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Donated blood yesterday; it was my final donation for the first decade that I have been giving. My very first blood donation was in April 1997 and, since they only allow you to donate every sixteen weeks in the UK, I will not be able to give again until May 2007. Although I have not given six times per year -- that's the maximum you can donate in the US -- I estimate that I have donated thirty-two times in the past decade, which amounts to about four gallons of blood. I could probably figure it out more precisely if I made an effort, as I have only given via three blood banks: New York Blood Center (in NY, obviously), Heartland Blood Center (in Illinois), and in the UK. Here your donor card reflects the number of times that you have given; mine is currently red and says "1-4" all over it. When I reach five, which will not happen until September due to the long wait between donations, I will get a blue card marked "5-9". And so on. It ends when you get your purple card, for 100+ donations. At only three donations per year, that might take quite some time...
I find it interesting to compare my reactions throughout the years. Certainly the first time was terrifying, and I was almost unable to give because my pulse was racing too quickly! I endured that first donation by singing Les Miserables to myself and reciting Einstein's equations of general relativity. Now I don't think twice about going to donate. I decided not to bite my right hand while the needle goes in, a practice I only began a year or two ago. And, for the first time, I even decided not to warn the nurse drawing the blood that I am a total wuss about this procedure. Because, at last, it seems that I am no longer a total wuss about it. As![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rbdarkly says: "A fear conquered is a powerful familiar."
However, before I pat myself on the back too much, I should note that the blood centre recently contacted me about donating bone marrow... and I totally skeeved at the idea.
and
Since several people have expressed interest in this, I will write about the bells with a fair bit of detail:
Last night, after my donation, I went to St. Mary Magdalen church to ring bells with the Oxford University Society of Change Ringers. Mary Mag lies at the Southern end of St. Giles, a short street near the center of Oxford. Previously, I had only rung at St. Giles church, which lies a few blocks away at the Northern end of St. Giles. A member of the group that I ring with at St. Giles church suggested that I should get in touch with OUCRS so that I could ring more frequently and, thus, make faster progress in developing my skills.
My first time in a different church was an excellent experience. Seasoned bell ringers -- and, compared to me, nearly everyone can be considered "seasoned" -- say that part of the enjoyment in ringing is in visiting many different towers. Maybe that is true... I arrived early and, while waiting to be let in, chatted with a couple of other ringers. They informed me that St. Giles is arguably the most difficult church to ring at in Oxford -- though there are two other churches that contend for the title. This was actually encouraging to hear; after all, if I've been working on difficult bells already, ringing at Mary Mag should be easier, right?
Indeed, that turned out to be the case. St. Giles has an eight bell tower, whereas Mary Mag is a ten bell tower. The bells in Mary Mag are much lighter, which does make them easier to handle. Apparently, the weight of two sets of bells is usually compared by looking at the mass of the tenor (the heaviest bell) in each set. However, if you measure by the total metal mass of all the bells, then Mary Mag has the lightest set in all of England... or so I was told. Also, the bells at Mary Mag are much newer -- only five years old. Recall that St. Giles has bells dating back nearly four hundred years, with the "youngest" bell from the 1920s. So, yes, ringing in Mary Mag was indeed easier.
By my count, twenty-three people showed up. Although it is a ten bell tower, two of the bells were not being used (#9 and #10), so the eight bell rhythm was relatively familiar to me. Due to the large turnout, I only got to ring twice (#6 and #5, in that order) during the hour and a quarter that I was there. When the leader of the club asked me what I ring, I told him only rounds so far. He asked if I also rang called changes and -- since I did two called changes last week -- I told him "sure." Which meant that I got to ring more called changes for each of the two times I was ringing. The first time, I only changed twice, which was easy enough. The second time went on a lot longer, however, and I did several changes. The challenge of called changes is keeping track of all the changes... not just the ones for your bell. If I am ringing #5 and hear the call "five to four", that's no problem. Now I follow #3 instead of #4, because that was what #4 had been following and I (on #5) have taken the place of #4. But, as we go on, #3 and #1 may switch, so now I need to follow the treble (#1) instead of #3, because the treble has taken the place of #3 (which I was following). I pulled that particular switch off without problem. However, when I then heard the call "five to six"... well, that threw me off because I had no idea who #6 was following by then! Luckily, I had a "guide" standing nearby to tell me who I should be following at that point.
I am excited to be doing called changes now... and looking forward to the next step in my bell-ringing evolution, which is method ringing. Some of the methods are quite complex; I expect to start (as most novice ringers do) with a rather simple one known as Plain Hunt. I'm looking forward to it!
