Having gotten the OK from the Blood Center, this morning I headed down there to donate platelets.

This was a first for me. I'd seen others doing it, and had talked about doing it back before Katrina, but today was P-Day.

It's really interesting. The magical machine takes the blood, strips out the platelets, then sends the blood back into you. The hook-up at the site is rather complex, but it takes turns removing blood then putting it back in.

I needed to squeeze the rubber ball most of the time during the "giving" phase or there would be a signal that the blood wasn't coming out of me fast enough. During the return phase I rested my hand.

Overall, very interesting, and I plan to repeat it. Sad to say, I was the only "customer" in there this morning. The process takes close to two hours, but the staff are friendly, sociable, and they had an interesting TV show on, which I watched only briefly.

I've been giving blood for more than 50 years.


I had brought along Beyond Heaving Bosoms - The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels. It is a fabulous read, while analyzing various aspects of romance writing--all done in a breezy style. The big secret is that there's a lot of analytical information twined among and between the heaving bosoms.

I'll probably stay up too late tonight reading it.