A Visit to Vampire Central

Last night I fasted in preparation for pre-appointment blood tests this morning. When my turn in the chair came, I was surprised at how quickly the visit went. They may have been short handed because the same person who checked me in also popped over to the chair to draw the blood . He was pretty gentle when putting the needle in my arm. I should have just relaxed and let him do things with out trying to be helpful. When he was putting that tourniquet over my shirt sleeve (to avoid pinching my skin) I pulled the sleeve up and of course the tightness of the band was worse. That being the case I'm glad he was very quick in what he did. So quick that I'm not entirely sure how many vials he drew. He used a IV tubing extension to put the blood into the vials because he was constantly tilting the tube up and down. I'm thinking 2 vials must have drawn because I know the doctor ordered a whole bunch of tests. The most I've ever had drawn was 4.

After I was finished in the lab I headed over to the coffee machine. The Purple Heart Auxiliary is at the clinic each morning with donuts and cookies to offer. I like the couple that works this clinic. The lady is very sociable. Her veteran husband is nice too. Their friendliness adds a warm touch to a place that would otherwise be very sterile and cold seeming. The coffee was delicious. I'm addicted to caffeine and quickly downed two cups to get my fix. Caffeine withdrawal is one of the few things that will trigger a migraine headache for me. I can offset the worst of it if I get caffeine on board within 4 hours of the headache starting. If I ignore it the pain gets worse and I end up taking serious drugs to battle it.

Because the local Barnes & Noble (B&N) is right around the corner from the clinic I headed over there to see what was new on the shelves. I wanted to get a book on star gazing but what they had seemed complicated and so expensive that I decided to postpone that until I talked to my PC who is so much more knowledgeable than I am on this subject. I have a good book on star gazing but it is so old that I'm not sure how useful the charts are. Some of the books at the store were designed for beginners which is definitely me. There were also charts that you could just haul with you out into the dark assuming you had a red flashlight (recommended) for seeing anything that didn't provide its own light. I have to admit I was a bit stunned to find that one of the charts, a round thing with wheels you could turn, was as expensive as some of the books. It ran $20. I've no idea where to get a red flashlight so I hope there is a convenient store. My PC suggested that I visit the science store out near Helotes. Although it's a long drive, this might be my best bet. Since it's on the other side of town I might be able to combine that with a visit to JS's. While at the bookstore I showed considerable self restraint and only purchased one book, Mortal Fear by Greg Iles. His work is usually pretty exciting reading with lots of suspense.

Things are getting strange today. My temporary work agency, Randstad, called a few minutes ago and offered me another short term job that would last about 8 days. I said yes and had just finished rearranging my schedule to take the job when they called me back to say that Harcourt had canceled the job and my time was once again my own. Maybe this is an exercise in time management and being resourceful. I'm definitely glad to get my schedule back the way I had it even though the extra money would have been nice. I was gracious to Larry at Randstad so I hope he will be appreciative and call me again should another job happen.

And now, I'm going to have something to eat, a cup of chocolate, and hit the sack with a good book. Oh, and one other thing I wanted to say was that while at B&N I checked the shelves and Susan's book Shelter is there. Yay! Of course, I already have my copy and am in the process of reading it. And "Yes! I like it!" The prologue sucks you right in to an emotional connection with the characters and plot. For someone who doesn't analyze the books she reads but just enjoys them that is an important feature of a good story. Great job, Susan!