Year of Philanthropy

Another year, another donation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:45:00 +0000

I know the Year of Philanthropy is over and that, as far as blogging is concerned, I kinda blew it. I was definitely more philanthropic last year than the year before, and I plan to work harder and harder at being a more generous person.

One thing I will definitely keep up-- though maybe I shouldn't-- is my blood donation. I'll also keep blogging it here, if that's okay with you.

Bradley and I had a session today. Let's start with Bradley:

Yeah, the usual. Bradley kicked ass, took names. And as for me:

Not so much! No big surprise there, eh? I made it all the way to the table and through about half a donation before they had to abort. The needle wasn't in properly (*gag*), which kind of ticks me off because I asked the nurse to check both of my arms and he didn't. He just started on my left arm and then couldn't get a proper... whatever. Position.

My arm flippin' hurts, and I have to keep icing it. But I didn't cry this time, which I guess is a step up?

I'm chalking this one up to Not Entirely My Fault. And they got 1/2 or 3/4 of a donation, which they can use for testing.

But I didn't save lives today.

High fives all around!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 04:26:00 +0000

Guess who successfully gave an entire donation of blood today?! If you said either Erica OR Bradley, you'd be right the eff on.

No pictures this time, but a quick story:

When I was in the screening booth, I mentioned that I always have trouble giving blood. The nurse looked me in the ey and said, "This time it's going to work out."

I've never met this nurse before, and she said it so certainly. She took my iron, which was higher than it's ever been before (46). My pulse was fine. My temperature-- normally low-- was fine. My blood pressure was fine. So far so good.

Then I went over to the donation station and the nurse there was busy, so Mystery Nurse came over to help me. She asked me which arm I wanted, and for once I was thinking and asked her to check before we tried and failed. She found a small vein in my left arm but found a better candidate in my right, so she set me up.

Annnnnnd, BOOM.

Needle in.

First try.

Painless.

Whaaaaaat?! Another nurse monitored me for the rest of the time and only had to adjust my arm once. I gave a full donation in record (for me) time. No bruise! Hardly a mark at all!

I practically floated out of that office.

Bradley naturally rocked his donation too. I always hope that I don't downplay his donation just because it comes easier for him. As always, I am incredibly proud of him and his philanthropy.

This was our last donation for the year. I need to go back and count up how many times we gave this year. Also, we're not stopping just because the Year of Philanthropy is coming to a close-- our next donation is in January. I'm sure at least that part of this blog will continue past the end of the year. ;)

Surprise from Hoxworth?!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:11:00 +0000

I was completely befuddled when I checked my snail mail today... I had a small package from Hoxworth.

I had no idea what it could be. Bradley of course runs in and says, "Did you get your gallon pin?!"

How does he always know everything? I did not know this was a thing!

I am bouncing off the flippin' walls here. Have I really given a gallon of blood? With all the drama and tribulation?! And I now have a gorgeous little pin to show off?

This is me, trying to look like a proud American. How'm I doing?

By the way... can I just rename this thing the Blood Blog and be done with it?

Bloody Proud

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 01:15:00 +0000

This blog is difficult for me to write. (Obviously.) As I've stated before, the big problem is that I feel bad writing about all the little things I do that I mean to be philanthropic. It makes them feel cheaper... like I'm doing them to write about.

BUT.

When I give blood, all bets are off.

It feels different when I give blood, because it's so freaking DIFFICULT for me. Like, by the end of it I have really earned the right to say HEY! I did a good thing for someone and it really hurt but it was totally worth it!

Today's was almost easy for me! First off, Bradley and I were a bit behind schedule because when we were supposed to give blood, we both had colds. We can still fit one more donation in before the end of the year though.

My iron count was commendable! My blood sugar was stable! I drank so much water that... are you ready?... they found a vein the first time, like it was no problem!

And then, because it's me, it had to go wrong.

My blood doesn't flow very fast, apparently. And my vein is also picky. This is a word that the nurse used. Picky. My goddang vein is picky.

