The Blood Bus

So i got my bi-monthy call from the Red Cross to give blood. I'm kind of in high demand as I'm a universal donor and I have some kind of funky properties to my blood that also fit some rare transfusion needs, so I get a call like the hour my waiting period is over. It's really a good thing to do, and to be honest, I'm a good bleeder. It doesn't really phase me at all aside from being a little tired the day after. It makes me feel good to do something so small that helps lots of people.

So...I went in to the Union County Sheriff's office to give today and was surprised by the "bloodmobile", which sounds really high tech and portable, but it was really a converted charter bus that smelled like the exhaust pipe was actually re-routed back into the cabin of the hollowed-out clunker. The interview room where they ask you all the questions and check your blood pressure and temperature was smaller that the bathroom on a charter bus, and there were TWO of us in there. The bed/chair thingers that you sit on to donate were not quite long enough for my six-foot frame, so it was kinda cramped, and then you were forced to sit face to face with another donor, so I had to converse when all I really wanted to do was lay there and bleed. The good news is that I got in and out quick. Less than 45 minutes form registration to hopping off the carbonmonoxidemobile. I took my cookies and itty bitty bottle of water and got the hell out of there. I got to register to win a $2000 travel voucher and a "city of Marysville" throw. I'll let you know if I win either. It would be a big bonus and the throw would keep me cozy while I hang out in the hyperbaric chamber.