Blood

While shopping today, I chanced upon a blood donation drive in the midst of festive shoppers. I was slightly surprised to see National Blood Centre personnel there because such drives usually take place at schools, universities, community centres or shopping areas that are bigger and more centrally located. Still, I was glad to see that most of the special recliners were occupied with donors who were already “plugged in” and there were people busy filling forms, having their IDs checked, sample blood tested, etc.

I tagged along to go through the procedure and was pleased to see how efficient and organised everything was. They tested a sample of my blood and asked me to verify the information I had written. I saw many barcodes being pasted onto the many forms, bottles and labels to identity the source of the forthcoming blood sample – yours truly. After confirming that there is no reason why I should not give blood and they should not accept it (Extra note: Besides being healthy and a universal donor “O” type, I have the cutest blood cells around. I do! Just look at them through a microscope and the little smileys will give you a wink and a cheesy grin just like mine. Of course, they would want my blood!), they sent me to the recliners to wait for a nurse to put the needle in me.

I am not ashamed to say that I have always been afraid of the pain from needles, not the needles themselves. I may never get over it (I still will not look at the needle going into my arm) but it has never stopped me from injections or drawing blood. Since it is not a phobia, I do not let this issue bother me. Everyone, including veterans, have problem locating my blood vessel in order to “tap in”. It took the nurse a few minutes but she must be the quickest of those who had to deal with me and the needle went in without any fuss (I did experience a sensation like an ant bite but nothing more). Considering my slight fear, I was really glad. When I had pumped enough out, another nurse came and placed my warm pack of blood under my wrist while he expertly dealt with the tubes and took two more test tube full of my blood for more testing. He then took the needle out of my arm without me feeling a thing! That is it! All nurses should be sent to the National Blood Centre. They probably draw blood so often they can do it with their eyes closed.

I proceeded to the refreshment stand where I was asked to sit down by a very sweet young nurse who gave me a cup of hot beverage. She also indicated some items on the table – a certificate of thanks, a packet of beverage, a packet of biscuits, some vitamins and a bun – were for me. I sipped my drink and surveyed the people at the blood donation drive as well as the onlookers. I asked if there had been many people coming to donate because the event was from 11am to 5pm and it was past 4pm. She said there was a number but it was not as much compared to when they do it in schools and universities.

I suddenly wondered if people grow more stingy with their blood the older they get the way they grow more stingy with their money, they love, their time and everything else. Little children will freely embrace you to be their friend and offer you their sweets. Students will frequently spare their time, effort and money in many charitable activities. Do adults pitch in only when the media and VIPs are around?

Oh, I know it is not so. I was just musing. Who do you think runs UNICEF, CARE and of organisations? What about those doctors, nurses and other civilian volunteers who gave up their place in the more “civilised” world to help the needy, philanthropists and kind hearted people who build and run schools, hospitals, centres for the abused, shelters for the homeless… ?

Goodness exists. We should not forget it and give in to disillusionment.

P.S. You know, they say that donating blood is good because it allows the blood in your body to rejuvenate. Perhaps saying that donating blood will let you lose weight, clear your complexion and make you more attractive will send more people rushing to donate blood. It is not a lie. It is just not scientifically proven.

Flood

My home state is under 5-14 feet of flood water. The whole state is in a total mess. Mind you, it is not a small state either. In some places, things are so bad residents are being evacuated from the upstairs windows of their houses because it was no longer safe. The floodwaters have risen such that the only things visible are the tops of trees, roofs and some traffic lights.

Our families back home are thankfully largely unaffected up until now. My parents and I contact them at regular intervals to confirm it. I hope for the flood to recede soon but the sky keeps chucking bucketloads (or tankfuls) down.

Stop it!

This is like slow torture and/or death compared to a quick tsunami. Roads are closed, food and potable water is getting scarce, people are reported dead or missing, cars and passengers are being swept away by currents, patients in need of medical attention even in unflooded areas are at risk (kidney patients suffer and die due to dialysis centre not being able to get adequate water), some looting is going on, and who knows what else!

Whoever is doing a rain dance... you had better stop right this instant!

Language Perspectives

This is a delayed blogging of an incident. It did provoke a thought at the time and I suppose it is worth a mention.

A colleague (who was also my trainee previously) asked me what is 'hak cheng' in English. This was after I asked her what was wrong when I saw her examining her hand. (FYI 'Hak' means black, and 'cheng' means green if you separate the two words in Cantonese.)

"I suppose you can say you're black and blue", I replied. I frequently think about the story of 'The Princess and the Pea' and the Princess complaining about her bad night when the term 'black and blue' is mentioned.

The injured girl pondered it for a second and I thought the English term may be a bit of a troublesome mouthful compared to the efficient Cantonese one so (considering that she had always been a very keen pupil) I added, "You could say that you are bruised as well". I even spelt it for her when she asked me to.

"Is that the same?", she asked.

"Well, 'bruise' covers a wider array of injury including the reddish or other types. 'Black and blue' is more specific and would be a more accurate translation of 'hak cheng,'" Gosh, I guess I was lecturing again.

"Black and blue", she repeated to herself. I saw her serious expression when trying to remember the new information and could not resist adding something funny to aid her memory.

"Remember, there is black... and blue, but not green, ok?" We ended up laughing at it and I suppose she may think of me the next time she uses the phrase.

This made me think how differently the English and the Chinese view that patch of colour on the skin. One sees blue mixed with black while the other sees green mixed with black. Isn't that interesting? (Before you proceed further with your thoughts, let me jump two steps ahead of you and warn you that no racist thoughts about ideas or skin will be tolerated. You were warned.)

This links back to my contemplation of equivalent of another common phrase that I have noticed in the past. The English term 'flesh and blood' is used to describe family, especially children. The Chinese phrase translate directly as 'bone and flesh'. So, do your children inherit your flesh and blood or your bone and flesh? Maybe blood is more important in the English-speaking world because, as we know, 'blood is thicker than water'. Are bones less important then? They do last a long, long time (check out the tombs for bones used for carbon dating and DNA testing!) and anyone without it will be like jellyfish out of water.

Haha

I like this. I actually know some of these people!

PARIS: The Internet has given birth to a quirky range of modern addictions and maladies, the British weekly New Scientist says in its Christmas issue published this Saturday. They include:

- EGO-SURFING: When you frequently check your name and reputation on the Internet.
- BLOG STREAKING: "Revealing secrets or personal information online which for everybody's sake would be best kept private."
- CRACKBERRY: "The curse of the modern executive: not being able to stop checking your BlackBerry, even at your grandmother's funeral." [A BlackBerry is a popular handheld device that can be used for phoning, emailing and web-browsing].
- GOOGLE-STALKING: Defined as "snooping online on old friends, colleagues or first dates."
- CYBERCHONDRIA: "A headache and a particular rash at the same time? Extensive online research tells you it must be cancer."
- PHOTOLURKING: Flicking through a photo album of someone you've never met.
- WIKIPEDIHOLISM: Excessive devotion to contributing to the online collaborative encyclopaedia, Wikipedia. (Wikipedia even has a page where you can test whether you're an addict:(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Are_You_a_Wikipediholic_Test)).
- CHEESEPODDING: Downloading of a song "so cheesy that you could cover it in plastic wrap and sell it at the deli counter." Cheesepodders are especially vulnerable to soft-rock favourites from the 1970s.