"30 before 30" progress update: #25

Since today's attempt at blood donation will have to be re-attempted a little later, I figured today was a good day to get going on another of the items I'd been planning: #25, leave nice notes for people.

Now, I'm marked this one as "complete" (you'll see on the original list that I'm now going to be noting the ones I've done, so you-- and I, as it is now my browser homepage!-- can keep track of which are yet to be tackled)... but this is really one that could keep going forever. I didn't really set a limit, like "leave 10 nice notes in random places," though last week I did make up a dozen or so, and have been meaning to start leaving them around.

Today I was heading to campus for the biology department "advising blitz" (translated: the department office was closed when I arrived, and when it reopened 20 minutes later, I was 4th in line to speak with the department chair, who was the only faculty member around for advising at the moment. Though another professor was also recruited to assist one student). In other words, I knew I'd have some time to seek out places to stick some of my little notes, and I turned out to have plenty.

I haven't put out all dozen yet... because I want to keep an eye out for good places. I could have stuck all the notes in stalls in women's restrooms on campus. It'd be easy spots to hit. But I want to be a little more diverse/creative with my places to leave them, than that.

Inside the door of a bathroom stall on campus. This is one of my favorites of the notes. (And for the record, yes, I did whip out a pen and add the missing "l" right after taking this picture. :)

On a bathroom mirror on campus. I thought about how to word this one, not wanting it to come off unintentionally judge-y... hence in the end, I just threw in a smiley face.

Inside the door of my apartment building elevator. (For the record, standing in an elevator that is not moving is a weird sensation. Sort of like being on land again after bobbing on waves at the beach all day. :)

This was really fun. From creating the little notes, to sneaking around identifying places/times where no one would notice me putting them up, to imagining who might encounter them (and hopefully bring a smile to their face). Maybe I'll just do this periodically. I know I've encountered random signs or writings places that made me smile. I hope the people who put them up had just as much fun doing it.

If you have any great ideas for where to continue sticking my happy little notes, feel free to share them!

"30 before 30" progress update: #29 (Take 1)

Today's item: #29 on the "30 before 30" list: Donate blood!

So, I realize that when I had that terrible experience at the Bonfils at St. Joseph's several months back, I swore off attempting to donating blood. Seriously, those people were just beyond rude. They made me feel like they were doing me a favor by even being there-- you know, instead of me attempting to give over body parts to people who need them. Anywho...

I'm still sworn off going back to that center-- or maybe any Bonfils blood donation center. They're on my bad list, for sures. But when Googling blood donating in Colorado, the second link to come up was the blood donation center at Children's. Now, that I can get behind.

So I scheduled my appointment via their website and e-mail, made sure to eat breakfast this morning, and drank plenty of fluids beforehand, as prescribed (ok, this is sort of a lie. I drank two glasses of water right before I left, as I'd forgotten to get around to it earlier). And then headed out to Aurora. Finally after navigating both the parking structure and the inner corridors of the hospital, I arrived at the blood donor center, where I was shown into a cute little cubicle with sliding glass doors on either side, where I filled out my form and then opened the door on the far side to indicate I was finished.

A phlebotomist in maybe her 40s or 50s, wearing a fuzzy headband with two sparkly bats on springs sticking out from the top, introduced herself as Maddy (I have no idea if that's how you spell her name. But whatever, people never get mine right either). At first I thought she seemed sort of non-talkative, very straightforward, but I was glad she was older and maybe thus more experienced at-- seriously? you know what I'm going to say here-- the finger prick. But while she was inputting my information and clarifying answers, she asked if I'd donated at Children's before, and I told her I'd actually not donating before, anywhere. "Well, we'll make sure this is a good experience for you today," she assured me. (Contrast to the Bonfils people who seemed to wish to ensure the opposite.)

Anyway, about that finger prick... the part that makes oh-such-a-difference. People who are bad at these make you think you are going to die. People who are good at them, you hardly notice (ok, that's a lie too, I mean it still hurts, but nothing like the other end of the spectrum). Maddy? Maddy was a pro. I told her that she was much better at it than a lot of people. She told me the trick, which is that they need to stay away from right in the middle of your finger, which is where most of the nerve endings are. My confidence in this woman who I was hoping to let suck my blood out on this Halloween was growing by the minute.

