Room Tour/Redecoration (Video)

Another of my DZP goals being fulfilled here, this is actually something I’ve wanted to do for a while. I was originally going to do it as a photo post but decided it would be better to show you on video rather than try to explain pictures. Below the video I’ve also added a couple of extras I forgot to talk about, as well as a bit on why I love redecoration.

Extras:

1.       On the closet doors I forgot to talk about the non-music decorations, which is weird because they’re more important on a personal level:

Top left – A chalk drawing of a spider I had to do for class back in primary school (just realised how bad it would have been if someone had severe arachnophobia back then). I found it in my closet and just decided to put it up.

Bottom left – Chinese style artwork made for me by a friend of the family. So beautiful.

Bottom right – This is actually a picture taken of me a few years ago by a close friend, I think back when she was doing a photography course. She gave me the picture and I’d always meant to put it up but never got around to it until now.

2.       Everything fits together perfectly. I didn’t spend anytime focusing on the little table, which holds my laptop and drinks. It’s perfectly places so that I can easily reach it whether I’m in bed, on my chair or on the floor. The game controllers are also perfect. I’m surprised they can stretch all the way across the room from where my TV is to where I can sit back on my chair or lay back in my bed and still play comfortably.

3.       One thing I haven’t gotten around to changing yet is my curtains. That’s because the rod they’re attached to doesn’t come off the wall. So someone put the curtains on it and then permanently fixed it on there. There’s a regular curtain thing behind it so hopefully we can get that sorted out soon too.

I mention in the video that one of the things I loved most about redecorating was that, while I liked the way my room was before, it looked the way it did when I was a kid. The very best part about redecoration I think, is making your home match you. I did this by changing the colours to ones I liked and putting more loved items where they would be easily seen within the room, such as my plushies and wall scrolls. They’re nice things to show off and finally having the room finished meant I was finally able to put them up. It’s so much nicer to be in here now everything’s the way I want it to be where I was almost feeling uncomfortable before the change. I think the solid colour acts to the ‘tidy’ look I wanted to give it (not that my room can ever completely be tidy) where the varying patterns on it before, while nice, added to the cluttered look.

Another really great thing about redecorating a room to suit you is when you’re doing it yourself. As I’ve never done something like this before, the painting part at least, the new experience was very exciting. As the room hasn’t been redecorated since I was a child, I never had a part to play in it back then and I think one of the things that makes it so much better now is knowing that I made it happen myself. Oh, I’m not a professional painter by any means and you’d definitely see that if you look along the edges, and I thought that it would bother me unless the final product was perfect but it never has.

One piece of advice I can give to anyone else who may be redecorating is don’t buy your painting supplies from the 99p shop. I bought a pack of three rollers. One broke as soon as I started using it and the others broke the second I tried to clean them. The paintbrushes I bought from the same place were a fair bit better but I’m not sure if it was their quality, my lack of skill, or if it’s normal but their bristles were falling off all over the place (really annoying to pick out of painted sections of wall). I ended up doing most of the job with a single paintbrush.

A Rant about Eye Tests and Contact Lenses

I wanted to do this for a while for two reasons. Firstly, most of the time my eyes are completely fine but I had noticed a couple of things that made me think they weren’t 100%. I decided it would be best to get them tested just in case. Secondly, I was (and still am) considering getting coloured contacts for some of my cosplays. Generally, I don’t think it matters if my eyes aren’t exactly the same colour as the character’s, if my eyes are blue and theirs are green it’s not going to stand out that much. In the case of those with completely unnatural eye colours however, it does feel a little weirder. I had done research and read that it was best to get my eyes tested first to make sure it would be okay to wear contacts.

It turned out that these were two different tests so I made appointments for them one after the other. I went around the middle of May, so this post is even later coming than my previous post. Luckily, I still remember the experience and the things I wanted to talk. I took my mum along again for support. We went to the local Specsavers. This is the point I’ll say that I consider my experience there to be a bad one. I wouldn’t say the place itself or most of the staff there are bad. They were the people my parents went to for their eye tests and glasses. I went with them a couple of times and everything seemed just fine there. Making my appointments and going in that day, the staff that greeted me were very friendly. That’s where the negatives start.

The wait was fairly short and the same staff member did both of my tests. I’ll admit I’m not familiar with the way they do all their tests so their behaviour may have been totally normal. I however, was not happy with it. It was all the typical things you would expect, read letters from the chart, being shown pictures and asking which ones were better and so on. The entire way through things seem slightly rushed. I also felt like I was being pressured to give certain answers. The man would show me two different images, ask me which was better, only to turn to one and immediately say it was that one, before I could give my response. When I did manage to tell him what I thought it seemed like he wasn’t really listening. I was given a prescription at the end of it but because I didn’t feel like the right answers had been given I still can’t help feeling it may be wrong. I don’t want to go back there for another test and I’m not sure about getting one anywhere else at the moment. I may try to find a cheap pair of glasses that fit the prescription and see if it does anything. They said I would only need it when I’m doing things like reading for a longer period of time but I can do that well anyway so I may just wait a while.

