Blood for money

Any seasoned, self-respecting TCS artists should by now have another couple notches in their CV, that of charity fund raiser and circus extraordinaire. You aren't there yet till u've perform some circus tricks all in the name of charity, at least 3 times a year.

Seriously, aren't we sick of it yet? The first charity fund raiser was a novelty, the second, improved and the third perhaps still acceptable. And then we suddenly seem to have one such show every month, a frequency which to me, borders on the ridiculous.

I honestly dun see why I should donate money just because some artists are doing monkey business on egg shells and florescent tubes or playing tennis atop moving vehicles. so dumb.

And in view of the NKF saga, thank you durai for the golden tap, I'm glad I didn't call in to donate money. How much did President Nathan donated each time I wonder. He's a permanent fixture on such shows these days. And the amount of time and money the TV pple put in for each charity show, it probably explains the consistent, non-stop, crap-like quality of local drama series and various tv productions, sans PCK.

I once signed up for a vacation job where the nature of it wasn't revealed till the actual day itself. I later realised that it involves the selling of donation tickets in public area, where each naive seller would be under the control of a 'manager' who sits around while the charges go about hawker canters trying to sell the tickets. The manager do nothing yet gets a huge cut out of each seller's sale, ala MLM fashion. Out of every dollar donated, only 20cents goes to the charity. 20cents, that's what the company claims. Who knows? I walked off the job.

I don't donate money, not via phone, nor to the bored school children holding donation cans every week plaguing the bus interchanges. You never know what happens to the money.

Instead, I suggest to all, why not donate blood? You save lives with your blood.. try topping that. Instead of feeding your money to hidden leeches, you know that they can't really misuse your donation for personal gains. And what if, you're the one who needs a blood transfusion one day and your doc tells you, "Sorry, out of stock."

I striked blood donation off my list of Things To Do Before I Die about half a year ago, during a blood-raising drive in school.

1. It didn't take long. much less than an hour.
2. There were big needles.
3. But they didn't hurt at all, with some local anesthetic.
4. It really didn't hurt, except for a little prick on the finger during the blood test.
4. I didn't see anyone feeling weak or faint after that.
5. You get a free blood test.
7. Only 450ml of blood is drawn
8. That 450ml will be replaced by your body in 72 hours. So you effectively donated without losing anything.
9. Think about it.. you get new blood.
10. Women form only 30% of blood donors. Now you know who the big hearted ones are.
11. I walked out feeling proud of myself.
12. Going for my 2nd donation this month.
13. New entry on my list of Things To Do Before I Die. Donate blood every year.

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