ALMOST GOT TO...

I went to Palma hall last August to join the 'Blood drive'. I was so excited since this has been on my list for a loooonng time.

[Iris mentioned something about some people she invited being underweight so they won't be able to donate.]
"Hmmm... Underweight? Me? Nah... i must be about 105lbs at least (when i checked last wk), and given my height... no, i think i'm ok."

So there we were, filling up forms, when we encountered this question:

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A MALARIA-PRONE AREA LIKE PALAWAN AND MINDORO?

"Uh-oh. Did you check yours? I asked her. We'll for honesty's sake, fine -- YES."

After filling up the rest of the questionnaire, we marched on to the weighing scale.

"95 lbs". Impossible.
"98 lbs". Why is this changing?
"100 lbs". Huwatt??
"98 lbs"... this is weird.

"Ate Sira ata scale nyo eh" (I think there's something wrong with your scale)

So i proceeded by jumping up and down the scale. I was insisting i weighed MORE, and this lady was eyeing me, obviously annoyed at my 'antics'.

"Masisira lang yang scale, pero di magbabago weight mo". (The scale will just get damaged, but your weight won't change)

Hmmm... Good point.

"110lbs po ang minimum namin".

*crickets chirping*

That sealed my fate. I could not, would not, be able to, and is not allowed to donate my 'O' blood to the Philippine red cross. I must have asked them 3 to 4 times if i really can't donate blood, coz i was very much willing (they're probably thinking, you're an 'O' anyway, we have lots of them, and you're annoying). So that day that was marked up as I-can-finally-donate-blood-and-cross-one-off-my-list turned out to be Take-pictures-of-iris-while-she-donates-blood AND ask-annoying-questionS-to-redcross-personnel.

Huhuhu, how sad. And i was soooo looking forward to being a blood drip. Oh well... i can do this, i can gain that 10lbs and stil donate. I should also entice more people to join, just in case this happens again (hehehe). At least I was able to haul Iris out here to donate (love you! u were FABULOUS dah-ling in spite of the missed vein! (^_^)

So people, if you're more than 110 lbs, donate and replenish your old blood stock. hehehe. As somebody posted in her blog:

"Some studies have shown that regular blood donation can help prevent the build-up of iron in the body over time, reducing the strain this places on major organs including the heart...We also think that regular acts of kindness, like giving blood, are good for anyone’s heart"

[NEWSFLASH: 7 months after and i still haven't reached the 110 lbs goal... SAD... really sad. But i'm not giving up!]