Besides the difference in the actual tower, the difference in the people was enormous. The group that rings at St. Giles is mostly middle-aged and older. There are a couple of people who are my age or younger (including one who is nineteen), but not many. In contrast, OUCRS is a University club, so most people are undergraduates or post-graduates. There was one person older than me present last night... but only one! This makes for a very different energy; the atmosphere felt a bit lighter -- not that ringing at St. Giles is sombre! -- and there was both cake and chocolate to be had. Yay for cake and chocolate!
At the end of the evening, I was told that there would be OUCRS people ringing tonight at St. Cross church and was invited to attend. While I would love to ring again today -- and experience yet another new tower --cheshcat and I already have plans this evening to go out to the pub with some friends. We invited C&M out to the Dew Drop Inn -- our treat -- as a way of thanking them for all the cat care that they did while we were in the States last month (and in October). So tonight will be spent in the company of new friends. No more ringing for me... at least until tomorrow night at St. Giles!
I find it interesting to compare my reactions throughout the years. Certainly the first time was terrifying, and I was almost unable to give because my pulse was racing too quickly! I endured that first donation by singing Les Miserables to myself and reciting Einstein's equations of general relativity. Now I don't think twice about going to donate. I decided not to bite my right hand while the needle goes in, a practice I only began a year or two ago. And, for the first time, I even decided not to warn the nurse drawing the blood that I am a total wuss about this procedure. Because, at last, it seems that I am no longer a total wuss about it. As
rbdarkly says: "A fear conquered is a powerful familiar."However, before I pat myself on the back too much, I should note that the blood centre recently contacted me about donating bone marrow... and I totally skeeved at the idea.
and
Since several people have expressed interest in this, I will write about the bells with a fair bit of detail:
Last night, after my donation, I went to St. Mary Magdalen church to ring bells with the Oxford University Society of Change Ringers. Mary Mag lies at the Southern end of St. Giles, a short street near the center of Oxford. Previously, I had only rung at St. Giles church, which lies a few blocks away at the Northern end of St. Giles. A member of the group that I ring with at St. Giles church suggested that I should get in touch with OUCRS so that I could ring more frequently and, thus, make faster progress in developing my skills.
My first time in a different church was an excellent experience. Seasoned bell ringers -- and, compared to me, nearly everyone can be considered "seasoned" -- say that part of the enjoyment in ringing is in visiting many different towers. Maybe that is true... I arrived early and, while waiting to be let in, chatted with a couple of other ringers. They informed me that St. Giles is arguably the most difficult church to ring at in Oxford -- though there are two other churches that contend for the title. This was actually encouraging to hear; after all, if I've been working on difficult bells already, ringing at Mary Mag should be easier, right?
Indeed, that turned out to be the case. St. Giles has an eight bell tower, whereas Mary Mag is a ten bell tower. The bells in Mary Mag are much lighter, which does make them easier to handle. Apparently, the weight of two sets of bells is usually compared by looking at the mass of the tenor (the heaviest bell) in each set. However, if you measure by the total metal mass of all the bells, then Mary Mag has the lightest set in all of England... or so I was told. Also, the bells at Mary Mag are much newer -- only five years old. Recall that St. Giles has bells dating back nearly four hundred years, with the "youngest" bell from the 1920s. So, yes, ringing in Mary Mag was indeed easier.
By my count, twenty-three people showed up. Although it is a ten bell tower, two of the bells were not being used (#9 and #10), so the eight bell rhythm was relatively familiar to me. Due to the large turnout, I only got to ring twice (#6 and #5, in that order) during the hour and a quarter that I was there. When the leader of the club asked me what I ring, I told him only rounds so far. He asked if I also rang called changes and -- since I did two called changes last week -- I told him "sure." Which meant that I got to ring more called changes for each of the two times I was ringing. The first time, I only changed twice, which was easy enough. The second time went on a lot longer, however, and I did several changes. The challenge of called changes is keeping track of all the changes... not just the ones for your bell. If I am ringing #5 and hear the call "five to four", that's no problem. Now I follow #3 instead of #4, because that was what #4 had been following and I (on #5) have taken the place of #4. But, as we go on, #3 and #1 may switch, so now I need to follow the treble (#1) instead of #3, because the treble has taken the place of #3 (which I was following). I pulled that particular switch off without problem. However, when I then heard the call "five to six"... well, that threw me off because I had no idea who #6 was following by then! Luckily, I had a "guide" standing nearby to tell me who I should be following at that point.