Of course, there was already one potential hitch. On the first temperature read she'd taken in my ear, before doing the finger prick, it'd read at 38 degrees C. She'd seemed surprised, and so had I, as I almost never get a fever (or so I'd thought... more on that later). And of course, because I was feeling just fine. She'd said the highest they could take was 37.5 C, and so she re-took it after taking my blood pressure (excellent as always) and doing the finger prick... and it was now 38.1 C. I couldn't do the math on this in my head, but I know that 37 is normal body temp (come on, I am a microbiology student, after all), and 40 is hot (which I first discovered while standing in a farmer's field in rural South Africa, on a 40 degree C day, long ago).

Alas, Maddy told me they're only allowed to take the temperature twice. She checked how long a high temperature defers a person for, and informed me that it'll be in the computer as deferred for 2 weeks, but if I don't come down with something by Monday or Tuesday, I can return sooner than that. I thanked her, genuinely-- even if I didn't get to donate blood today, I will mostly definitely be back (I wonder if I can request a phlebotomist...?)

At least I got a Sesame Street band-aid out of it. :)

As I was leaving through the bright, cheery halls and calming spaces (granted, this building is fairly new, so it got to be recently cheer-ified), I passed a couple pushing a little boy in a wheelchair between them, talking about how mom and dad were going to donate blood. Presumably, for their son. I passed staff members in Halloween costumes or face paint, and the delightful murals that are spaced along the outside wall of the parking garage. If I knew a sick kid, I'd want them to get to go to a place like Children's. And if I am going to give away my body parts, it's going to be there (stay tuned... I'll of course update whenever "Take 2" occurs!)

~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~

Two side notes to this story: First, while doing a workshop with eight-graders at work yesterday, and trying to give them a feel for the temperatures they were measuring in celsius, I asked if they knew how to convert from C to F. Their teacher injected the formula of "double it... and then add 32." My co-worker apparently also believed this was the correct way to make that conversion. Let us review: my actual temperature today, as recorded by Maddy, was 38.1 C. Which is you do the correct conversion, is 100.6 F. If you do the conversion the silly way, it comes to 108.2 F.

In other words, doing the correct conversion is the difference between discovering my body fighting off some low-level infection that I wasn't aware of, and fearing that my brain is cooking in my head. Who said accuracy doesn't matter? :)

Second side note: when I got home, I took my temperature on my digital oral thermometer (I had a different one I liked better-- well, I think I still do somewhere)-- but it died. The reading? 97.2. So maybe all those times I felt sick but "didn't have a temperature," I was really cooking. I think this thermometer is about finished with its usefulness in this household!

Why I don't accept your reasons for why you're not voting

"One vote doesn't matter."
People who use this excuse do not actually believe it. Because this is based on one of two scenarios:

... the idea that your preferred party or measures are likely to pass, despite you staying home on your couch-- meaning that you are putting the responsibility for your interests off onto other people who decided to actually get up off their couches;

...or the idea that your preferred party of measures are unlikely to pass, whether you get off your couch or not-- meaning that you are willing to compromise your interests to those of the opposing view, just because they do have the energy to get up off their couches.

In short, this excuse is just plain laziness. Stop asking other people to speak for you. Get up off your butt. You have a voice. Go use it.


"The electoral college means my vote doesn't matter."

Again, do something about it. Sitting at home whining will get you nowhere. The most perfunctory of internet searches brings you to this website, where you can learn about measures to reform the voting system used for presidential elections, and even see which legislators from your state support the National Popular Vote bill (which I'll note I really know nothing about, as this isn't one of the issues I'm passionately concerned about, so I can neither endorse nor oppose it-- my point is, if this is actually something you are concerned about, and not just making lazy excuses, then learn about what you can do to change things. This part doesn't even require getting off your butt!)

In other words, if you care about the electoral college, elect people who can work to change it for you. ('Cause remember how all your congress members, state representatives, governor, mayor, school board, city council members, local and state resolutions, etc., are not elected via the electoral college? Yeah. So stop with the excuse.)

Also, I realize that one of the four instances in the history of the United States when the electoral college winner did not actually win the popular vote, happened to have occurred in recent memory, and thus has particularly memorable trauma for some. But the other three all happened over 120 years ago. So stop making excuses. You're doing more harm by not voting than the electoral college has ever done to you.


