From the Cascades to Pugent Sound Blood Bank?

Yes Katie, I had to make a reference to the popular Postal Service tune “this place is a prison” which I discovered was about living in Seattle after I had already decided to spend my summer here. But fear not, I think this place is far from a prison! If for no other reason, this city has to have the best weather of any place in the world! I couldn’t be any more excited to be missing the 115 degree heat indexes hitting Oklahoma right now.

So, I figure I will start with Service.

Service, yikes! Since I have been in Seattle, I have had a pretty decent amount of free time. Most of this time has been filled with excessive facebooking and general time wasting, but some of it has been about going and seeing as much of the city as I can. I had a day off when everyone else I knew was working, so I decided that this would be the perfect day to go and see things that I didn’t figure would interest anyone else. I was making my way from neighborhood to neighborhood, and I found myself walking by this place called recovery café. I knew this wasn’t your normal café, so I did what any technologically dependent person does I googled it. I know what you are thinking, why didn’t you just walk in? Simply put, I am ridiculous. So what is it? It is an organization that helps people on the road to recovery to land on their feet so to speak. They offer classes, go on different outings, group sessions type things, and espresso of course, this is after all Seattle. So, this was the birth of my first goal. How selfish was I? I am here spending my free time on facebook when I could be doing something to help someone else. So, like I said Service, yikes!

Service Goal Number 1: Do at least one unselfish thing a week.
So, a few days later I got off work in the early afternoon with this goal fresh on my mind I decided to give blood. I found a blood bank in downtown and filled out the appointment form online. I figured this would be one of those immediate response email situations, but I was, of course, wrong. I spent about 30 minutes refreshing my email waiting to hear back from them. Then, I made the terrible decision to lie down and read. What was I thinking??? Sure enough about 30 minutes later I received an email confirming my appointment for 45 minutes later. So there I was, all of a sudden having to shift my mindset from comfortable, relaxed reading to in a hurry to get downtown. I would be lying if I said I jumped up and headed out the door, but eventually I walked out the door with my GPS loaded and my bus pass ready. The directions I had told me to take a bus toward downtown and get off in the tunnel at University station and then walk 0.8 miles toward Pugent Sound Blood Bank. Sounds easy enough! When they said walk 0.8 miles, they really meant walk 0.8 miles uphill THE WHOLE WAY! I was opening the door about to walk in the building just in time for my appointment, and I all of a sudden remembered the time Mandy tried to give blood after running. She couldn’t because her blood pressure was too high. With all of the nurses in my life you would think I would know more about blood pressure, but I honestly have no idea how it works. So, at this moment a feeling of panic came over me. I had come all this way and they are going to send me home! I realized that my worrying couldn’t be helping the situation, so I calmed down and filled out my paperwork. Before I knew it, it was the moment of truth. The technician takes my blood pressure. She gives me a weird look, and says” uhh let’s try that again.” So, she does, sighs and says “120 over 80.” Was she telling the truth? I doubt it. Did I give blood and make it home just fine? You bet! I think this was God’s way of telling me that this goal wasn’t going to be as easy as I had planned. I am great at rationalizing excuses, and I had plenty of opportunities to do so in this case, but in order to be a true servant to others I have to set all of my excuses and selfishness aside.

Service Goal Number 2: Give blood regularly.
I don’t need it, someone else could use it, why not?

Service Goal Number 3: Service Saturday at St. Thomas
I have always wanted to get involved with this. Give up a few hours on Saturday morning to help someone else? Ok, sounds good. But here is where that rationalizing excuses comes in! SATURDAY MORNING? Yeah, that’s early.

Service Goal Number 4: Volunteer with an organization regularly.
I have to have so many hours of community service each semester. This usually means cramming them all into a few days over the break. So, I am hoping to get involved with an organization for maybe 1 or 2 hours a week.

Service Goal 5: Random act of kindness a day.
I want to try and go out of my way to do something considerate for someone else every day. I am hoping that by looking out for things to do this will eventually become second nature, and I will become a more considerate individual.

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”-Mohandas Gandhi