The contact lens test went similarly and then I was told I’d need to practice with a pair in store, which I was happy with. He asked me what colour I wanted but again didn’t give me a chance to answer before deciding for me. I feel like he was too impatient. I’d like to believe they were just busy that day.

I was taken to another area and joined by a different member of staff. I had previously looked up how lenses are supposed to be put in and removed but it was nice to hear it from a professional too. She showed me how to make sure they were the right way round then told me to put one in. I have to admit I failed pretty badly here. I’ve heard that most people have trouble putting them in the first time so there is some comfort in that. One of my fingers kept slipping from where it was holding my eyelid open so that didn’t help. Holding the eyelid open wasn’t easy as it kept instinctively trying to close, not only in response to something trying to get on the eye but just from being kept open so long. Then as it failed again and again the eye was starting to water, I’m guessing a mixed response the eyelid thing and trying to keep whatever was trying to get in away. One of them was red both on and around the eye for a couple of hours afterwards. Again, I don’t think the staff member helped much. I understand that she had to supervise me, tell me how to do it and encourage me, but more than that it kept putting me off. I wished that she would just be quiet for a moment and watch so I could concentrate only on what I was doing. I don’t think that came out sounding very nice but that was how I felt. I’ll admit I’m one of those people whose internal response to being told the same thing over and over is ‘yeah okay I got it the first time, do you think I’m too stupid to understand?’ But then I was still feeling negative about the previous experience and feeling like a failure in my attempts to get the things in.

Eventually, it didn’t end up happening. They made me an appointment to go in and try again. I later cancelled it. I’m still going to try lenses but I want to try it in my own home where I can feel comfortable while I’m trying to do it.

There is another complaint I have. Now I will say I didn’t hear this myself, but my mum told me when I left and I see no reason she would make something like this up. It doesn’t sound that bad but it was annoying at the time. Apparently one of the staff members had voiced her disgust that they were giving contact lens appointments to people who didn’t need them while they didn’t have enough for those that did. I have to say, I agree. I do think that people who need something for medical reasons should have priority over those that want it for cosmetic reasons. However, they gave me the appointment. I specified even when I made it that I wanted them for costumes. I admit I don’t know everything about the law but I’m pretty sure they don’t have to serve you. If you want to give all your appointments to people who actually have eye problems, then that’s fine, but don’t give it to someone who wants it for a certain reason and then complain about it in front of the customers. I just find it a bit rude.

So, that was my experience. I’m sorry it wasn’t a happier one and I apologise if my little rant annoyed anyone. I will say on the bright side, the whole thing turned out relatively cheap. I was only charged £10 total when it was supposed to be £10 each, the first member of staff I was with told them to give me the second one free. Now, if anyone’s actually read to the bottom of this, I’d be interested to know what experiences others have had in this area, positive or negative. 

My First Blood Donation

Getting my appointment

Donating blood is something I’ve wanted to do for a few years now. It always seemed like a great way to help other people that required very little time and effort, as well as costing nothing (other than whatever is needed to get to the location). I signed up to do it a while ago but it was hard getting an appointment at a time and place I could do. When some have presented themselves I’ve been unable to get an appointment and I’ve been offered one in London before when I would be in Liverpool at the time. That’s just part of the awkwardness of having your home and university so far apart. I was surprised at the difficulty I had trying to do this.

Finally I was able to get an appointment on June 20^th. Around a week beforehand I received a form I had to fill out about my health, lifestyle and so on, everything they need to determine whether they can take your blood or not. That was simple enough, though I’m still unsure whether it was good or bad that I was able to answer ‘no’ to everything. I also spent my time pre-blood day researching the process. I was a bit worried. I’ve spent a large part of my life fearing the doctor needles and the one that they use did look pretty big. I was questioned by several people why I would choose to do something like this with such a fear. Simply put, I didn’t want to be afraid, and I didn’t think being afraid was a good enough excuse not to go through with something that could save another person’s life.

I had my mum go along with me, partly for support and partly because I wasn’t sure how my body would react. I’ve never lost a large amount of blood before and I knew some people fainted afterwards so I didn’t want to be alone, though I was determined not to be one of those people (keep reading for a good laugh).

The Process

My appointment was in the morning so we headed out after breakfast and went to a couple of shops first. I’d been joking around then and the previous night about having my blood ‘harvested’, though the concern began to increase as we got closer to appointment time. I entered the place and was unhappy with how cramped and crowded the whole thing was, even more so when my mother decided to wait outside because of it, so much for support. The cramped and crowded feeling really only lasted while I was waiting to be seen and I’d say this negative beginning was made up for with what followed.

