Trust Yourself - One Strong Belief

I'm up to the third prompt ( or day 3 ) of the Domino Project's #Trust30 initiative. Todays prompt is:

The world is powered by passionate people, powerful ideas, and fearless action. What’s one strong belief you possess that isn’t shared by your closest friends or family? What inspires this belief, and what have you done to actively live it?

Rather than write about some abstract theory of belief, or a moral value that i hold dear, i'm going to nominate two words: blood donation. Blood donation is my thing, the cause that i choose to champion. I've done so here before and i'll do it again - donating blood has got to be the easiest way of volunteering, of giving back to your community, of helping your fellow man. And, frankly, i cant understand why more people dont do it.

We've all heard the ads about how one in 3 Australians will need donated blood during their life time - but only one in 30 will give it. ONE IN 30. That, my friends, disgusts me. I understand that their are those of us who cant give blood due to medical reasons and thats ok. I dont expect people to put others, or themselves at risk. I understand that donating blood is not recommended for the elderly, nor for the very young. Thats fine too. I'm even ok with people who cant give because of tattoos or piercings ( you are made to wait 12 months after being tattooed or piereced, to make sure you havent picked up any infections ) because i have tattoos, and i've sat out those waiting periods. But, other than that, i've given blood every 10-12 weeks, when i've been allowed, since i was 16 years old. Its hard - its maybe an hour of your time, in a comfy chair, watching tv, and then getting a sausage roll and a milkshake ( or cheese, bikkies and a juice in my case... ) when you're done.

Thats why i'm so disgusted with people who dont donate when their is no reason for them not to. Those people that say " Aww, i dont donate 'cause i'm scared of needles " or they cant be bothered or they just dont want to. Those are not reasons - those are excuses, and they're pretty fuckin' weak excuses at that. Everytime i donate blood, i'm helping save 3 lives - by the same logic, everytime people say " no " to blood donation they are putting those 3 lives at risk. And thats just not good enough. I once said that i'd love, if i were Prime Minister, to instigate a " No Giving, No Receiving " policy with blood - so that if you are fit to donate, and you dont.... well, you just cant have any blood when you need it. Thats pretty hardline, i know - but maybe thats the way it needs to be. Maybe if people knew their lives would be at risk aswell the reserves of blood would sky rocket. Their would be enough to go round. There wouldnt be people with blood disorders, or cancers, or immune diseases, being told " Sorry - no treatments today, we dont have enough blood ". No people needing transfusions after accidents or surgery, or women after having given birth, being told that there just isnt enough to help them out.

So there you go - thats my big belief, my big cause. Blood donation. It boils down to 4 hrs of your time per year, and you save at least 12 lives. Imagine how many people you could help save over the course of your donating life - literally hundreds. So stop with the bullshit excuses, and get down to your local blood bank and donate if you are able. If you arent able, help actively promote it amongst your family and friends ( like i do ). And if you are donating - well bloody done to you. You are literally a life-saver.

How about you? Do you donate blood? And what is your big belief or cause that you stand up for?

Monday Madness

Todays post is brought to you by the letter M - Mondays, madness, mayhem and mirth. Ah, Mondays, oh how you amuse me.



* You guys remember how my my damned wisdom teeth have been growing in and causing me a pain in the arse ( alright, a pain in the jaw, but you get it.... ) ? Yea, well i was supposed to have an appointment with the dental surgeon on Wednesday at 6pm and this morning i get a call from his secretary. My appointment is now at 8:20am on Friday morning. 8:20am ? Poo to that! Who wants to get up extra early to go to the dentist, before work ? Plus, dont they know how much these teeth are annoying me - i'm this close to taking a pair of optical pliers from my work set and ripping them out myself.

* I love my workmate, J. She's older than I am but we have the same kind of sense of humour and we get on like a house on fire. What i also love about her is that she, like me, sometimes does ridiculous stuff and all we can do is laugh. Like for today example. We sell sunglases in my practice, and all sunglasses are locked away in a glass cabinet so nobody can steal them ( i mean, unless we leave the cabinet unlocked and thats just asking for trouble really ). Anyhoo, today J locked the keys to this glass cabinet - inside the cabinet. Yes, thats right, when showing a pair of sunnies to a customer she placed the keys on the bottom shelf of the cabinet, presumably so she could pick them up when she was done and put them back in the draw. But no, J finished the sale, got distracted by a phone call and then realised she hadnt locked the cabinet, so she slides the door shut and presses the lock closed. It was only about 15 minutes later, when we had another prospective customer, that she realised her mistake. What a laugh ! And whats even funnier ? Yes, we have a spare key - on the same key chain. Idiots ? Yes, indeed.

* I ran into RNG this afternoon on my way to the post office. Perhaps he doesnt deserve the tag Really Nice Guy after showing little interest since my decision to move back in with my parents ( or perhaps he is a RNG who just doesnt fancy hanging out with his chicks family so much). Anyhoo, I hadnt heard from him in a while and i'd sent him text only yesterday just to see what he was doing, so it was kin dof strange just to run into him out of the blue like that. He looked good. Thankfully, however, i wasnt looking too shabby for 4pm on a Monday afternoon. I mean, my work uniform isnt the most impressive outfit in the world, but i was having a great hair day and i didnt have anything on my face, so yay for me. The last thing you want when running into a guy you had one or two dates with is for him to take a look at you and go " See, thats why i didnt call back". No, a lady wants to make a " Damn - i gave THAT up ? " kind of impression.

* I have been officially rejected. By the blood bank. Donating blood is my thing, its my community contribution, and I've been banned from giving any for the next 6 months. Why ? Because i am apparently too low in iron at the moment, so they give you a mandatory 6 month rest period to get your iron levels back up. Poo to that! So it looks like i better be eating some more steaks and less chicken. On the upside, this would make for a great time to get another tattoo - i already have to sit out 6 months, why not 6 months more ?

Okay, so reading back over that, i guess it wasnt exactly " madness ", more like " maddening ". But hey, that word still starts with M so i'm completely on track. Tomorrow - Tuesday. Officially the most non-eventful day of everyones week....