taking a cab home this time.

so, i answered the phone today while at work not even thinking about the fact that i didn't recognize the number only to be greeted by a pleasant man who stated that he's from Life Source and was wondering if could come in to donate some blood. At first it took me a minute to register what he was talking about as i was expecting an important work related phone call from a number i don't know, and i had to realize it wasn't the jail calling about one of my clients/their current inmate. When i finally put 'Life Source' and 'donate blood' together, i kind of chuckled, though realized i was being rude, so i explained...the last time i tried to give blood (which was two months after the near fatal faint-on-the-bus-episode) i was told that my iron was too low, it was 11 and the minimum is 12.5, so i ended up still going home with my intended-to-be-donated pint of low-ironed blood.

(apparently i'm all about using '-' to add emphasis to near all of my phrases).

anyways, he of course didn't want to lose a possible blood-donating candidate, and told me just to eat garbanzo beans and take a few iron pills the day before/day of the donation. He said that the city is low on blood and needs mine to help some poor suffering patient. i couldn't help but be a sucker and tell him i'll come tomorrow to donate...but it will have to be after 5:30pm.

since my last attempt, and shamefully, sheepishly being turned away from the blood donation center for being in poor health, i had somewhat decided to improve my iron count next time, and even as recently as yesterday, i purchased a few high-iron foods. i used to have anemia (or do again though haven't been officially diagnosed recently) when i was in middle school, and much to my dismay, this didn't just mean i got tired, got headaches and got to stay home from school and get hooked on soap operas instead of face the hell that was 6th/7th grades...i also had to eat the healthy and iron-rich foods including spinach, liver, liverwurst and Total (the cereal that has like 100% of every healthy ingredient ever), which nearly made me puke every time i had to eat them. i was always glad once i had gone a year with good iron levels and wasn't considered anemic anymore so that i wouldn't have to suffer such horrid eating habits.

however, i now find myself in the same predicament, though i don't have my mom to force feed me iron anymore, and i have to be a big-girl and do it all myself now. so i started yesterday with purchasing the store-brand (aka cheap version) of Total, figuring it will taste better than liver, which i won't eat...i just won't! i also bought a bunch of veggies and lettuce, that will hopefully help in my quest to be more healthy overall. I feel like i'm tired all the time, which is also, i'm sure, related to my low iron. anyways...long story short, i decided to eat a whole bunch of iron filled foods between now and tomorrow afternoon so that i can actually help the human race tomorrow. if i fail the iron-test again i have to wait another 3 weeks before i can try again. Dinner tonight and breakfast will be the Total-substitute with a banana to help with the taste, lunch will be some kind of hummus (garbanzo beans which are high in iron) and some spinach salad of some kind, i'll have to buy them tomorrow cause i'm too tired (lazy) to get them tonight, and then i'll hope to boost my iron up above or at least at a 12.5. i can do it, i can do it. the sad thing is, the Total-substitute tastes like cardboard...check that...Wet cardboard, and the banana is just a slight flavoring that masks about 10% of the WET cardboard taste. Good thing i love hummus. This should be a good opportunity for me to learn how to make it on my own cause i've always wanted to. maybe i'll even buy liverwurst again...it was bad back then, but maybe i can stand it. i used to hate dill pickles and now get them on every Subway sandwich i eat, which i eat...a lot. (and no i'm not pregnant) i do still hate mayonaise and mustard though...

though i digress...

i've been thinking of trying to be more healthy for a L....O...N...G...time, and my lazy (tired) ass just doesn't do anything about it. like taking 20/30 minutes out of my day to walk my dog on a regular basis. (yes i'm aware that i'm admitting to animal cruelty...) it's not THAT hard to do, but i just don't do it.

if i do get to donate my blood tomorrow, i'll be sure to take a cab home and not repeat the fiasco on the bus that was last time...and was oh, so, embarassing!!

i just read that Spinach is now being considered an Iron Absorption Inhibitor, and so isn't considered a good source of iron. The foods that Are good sources are

	Clams Pork Liver Oysters Chicken Liver Mussels Beef Liver

none of which do i plan to eat in the next...well...EVER...

crap. i'm screwed!!!