Oh well. It appears that yet again I have failed to win the Easter Show. On the plus side, they didn’t string up the Snook’s Hipster Cardigan with fishing line…
Perfect timing. I scheduled my donation yesterday to be 12 days before my next long run. I’ll be taking it easy for the next couple days too.
One of my New Year’s resolutions was to be more charitable. The Snook and I are incredibly lucky: we both have good jobs; we’re paying off our mortgage; we save more than we spend. We should do more to help out those less fortunate. Here’s a list of causes that I’ve supported in the past few months in case you’d like to join me:
Jump Rope for Heart – This is a yearly event that my little brother Joey participates in to raise money for the American Heart Association. I’m really proud of him. Last year he was the 2nd highest fundraiser in his whole school!
Disco Red Cross Appeal – This page was set up by my friend Lara, who felt powerless in the wake of the Queensland floods, Christchurch earthquake, and Japanese tsunamis. She’s asking folks to make a small sacrifice and donate the money to the Red Cross. Me, I gave up some of the cash I would’ve spent on a box of red wine. (Me = classy.)
Slow Runners Club Run Chicago – Diabetes Action Team
– I’ve been enjoying the Slow Runners Club podcast for a while now. Eddie recently lost his Mom to diabetes and the two guys are running the Chicago Marathon in her memory. They’re also raising funds for diabetes research. As an added thank-you for donations, the guys are offering entry into their private online coaching program. I’m looking forward to it!
Australian Red Cross Blood Service – I’ve been meaning to start donating blood again. I haven’t actually donated in ten years (mostly because that time was so traumatic). I saw a poster recently advertising the big new fancy Donor Centre at Town Hall though, so I decided to go for it. I rang them up yesterday and made an appointment. And this morning, I went in and did it!
As recommended, I was well-hydrated and fed. The new Centre is great, all gleaming and high-tech. Since it was my first donation in Australia, I had to go through all the paperwork and interviews and such. They also checked my blood pressure and haemoglobin levels. (139 g/L – perfect! I am the Hermione of Haemoglobin.) Then I got led off to a big comfy robotic chair in front of a large TV, where a nice lady prepped me. I was worried they wouldn’t hit a vein easily – I’ve given other nurses trouble – but she got it on the first go. I was hooked up for about 7 minutes, and according to the little machine they got 480mL from me. Afterwards I got to rest in the chair to make sure I wouldn’t faint, and then it was off to the refreshments area for some food and drink. Overall it was my best donation experience yet, and I will definitely be repeating it. (I’m tempted to donate plasma, since they said that was better for those who train a lot since it doesn’t deplete your red blood cells.) Big thumbs up!
Edited 12/04/2025: The fundraising links are all dead and not archived.
@PhilKeoghan ACK. How about those of us in Australia? Going to have to hide your tweets!
This office is an ice box. My fingertips are actually going numb.
Was inspired to book in for blood donation tomorrow. I know too many folks who can’t donate; figure I’d better step up in their place!
@Yarna_ The cutoff on that seems to be ’96 for Australian donations. Luckily I didn’t live in England til ’98, so I’m okay!
@carbolicious Just thinking about that makes me wince.
Received hilariously mismatched job opp from Gemteq HR spammer. I’m not a team lead or dev, & I know zero .NET. Do they even read linkedin?
@Justacogitating Aussie rules ban those who spent 6 months in UK prior to ’96. So we’re clear by two years, thankfully!
Just finished breakfast (leftover meatloaf and zucchini) and now I’m pounding water. All preparation for giving blood in an hour!
Hemoglobin checked, iron levels all good. Ready to get stuck!
Needle is in and I am being drained. New Town Hall Red Cross centre is brilliant. Comfy high-tech recliners and big TVs!
Who wants to see me and my blood? (Not gross; I swear.) http://t.co/7GzZ8pQ http://t.co/LMyfGvW
All done! Now just chillin’ til I get my cookie. That was best blood donation experience ever. Practically painless, very professional.
