Team name

A while ago I blogged about how I voted for the dumbest team name at work and how it worked since I was the only one who voted… Well as you can see by the t-shirt that was made for my group representing our team name, it’s not quite the same name that won the election.

Our team name is DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Too Safe Crew, not the 2 Superman C!

When I protested this folly to my team captain he said most of us in the team could never be comfortable wearing that shirt in public.

This is just another example why democracy does not work here.

Do you find anything offensive or uncomfortable with the original unaltered name?

http://accordingtokirk.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-day-i-threw-my-vote-away-and-it.html

Donating plasma

While going to college I heard of and participated in the local plasma center which gives you money for every visit.

This is what happens when you donate at the plasma center: you enter and take a number, and then you sit and wait and watch a movie in the waiting room. After about 30 minutes they call your name and ask you to enter a small concealed booth where a representative educates you about AIDS and interrogates you to make sure you have lived a lifestyle free from the virus. They then proceed to take a blood sample and take your vitals. They then excuse you back to the waiting room to continue watching the movie. About 25 minutes later they call you into the room where the procedure will commence.

They sit you down in a funky chair and a certified phlebotomist pricks your arm and starts an IV that is hooked to a machine that will suck out your blood, extract the plasma from it, and then put the blood back into your arm. All the while you are still watching the movie from another TV in that room.

Once they have filled the quart sized bottle of plasma, they bandage you up, and pay you and then you’re free to leave the facility. This entire ordeal takes a little over two hours to do each time.

I have not been to the plasma center for a few years and I would like to share with you the pros and cons to donating plasma.

Cons:

1) Everyone gets paid the same amount each time. If you are a big fat guy like me they will keep you on the machine for a long time and milk you until that bottle is full to the brim with plasma.

2) Everyone has to have a physical examination with one of their representatives before  officially donating plasma. There is nothing awkward about it, they don’t ask you to drop your drawers or stuff like that. The physical is very basic. But plan on at least 3 to 5 hours of waiting to get this part completed.

3) Their hours of operation are pretty much open during business hours so if you have a job you will never find a convenient time to go in.

4) You have no choice on which movie to watch.

5) If the phlebotomist is inexperienced, they may bruise your arm, they then turn you away and you can't donate for a while. Then they make you have another dang physical.

Pros:

1) It can be a good source of a supplemental income. If you donate frequently, you can make around $200 a month.

2) Everyone gets paid the same amount each time. If you are a 90-pound girl they will take much less out of you than the big fat guys. You only have to fill up a quarter of a bottle and you get out of there sooner. 

3) You get paid to watch a movie.

Do you like to donate plasma?

How to annoy a Californian

Top ten list on how to annoy a Californian:

1. Bash anything Disney related including movies, high prices etc.         
2. Tell them Disneyworld is better than Disneyland.
3. Picnic at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Walt Disney’s final resting place).
4. Ask them, "What is In-N-Out Burger?"
5. Ask them, "What is an iPhone?"
6. Drive around the beach in a rusty old non-emissions friendly car.
7. Have a picnic on the beach with tin foil dinners and second hand paper plates.
8. Ask them, "What is Starbucks?"
9. Wear a T-Shirt that says “Nuke the Whales” on it.
10. Tell them you heard they are reevaluating Proposition 8 again.

Do you agree with this list?

Volunteering at Colonial Days

As July is about to fade I would like to reflect on an event I got to volunteer for on Independence Day. The city of Orem has many things going on during this time of year, one of which is the Colonial Heritage Festival.

What is Colonial Days? I’m glad you asked. Gregg Hardy, the chairperson, sums it up nicely: 

“Meet history face to face! This year marks the eighth annual Colonial Heritage Festival, a free four-day event for the whole family. Travel back in time through our living museum known as the Village at Aubin’s Grove at SCERA Park, and visit our indoor Colonial relics museum at the SCERA Center for the Arts. Visit Colonial artisans, exhibits, demonstrations, and join in the great debates, public trials, and storytelling in the Old South Church. From our grand Mayflower replica and maritime interactive exhibits to the Colonial School, children will be attended to by teachers from the Alpine School District. Children will also be able to play Colonial games and participate in the daily children’s chores. Military enthusiasts can visit the gun displays and experience the cannon firing on the green. Exhibits include the apothecary shop, blacksmith, cooper, broom maker, gunsmith, spoon maker, potter, bobbin lace maker, bee keeper, chandler, wood worker, women’s clothing, home life, frontier life, and much more.”

