Leanne2
11-15-2011, 10:25 AM
Yesterday was a day off from work for me so after doing some rewiring in our house I decided to drive the ten miles into our small town. I am a member at one of the two gyms in town. I try to work out 3 or 4 days a week but missed 10 days because of a bad cold and then bronchitis. After working out (in drab) I cleaned up and drove to another town to donate blood. I try to do that 3 or 4 times a year but had missed for over a year because of my rotating shift schedule. I realized that no one would know me at the blood drive so I decided to dress androgynous. I wore jeans, women’s tennis shoes, and a long pink t-shirt. Before leaving my car I put on lip gloss; grabbed my ladies’ wallet, and walked in. My hair was styled in the wedge like my profile picture.
An elderly female volunteer checked me in and gave me a sticker for my shirt with my unisex first name on it. Then I waited over an hour because there were only three stations and appointments had priority over walk-ins. Finally I was called for my mini physical and interview. Because I didn’t have my Red Cross card the lady asked for my DL. After she typed in a bunch of information she asked me to answer the questions on the lap top while I was alone. I answered them honestly; skipping the female questions such as: have I been pregnant in the last six months. When I was done the lady came back and started the mini physical. Then the laptop went off line. She left the cubicle to figure that out and a different lady came to finish me. She told the first lady,” I’ll finish her up.” As we waited she complimented me on my hair and mentioned that it was much longer in my DL picture. Finally the computer came back on line but she had to make sure the answers were still there. Then she said,” You skipped some of them,” and then proceeded to ask me the female questions. She commented that my iron level was very good.
Finally they got their pint of blood. I felt good about donating and also good about being mistaken for a female. Actually it wasn’t a mistake at all. Leanne
An elderly female volunteer checked me in and gave me a sticker for my shirt with my unisex first name on it. Then I waited over an hour because there were only three stations and appointments had priority over walk-ins. Finally I was called for my mini physical and interview. Because I didn’t have my Red Cross card the lady asked for my DL. After she typed in a bunch of information she asked me to answer the questions on the lap top while I was alone. I answered them honestly; skipping the female questions such as: have I been pregnant in the last six months. When I was done the lady came back and started the mini physical. Then the laptop went off line. She left the cubicle to figure that out and a different lady came to finish me. She told the first lady,” I’ll finish her up.” As we waited she complimented me on my hair and mentioned that it was much longer in my DL picture. Finally the computer came back on line but she had to make sure the answers were still there. Then she said,” You skipped some of them,” and then proceeded to ask me the female questions. She commented that my iron level was very good.
Finally they got their pint of blood. I felt good about donating and also good about being mistaken for a female. Actually it wasn’t a mistake at all. Leanne