@knitterjp It’s those folks, but the whole center has moved to Town Hall. New place is great!
I have now donated blood on three continents! (I have to say, the new Red Cross donation center at Town Hall in Sydney was the best of all.)
8-bit Pocket Camera. Oh man! Use your iPhone to take photos that look like the ones from the old Game Boy Camera. That’s awesome.
@stufromoz @ellymc I used to work at Morris and Sons. Great range, biggest in Sydney. Not cheap though!
@stufromoz @ellymc That’s A Coffee and a Yarn. Nice cafe, not a big yarn range though.
Catching up on Biggest Loser. Okay, Lara’s Dad made me cry.
@Shiloh834 You appear to be a spammer of some kind. No thanks.
@XXFRha Please stop begging. You’re ruining the game.
@healthmonth Another spammer! “@XXFRha: hi:)) i see you play healthmonth too..so would you mind to help me to sponsoring my acc? please”
Jamie’s recipe #11: Grilled Sardines, Crispy Halloumi, Salad, Figs, and Choc Mousse. Our first 10/10 rating! SO GOOD. http://bit.ly/fD9eoF
Practically empty 480 just blew past Broadway without even slowing. Why do I even bother waving? @131500buses
@betsybookworm @madradish It’s mostly because that bus stop at Broadway gets so backed up. They need to split it into two stops.
This is our 11th cooking/blogging experiment from Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. This week’s meal was “Grilled Sardines, Crispy Halloumi, Watercress Salad & Figs, Thick Chocolate Mousse.” Frankly, this is the recipe in the book that scared me the most. I was a “pescaphobe” for most of my life, and it’s only in the last five years or so that I’ve come to enjoy seafood. Whole fish with bones and heads are basically my Everest. I knew we’d have to get to this one eventually though, so I thought it was time to meet my fears head on. Luckily it was easy to make and DELICIOUS! I ate every bit. (I’m as shocked as you are!)
Substitutions and changes: We were able to get everything. We even went with the suggested chilled rosé as an accompaniment! The only change was making a half recipe each of the sardines and the mousse, just because it was only the two of us eating it.
Quick verdict: As a meal, this all went together extremely well and the flavours of the components all complemented each other. (Better so than many of the other recipes.) The sardines were brilliant and the strong aromatics with them masked any potential “fishiness.” Elapsed time was 39:29, but that included about 5 annoying minutes of faffing about with pomegranates. This was a pretty quick one! We’re both rating it as our first official 10/10. If you make this meal for someone, they will be impressed!
Beautiful day! Decided to walk to Knitters Guid meeting.
@devvyleys Are you serious? That’s AWESOME! Thank you.
Commando sighting! In pink! Was within 3 feet of me! http://t.co/xRm7SbJ
Overheard: “Oh, there’s nothing worse than wonky Habu!” #knittersguild
Today’s Jamie meal: Grilled Sardines. The one I was most afraid of; the one I enjoyed the most! Seriously, so good! http://t.co/Opf5wkp
@misswired No potatoes! You mean the golden things? That’s sesame-encrusted haloumi. 🙂
My licorice education has progressed to @DarrellLea_USA’s soft eating licorice. YUM! I’m actually enjoying it! (cc @squozen)
@likeomg SO CUTE! Does s/he have a name yet?
@misswired Ooh, your recipe looks yummy. I have a good slow-cooker recipe for lamb shanks too; I’ll send to you.
DailyMile meetup with running buddies! (@ Darling Harbour) http://4sq.com/eVkYLz
Waiting for fireworks in Darling Harbour with running buddies… http://t.co/spVzCCU
Darling Harbour at night is so gorgeous. http://twitpic.com/4io9rd
Fireworks! http://twitpic.com/4iofvm
@thisismywww Whaaat? Seriously? That sucks!
@imdominating It’ll get blogged today!