For those of you who don't give blood, the nurse typically sets it and forgets it. Needle in, doop-dee-doo, needle out. My poor nurse had to stand there, one eye on my blood bag and one eye on my arm, moving the needle around my vein. (I'm about to ralph/pass out/ralph just thinking about this.)

They brought out the scale and finally had enough blood to unhook me. I think. They weren't really clear on if they ended up getting enough blood but I am counting this as a victory.

Bradley, of course, was a complete trooper and gave a full donation with absolutely zero upset. But that does not mean that I am not completely proud and excited for him. Together we give more than I could ever give alone, and even if they can't use me at all (like other times), Bradley saves lives like a champ.

Happy 80th, Busken

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:52:00 +0000

Brought a dozen glazed doughnuts into the office today, just because I love my workplace and I'm not always a ray of sunshine. They were devoured within minutes.

Yes, that $10 could have been better spent, but this is the kind of philanthropy I most enjoy.

And over, and over, and over, and over, and over... and over again!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 19:03:00 +0000

Just for fun, here's a picture of the bruise that the nurse at Hoxworth said I probably wouldn't get. Eek. That was taken a week and a half after my last botched donation.

But I'm not here to complain: in fact, I am here to exalt in some philanthropy in which I was on the receiving end. My friend Andy-- whom I met at a Weird Al concert and we have been fast friends ever since-- gave me four tickets in the sixth row for the Weird Al concert in Columbus tonight. He was unable to use the tickets for reasons that are none of my business and refused to take a dime for them. Even paid to have them overnighted.

If I blogged about every time a friend or family member did something awesome for me... well, you'd certainly hear from me more than the once a month I'm averaging now. But this was particularly touching to me and I wanted to say thank you to Andy. Bradley and I are on our way to Columbus in about ten minutes...

P.S. Name the song that this post's title comes from.

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Blood Donation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:03:00 +0000

Ohhhhhhhhhhmygod.

The quick version, in case that's all that you're here for: Bradley made a successful, full donation and I am proud of him. I, on the other hand, made only a partial donation, which in itself was fraught with complications. Read on if you want details! If not, stop here and maybe comment to congratulate sir Bradley.
So! The first complication, which was a minor one, was that Hoxworth Anderson was not open on this particular Saturday... which, if you've been playing along at home, is our very first day of eligibility to donate again. But I knew that Bradley was rarin' to git, so I made an appointment at Hoxworth Tri-County. It's about half an hour out of the way but worth it.

The sign-in process went flawlessly (and at this point I'm just talking about my experience, because Bradley was behind me in line). Temperature? Low, but normal for me. Blood pressure? Good. Pulse? Check. Iron? Rock steady, fools. Didn't even flinch at the little needle thing. Let's get crankin'.

Unfortunately, at this point in my tale I am paired with the worse possible nurse for me-- not a bad nurse, please don't think that I am saying she is a bad nurse, but we were a horrible match and I'll tell you why.

I decided to start with my left arm. Why? Because I still have needle marks there from last time so it had to have worked at some point, right? She sits me down and I inform her in no uncertain terms that I just don't want to look at what's going on or talk about it. Whatever you gotta do, do it, and let me know when it's over.

But that's all she can talk about. And when the needle isn't successful the first time, I get to hear all about it in insensitive detail, up to the point when she said, and I quote, "Every time I try to stab it, it wiggles around."

(Sorry, had to pause, just got squeamish again.)

At this point I ask her politely to please, please not say things like that. I am more than happy to try the other arm if she thinks it's a lost cause, but please please leave me out of hearing about my veins "wiggling."

But she thinks she can do it and she pulls another nurse over and together they collapse my vein. And it hurts, and that's fine, and they bandage it, and I'm over it, and I'm ready to move on to the other arm. They check with me a hundred times to make sure I'm okay (I tend to get pale during this process, especially when they won't stop talking about it), and I assure them that they can just do it already.

So they strap down my other arm or whatever they do (I have vague notions and I know what a tourniquet feels like), and the nurse is poking and poking with her finger, and telling me to squeeze or not squeeze or squeeze harder or just generally do the opposite of whatever I am doing, and meanwhile she keeps talking about what's happening and I am trying so hard to block her out. And she gets it! Spot on!

