I'm still awake!!

Serena and Venus won the Australian Open doubles title again....Serena is in the singles finals and it starts in 10 minutes. (1:30 am). Yes, I am awake. I'm that loyal.

I am angry

Guess what happened at the plasma place today? I went there this morning to donate. Just like the last two times I went, I drank a ton of water this morning. I mean, a lot. So as I'm sitting there waiting to go into one of the screening rooms, I really had to pee. BAD

I didn't go to the bathroom though, b/c I was worried I might miss my name being called. After about 10 minutes, I finally got called. I went in and the lady checked my blood pressure, pulse, and temperature. All of a sudden, she calmly says, "okay, your pulse is 107 so you won't be able to donate today". It was almost like I didn't understand what she was saying. I said, "excuse me, what???" She goes, "your pulse is too high, it has to be under 100".

The annoying part is, they don't retake your pulse....not until they get a new system in 2 weeks. That's it, they just send you home and say you can't donate all day long. Can you believe that??!!! I am still angry. I planned my whole morning around this, I drank a billion gallons of water.....I AM ANNOYED!! The only thing I can think of that would raise my pulse is the fact that I was holding in my pee for so long. Is that possible? I mean, I wasn't nervous or anything, what else would cause this? How ridiculous is it that I couldn't donate just b/c of my pulse? Give me a break. I want/need that money and it just bugs me that they don't even give you a chance to go sit down for a few minutes...or heaven forbid, go and PEE!!! I had been dying in the waiting room, which is why that's the only thing I could think would have caused it. Anyways, I'm done venting for now, but if you see me in person I'll probably start again.

Oh, she also said I could come back and try tomorrow- yeah, there are no appointments available tomorrow...like I'm going to come sit and be on standby.....that line is always incredibly long. So now I don't get to go back until tuesday and instead of getting 35 then, I'll have to start over and only get 30. (that is if my pulse goes below 100). I feel like I just failed a drug test without taking any drugs. Blurg!!

Australian Open Update

Good news so far. Serena and Venus play in the doubles final tonight (they won last year). And, Serena plays in the singles Final tomorrow against an old [disgusting] rival. Roger plays his semi final tonight...Hopefully I'll have good news to report in the next few days.

Also, I donated plasma again on tuesday and I'm going again on tomorrow. It was much better this time, and MUCH faster. Only another week until my job interview in Denver. Fingers crossed....then I can finally slow down on selling my precious fluids. :)

I got my diploma!

And that means my graduation is for real.

Oprah Winfrey whole segment, for real for real.

20/20 Barbara Walters for real for real.

60 Minutes for real....

What I will sell for money

Here is the deal....I'm broke. I'm still waiting for my interviews in early February, so in order to make some money, I decided to donate plasma. (how else will we pay the rent? haha)
This is my review of the whole deal.

Since this was my first time donating, I had to be there for a loooong time. 3 hours total. They ask all kinds of medical questions....millions of times too. Also, there were several times when they actually made me read aloud what I was signing. All very unsettling. First they make you go into the screening room, which apparently you have to do every time you donate. You have to say your name and your "donor number" when you sit down. Then, one of the workers checks your blood pressure, temp, weight....you have to have specific numbers in order to be able to donate. My blood pressure was a little high, but I think that was because I was nervous. The amount of plasma they take from you is based on your weight. I was the lowest weight for the middle amount, so the lady suggested that I wear "less clothes" in order to drop a pound and therefore be able to give less plasma, and then be less light headed. Sketchy, no?

Anyways, then they prick your finger and test your blood to make sure the protein levels are okay to donate. After these tests, they started the million questions. After this, they make you go and have a physical from one of their.....doctors....?...ha ha ha. Okay, not really a doctor, but somebody who worked there who looked official. Again, right when I sat down with her she said, "say your name and your donor number for me" I had to pee in a cup and even had to take off my shirt so the lady could feel me up. Eyes, ears, reflexes, everything was checked. Then the questions started again. Every medication, every surgery (I might have forgotten my last one), everything you could think of, they ask. She even looked up Pleva to see what it was. Finally, after all the questions, and checking me out, she said it was okay to go back to the "donor room"

Okay, let me paint a picture for you....Have you seen the previews for that new vampire movie, where they farm humans for blood? It was like that. Tons of bed chair things with people hooked up to them lined the walls of the room. It was kind of scary, I won't lie. Plus, they ask all kinds of questions about piercings and tattoos like it's a terrible thing, but there were some sketchy sketch people in there with all of the above.

So they call me over, I lay down and it starts. One more time "say your name and your donor number" I'm thinking, "who is listening to this? Why do I have to keep saying it?" Anyways, I've never even donated blood before. Basically, they stick a needle in your arm and start to draw out the blood. The blood is centrifuged in this machine thing that you're hooked up to and the plasma goes into a plastic tube. Then, every so often, your red blood cells are pumped back into your arm. By the end, they had taken a full tube of plasma. It was actually freaky to see how much they removed from MY BODY. I couldn't help but feel violated. :) I was hooked up to the machines for about an hour total. The whole time I just watched the tv where they had a movie playing. By the end, I walked out with 30 Bucks. I can go twice in a 7 day period. The first time they pay 30, the second is 35.

