Plasma started out like a good idea. I have been two times since Saturday. Both times, my pulse was too high. They only give you one chance. I don't know why I get nervous about this. I made it through the first time okay.
Update: I went about 4 times before I gave up. I will go back agian, but my body needed a break. Not to mention, I was right in the middle of our busy season at work. Everytime I had my pressure/pulse checked, it would spike. I might ask to have the nurse do it like the first visit. I hope I can give again. It was not a bad experience. I have even gone to the doctors for a yearly visit and my pressure and pulse was acceptable. If not, he would have let me know.
This is an update.
I went about two weeks ago. After getting my fingerprints done, I decided to drop in. It has been about two or three months. After signing in, I waited for the checks. My name is called and I go into the booth. Here I am sitting and having some chit chat. I go, "Well the last couple of times, my pulse was too high." The machine beeps and guess what. . .Denied. I don't know why? I can sit through giving blood with no problem. If I go back, I will see if a nurse can do it in the first room I was checked into.
This is a blog to document our journey to China to adopt our 4 children from China, 1 from America. Now our 5 from China.
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Friday, July 18, 2014
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Collectible Inventory
Looking over my collection of collectibles, I have noticed that I should have saved my money and invested in stocks. I get depressed everytime I look on Ebay and see what my things are worth. I guess I should not get upset about the posters, but I thought they would be worth more. Most of them are over 20 years old. At the same time, most of the movies did not age well. I'd be happy to get at least $5.00 per poster. Baseball cards are worse. Very few of them are worth more than a $1.00. I know one lesson I will teach my daughters. Do not collect things hoping to turn a profit in a future sale.
I will be arranging the stuff for sale on Ebay. Angie will hopefully keep track of the sales. I wish we could mention the adoption, but the last time we did that, Ebay pulled the sale. Something about not being a registered charity. It's not like we are begging for money. We are supplying items for sale. Damn con artists ruin it for everyone. Then you get people, like the potato salad Kickstarter guy. It's okay for him to raise over $50,000 to make potato salad, but not for us to raise money to bring an orphan home from China.
I have started with Facebook. Believe it or not, but you can look for people/groups dedicated to what you are selling. I found one for posters. At first, I was getting a couple of bites. One of those people made an offer for a larger number of our posters. He ended up buying about 30 poster for $750. We ended up paying the shipping, but it was a good sale. After that, I stopped getting hits. The only responses I got was how I was charging too much. My thought was if it's too much, make a counter offer. I think most of the people on the group are poster company dealers. They are looking to undercut any offer I make. If I get money from the sale, I have won. I did not pay for the posters. It is from the days working at the theater.
I am still thinking about Ebay, but who knows. We had a bad experience with them in the past. I bought a movie that never made it to my house. When I complained, they said that they were not responsible. Explain that to me, how can you have a service that you want people to use, but you're not responsible for what happens? That is just setting the company up for fraud. I think things have changed since then.
I will be arranging the stuff for sale on Ebay. Angie will hopefully keep track of the sales. I wish we could mention the adoption, but the last time we did that, Ebay pulled the sale. Something about not being a registered charity. It's not like we are begging for money. We are supplying items for sale. Damn con artists ruin it for everyone. Then you get people, like the potato salad Kickstarter guy. It's okay for him to raise over $50,000 to make potato salad, but not for us to raise money to bring an orphan home from China.
I have started with Facebook. Believe it or not, but you can look for people/groups dedicated to what you are selling. I found one for posters. At first, I was getting a couple of bites. One of those people made an offer for a larger number of our posters. He ended up buying about 30 poster for $750. We ended up paying the shipping, but it was a good sale. After that, I stopped getting hits. The only responses I got was how I was charging too much. My thought was if it's too much, make a counter offer. I think most of the people on the group are poster company dealers. They are looking to undercut any offer I make. If I get money from the sale, I have won. I did not pay for the posters. It is from the days working at the theater.