And then she mentions that "man, it's racing out of there." At which point I go pale again, but it's too late to stop her, and she keeps talking. Now I'd like to mention that there is nothing I can focus on at the time: there is no TV, I am facing two people in apheresis machines, to the right of me is my own pulsing arm, and to the left of me is Bradley's pulsing arm. There is nothing to distract me, no direction I can look to tune out.

Finally, probably 45ish hours later, she yells across the room that my blood is too slow and she doesn't think they're going to get a full donation and etc etc etc and how every time she tries to adjust the needle, I flinch like it hurts. (Yes, I can hear you, and yes, it hurts!) Other nurse comes over and moves the needle around (gawwwwd it hurts) and meanwhile they keep talking about it and I am slowly losing it.

And that's when I feel my face go hot, which for me usually means The End. And I say words I never ever want to say: "Please, can we just stop this? I don't feel well."

Which in nurse terms means that I am about to pass out (though I'm not), so my nurse is yelling across the room that I need cold towels and she flips some button that makes my chair fully recline and she is trying to get the needle out of my arm and it is finally Too Much For Me.

So I cry.

I cry because:
A) I want to badly to just do this right,
B) My arms-- both of them-- hurt pretty badly
C) No less than six people are watching me fail fail fail
D) I am overwhelmed by all the things I've been hearing
E) I have been trying not to cry and that makes it worse.

A nurse brings me an orange juice, which I cannot drink because both of my arms are bandaged at the joints so I can't bend them.

I finally stabilize enough to get out of my chair and I go to the little snack station where Bradley is and I cry all over again. And I swipe a donation sticker because no one gave me one. And then I try to leave and they don't want to let me because I'm crying and I leave anyway. And I get in the car and, still bawling, tell Bradley everything that happened and he sympathizes and then I'm fine again.

So that sucked.

Like I said, please don't think she was a bad nurse. She just couldn't adhere to the one rule I tried to lay out... the one thing that gets me through this (pretending that it isn't happening, haha).

And as a punishment for being weak and veinless, besides this huge crying jag, I have two incredibly sore arms and very little philanthropy to show for it. Oh, and an entire Hoxworth full of people who think I'm a mental case.

Here's to the next 8 weeks!

Attempted (read: failed) philanthropy

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 20:43:00 +0000

So, a bummer:

A week or so ago, I found out that some people in my area were getting together to put together a bake sale. The money would to toward Obama's campaign, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to jump into YoP action! Because if you haven't picked it up by now, I love me some Barack Obama.

I got in touch with a woman who was really put together... the kind of person who leaves perfect voicemails with the phone number clearly stated at the beginning and end. Awesome. And Bradley was pumped up, and I was going to bake my special Splookies (cookies made with Splenda instead of sugar) and all would be delightful.

In one of her voicemails, the aforementioned woman mentioned that it might also help to bring something like lemonade because so many people had already signed up to bring baked goods. This ended up working perfectly for me when, on the night before the bake sale, my dad left a plastic-handled knife in the oven and I cooked it. I decided to pick up some absolutely succulent Chik-Fil-A lemonade in the morning instead of bringing cookies that tasted of plastic fumes.

Saturday, the day of the bake sale, everything went according to plan. I somehow wedged myself out of bed before the crack of noon (it's my Saturday tradition), shower up, and swing by Chick-Fil-A to get a gallon of iced tea and a gallon of lemonade. Just so you know, in case this comes up in your future... a gallon of iced tea is about $4. A gallon of lemonade is closer to $9.

So Bradley and I drive all over Beechmont looking for the bake salers, finally locating them in front of a small grocer's right off of Beechmont Avenue. Here's where things take a turn for the weird...

We approach the table carrying mounds of cups and our gallon jugs. We are all smiles as we approach the table... and no one really looks at us. Bradley and I cast each other glances and I say something inane like "We brought the lemonade!" One guy at the end of the table says unsurely that "You can probably set up here," and clears us a little space on the table. I set up the cups and notice that no one else has given me the time of day yet. Bradley doesn't even have room to stand by me and is kind of awkwardly just pacing around the side of the table.