"The two-party system doesn't work." (or) "I support ___________ party, but they'll never win a major national election."(or) "I don't prefer either of the major party candidates, but I don't want to 'waste' my vote." (etc.)

Ten or fifteen years ago I learned about this thing called Instant Runoff Voting. It's really quite simple once you get how it works (that last link has a nice animation that walks you through it). This should be a bigger part of this blog post, because I remember how stunned and delighted I was when I learned there actually is an alternative to being stuck with only two options. But it pretty much sells itself.

The point is, just like regarding the electoral college... use your voice to get systems like this implemented! There's even a handy list for you of politicians and organizations that support IRV. And IRV is already currently used in a number of localities, so it is possible to get this ball rolling.


"I don't really care."

First off all, I will censor what I would actually like to say to you, and leave it at this, instead:

People all over the world are fighting for this right. They are starting revolutions, taking life-threatening risks to defy dictatorships, religious authorities or violently-enforced gender, race or class lines, or in some cases doing whatever they can to get into this country. When given the right, they vote despite tremendous hardship and obstacles to doing so. The right you are squandering was (and still is) hard-fought for you and much-longed-for by so many others. So stop being a selfish little shit. (Censoring = done.)

Secondly, you actually do care. I will have to listen to you complain about your child's school district, criticize this or that foreign policy, whine about city laws and every other thing you had a say in. Now, this is ok (to a degree, of course) if you actually voted, and the people or policies you supported did not happen to win. (Though even then, your voice doesn't end. Write those people! Call their office! Stage a rally! Even if you didn't vote for them, they still represent you.) But if you decided to just sit this one out, you get zero complaining rights. ZERO.


"It's too much of a hassle."

Voting in America has never been easier. You can vote in person. You can vote by mail-in ballot (you only have to get off your couch for a minute for this one!) You can even vote early. I'm guessing you somehow find time to go shopping, or play a video game, or go to the bar, or out to eat, or to a movie, or on Pinterest... you get the idea. You can vote. If these people can manage it, I'm pretty sure you can, too.

People waiting in line to vote in the 1994 South African elections. 

"I'm not registered to vote."

Ok, well this one might actually be a bit of an obstacle for you in the next couple weeks. But now's your chance. Don't wait till the next election rolls around in your area, and you once again realize you didn't get registered in time. Do it right now. Not next month. Not tomorrow. Not later this evening. Right this minute.

Happy voting! :)

30 before 30!

The list is finalized! It is what it is. I fairly quickly went from not having enough things that I could come up with, to having too many. Basically I went looking for the person's list who inspired this project, only to get linked back to the blogs that inspired her 30 before 30 project, only to read comments on that blog and links people left to other such lists, with many more ideas. You get the idea. Soon I was left with more ideas (and mostly things I'd already wanted to do, not just getting entire concepts from other people, I mean) than I had room on the list for. Fortunately, I also in this process I discovered the Day Zero Project, so I now have a lengthy list of short-term goals and longer-term dreams to keep me going in addition to these 30 I'll be focusing on for now.

Anyhoo... without further ado (and in no special order), here they be:

1. Take part in a flash mob. Totally didn't plan this one, but did one with my 8th grade campers during the second week of Summer Safari back in June!

2. Memorize Psalm 104 all the way.

3. Find out the answers to all the questions I’d jotted down in my Bible, while reading it all the way through. (The factual ones, I mean. Not trying to answer all the deep questions of theology, in the next year.)

4. Apply to graduate school. (And hopefully, get in!) This one is totally done. Though I forget the date. But by early March, for sure, I've had my first acceptance!

5. Go on a blind date. (I’ll need friends’ help for this one, somebody set it up! J) (For the record, this one was on the list before my mom suggested it.)

6. Dye my hair some color that is not usual for me. Calling this one done. It's been a long time since I was actually a brunette.

7. Visit a National Park I have not been to before.

8. Use a chainsaw.

9. Finish the quilt I started forever ago. (No, seriously. It’s been years. I keep forgetting about it for many months at a time.) 