I am still thinking about Ebay, but who knows. We had a bad experience with them in the past. I bought a movie that never made it to my house. When I complained, they said that they were not responsible. Explain that to me, how can you have a service that you want people to use, but you're not responsible for what happens? That is just setting the company up for fraud. I think things have changed since then.
Monday, July 14, 2014
Plasma Success
So, this weekend I started my part of the fundraising. I gave plasma for the first time. I told Angie she is literally draining me for this adoption. Luckily, I found a place close to where I work. They pay more then they give for blood. I almost thought it was not going to happen. I was looking at their site and it said students and faculty. I called to find out how I would prove that. I have my Devry student ID from when I was going for my Masters. Low and behold, they said recent grads are accepted.
Saturday morning, we all drive over to the facility. It was a long way from home, but closer to work. It was fairly easy to find. I went in and there were a couple of people waiting. I filled out the questionnaire, etc. Then I had to have a physical. This is always hard for me. I always get nervous. One time, I tried to give blood and they turned me down, because my pulse was too high. My blood pressure was up. Next up, my pulse. I breathed a sigh of releif, when she said I passed.
Giving Plasma is an adventure. They have you sit in a chair and hook you up to a machine. Since it was my first time, they reclined the chair. This was done to fool my brain into thinking there was plenty of blood in my body, while the machine sucked it out. Once in the machine, it seperates the plasma from the blood. Finally it goes back into my body. The contianer was the size of a Big Gulp. They said that they were going to fill most of it. It took four intervals.
During that time, I had the Travel channel to watch. Man V Food did not look that appealing. Not to mention the nurse asked me if I had eaten something with high fat content. I said yes, 3 doughnuts. She said that my plasma had a dark tint to it. Next time, I need to lay off the bad foods. We'll see. I survived the first visit. I can go twice a week.
Saturday morning, we all drive over to the facility. It was a long way from home, but closer to work. It was fairly easy to find. I went in and there were a couple of people waiting. I filled out the questionnaire, etc. Then I had to have a physical. This is always hard for me. I always get nervous. One time, I tried to give blood and they turned me down, because my pulse was too high. My blood pressure was up. Next up, my pulse. I breathed a sigh of releif, when she said I passed.
Giving Plasma is an adventure. They have you sit in a chair and hook you up to a machine. Since it was my first time, they reclined the chair. This was done to fool my brain into thinking there was plenty of blood in my body, while the machine sucked it out. Once in the machine, it seperates the plasma from the blood. Finally it goes back into my body. The contianer was the size of a Big Gulp. They said that they were going to fill most of it. It took four intervals.
During that time, I had the Travel channel to watch. Man V Food did not look that appealing. Not to mention the nurse asked me if I had eaten something with high fat content. I said yes, 3 doughnuts. She said that my plasma had a dark tint to it. Next time, I need to lay off the bad foods. We'll see. I survived the first visit. I can go twice a week.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Return to Blogging
It's been awhile. I have decided to return to the blog. Why? Well, since we started this blog, we went back a second time(third adoption). Now, it looks like we are going to try for our 5th adoption (4th from China). I am hoping to chronicale this whole adoption, while looking back over all of our adoptions. Maybe, in the end, I will have enough material for a book. I will collaberate with Angie on this endeavor. I am more of the story side of this project. She will give more insight on the behind the scenes of adoption.
Before we can go, I told her, we need to raise money for this adoption. We are thinking of all the different angles we can take. Selling home made products, posters from our 10 year collection, baseball cards, I am even going to sale plasma. We'll see how long that one lasts. So, stay tuned for further posts, which I promise will continue. I have a lot to write about.
Before we can go, I told her, we need to raise money for this adoption. We are thinking of all the different angles we can take. Selling home made products, posters from our 10 year collection, baseball cards, I am even going to sale plasma. We'll see how long that one lasts. So, stay tuned for further posts, which I promise will continue. I have a lot to write about.
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