Archive: December 2003
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Monday - December 22, 2003
A few updates
Remember the woman who was trampled at a Wal-Mart as she tried to buy a DVD player the day after Thanksgiving? See my December 1st entry if you don't. It turns out that the woman has filed several lawsuits in the past against Wal-Mart and other retail outlets. Hmmmm...
The total in the change jug? It came out to $713.10. More than enough for that new iPod. Along with various accessories. Way cool.
And, finally...the Walgreens sign. I stopped by yesterday to take a photo but the sign's been updated. That great deal on Denim Jackets is apparently no longer available. Shucks.
Friday - December 19, 2003
Two things
First: Happy 87th Birthday, Grandma! Woo hoo!
Second: There's a Walgreens store nearby that has a digital sign advertising the daily (weekly?) specials. I'm guessing that there are about 20 messages that rotate around. For the past week or so there's been one particular special that really makes me laugh. It goes like so:
DENIM JACKETS
WAS $19.99
NOW $9.99. SAVE $5!
Fun with grammar and math! Heh.
Monday - December 15, 2003
The change jug
Several years ago my father gave me a big wine jug that I started using as a spare-change bank. When I get home each evening, I put all my spare change in the jug. Well, I put the nickels, dimes, and quarters in the jug. I put the pennies in a separate jar. I've filled the penny jar up a couple of times and it comes out to about $20 whenever I cash it in. I always end up cashing the nickel-dime-quarter jug in when it's about one-third to one-half full. And, that usually comes out to about $200-$300. I generally cash it in once a year or so, right before I go on a trip, and use the proceeds as my "spending" money while on the road. For some reason, I haven't cashed it in over the last couple of years, though. And, suddenly, it was full! It's a 4-liter wine jug. Full of nickels, dimes, and quarters. Wow.
So, I decided it was time to cash it in and buy something fun. It is that time of year, after all. So, I emptied it into a canvas bag and...lemme tell you...it was an awfully heavy bag o' change! How much did it weigh? 40 pounds. Oh my.
I dragged my heavy bag of change into the credit union on Thursday to cash it in and find out just how much money it was. Esther had warned me that things had changed at the credit union since the last time I'd taken my spare change in. And, sure enough, they had. The change machine is now in the lobby and is self-service. You start the machine up, punch your account number in, put your change in, and get a print-out of the total. You take the print-out to a video-teller station and get the cash back or credit the amount to your account. Fine. Only...not so fine. It turns out they've got a $100 limit. It isn't clear if the limit is $100 per day...per visit...or what. I wasn't at all happy to see the note about the limit. If you go over $100, the credit union charges a 5% surcharge. Excuse me? My credit union is going to charge me for this? 5%??? I can understand a grocery store charging something if you use their machine. Or a "regular" bank charging since they're in the business of making money. But, my credit union claims to be there for me. Right? Apparently, not right.
So, I stopped the machine when it hit the $100 mark. And, credited the amount to my account. And, I went back the next day. And, the next. And, today. I've cashed in $100 each day. We're up to $400. I can't wait to see the final total. There's still a lot of change to go. By the way, after that first day, I quit taking all the change in when I stop in. I just take a few pounds of change at a time. That 40-pound bag was a bit much to be lugging about. Heh.
Tuesday - December 9, 2003
Trying to donate blood
I decided today would be a good day to give blood again. I was eligible on November 7th but hadn't managed to make my way to the blood bank until this morning. I meant to go over the weekend but I'd also promised Jennie I'd help put her wall hangings up at the new apartment. So, I never made it over. Which brings us to this morning. I woke up at 7 and decided I'd just stop in on my way to work. It's a good time to go because there aren't generally a lot of other people there at 8 in the morning.
So, I got there, signed up, answered the million-and-one questions, and proceeded to the donation room. I was the first donor of the day for a girl who, clearly, hadn't been at the job too long. She was nervous but doing well enough. I warned her that I have "difficult" veins and that the technicians usually use a blood pressure cuff rather than the tourniquet strap when actually drawing the blood. She asked a supervisor for advice and set about getting everything ready. The supervisor was, frankly, rather brusque with the girl as she gave quick instruction on how to use the blood pressure cuff so I decided to just grin and bear whatever was in store. When it came time to make the puncture, the girl looked around and the supervisor was gone so she asked another technician for help. He stood by and she went in. Alas...she didn't quite connect. So, he stepped in and tried to readjust the needle. I commented that I was probably going to have a bruise today and he said it looked that way but it might not be too bad. Things looked good momentarily and then he admitted that they'd gone through the vein, that a (an?) hematoma was forming, and we'd have to abandon the cause for today. The girl was crushed and went to get a cold compress for my arm while he removed the needle. He pointed out the hematoma (eeewww) and had me hold the compress over the area for a few minutes. He told the girl what to write on the report and then wrapped my arm. He walked me back to the canteen for my juice and cookies and advised that I just ask for a supervisor in similar circumstances in the future. The thing is...I would've done that today but I felt bad for the girl because the supervisor had already been rather snippy with her. I didn't want to make things worse. But, I guess I actually did. Ah well. Live and learn.
I asked if I should come back and try again in a week or two but was told that since they did get some blood in the bag, I'd have to wait another 8 weeks. So, I went on in to work.
They're giving away some very cute squeeze toys in honor of the holiday season. I got to keep mine despite the lack of an actual usable donation!
I got a phone call at work at about 10:30 or 11 from Kristen at the blood center. The conversation went something like this:
J: Hello, this is Joanna.
K: Hi, this is Kristen from the Blood and Tissue Center.
J (thinking she's calling about today's mishap): Ah! Hello.
K: So, you probably know why I'm calling?
J: I imagine so.
K: Well, our supply is about 90 units short and I was wondering if you could stop in today or sometime this week and make a donation.
J: Oops! Sorry. I tried this morning. I thought you were making a follow-up call since I had problems.
K: No, I didn't know about that. Is there anything I can do?
J: No. I just felt bad for the technician because she seemed new at the job and felt bad about going through the vein.
K: Ohmygosh! I'm so sorry. Are you okay?
J: I'm fine. I'm just sorry I wasn't able to give a full unit.
K: Well, I guess we'll see you in February, then?
J: Sure.
And, that's the end of that. Well. Except for the bruise. It's not pretty. But, I've had much worse with other blood-donation mishaps. I have these "difficult" veins, you see. Heh. I'll survive. Always an adventure 'round these parts, eh?
Thursday - December 4, 2003
Campus Watch #4
Item-of-the-week from the Campus Watch crime report:
Theft
A 2-pound bag of Hershey's Kiss chocolates was stolen from an unsecured desk drawer in a first floor office in the Main Building. Loss value: $3.00. Occurred between 11-25-03 and 12-3-03 at 8:40 am.
Tsk tsk tsk. Stealing someone's chocolate stash oughta be a crime! Oh, wait. I guess it is. Heh.
Monday - December 1, 2003
December fun
Happy December! So, the shopping season is upon us, eh? Woman knocked unconscious by trampling shoppers (from CNN). The folks at Wal-Mart offered to put a player on hold for the lady? Too funny.
So...Carolyn and Jennie were out in the melee bright and early on Friday. I guess we're lucky they escaped unscathed. Whew.