Reminiscing..

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday.

Let's take  a moment to reminisce how Ash Wednesday went for me last year...

The whole detailed story is here, but here's a quick recap in photos:

Long story short: plasma donation gone wrong. 

The worst part was that I had to go to work at Hudson and play the piano..with my arm twice the size it normally is. Obviously I survived, but I am certainly never donating plasma again. 

February 22

February 22, 2012, is officially deemed as one of my least favorite days, EVER. We'll get there later. I went to the Union to work out.. I read while I'm riding the exercise bike. I'm SO CLOSE to being done with the Hunger Games. However, I have a page-long to do list for this week so I should work on that before I finish it. It's killing me though. During my writing class I finished our assignment that is not actually due until 11:59pm of the 23rd. Hooray for not procrastinating! After class I had lunch with Courtney and then came to my room and buckled down. I got so much done! I went to donate plasma around 4:00. This is where it gets ugly. I drank A LOT of caffeine on Tuesday, which is not good for donating plasma. They encourage you to be very well hydrated. I didn't even think about that when I was drinking my 2 glasses of iced tea. So I was having trouble the whole time because the needle kept moving. I finished my last return and the saline solution started going in. I knew something wasn't right. I had an awful pain in my arm. I called the lady over and told her that the cuff felt really tight. She said it shouldn't be inflated at all because the saline was going in. Little did I know that it felt tight because my arm was swelling up like a balloon. Apparently the needle got moved again and the saline solution was going into the tissue of my arm instead of my vein. They didn't tell me that right away, though. So I'm crying because 1) it hurt so bad and 2) I thought I was going to die. They took me into an exam room and a nurse had to help my take my shirt off so she could look at my arm. It was huge. Probably the size of my calf, no joke. They told me what happened and they said my body would eventually absorb it, but since it had stretched my skin out it would probably leave a pretty good bruise. I guess we'll find out. So after that incident I came back to campus and grabbed supper. I then headed to Hudson to play at the Ash Wednesday service-Jen went with me. It was slightly difficult to play with my arm but I managed it. I dropped Jen off at the dorm and then drove to St. Stephen's because the choir was ministering at mass. After mass, Rob followed me out to the parking lot where I parked my car and then drove me back to my dorm because he's such a nice guy. Katlyne helped me get undressed and into my pajamas. I took some painkillers and headed to bed.


The weather today was ridiculously bipolar. It was fine when walking to workout and on the way back. While walking to my 11:00 class, it snowed. HUGE snowflakes. It was soooo pretty!

The picture doesn't really capture the beauty, though. When I left to donate plasma at 4, it was sunny and 40 degrees. Crazy! 

February 17

I was up unusually early today. That's because UNI hosted an Up-Close day, where possible students come and really get to see UNI "Up-Close". I went to the McLeod to sit at a table for CAC with Lindsey, another CAC exec. We did the Interlude on the floor before we left. It was fun :) After that I headed to the WRC for a quick workout. I rushed back to my room to get ready in time for class. I get to class, and we're there for 20 minutes. No joke. So I went to the Union and had lunch. After my 12:00 class I came back to my room because I (apparently) volunteered to have my room open for people to view. So I cleaned it up really fast and then sat here....for 2 hours. Haha, Katlyne sat with me for a while. I went to donate plasma and now I'm heading to eat supper with Katlyne. Who knows what the rest of the night will bring! Here's a photo from this morning:

February 15

I'm getting really bad at this...
I only had one class today, and it wasn't until noon. Awesome! I got up around 9:30 and headed to the Union to work out. I returned and got ready for the day. I went to my one class (French) and Flavia told us about an awesome program where anyone that has French background can apply. If you get accepted you spend either a semester or whole academic year in France as a teacher's assistant. You get paid 1000 Euros a month and you get Fridays off so a 3 day traveling weekend is possible. Sounds amazing! She said most people go right after they graduate so they don't interrupt their studies. I think it sounds like something I should consider....
After class I had lunch with Courtney. I checked my mail and had not one, but TWO letters for me. One was a Valentine's Day card from my parents and the other was a letter from my friend Rickey who is at a basic training camp in Oklahoma for 5 months. It's fun to go old-school and write letters. :) I did some homework and some laundry and then went to donate plasma. When I got back Chloe, Lucas, and Liz picked me up and we met Rob at Buffalo Wild Wings for supper. (It was a CAC fundraiser there, so 10% of our bill went to UNI's RFL). After supper we headed to the church to start setting up. Fr Ken is on vacation this week so it was a student-planned Prime Time. It lasted WAY longer than mass. We didn't get out of there until 10:30. But ANYWAY, our Praise and Worship band played some songs and it was good to get in front of an audience (and also fun).  Except for the fact the since I donated plasma and had my finger pricked, every time I hit the key juuuuust right with that finger, it started throbbing. There's a bruise now :( But if that's the least of my pain this week, then I'm truly blessed, as there are people out there in WAY more pain than a bruised finger.

Danielle redecorated her door today. Due to the fact that I walked in her room the other day(like usual) and interrupted her nap, I have a special spot on their door:

Hahahahahaha

My other picture of the day is of the cutest couple ever: Lucas and Liz :) 

February 10

FRIDAY! :) I worked out before class today. After class I ate lunch with Courtney and then went to donate plasma. I haven't done that since before Christmas break. I treated myself by going to Walmart and purchasing a Cadbury Creme Egg. :)  When I got back I went to the book store and mailed Kaden and Connor's valentines. I tidied my room a bit and then went to supper with Katlyne, Danielle, Jen, Tiffany, Brandon, and Brett. After supper I redecorated my door and then Katlyne, Tiffany, and I watched Bridesmaids in my room. Zac got here around 11:15. We went to bed around midnight.
Photos:

Meet my friend Brandon....