Giving blood!

I gave blood for the second time yeaterday. If I'm being completely honest, the only reason I did it the first time was that I wanted to know my blood group (it's A+, you get letter and a donor card telling you). I decided to go back because I felt so good about myself having done it and I wanted the ego boost.

I really don't like needles, but the people are nice, and they let me play Minion Rush to keep myself distracted. I did run my minion into a wall when the needle went in, but it was fine once it was in, and I sat playing on my phone (and taking the horrible photo below!) in the nice reclining chair. The worst bit is actually before the donation - they have to prick your finger with a springy needle to check you're okay to donate, I hate that bit! It's less than a second though, so even I managed to man up a bit for it.

After you're done you get free crisps, biscuits (and I got mince pies this time, not very seasonal but I enjoyed it), and something to drink while you have a sit-down. The whole thing is really easy, the staff are lovely and it's a worthwhile thing to do!

Only 4% of the population donates blood! Not everyone can of course (for example if you have a blood borne disease or have been to a high-risk country recently), but I bet 100% of people would take blood if they needed it!!

Give blood!! It's easy, you get free food and can feel good about yourself (and it's 700 calories that they take!!).

HERE is the website where you can book donations, and keep track of how many donations you've made! Women can donate every four months, men every three.

Crazy Straws!

I don't usually drink enough water. In fact, when I say not enough, what I really mean is that I don't drink water. However, last week I made a breakthrough. I actually had a glass (with lots of ice, it just makes it better), and the fact that a crazy straw would have made it so much better hit me!!

I got straight on Amazon and ordered some (four, in different colours and different 'craziness' because otherwise it'd get to samey). It actually seems to have worked as well!! I've been drinking water!!

So there you have it - the trick to making sure you drink enough water is lots of ice and a crazy straw.

Puzzling times.

I finished my dissertation!! Wooohooo! I have rarely - if ever - felt as accomplished as I did on getting that piece of work completed, bound and handed in!

I actually ended up at a bit of a loose end after that, and couldn't quite remember what I did with my free time pre-dissertation (which has been part of my life for around a year!). I hadn't even tweeted about anything else - which I know because I checked my own tweets for boredom-busting inspiration.

It was all too easy to find things to do whilst in the middle of the work, but a massive challenge afterwatds for some reason. Obviously I had to do something, so I ended up spending some of my Christmas money on a world map puzzle. Damn I'm cool!

Having Instagrammed "Operation: Puzzle," obviously I now have to share my efforts here as well.

Here's to free time! Mine actually ends tomorrow - hello last term at uni! Scary stuff!

Rubbish drawings!

So I've got into doing rubbish drawings recently. I was Skyping Kate and Owly a week or so ago, and we decided that he needed a new Facebook profile picture. He didn't have a good one, so I drew one for him. we found it so  entertaining that I did one of Kate as well, while she drew me and William.

I downloaded the fox song a couple of days ago, to a serious lack of enthusiasm by others. I drew a rubbish picture of a fox to help the fox song cause. I love the fox song. It's awesome. 59p well spent.

Today's rubbish picture was the result of a tweet I saw during a lecture. A postman had put a "sorry we couldn't deliver" nor through someone's door, explaining that a chicken had escaped!! I foolishly showed it to the people either side of me. We laughed. The lecturer asked what was going on. Oops. Of course, I couldn't NOT do a rubbish picture of a  chicken.

I wonder what the foxes would say about my drawing???

In the park with the dogs, and why I love autumn.

I took Tally and Horatio out today, having forgotten that my camera was in my pocket. Since I had it I started taking photos. Poor Tally has to stay on the lead at the moment (vet's orders). She has been limping for months now, and we don't know why. She had an x-ray on Wednesday, which hasn't shed any light. I have been spoiling her a bit since, though. I spent Wednesday evening sat on the floor with her, and I did coursework on another dog bed for the whole of Thursday. I think we've bonded a bit as a result.

 

 We ended up getting caught in some seriously heavy rain! It was strangely nice, the park emptied, and I just love the smell of rain! Actually, I really love autumn, I think it's my favourite season. Granted it isn't quite the same in London as it is in Cheshire, but having the park over the road helps. I love autumn because I like wrapping up in autumn-y clothes and I love autumn colours. Getting out scarves, hats and gloves is fab! I love the it's-just-rained feeling, and I think frost is really pretty! Plus, I think frost brings a bit of excitement with it. I have dyed my hair for autumn, and bought autumn nail varnish (not that I needed more nail varnish, I own way too much of the stuff).

