"Anemic????"

"What do you mean, anemic?"

The lady avoided my eyes as she handed me several sheets of paper with headings such as "How to get your Iron counts back up!!" and a sticker that said "Be nice to me, I TRIED [in bold] to give blood today!" and a really official letter with the huge DEFERRAL word on it. I was kind of giddy about going to give blood yesterday, too. I know most people like to give it because you save 3 lives with every pint, blah blah blah. I just personally like to watch the blood leave my body. I kind of wish they would take more. But then again, I have always been that weird kid who loves to go to the doctor and who likes shots. Please don't ask me why. So while I was sitting in the waiting area before examination, I kind of had a stuck-up attitude for no apparent reason other than the fact that I have given blood twice before. "Do you want to read this?" The guy next to me asked, extending in his hand towards me the thick pamphlet of Blood-giving FAQs, which posed as not the most appealing piece of literature to read at the time. "No thanks," I sniffed, doing my best Gabor attitude, "This is my third time." With that, I casually pulled out "Wicked" and assumed the position of an experienced philanthropist. I just knew today would be just another day that I saved the world.


10 minutes later I was walking out the door, the only evidence I had to show for my blood fiasco being one Bandaid on each middle finger.
DARN YOU, EVIL PRICK MACHINE. I flick you off with my bandaged appendages.

Anyhoo, the thing that weirded me out the most was that I have given blood before, twice to be exact, and I have never run into this problem. I wanted to know why they didn't want my blood. Naturally, since the answers to all of life can be found on Wikipedia, I went there and typed in "anemia". Scroll, scroll, scroll, etc. etc., apparently tea inhibits iron absorption. Literally the first negative thing that I have heard about tea. Ever. Considering that I have been averaging 2 cups of tea a day for about 6 months now, and lately that's all I have been drinking (other than water) it's kind of weird because now I have to change my ways. I don't want to be anemic. I am kind of treating it like a cold, but I know that I should probably care about it a little more. Oh well. Maybe I'll take the iron pills....apparently they enhance other things other than your iron count. We will see...



Rest in Peace, Patrick Verona.