint of heart when it comes to needles, you may want to skip this next part and start reading after the twin stars **… The first nurse thought she had found my vein, but didn’t. The second nurse came over and started wiggling the needle, which was still inserted in my arm, by the way. It didn’t hurt too much, but it wasn’t exactly the most comfortable thing to experience. You’d think that the worst would be over. But alas, I was a Murphy, so Murphy’s Law does really apply to me. Apparently, my flow was a bit slow, so they had to take the needle of out of me ASAP. After a not so smooth extraction of the needle, I was all patched up and ready for my juice & cookies.** So, I sat around reading magazines, sipping apple juice, and eating the delicious-but-bad-for-you chocolate chip and M&M cookies that the cafeteria bakes. After about 15 minutes, I felt back to normal, or so I thought, and returned to my desk with a fat ice pack on my arm to lessen the potential bruising. Well, 5 minutes later, I started to feel extremely nauseated and since most of the office was out to lunch, I decided to head back to the room where the nurses were. I would have felt better fainting where people could help right away, as opposed to finding me 30 minutes later. (We are subject to an “anti-camaraderie & anti-socialization” rule. I am SO NOT kidding, either.) So, I sat with my feet elevated and cool towels on my forehead for another 15 minutes. They fed me water, to hydrate, and pretzels, to retain that hydration. I go through all that just because I want to give back to my community. That’s just great! So today, my arm is a bit sore, but not all that bruised. I suppose it could have been worse.
So in my neverending quest for a new career…who would want to stay in an environment where you can’t be social with your coworkers during work hours?…I came upon an article on sfgate.com, “Reality bites for new Realtors A listless labor market has pushed thousands into real estate jobs — but there are too many agents and not nearly enough listings”. So after reading that, I have been dissuaded from getting a real estate license right now. I am planning to attend an Event/Meeting Planning information session, next week. Hopefully, from that informational meeting, I can find out if it’s for me or not. But…(and there’s always a but), since Sylvain and I may have a fat mortgage to be paying soon, I can’t really leave my decent paying job anyway. I’d like to leave for my own well-being, but I can’t have the same salary if I leave. So, it’s a vicious circle that I am in. If you have any career ideas, please send in your comments below.
Oh, and a reminder. If you’re not registered to vote, please do so. This upcoming presidential election is being touted as one of THE most important elections of our lifetime.