So I try to make people talk to me. "Um. So! I don't know how much to charge for the lemonade." The woman at my side (there were probably four people there, selling) just shrugged. The guy, still the only one even trying to be helpful, says "Well I'll give you $1 for a cup right now." I thank my stars that I have something to do with my hands for a minute and I pour him a cup; he accepts it and disappears.

There are probably five more minutes of awkward standing around while I try to think of something to say or do here. I tell the woman next to me that I made a dollar; is there a communal till where I can put it?
WOMAN: What would you like?
ME: I sold some lemonade. Just not sure what to do with the money.
WOMAN: Is there something I can box up for you?
ME: ...No. I made a dollar. I sold some lemonade.
WOMAN: Oh! I thought you brought the lemonade.
ME: *stares*

At this point I am completely confused and still no one is talking to me. I am not sure how to combat this. Suddenly I hear through the grapevine that we are being asked to leave; we don't have permission to sell here, and we have to relocate. I ask where we are going, and no one responds as they all pack up their stuff. In their defense maybe no one knew where we were going, but I felt so outcast by then that I was over it. I gave Bradley a look-- he was still lingering by himself on the sidewalk-- and he gave me what I took to be nonverbal permission to bail. I gathered up the 95% full gallons and headed to my car. We drove home.

Basically, I spent $14 and made $1 for Obama's campaign. I met no new people, I had a miserable time, and I have a bad taste in my mouth. Thank gawd I didn't bake my fabulous cookies.

Since then, the organizer woman (who I believe was not at the table at the time, though I wouldn't know because no one introduced themselves even when I tried to tell them my name), called me later. She did not know that I had been there and left a very sweet message apologizing and telling me what had happened (about it being canceled because they had to leave, and she thought she had permission but not from the right person, etc). I am fairly certain that if she had been there things would have been different... someone would have at least said hello to me when I walked up carrying gallons of liquid for pete's sake.

And the saddest part is that I was rarin' to go, to get a good bit of philanthropy under my belt for a cause I truly believe in. I'm sure there will be more events like this in the near future but I know I'll hesitate next time (especially when it involves waking up on a Saturday, haha).

Donor roll?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:52:00 +0000

That title was supposed to be a play on "honor roll" but it doesn't pronounce right. I'm like 1 for 3 right now.

Anyway, I know I'm being a little inconsistent with my blogging here, but I just noticed that Bradley and I are 2 weeks away from our next blood donation and I was wondering if anyone who reads this was also thinking about donating at that time. Like maybe you haven't in a couple of months, or maybe you haven't ever and you're just looking for someone to ask you to do it? I'm asking.

It's not much of a milestone but it will roughly mark the end of six months... half of a Year of Philanthropy. And if I am successful in my donation it'll be awesome because my brother Ryan challenged me to give as much blood as I can this year, and by donating every eight weeks I'm doing exactly that.

Can you believe it's been sixish months? Any takers on the bloooood challenge? No pressure, just thought I'd put it out there. :D

Postlay

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 17:54:00 +0000

Alright, "Postlay" was supposed to be the counter to "Prelay," but it ended up sounding like something else altogether. ;) At any rate, I'm home and rested after a fun night at Relay for Life.

Bradley and I only ended up spending around 3 hours there, from about 11pm to 2am. I had hoped to stay longer but I was zonked, and needed to be awake enough for the 45-minute drive home. But in those 3 hours I had a great time talking with my friend Kate, her brother Nick, and of course my constant companion The Bradster.

We were disappointed to find that the event had been moved indoors-- if you've ever been to a Relay, you know that there's a very unique experience tied to being outdoors all night, having hundreds of people circle you on the track as you watch the stars or cut the heck out of your fingers in a forzen t-shirt contest.