Another thing I love is coming inside out of the cold or rain, getting into cuddly, comfy clothes and sitting with a cup of sugary tea (even better if there's a fire)! It's just not the same if you haven't braved the weather first! We had the first fire of the year last week (on the 31st October), which is something you really can't match imo. 

One of the things I miss the most about the countryside is seeing the seasons. I have a really clear memory of being in year 13, and looking out of the window with Kerry just before a History lesson. It was very frosty, and lovely to see. I realised and pointed out that it could very well have been the last time we ever saw Cheshire looking like that. And now, before lectures I can gaze at... East London (can I get a "woop woop"?). I love London, but I am SO a countryside girl at heart.

I haven't blogged in ages.

It says it all in the title! I've been thinking about doing another month of photos, and then I decided that it would be really cool to take a photo of Gunnersbury Park from the same place and at the same time every day for the whole of October. That wouldn't work, because I hate being in the same place for a long time so I'm constantly away! I am going to try and do as many as I can though.

Al and I walked the dogs at lunchtime and I did a bit of scouting to decide where I wanted to take the photos from. Unsurprisingly, I chose somewhere on the other side of the park, which makes the whole thing a lot more effort! However, there are a couple of other places that I saw, so I'll try all of them until I decide which one is best. I'm going to suggest to Kerry that she takes a photo of some spot in Lancaster every day. It's a pretty place, I think she could get some really nice pictures.

I'm not with Harriet and Maia any more. I've moved back down to London. Funnily enough, without Maia around I seem to be taking far, far fewer photographs! However, I'm heading into central tomorrow, so I'm guessing I'll take a few pictures then. I might just go into central on Saturday as well; I am dryin dying to do some touristy things!

I got stuck in the shower room for an hour and forty minutes on Friday! The twisty thing on the lock fell off and I couldn't reach the mechanism. Everyone thought it was hilarious, which in hindsight it was. Sigh. However, every cloud has a silver lining. As Harriet pointed out to me, at least I wouldn't've been in any trouble if I needed the loo; it was definitely better than being locked out!

I think there's something wrong, there!

I spent Sunday with my father.... Need I say more?

We set off to drop my grandfather off at the bus station so he could get on the coach home at half nine. Daddy decided on the way that we needed to get  Grandpa a mobile... So we dropped him off the hit Tesco's, before rushing back to give it to him. We then went back to Tesco's, and bought a radio and headphones for a customer of Club Class who is in the hospital. Woody is a disabled guy a few years older than my father. Daddy does accounting for him, as well as most of his shopping and other bits and pieces like that.

While we were at Leighton, we got a phone call saying that Bob (a driver) had broken down in the wheelchair bus, with a wheelchair passenger on board! We got Sue (another driver) to go with the Renault (another wheelchair vehicle) to rescue the customers, while we dropped off the VW Jetta we were in at home (it is automatic, and therefore not great for towing), got in the LDV, got some tools from the yard and drove from Wincham to the other side of Tarporley (a thirty minute drive on a good day).

When we got there we discovered that Sue and Bob were struggling for several reasons: without power, the hydraulics in the bus would allow them to get the passenger out, and they didn't know how to get it into the Renault anyway. Daddy managed in five minutes to get the passenger transferred and took them up the road, to the restaurant they were heading to (they got the trip free of charge by way of apology).

Meanwhile, Sue, Bob and I stayed with the other two vehicles. While we were waiting, I discovered that the problem was less mechanical and more to do with it having run out of fuel. Hahahahahahahahahaha. Of course, it is a diesel engine, which is a little trickier than if it had been petrol. Sue took the Renault home, and Daddy and I towed Bob to a petrol station. Having got some diesel into it, 'we' (by 'we,' I mean them. I was cold so I stayed inside the van) tried and failed to get it going again. We did have a phone call saying that another driver had broken down though.... The fun never stops!

So, we towed Bob halfway back, to another petrol station. A police car nearly crashed into us on the way there, leaving us with a snapped tow rope and, for some reason, snapped front number plate!

After an hour of waiting around, during which time Daddy had collected the Renault from Sue, collected the passengers, taken them home, given Sue back the Renault and come back in the LDV, we got going again.

It later turned out that Bob's bus is barely with repairing. There was more wrong with it than a lack of fuel after all.

The moral of this story is never to pay for an £800 respray of your vehicle, because it might break down!