I want to donate your blood.

I avoid a lot of mushy, touchy-feely, deep and meaningful blogs and this isn’t really going to be one but I wanted to warn you straight up.

I used to be a blood donor. I hope to be a donor again one day. The blood bank is picky.

That being said they do need donors, and lots of them. 1 in 3 Australians will need blood or a blood product in their lifetime but only 1 in 30 donate. There’s something wrong with the maths there people.

It’s a figure that hasn’t altered much in the 10 years since I first gave blood.

So to encourage all of you to go out and save a life I’ve compiled some lists.

People who will need blood:

• Cancer patients and people with blood diseases
• People with anaemia
• Surgical patients, including ones who have open heart surgery and burn victims
• Heart, stomach and kidney disease sufferers
• Bone patients
• Pregnant women, new mums and young children
• Trauma sufferers

So if you know or have been someone who has/had: cancer, blood diseases, surgery, heart/stomach/kidney disease, broken a bone, a mother/a baby, some sort of accident then perhaps you should donate.

Reasons to donate:

• Free health check: the nurse will weigh you and check your blood pressure and iron levels
• An hour of time to yourself: the chairs are comfortable and for 20 minutes a nurse will fuss over you, you can even have a quick kip
• Free milkshake and cookies. That’s right to ensure that your blood pressure doesn’t drop suddenly, causing you to pass out, the nurse will make you a milkshake and give you some cookies
• Join an exclusive club. They’ll even give you a card telling you your blood type
• The warm fuzzy feeling that you’re giving to your community without spending a dime
• Save a life every three months. You’ll finally be able to say that you are a superhero
• The relief that if you ever need any blood, at least you had the forethought to put some in the bank

I hope I have inspired some of you to brave your fear of needles and give up 470mL of your 5L (less than 10% of what you have) of blood which your body will replenish anyway (whether you donate or not).

Still unsure? Visit the Australian Blood Service and check out all of their cool stuff.

Judy-May out!

All around me there are books.

I’d like to take a moment on this Saturday afternoon to talk to you about books. That’s right bound paper that sits on shelves. Not one in particular, but as a whole.

I’m afraid people. Very afraid. We are heading down an information super-highway and left on the side of the road, the roadkill if you like, are my beloved (and yours, I hope) friends.

With change comes a lot of fear and uncertainty and in a world filled with Kindles and iPads I have tried to embrace the change. But I still dream of a library, all of my own.

I still open my paper dictionary. Still hand it over to students. Still thumb the thesaurus when I’m looking for the right word.

I love the smell of books. Old and new. A kindle doesn’t smell, at least I don’t think it does, I’d feel rude asking someone if I could smell their kindle. But looking at someone’s book it is almost guaranteed I’ll smell it.

And what about when you read your favourite bit so often you end up with little thumb prints on the page. Or the tea stain from when you laughed so hard you snorted. You don’t get those things with an iPad, they wipe clean.

I love marginalia. I like to read the last chapter before the first. I love book plates and stamps and dog-earring my favourite pages. None of which you can do with an iPad.

I love second hand books, because what if someone famous owned it first? Secondhand gigabytes doesn’t really have the same ring.

I fall asleep and often wake up with a faceful of book, but I suspect an iPad will jolt you awake instantly and leave you with a bruise.

I love bookmarks with my name on them, which are useless on a kindle.

I understand the appeal of the digital version. Lightweight, compact, easy to hold. But if I swung my handbag at an attacker with a kindle in it they’d just laugh. Swing your bag with Crime and Punishment or Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows inside and…? Concussed, likely, unconscious, hopefully, escape, certainly.

I love books. As you can see. Let’s preserve what might end up the way of the record. Please. I don’t want to explain what a book is to my children someday.

Click images for their sources. (It’s well worth it!)

Judy-May out!

Overtired

Sometimes I find it hard to sleep, like now. I’m keen on thinking that it’s due to over stimulation, my brain keeps on buzzing. In order to use this time constructively, I have come up with the following:

My blog has been somewhat aimless. It’s tried to be somethings that I love about other blogs, but it and therefore I have not found a voice. In order to rectify this I have come up with a list of daily blog posts. So if I am feeling like writing a post but I’m actually clueless about what to write, refer to the day of the week. If I have something to say, write and post on the day the post naturally fits into.

“But Judy-May,” I hear you cry. “You have other blog posts to follow up on! And what happened to pictures of your trip?”

Well dear reader, don’t become disillusioned. I have plans… so many plans… “Tonight, Pinky, we try to take over the world!”

Anyway over the coming days, months, years, (basically until I a) get sick of this style, b) think that it’s not working, c) completely forget that I ever wrote this post) you can expect:

• Monday: Alphabet letter of the week
• Tuesday: Travel Tuesday
• Wednesday: GPOYW (that’s gratuitous picture of yourself Wednesday)
• Thursday: Thursday’s Gripe
• Friday: Video of the Week
• Saturday: Saturday Lit. (or Saturday “Ask Judy-May” not sure yet, we’ll see)
• Sunday: Get on your Bike!

Let me know what you think. Yes that means getting your act together and commenting below. Seriously people it’s not that hard. I know I have some readers. Give me feedback!

And get excited for tomorrow’s GPOYW!

Whoop! (That’s me getting excited. Oh. What shall I wear?)

Judy-May out!