When Kate called to say that the event would be moved to the Harrison High School Activity Center I was hoping that the same energy and unique experience would still be there, but I have to say it wasn't. All of the fun and games, instead of happening in the nucleus of an outdoor track, took place in some room out in the lobby. Instead of pitching tents all across the field, people slept on the hard floor on sleeping bags, or in camp chairs pulled into a remote corner. And most depressingly, by the time Bradley and I left at 2, there were only a handful of people still walking the track. There were still 10 hours to go! Last year was pretty miserable by noon but there were still probably 2 dozen people sticking it out. I don't know if there was anyone at the resolution today, but some part of me kind of doubts it. (In the end, it didn't even rain.)

But! We still had a great time and it was fantastic to meet up with Kate again (and meet her hermano). If I find out how much the event raised for cancer research I will let you know-- I'd bet they pulled in a lot of money, because there were some fantastic vendors there with all kinds of delicious foods and creative raffles. Not to mention the necessary Miss Relay contest...

And as if this post weren't scrolling quite long enough yet, here are two quick videos that I took during the walk. The first: Bradley on his third lap. The second: an impromptu dance to "Only the Good Die Young," which is an entirely inappropriate song to be playing at a cancer vigil.

Relay for Life 2008 from Erica on Vimeo.

Relay for Life from Erica on Vimeo.

Prelay

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:27:00 +0000

It's Friday, June 13th, which means it's pre-Relay for Life... or Prelay! *beam*

Relay for Life is a 16-hour vigil/walk to raise money for cancer research. I've done it for years now in various capacities: in college as an improviser (the events have tons of entertainment like bands, contests and magic shows), then afterwards as improv, as support, and eventually as ringleader for a company team.

This year I'm not wrangling coworkers, but my friend Kate is heading up a team so Bradley and I will be spending a few hours with her tonight. I'll give you more stories tomorrow, but for now enjoy these pictures from last year.

Donation!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:51:00 +0000

I have been listening to WVXU (my local NPR member station) for about a year now. Before WVXU I often listened to nothing in the car.

Now, I'm not sure how I would survive without the station. That is where I get my news-- I do not watch news on television (no cable, and I am not watching local news if I can avoid it), and I do not read the news on the web (I get about 60 items per hour through my feed reader, so I don't need any more). As a direct result of WVXU I have become more political, more aware, more interested, more broadly horizon'd.

They're currently in pledge drive mode, and today was Two-Hour Tuesday. Apparently what this means is that they have two hours (8-10am) where if they make $x, they will stop fundraising for the entire day. Say whaaaaa?

But I'm broke, which has been my defense on this blog as to why I haven't made any philanthropic donations this year. Just as I was getting out of my car this morning, Maryanne Zeleznik said these words: "It doesn't matter if it's $25 or $250... every bit helps."

So I rushed into work, logged on, and spent two minutes and $25. That's what I can afford this time around... maybe during the next pledge drive I can contribute a little bit more.

*hugs her little piece of NPR*

Dump

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 May 2008 19:03:00 +0000

Lewis gave me a bit of a guilt trip about blogging here. ;) And though I don't expect you to take my word for it, I am not a lazy blogger-- the fact of the matter is, I've been having an unexpectedly hard time with this project and specifically blogging about it. Whenever I do some random act of kindness, I really feel like I would be canceling it out by posting it here. Isn't philanthropy about doing something good without the "hey, look at me" factor? It's something I didn't really consider before starting this project.

But I'm not quitting. I just won't be posting as much minutia as I would have predicted. And to get back on the right track, I finally got rid of my thrift store pile!

For months... and months... and months (well, since January 1st actually, so 4+ months) I have had a growing pile of items that I wanted to give to the Salvation Army. As time wore on the pile grew, and as the pile grew, my motivation to MOVE the pile dwindled. Imagine that. ;)

But my dad, who is one of the best examples of a caring and generous person that I could ever think of, mentioned off hand that he was headed to the Salvation Army to look for something. And dad has a truck. So I piled an entire hallway of stuff into the truck-- if you've ever seen an episode of Clean Sweep, it felt a little like that.

