Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Laundry

So I had a strange thought while I was doing the laundry. What if you didn't lose a sock, but you found one instead and that was why there is one extra? Strange...

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Life and the lack there of...

This is kind of weird to write about because I have never been an emotional person in general, nor have I ever felt the need to talk about mortality, but I think now is a time where I can not ignore it.
My German professor, Dr. Spanier, died last night.
I have always thought that the difference between life and death is fascinating. I mean, it is a difficult thing for the mind to understand. One day, a person is alive and well, going about their daily duties with no thought of it ending, and the next day, their spirit is gone from this world and their body is left an empty shell for their loved ones to bury.
I have seen dead bodies before (I worked as an intern in a county coroner's office), and that moment when life ends is so quick and final that my mind can not help but ponder over it.
I wonder about what is next.
I don't mean what is next on the path of a human soul, I mean what is next for me, for the people who are left in this world when someone passes to the next. What is going to have to change and what am I going to have to get used to now that that someone is gone.
What amazes me is the ability...the necessity for life to move on. Those that are left must accept what has passed and continue in our struggle. We must remember what those who have died did but we can not stay in the past.
I talk about this as if Dr. Spanier was a close friend of mine. I would call him a friend and he did have a noteworthy impact on my life, but the fact that death has touched someone I know has cause these thoughts to come to the forefront of my mind.
Death is a strange thing...

Thursday, February 5, 2009

So I am just a little bit altruistic...

Yesterday I donated blood!!! This is the second time I have given blood to the Red Cross and it will not be my last by far. I really enjoy giving blood, knowing that I am saving a life with my donation, and honestly, it is one of the easiest things to donate. All you have to give up is less than an hour of your time and you have done something amazing to help someone else.
This time around I donated with the ALYX machine. The machine pumps out your blood and filters/centrifuges it and pumps the plasma back in, leaving just the red blood cells as your donation. They do this so you can donate a double portion of red blood cells and those are in more demand than whole blood.
I have big veins and no qualms about blood so I figure, why not, give as much as is healthy and keep giving when I am eligible again.
I encourage everyone to give blood if they can, it is a simple and easy way to impact the lives of others!