Friday, August 01, 2008

Going Green, Giving Blood, Getting I-PASS and a Ficus named Blanche

So, obviously from my title above this current article is relating to all sorts of miscellaneous information- fun little tidbits that I would like to share.

Going Green:
Now I heard this report, keep in mind the numbers could be wrong, but what I heard was enough for me to decide to make a change. Allegedly, only 1% of all plastic bags are recycled every year. And, I admit, I have been guilty of not recycling them. Instead, I have used them as trash bags, or just thrown them out. So, I decided to "Go Green," and instead of using the plastic bags that the store gives, I now have a bag that I take to the store with me! It works perfectly for clothes, food, or whatever. I just keep the bag in my car. It's a small thing I realize, but any little bit helps, right?

Giving Blood:
Okay, so I had an incident at school in the CBC gym where I nearly fainted from giving blood. (A namless school friend-you know who you are, my salsa buddy- and I decided we wanted to get the free mug and cookies that are given out to the donors.) But, now my job has a blood drive several times a year. I decided to try it again. Now, it was very upfront in my mind that I don't really have good veins for this sort of thing (Doctors/nurses have trouble- the dude taking my wisdom teeth had trouble, the lady in the CBC gym had trouble...) but like I said, I wanted to try it out.
Initially all seemed to be going smoothly. Of course, how hard is answering questions regarding miscellaneous travel facts; "Have you been in Europe for a total of 5 years or more..." After the finger prick I figured the worst was over. Not so my friend, not so. The nerves settled in as soon as I was sitting (stretched out) on the nice little cushy couch thingy. "Squeeze this in your hand dearie, don't stop." The pressurized sphygmomanometer (the inflatable cuff) was wrapped around my arm and I was squeezing away- little did I know it was to my impending doom. I was prepping myself, "Look away, think of your plant, smile at Kelley, think of the beach, think of something else other than what is about to happen..." But, then it did happen, the arm was poked. Usually, past experience has taught me that once the poke is done, it's all uphill from there. This time something went wrong. Instead of relief I felt something akin to fire running through my entire arm- something was going terribly awry! I could tell something was wrong- the nurse knew it, I knew it, and I was trying to not panic. I was continuing to smile and nod, and at the same time saying, "something isn't right." So, my CBC nightmare came true again, laid back on a couch, staring into the distance, feet in the air, only this time I didn't donate. I could have been given a sticker that said "I tried, but failed." At least I did try. Next time, maybe I'll actually GO to the Blood Bank. Hopefully I'll have better luck there.

Getting I-PASS:
Did you know that if you blow a toll (by mistake) and then forget to pay it online you become subject to a $20 fine- for EACH instance! So, yeah, that's what happens. I happened to receive a letter in the mail from the Illinois Toll people. They were nice enough to grant me a $60 dollar fine, because, yes, I went through 3 tolls, forgot all about them, and never paid online. So I quickly paid my fine, and now I am the proud owner of an IPASS! That handy device works in 10 states (ish). I'll be Free Flying from now on!

And a Ficus named Blanche:
So Cindy went to Jewel and found this this beautiful plant and bought her for me! She was in my apartment, BUT, I was worried about lighting, and I was also going through withdrawal. Seeing as I am only home for a few hours tops a day, I only was able to see her for a few hours tops a day. Now that she is in my cube I can look at her all day long. She has been introduced to many people already- I think she is gonna like it here... Now some miscellaneous facts about the Ficus- she could potentially grow to be like, 100 feet. Once she reaches four or five I'll probably be taking her back home. Eventually maybe I'll need a yard to plant her in!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hey! Who was your salsa buddy? Just thought we'd say hi! And I'm disappointed that i'm not featured on your links. It's carterstyle.com just in case you want to add me :) HA.