This is small potatoes, but anytime I can give up anything, it is a big deal to me. I am Queen Packrat of the Highest Order-- just ask anyone who knows me. In FACT, here's a bit of a conversation that happened this very morning, to help illustrate my point:

ME: (watching some kid's claymation show about a blue dragon)
DAD: Aw, he reminds me of this little stuffed dragon that you had when you were little.
ME: (running upstairs, returning with the dragon)
DAD: I cannot believe you still have that.
ME: Dad. It's me.
DAD: ...Good point. Not really surprising at all.

And what's interesting to note about this point isn't that I have junk from my pre-walking years, but that I know where all the stuff is. Things, and memories associated with those things, are incredible and tangibly important to me, but I am not the girl with boxes of photos that she has never really looked at. I am the girl with tons of boxes of photos who would notice if a photograph went missing.

Anyway, blah blah blah, enough about me. The point is, I worked really hard to get rid of Stuff. There are tons of clothes in that pile, some of which I still love but never wear. There are more toys from my childhood, knickknacks from around my room, blank journals (*pain*), etc etc etc. And they will make someone very happy. And the Salvation Army, who has supplied me with so many awesome artifacts that god knows I will lug around for the rest of my life (see Catfish Purse, below), will make some money with my Stuff and keep people employed and probably start some crusade against homosexuality that I will eventually have to acknowledge.

More blood from turnips

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 03 May 2008 21:13:00 +0000

I know, I know. It's been a while. I have plenty to talk about but I've been out of time lately. Today, however: a mitzvah!

It has been eight weeks since I last donated blood, which means it's time again to bare the ol' arm. But this time I was not alone in my endeavor-- my brother Bradley has been old enough as of January, barely weighs enough, and has been excited to jump on the Year of Philanthropy train.

We've been prepping since yesterday... chugging water and taking iron and whatnot. On the drive to Hoxworth I gave Bradley the run-through of what to expect when we were there.

My appointment was a little earlier than his, so I went first... no problems in screening, even with iron. Yea! And when I got to The Chair, of course there were problems finding a vein. Of course there were. But they called in a woman nicknamed "Radar" who can supposedly always find a vein, and a few awkward squeezes and jabs later, I was all hooked up.

And here's where it gets funny: Bradley wasn't even hooked up until I was already in the middle of my donation, and still almost beat me to being finished. He has been taunting me all day with how he's a better blood donor than I am... but if you've been following this blog at all, you know I'm already the worst in the world anyway, so it pretty much rolled off my back.

So that is two successful blood donations today! And for myself, three this year! Next one should be at the end of June, but I'll make sure to post here before then. ;)

Poll

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:20:00 +0000

I've been working really diligently on cleaning out my room. I am a major packrat and accumulate a lot of stuff, and now I have a sizable pile of great-quality, donate-able goods sitting outside my bedroom.

I figured that this weekend I would take it all to the Salvation Army, which I so frequently patronize. However, in the mail yesterday we received one of those "donate to the Vietnam vets" things. So, if anyone is reading this... where should my stuff go?

1. Salvation Army
2. Vietnam veterans
3. Divvy the stuff up

Earth Hour 2008 update

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:03:00 +0000

Thank you to everyone who supported Earth Hour 2008! (And, um, to a lesser extent... thanks to the people who sent me disparaging articles about how useless Earth Hour is. That's... awesome.)

I had planned on being at home on Saturday night, but I ended up driving to Columbus and spending time with friends. Those friends, however, were totally down the Earth Hour... they shut down all the computers in the house, all the lights and even their cell phones (we went a little nuts). We played Spades by candlelight for an hour and a half or so, before returning to our regularly scheduled energy-guzzling.

Thank you Jared, EricaB, Mark, Bradley and Bill (who was very confused when he came over around 8)... and to anyone who played along at home!

Earth Hour 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:25:00 +0000

I've been amiss with my posts lately, which is unlike me, and I apologize. Things are just a little hectic right now!

But I've been "supporting thrift stores" like crazy lately... which is to say, doing a lot of thrift store shopping. Salvation Army is still my fave, but I hit up Goodwill from time to time, too. And as much as I like the eclectic stuff I come home with, I really do think about the difference it makes to reuse things... these clothes aren't being trashed, they're finding a new home with me. I'm also supporting good causes through both S.A. and Goodwill.

