Friday, Nov. 22, 2002
The orange shirt and the blood drive, posted at 8:32 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com "Mr. Epiphany, could you please turn down your shirt?" - lovely girl in my 1st periodToday was orange and black day, and last week I found this bright orange button down shirt for $2 at the thrift shop. I bought it, and wore it with a black tie and black pants. It received a lot of second looks. Orange is a color that looks better on people of color than it does on white people. I'm not that pale, but bright orange isn't really my color. But I think it still worked today. I told everyone that I needed it to stay safe in the dense fog this morning.
I accidentally kept the thing that holds the tag on my shirt. Not the actual tag, but the little tag holder thing. In my 4/5 period, a girl pulled it out of my arm, and said, "Look, Mr. Epiphany, what was in your shirt. Did you just buy it?"
"Yes. Found it at a thrift shop last week for just a couple of bucks, or else I would have wore in during Homecoming Week."
"You are so off the hook, Mr. Epiphany."
Why, thank you.
***
The other tidbit for today is that I gave blood at the National Honor Society Blood Drive at school. I'm a universal donor (O positive), and try to give my maximum. I feel like it's my civic duty, like voting. The thing is, I'm awful at it. I get queasy, hate needles, hate blood, and hate the lightheaded feeling I get. Like usual, my nurse thought I was going to faint, and kept putting wet clothes on my face and tilting me back. I always wonder if I'm more trouble to them then if I just didn't give blood. I certainly caused a bit of a scene, like I always do. Half of my nervousness comes from them looking down at me, getting a look of concern on their face, giving me things to drink and cold presses, and asking me if I'm okay. I think they make me nervous. I definitely felt today that I was going to faint, though. Luckily, she tilted me back just a little bit, and that made enough blood go to my head. I was trying to be so damn calm, though. I'm just not very good at that stuff. God help me if I'm ever a patient in a hospital. I've never had stitches even, so I've lived a rather sheltered life (that is, after five... I was on crutches and in traction for much of my early childhood). I just kept telling myself, "You're saving three lives right now" and "The life you save may be your own." I made it through. Phew.
I had to teach about three minutes after finishing, and felt quite woozy and unsteady. My class accused me of being stoned. They were nice about class, though. I told them I wasn't feeling well and couldn't stand well, and they were quiet and orderly all class. By the time I felt revved up during the second half of class, we were having a spectacular class discussion on static and dynamic characters in To Kill a Mockingbird.
It's the weekend, and it's desperately needed. This was one of the longest, most exhausting weeks yet. It seems like everyone at school is down and out, just waiting for Thanksgiving to come so we have a little bit of a break. I can't wait.