10. Complete a 10K (note that I did not say I have to be running for all of it).

11. Completely go through all my closets (clothes, storage… ok, that’s the only 2 kinds). Leave them much emptier when I am finished. Done! And this was not necessarily a given with moving, though knowing that I would be made this an easy one to include in the list... but yeah, there was lots of weeding out and trips to Goodwill before I loaded up to move what was worth it, all the way across the country. :)

12. Throw a surprise party for someone.

13. Stay up all night in the woods.

14. Fire a gun.

15. Karaoke. (For the record—before any of my friends try to hold me to their interpretation of this one—I am entirely planning on this not being by myself. So there, friends! You’re gonna get dragged into this one, right with me! :) Completed, 03/15/13-- though I had no idea that would be the case, when the day began-- Jes and Cathy are super awesome friends for helping me accomplish this one!!  

16. Learn a magic trick (card tricks count). (Also, I would consider “learn a yo-yo trick” to be a suitable substitute for this one.)

17. Go skinny dipping.

18. Learn to knit or crochet (gotta have something to do when I’m old, right? ;)

19. Try brussels sprouts. Completed, 11/02/2012

20. Host a dinner party for friends.

21. Drag a friend to my church. (Well, if they walk in willingly, that is of course fine, but I’m covering all bases. Also, I realize just one sounds like not much at all, but as most of my friends in Colorado are from my church, it actually seems a tad daunting to me.)

22. Learn to identify all the countries on a map/globe. Workin' on it. It's the Balkans that get me.

23. Be able to do 10 pushups. (This also may sound like aiming low. But seeing as I can currently not—nor even in my life have I been able to, I don’t think—do even one, I think this is perfectly reasonable.)

24. Speak in front of people in some sort of situation that scares me. (That caveat is included because I am actually quite fine speaking in front of people in a great many situations. I’m not entirely sure where I would find a situation that fits the bill for this one, where it would make sense for me to be saying something in front of them. But basically, this means if such a situation arises, I can’t very well say no! J) This one might actually be difficult to mark as done... just presented to a workshop of 75 eighth graders + their teachers/chaperones + a half-dozen volunteers + a few co-workers the other day. So, you'll have to top that to even start making me nervous.

25. Leave nice notes for people (either that I know, or don’t know, e.g. in a public place). Completed, 10/31/12

26. Eat 100% vegan for a week. (Because seriously, I’ve been vegetarian for over 13 years. Maybe it’s about time, already?)

27. Send in something to PostSecret or Found.

28. Memorize a favorite poem. (http://www.bartleby.com/119/21.html)

29. Donate blood (and don’t pass out. Preferably). (This will also tell me my blood type, which I have always wanted to know. I don’t know why I care so much, but I’m intrigued.) Attempted, 10/31/12 and 11/20/12

30. Do a 30-day photo challenge. (My mom did something like this last year, but for the entire year, taking a photo every day—well, usually more than that, but choosing one favorite from the day—and posting them to facebook. I’m opting for a shorter version. J) Completed, November 2012

(Links to progress updates now available right from here, by clicking the underlined item numbers!)

30 before 30... a work in progress

So I've been trying to compile a list of 30 things I want to do before my next birthday (which is now barely 11 1/2 months away)... but I'm only up to 14 so far! I need help. I know that there are other things I've long been wanting to do, or should do, but I can't think of them. Further suggestions welcome!

The list thus far (in truly no particular order, other than perhaps the order they were suggested to me/I thought of them):

- Take part in a flash mob.

- Memorize Psalm 104 all the way.

- Find out the answers to all the questions I’d jotted down in my Bible, while reading it all the way through. (The factual ones, I mean. Not trying to answer all the deep questions of theology, in the next year.)

- Apply to graduate school. (And hopefully, get in!)

- Go on a blind date. (For the record, this one was on the list before my mom suggested it.)

- Dye my hair some color that is not usual for me.

- Visit a National Park I have not been to before.

- Use a chainsaw.

- Finish the quilt I started forever ago. (No, seriously. It’s been years. I keep forgetting about it for many months/a year at a time.)

- Complete a 10K (note that I did not say I have to be running for all of it).

- Completely go through all my closets (clothes, storage… ok, that’s the only 2 kinds). Leave them much emptier when I am finished.

- Throw a surprise party for someone.

- Stay up all night in the woods.

- Fire a gun.