This weekend won't see the giant post I was hoping for, but I do want to at least put the word out about Earth Hour 2008. The basic gist: everyone turns out their lights for one hour (8-9pm) as a statement about climate change. I was introduced to the project through my friend Krystan, and I gave her my word that when March 31st rolled around, I'd shut off my lights proudly.

I'll be out of town, so my friends have agreed to have a "candle party" with me... which is great, because it has suddenly gone from 2 people (me + my brother) to 5 or more people involved with Earth Hour.

Anyone else on board? It's a very simple endeavor...

Vote!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:10:00 +0000

If you're in Ohio (or Texas... or Vermont or Rhode Island...), vote today!

It's not philanthropy so much as civil liberty/responsibility. But that's kind of a buzzkill, isn't it?

Another stab, continued

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:26:00 +0000

I DID IT!

I'm on top of the world right now. The blow by blow (kinda graphic if you don't like needles):

--Last night, drank water like it was my job. It was getting ridiculous-- I was peeing every 15 minutes. Also took my iron, like I do every night at dinner.
--Today, starting the water thing all over again. Had a huge lunch. And more water.
--During the Hoxworth screening process, the thing that screens your blood (after the needle prick) beeped and I thought it was going to reject me. The nurse tried it again and it was fine... she even complimented my iron count. Hell yes!
--Then the real panic buttons start, because it's time for them to find a vein. The guy checks both arms and doesn't seem too confident... when he finally settles on my left arm, the vein works out immediately.
--15 minutes later he said I was done! That's it! No hematoma, no less-than-full donation, no collapsed vein. DONE! Full donation!
--Cut to Girl Scout cookies and orange juice.

I can't tell you how good this feels, especially after last run's partial failure. Yea, Year of Philanthropy!

Another stab

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 16:31:00 +0000

I'm on my way out the door to give blood. Can you believe it's been 8 weeks already since the last one?

I started chugging water yesterday, instead of waiting for this morning. (Last time that kept me from being able to give a full donation.) I drank so much water I wanted to yak, and I've kept it up since I woke up. I honestly can't see any difference in my arms... here's to hoping the nurses can find a vein this time.

I'm also up on my iron, so we should be good to go. Wish me luck.

What Goes Around

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 02:27:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about two Letters of Appreciation I sent out. One was answered by email that same night... the other I figured was ignored.

Until today, when we checked the mail and I had a form letter from Bic and a coupon for a free razor. This was an especially interesting turn of events because of this line from Bic's "Contact Us" form: Please note that BIC does not send out free samples or coupons.

Just a trick, I guess-- crap, am I letting a cat out of a bag?

And it's fortunate that it happened today, because I've been having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. (It wasn't THAT bad, but still.) It was such a mucky day by about noon that I specifically stopped into Murray Brothers and picked up some sugar-free candy for my diabetic grandmother. No reason, no holiday... just because it's the Year of Philanthropy, and I've been slacking lately.

I also picked up a Reese's Egg for my mom, because a) it's her favorite candy, and b) clearly, she taught me to show my love through sugar.

Recycling Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 01:24:00 +0000

Thought I'd update because I'm on cloud eight (which is really close to nine).

Dad informed me that this week we didn't put the can out on trash night. Why? Because we didn't have enough garbage.

Yeah, you read that right. We had less than half a can, as opposed to the two full cans we were filling a couple of months ago.

Can I express how happy that makes me?!

Today we made another paper drop-off at church. We're recycling our own paper, and we've added paper from mom's house and now my grandmother's house.

Because of our overwhelming success with the cloth napkin/recycled paper endeavor, we're implementing a new Tupperware bin for plastic. Again, I'm trying not to be crazy about enforcing it, but if we just rinse out milk jugs and 2-liter bottles, that thing'll fill up every week and we can recycle it through church.