The staff were all really friendly. They were all older women so there was a nice sort of motherly vibe, very comforting. I was first taken in for a few questions to make sure I’d be okay to give blood and then I had to be given a test, I think it was for blood levels or iron levels, and I feel bad that I can’t properly remember or find that information right now. I’m fairly sure it’s the same thing they use to test for diabetes. I’ve had that test before and it hurt a lot, but this time I barely felt anything. I was hoping all the sewing I’ve been doing would desensitise my skin to needle pricks and now it seemed I’d got my wish. My fear of what would come next disappeared instantly and I felt like an idiot for being worried at all.

Next I was taken into the area for the actual blood taking. This place was less cramped than the waiting area and the bed was comfortable. There was a nice window view and if I sat up I could see my mum sitting outside. At this point I was busy being amused by everything I saw. I was given some water to drink first and then they brought out the needle. It was big. It was a big medical needle that I wasn’t afraid of, but I was still going to feel it. I lay down and waited for the nurse to do the blood pressure thing and then analyse my arm for all its veins.  It hurt a little, but no more than a sewing needle or cat scratch. I didn’t make a noise but it made my leg give a random jump.

Then the needle was in and the waiting began. I thought it was weird that the needle was going in more at the side of my arm when I thought it would be just under the inside of my elbow. The process was slow because apparently the vein didn’t want to co-operate. The blood flow was slow ad I had to squeeze a little ball to keep it going. It was nice just lying there, listening to the music, squeezing the ball. It was calm and relaxing. It was actually so slow that they decided to stop before they had fully filled the bag, though it was very close. The needle felt like nothing going out. It might sound weird, but I enjoyed seeing my bag of blood. The colour was nice and the bag looked squishy.

My first glass of juice was brought to the bed for me with a straw. It didn’t seem necessary, but I was grateful for their kindness and it made me feel good to just be lying there drinking. Afterward I sat up and waved to my mum and she came in when they took me to the recovery area. During the entire process, I honestly felt completely fine, no different to how I felt before the appointment. If anything I felt better. I still had some more juice, I can’t remember the brand but their lemon juice was delicious. I had some crisps though I was disappointed they didn’t have salt and vinegar. I waited a few more minutes as suggested and then we left.

Sadly I couldn't get one with the needle in.

The Super Fun Aftermath

As I said, during the process of giving blood and immediately afterwards I felt completely fine. After we left this remained the same. Around 20 minutes after giving blood I was walking around a shop with my mum when I started to feel really dizzy. I said ‘I’m starting to feel it now’ and the next thing I knew I was waking up on the shop floor. Yeah, that was funny, aside from the part where I seriously wondered for a moment if this was what dying felt like. I was pulled up from the floor and immediately had to lie back down. I felt very dizzy and I felt incredibly hot, more than I have this entire summer. To top it off there was this loud rushing noise in my head which sounded a lot like the ocean but right inside my ear. I remember asking out loud if what I was hearing was in my head or not though I knew what the answer was.

My mum left me (with a couple of store workers) to buy me a carton of juice, and as a couple of people in the line had seen me collapse they were kind enough to let her go ahead of them. The juice made me feel better a bit better but I was still dizzy and hot when I stood up so I sat on the ground outside for a couple of minutes. One of the ladies who had seen what happened said I should have sat on a bench. I laughed only internally because I knew she was only trying to look out for me but come on, the bench may have been only a few metres away but there was no way at that point I’d get more than a few steps without ending up on the ground again.

Eventually I felt well enough to leave. I decided against going to the last shop I’d wanted to visit in case it happened again. Instead of the closer bus stop we walked down a bit to the one where the bus started just to ensure I’d get a seat. One of my mum’s friends were there and we enjoyed the first retelling of what was now a funny story. Halfway home the sickness returned. I didn’t lose consciousness but I felt like I might throw up any minute. Luckily I didn’t. We went home and celebrated with apple pie. I had a slight headache from the fall for the rest of the day but I was fine. That night I realised my lower back hurt. The next morning I woke up to a lovely bruise that took around two weeks to heal.

My pretty bruise, sorry for the bad picture.

A Short While Later

A couple of weeks later I received my blood donor card in the post. It told me my blood type. Learning this was something I wanted to do for a long time. It turns out I’m AB+ which is the same as only 3% of the UK population. This left me feeling happy and a little special for the rest of the day.

Conclusion

After all this I have to say I greatly enjoyed this experience and am looking forward to doing it again. I can next give blood in October but I’ll be in Liverpool by then. I’m a little worried I won’t be able to find someone to go with me. I’m not worried about the process anymore but I am worried about what will happen if the effects come in late again and I’m alone, though I hope the reaction from this time will turn out to be a one off. I’m also not sure if I’ll be able to get an appointment there. If they send the form to London again I probably won’t get it but I don’t want to change my address with them just for a few months. I’m not sure how relevant any of that actually is.

I would also definitely recommend blood donation to anyone who is able to do it, though again, be warned, you can feel fine one minute and be affected the next. I really was surprised by how long it took for that to happen.