I am excited to be doing called changes now... and looking forward to the next step in my bell-ringing evolution, which is method ringing. Some of the methods are quite complex; I expect to start (as most novice ringers do) with a rather simple one known as Plain Hunt. I'm looking forward to it!
Besides the difference in the actual tower, the difference in the people was enormous. The group that rings at St. Giles is mostly middle-aged and older. There are a couple of people who are my age or younger (including one who is nineteen), but not many. In contrast, OUCRS is a University club, so most people are undergraduates or post-graduates. There was one person older than me present last night... but only one! This makes for a very different energy; the atmosphere felt a bit lighter -- not that ringing at St. Giles is sombre! -- and there was both cake and chocolate to be had. Yay for cake and chocolate!
At the end of the evening, I was told that there would be OUCRS people ringing tonight at St. Cross church and was invited to attend. While I would love to ring again today -- and experience yet another new tower --
cheshcat and I already have plans this evening to go out to the pub with some friends. We invited C&M out to the Dew Drop Inn -- our treat -- as a way of thanking them for all the cat care that they did while we were in the States last month (and in October). So tonight will be spent in the company of new friends. No more ringing for me... at least until tomorrow night at St. Giles!
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Meanwhile, I should let you know that it is quite possible to learn to ring in the United States. There is a North American Guild of Change Ringers (http://www.nagcr.org/related.html) and there are affiliated towers in Chicago. I do not yet know if I will ever move back to the USA -- I'm keeping all options on the table -- but if I do, I will definitely be getting involved with a tower in the States.
P.S. I'm glad you are enjoying my posts about ringing. You are one of the people that I am adding the extra detail for...
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I would love it if you and
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To be fair, though, they won't take your blood here if you've been in the USA during the summertime too soon before you donate. Here they are worried about West Nile virus...
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Now, I'm not inclined to give blood at all, seeing as how I'm terrified of needles. (Which kept me out of a lot of trouble when I was a hippie, but that's another story.) But don't they put you out for bone-marrow donation? Because it wouldn't bother me, if I slept through the whole thing.
(Bells)
Are old bells always heavier than recently-made ones? And is there a noticeable difference in the sound? And how does that all sort out with the emotional "feel" of knowing that you're ringing a bell that has been rung for hundreds of years? Alas, the MIDI file at the "plain hunt" link didn't play for me... I'd love to know what bell-ringing sounds like. (I'm in the process of setting up a newer computer for myself, though, so I may be able to hear that MIDI in a little while after all.)
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Bells: I'm sorry, I think I wasn't clear. Old bells are not automatically heavier than newer ones. It is coincidence that the bells at Mary Mag are both newer and lighter than the ones at St. Giles. And, yes, I prefer ringing the older bells for exactly the emotional "feel" that you mentioned. Let me know if you can get the MIDI file to play when the new computer is set up. If not, perhaps I can get a different recording of change ringing for you. Worse comes to worst, I can bring a digital recorder with me to practice some night...
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Recording bell-ringing must be a challenge! I can't even begin to imagine how I'd mic that. Probably from outside, at a short distance, and with a number of highly directional mics, to try to get the sounds of all the bells equally. (In the meantime, back to trying to play MIDI files...)
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About recording bells... well, I am no sound expert. I would just bring a digital recorder with me to practice. The quality would most assuredly be inferior, though. If I really wanted to do a superb job, I would enlist the aid of
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When I was about 10 or 12 years old, my father went to give blood - the wife of one of his co-workers needed surgery, and it was common for the guys to donate blood for each other like that. I don't recall why I was with him, but I asked the nurses if I could watch. At first they didn't want to let me, because they were afraid I'd faint, but after both I and my father assured them that I wouldn't, they let me watch. It was fascinating, actually... it only bothers me when it's my tender flesh that's being perforated! And they gave me a glass of orange juice when they gave my dad some.
I was a sound engineer myself, not only in college, but for a living, until I became a full-time mom. That's why I wondered how best to record bells.
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Does fucking boys disqualify you in the UK as well?
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Okay, that got me to laugh out loud -- thanks!
Cultured? Perhaps... but at the time I was just delirious with fear!
And, sadly, yes -- fucking boys, even once with a condom, will disqualify you for life from donating blood in the UK. If you are a boy, that is. Girls can get away with it, no problem. Pisses me off to no end, believe you me... especially because they are going to test the helavic out of the blood before transfusing it, anyway!