On the bright side, the t-shirts are totally badass

New and exciting experience of the day: Giving blood

I figure, I'm seventeen. I need to do the things seventeen year olds can do. That is, see R rated movies and give blood. 

One down, one to go.

First, a little awkward anecdote. Today I was standing there minding my own business, I think talking to David, and Nick M decides to bump into me to say hello in his strange way. So I'm standing near a cluster of backpacks and there's nowhere I can really put my foot to steady myself.

So I fall over.

At that point, Sam ran across the Crossroads to kick me in the head (softly?) which was not appreciated.

But the point is, someone asked whether I had given blood today (explaining the propensity to falling over), I had to explain that no, I hadn't, but I was going to. And if I was falling over with all my blood still in me, I had wonderful things ahead of me.

Anyways.

So I go after school and fill out the forms and whatnot, and it's just great, and this doctor who reminded me of 13 from House takes me into a little room to ask whether I'd been a prostitute after 1977 (would it be okay if I'd been a prostitute before 1977?) and then she does a finger prick test to see if I'm anemic. And I cover my eyes because I'm okay with pain, I'm just not so chill with seeing blood.

And then the other doctors made fun of me. Which was okay.

Then I chilled there for a bit and they put me in a reclining thing and tied up my arm and stuck the needle in me, which wasn't so bad. It was just cold, like dipping your hand in cool water. And I had this stress ball shaped like a pumpkin, which I hadn't realized I was supposed to be squeezing. So I didn't squeeze it, and that went well. Really well. I was sitting there for like, ten minutes before someone asked how the squeezing was going. Apparently it makes the process go faster (I don't really care to contemplate the details).

So once I started to squeeze it was just fine.

Then I was done and I sat up.

Not so great.

You know when you have a fever so you feel hot and cold at the same time? It was kind of like that, but with dizziness included. Not among my favorite sensations.

So the super cool doctors who had made fun of me before made fun of me again and told me I looked like a zombie and should lie down with ice on my neck and a bottle of apple juice.

So I did that.

Ms G, school nurse extraordinaire, was there too. She decided, upon seeing my zombie state, that I was in no condition to drive, so she offered to drive me to advisory dinner, from which my parents could pick me up.

In retrospect, it was a brilliant idea. I thought I was fine, but I evidently was/am not. Still feeling woozy, and at dinner I was basically winded from picking up my backpack and walking across the room.

Yikes.

So that's been the past five hours. It's just lovely.

Love always,
Clara