I know the actual benefits of recycling plastic are questionable, but let me tell you two big things that being more eco-friendly has done for my family already:
1. It has changed our habits. We don't reach for paper towels, we flip lights off, we conserve water, etc. It's becoming less and less conscious.
2. It has opened up dialogue. My dad comes home exhausted most nights, but if someone brings up something related to recycling, he gets really excited and together we start talking about what has changed in the house, how much less of x we've bought, how much lower x bill has been, new ideas we have, etc.

I'm incredibly fortunate to have a family that supports me and my ideas, a congregation who shares my values and guides them to new levels, and friends who get excited and back me.

Response to Letter of Appreciation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 21:30:00 +0000

Already received a response to the letter I wrote in last night's post:

Dear Erica,

I want to thank you for the kind comments and appreciate you
taking valuable time out of your day to let us know how we are doing are jobs. I
want you to know I have been the store manager of this location for the last 8
months and I could not have asked for a better group of people to work with.
Here at bigg's we believe our biggest advantage over our competition is service.
I also want to let you know I am going to post this comment for our employees at
the Eastgate location to read.
If there is any way we can be assistance in the future, please do
not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely, Tommy Brink

Drops in the Bucket

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 18:43:00 +0000

When you're tuned in to philanthropic opportunities, you can be overwhelmed pretty quickly. I typically glaze over at cash registers, for instance, what with all the "would you like to give a dollar to x foundation?" questions I've been pummeled with.

But today I tried to tune back in, and was granted two small opportunities. The first was at Starbucks-- apparently my local branch is collecting donations of coffee for local firemen, police officers, etc. Kind of hard to say no to, really. Anyway, I gave 1/4 lb., for a grand total of $2.73.

Then I had the delight of visiting the BMV for new license plates. The woman who helped me ("Tanya," based on my receipt) was really nice and incredibly efficient, and when she asked if I wanted to donate a dollar to Save Our Sight, I said yes. Last night I'd explored the possibility of getting license plates that benefit something like organ donation, but they're too expensive-- $1 is really more up my alley.

(Aside: If you live in Ohio, this unofficial DMV site is really quite helpful, if ad-crazy. Much more navigable than the official site.)

Such small drops in the bucket, I know, but I'm hoping it's like voting... my part is small, but vital?

Letters of Appreciation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 05:22:00 +0000

I'm getting frustrated because a) I feel too broke to make a difference, and b) I've been working long enough hours that I come straight home and go to sleep, and I go days without even thinking about my beloved project.

So tonight I decided to make a small stand. Two companies that I appreciate tonight are Bigg's (local grocery store) and Bic (in this instance, they make razors). So instead of letting that love go unknown, I wrote each of them letters of appreciation. That's philanthropy, isn't it? I'm posting the letters, just to have something of content on this blog, geez:

I always shop at Biggs, even though Meijer, Kroger, Walmart, Sam's Club and Aldi are usually closer to me. Last night, because I was at an attached Borders, I stopped into Kroger around 11-- everyone basically ignored me, and it was a very cold experience. Tonight, as just about midnight, I stopped in to Bigg's to pick up a few things. A dozen people were stocking the shelves, and three times I was stopped with offers of help. Once, a male employee offered me the cart he'd been using. Another man climbed down from his ladder to see if I was finding everything. A female employee moved from her step-stool so I could see what I was looking for. These were all within about ten-fifteen minutes, total. This is the kind of thing that keeps me going to Biggs, at all hours of the night, at all times of the week. I want you to know that the employees at the Eastgate branch are friendly and helpful-- not just in this instance, but especially tonight. Thank you.

And the Bic letter:

Last week, Soleil was out of stock at my grocery store. Bummed, I picked up an equivalent disposable razor-- what's the difference? After using ONE of the razors ONE time, I drove out to another grocery store and found the Soleil. I will never take this product for granted again. Soleil is awesome, and if you care about your consumers at all, you will make sure that their local supermarkets are never, ever out of stock. Thank you. P.S. Thank you for the 2 bonus razors in this package. They didn't go unnoticed.

You know what's sad? Besides, maybe, my desire to write letters like this? Corporate sites rarely have a "sing our praises" section. One typically has to go through the questions/concerns/complaints form in order to compliment a company. I know it might seem tacky, but still... have some confidence.