Fear Factor

I am a worrier. (You're shocked, I know. I hide it so well.) Though I wouldn't describe any of my fears as serious enough to merit the title of phobia, there are a lot of things that niggle at me. As a result I'm really big on safety - wearing helmets, crossing at the lights, turning pot handles in, not speeding, staying well back from cliff edges... you name it. All these safety precautions let me feel fairly comfortable in my daily life and even let me do things like biking in traffic which others consider too risky. But despite lots of safety precautions, there are still things that freak the bejeebers out of me.

On Monday, I ventured forth to try a couple of them anyways.

The first was wall climbing. Rem took this up back in December and he and our friend Chris have been scaling the walls at Vertically Inclined on a weekly basis ever since. They're pretty good at it, and yes, there are lots of safety features. For one thing, the floor is padded. For another, you're strapped into a harness connected to nice strong ropes with braking mechanisms. So despite climbing 40 feet into the air, even with no skills at all, you're pretty well going to be okay.

With all this in mind, I was still nervy, and looking down from half-way up the wall was initially stomach-churning. I did manage 4 climbs, though, and even made it all the way up a (very easy) route to ring the victory bell. By the end, losing my footing and falling wasn't even traumatic 'cause, hey, I could just dangle in the air.

And yeah, I think I'll go back again, now and then. It was fun. And, it's very good for the arm muscles.

Part two of my Fear Factor day was less fun but more socially redeeming. I've been trying to work up the guts to give blood for about 8 years. I hate needles. I had LOTS of them for dental work when I was a kid and they made a big impression.

Still, I figure I should give blood. I'm part of a relatively small group of people who don't have any medical reason NOT to, and I'd sure like there to be blood for me someday if I get shmucked riding in traffic. Veteran donors Erik and Lana have been talking about dragging me to the clinic for months, and finally Erik succeeded. I actually beat him there, and figured I'd better get going through the process before I chickened out and left. Fortunately, he showed up in time to distract me during the actual draining, which was very welcome. I'm not sure I'm ever going to have the nerves to do it without a cheer team.

It wasn't terribly painful, probably a little better than I expected, really, and I didn't pass out or throw up or anything nasty. I was pretty zonked, though, and my arm got rather bruised and swollen. I've got a picture -- I'll have to post it.

I did learn one or two things from my Fear Factor Day:

1) Drink lots of water in the days preceding a donation so the nurses can actually find your veins.

2) Don't go donate blood after doing new arm exercises unless you're really into compounding your pain.

3) Don't bike to the blood donor clinic as you're not likely to want to bike home again.

4) They serve donors yummy Cookies By George.

So who wants to drag me next time?

Pictures: with and without the flash. Neither shows how purple they are, though...