Sara Hacken, and me

Sara Hacken, my friend and neighbor, is one of the main organizers for colonial days and was thrilled to get my help since they are always extremely short-staffed for volunteers. They first had me assist with the children’s chores activity. Then they had me play along in the old south church debate, I then spent the rest of my time helping people suit up in Jamestown armor that the Virginia Company would have worn.

Pepper doing children's chores 

Pepper and me in Jamestown armor

I had a lot of fun and would not mind helping out in the future if work and family obligations will permit. I saw a lot of extreme re-enactors that participate every year. I personally am torn between two different thoughts, one being that it is fun to dress up and connect with the past, and the other being how some of these re-enactors are just playing an extremely expensive game of cowboys and Indians. Are your thoughts similar to mine on this?

Rocks, rocks, and more rocks

I recently returned from a campout in Moab, Utah. Moab attracts a large number of tourists every year, mostly visitors to the nearby Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. It's a popular base for mountain bikers that ride a lot of wicked trails, and off-roaders that come for the annual Moab Jeep Safari. I was surprised how popular this small town is.

My family and I enjoyed hiking in Arches National Park and observing all the breathtaking landscape of the desert. So beautiful! It’s amazing to me how sandstone can erode into delicate arches, and also form other interesting shapes.

Like this one. It had no name but it definitely has physique. What do you think I should call this rock formation?  

Got Birds?

I had the cherished opportunity recently to visit the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge up in Brigham City Utah.

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge visitor center

What are they? Their mission statement says:

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge lies in northern Utah, where the Bear River flows into the northeast arm of the Great Salt Lake.  The Refuge protects the marshes found at the mouth of the Bear River; these marshes are the largest freshwater component of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem.  Since these marshes are in turn surrounded by arid desert lands, it is little wonder that they have always been an oasis for waterbirds and wildlife. 

So in other words they love nature, they really love birds and try to provide birds with pristine hospitality. 

The visitor center is filled with avid bird lovers who are anxious to answer any questions you may have about the world’s fowls.

While I was there I saw this display which really cracked me up. I got such a big kick out of it I had to take a picture of it.

Here is a close up of the plaque.

Can you see the irony that I found in this display?

Sick of being sick

Those of you who make up my favorite followers on this blog are probably wondering where I have been for the last month. I have been sick. Right after my half marathon, I was suspiciously drained of all energy for about five weeks. This soon followed with nausea and a constant fever of 101 that would not break for a week. On Saturday during Memorial Day weekend I was encouraged by close relatives to seek medical attention at Urgent Care. This is how my visit went:

Like the way every visit to the doctor goes, I was first interrogated by the receptionist who asked me about my symptoms and why I was bothering them on Memorial Day weekend. Then after a long wait I got to tell the whole story over again to the nurse, who made sure to ask me if it was allergy-related.

I had the mistake of getting a doctor in the past who noticed that I had allergies and then entered it into my medical record. Now every time I go the doctor every one of them asks me “Are you sure it’s not just your allergies?” Or "It's allergy-related, just take Claritin and get out of here.” This is why I am reluctant to ever go to the doctor unless I can arguably prove that it is not just allergies.

Anyway, then the doctor who is a nice and bewildered old lady with a European accent comes in and once again asks me to explain why I am there that day, and "What are my symptoms again? And are you sure it’s not your allergies?" I’m pretty sure a fever is not allergies!

She got very frustrated because she could not diagnose exactly what I had. Because the lab was closed that day I would have to come back on Wednesday when my real doctor was in and so I could get some blood tests from the lab.

A funny bit of dialogue that went on between me and the doctor:

Dr. Anderson: On a scale of one to ten, ten being the most pain you have ever felt before in your life how would you rate the pain you are feeling?

Me: Well if you would say ten is equivalent to excruciatingly I would have to say …

Dr. Anderson: Excruciatingly I like that word. Nurse give him a shot of toradol in his hip!!

Me: Let me finish, I would have to say I have a high tolerance to pain and so I would have to say I am more around the area of five to (nurse sticks the big needle in my butt) hello!?!

The Doctor was able to give me a blood sugar and mono test, both tested negative. So she gave me a whole bunch prescriptions to fill and sent me on my way.

One of the prescriptions she gave me was to help treat allergies.

Luckily my huge fever broke two days before I saw my real doctor. I got sick with cold / flu a day later because my daughter got it from another kid at daycare. That’s a fact, if you have a toddler in daycare, be prepared to be sick all the time. Other than an annoying cough that still lingers, the symptoms of my current disease are bearable.

Needless to say I am sick of being sick.

Have you ever a had a situation like this?