Overall, the whole first day process was not very fun at all. Plasma donation centers are a money making machine and I felt a little bit like a robot to them. It took forever and was not that enjoyable. However, once I actually got into the donation room, (blood sucking factory), I enjoyed it a lot more. The next time will be much better I think, and i'll get paid more money. Oh, also, I drank a lot of water before I went there and I had to pee the whole time, so that was driving me nuts too. :)

Conclusion.....if you need extra money (or money at all like me), this is a good way to get it. The first time was long, but I think it will get much better once I become a "regular". Ha ha ha

Jess is...

There has been a lot said about my wife this past week. Most of you have heard all about it. It's been bugging me all week, because after all that's been said, somehow, Jess (and me.....go figure) has become the bad guy to some. So instead of discussing what a few think of her, I'd like to make a post dedicated to the person THEY are missing out on.

If these people could only see, Jess is...

Soft Hearted- She was a shoulder to lean on when we had to put Hunter down.

Fun- Need a Pixel Junk Monsters partner? She's top notch. And I hear she's a good Canasta partner, but you'd have to ask Dorris about that.

Thoughtful- She's always making food for someone, or trying to help her friends with anything.

Crafty- Have you seen her etsy store? It's freakish how talented she is.

Loyal- She always has my back, and she never would turn on a friend.

Beautiful- She should give lessons on how to be a model.

Smart- Her GPA is disgusting, but she's not about to brag....that much. :)

My Wife- Perfect in her own way.

The list goes on and on but I'm sure you're already barfing over this post. (Sarah) ha ha ha

Anyways, this is the girl that I see, and THIS is why I defended her. Maybe one day they'll understand.

Okay, this is the sappiest my blog will ever get. Prepare for boring tennis posts and updates on donating plasma.

Tennis starts tonight!!!...

...which is actually tomorrow. It's the Australian Open, so the times and days are all weird. But anyways, I can't wait to watch 2 weeks worth.

Cleaning

Since I'm out of work right now I've been trying to keep myself busy around here. I renewed the car registration, gone to the post office to mail things, and begun cleaning parts of the house that never get cleaned. The big project was the shelves in the back room. That's pretty much where we just set anything that doesn't have a real place. You should see the recycle pile I made of all my old school supplies that were up there. The shelves look really nice now. Usually I make a throw away pile, and then a pile that Jess can go through to see if she wants to keep. For example, any of her school papers or magazines go in the maybe keep pile. But if I find junk things like these ugly red/white Christmas tree ornaments that someone gave us a while ago, they definitely going into the garbage pile right away.

That way, we minimize the junk in the house, and we won't be in danger of becoming hoarders. Plus, it gives me something productive to do while I'm waiting to hear on my jobs. The end.

Hoarders

So....week 2 of no job. BUT, things are looking up. I mean, I like being positive, so even though things are pretty much the same, I have high hopes. I've applied for a job with the BLM (that would be a federal job) which would be extremely cool to get and that's what I'm wanting to get. They don't start interviewing until February though, so I just have to wait. Until then, I plan on donating plasma for cash. Yes, I'm that desperate for money. :)

That's the job update for now.

Now for another issue. Last night I watched the show Hoarders. Each episode documents the lives of usually 2 people who have hoarding issues. I'm fascinated with these people and that's what keeps me watching, but I'll be honest: I can't stand that show. Hear me out. I would call myself an anti-hoarder. I routinely go through my house and throw things out. I can't stand clutter, I can't stand junk, I don't have many sentimental things....if I don't use it, I want to throw it away. As you already know, I'm also OCD, and many of those tendencies involve cleaning. So it just bothers me seeing these gross houses on this show.

Here is why I hate the show:

1. They only stay and clean the hoarders houses for 2 days, so by the end, the houses aren't really clean. I know that's not the real point of the show, but I kind of want it to be like "Clean House", with a big reveal at the end.

2. It bothers me that nothing really happens during the show....they just repeat over and over how bad the situation has become for the hoarder and how they need to get their lives together. well duh!

3. If the show is really trying to help these people, why do they only help clean for 2 days? They make a big deal about it too. Once the 2nd day is over they start yelling at the cleaning crew.. "stop, don't throw anything else away, we're done" What is that about??? How about they stay a whole week and really get the situation under control?

These are my main complaints. By the end of the show, there just isn't any real closure. Anyways, I'll keep watching, b/c it's so freakish it's hard to turn away.

We're baaaack

Alabama 37 Texas 21

Graduated....

Yes, it's official, (even though I haven't gotten the actual paper)....I finally graduated with a degree in Wildlife and Wildlands Conservation.

And I'm jobless

So I've been a hobo today, without school or work to go to. Okay, I haven't been a total hobo. I've applied for 4 jobs (and those applications and whatnot take for-ev-er), went to the bank, went to the post office, paid rent (which is going to get harder and harder to do....haha...yikes), and cleaned the house. Here's to finding a job!...