This video is in relation to one of my earlier articles about donating plasma. This was just a quick experimental video I made to get more practice with video editing in Adobe Premiere.
If you like my videos, feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel!
Also, a link below to bring you to the article this pertains too: https://rossj781.com/2015/10/31/a-view-into-donating-plasma/
~J. A. Ross
I’ve been single since mid-July and let me tell you, I’ve sure enjoyed life a lot more with it just being me, than being stuck with another person. On lock down. You see, I wouldn’t necessarily mind being in a relationship with the right person; right now. But those people can be few and far between. While I wait for that eventual point (I’m optimistic), I’m just basking in the single life! I’m my own man; no one trying to tell me to do this or that. That is one of the things that makes being single so great!
In my last relationship there was no trust. It was stressful; way to much unnecessary shit and baggage attached. She’d always want to keep texting other guys, or have an account on MeetMe, Tinder (definitely a no go there!), and others. I would essentially tell her no. Just no. If you’re in a committed relationship, you don’t need websites like that to make friends. Find friends at work or just out and about. Not on damn dating websites.
Possibly she could’ve been looking for a few people to nail on the side without me knowing. But she wouldn’t possibly have that intention… would she? You honestly never know when dating someone like this. It seriously can bring about some major trust issues. Hell, maybe she really did want just regular friends on there. Still, I didn’t buy it, not when I knew nearly 90% of her contacts on her phone were guys.
Being single, you’d never have to worry about stupid shit such as this. You just do you all day. You want to play video games all night and not get dragged to some terrible movie, and waste money? Well play those video games! Is getting drunk with your friends Friday night sounding more ideal than spending it in some boring ‘fancy’ restaurant, that they dragged you to? Well go get drunk champ, you’re single (well, maybe you are)!
Another thing that can make a relationships unbearable are large religious differences. Oh let me tell you! I’ll leave her religion undisclosed, as I don’t like calling out one group of people, just because one bad apple can provoke a bad impression. But, her faith (and my lack of faith due to me not being a religious fellow) resulted in many problems, arguments, and just too many issues to make the relationship simply not worth it. I’m young, there’s plenty of more compatible options out there.
This is another reason that not being with anyone can be incredibly stress relieving. You just don’t have any of that religious related bickering, or someone trying to push their beliefs upon you all the time. I have no problem with dating religious women. No problem at all; as long as we’re compatible. That is the big part. But it still doesn’t beat doing your own thing. Church not sounding like it’s what you want to do? Well, you could relax and watch the game, go out on a nice drive, or something else of your choosing. Again, no one breathing down your back if you’re single.
It also gives you a better chance to make more friends, and time to figure yourself out more and what you like in the opposite sex; so you don’t get stuck with some future regret. I literally can’t tell you how much better I’ve been enjoying life since that last break up. No more paragraph after paragraph texts with just pointless bitching, and telling me all of these useless things that honestly didn’t matter (even the entire time I’d be in work they’d send those type of messages!).
I’ve gone to a few bonfires, went on another solo trip to Portland and Seattle, enjoyed extra time with my friends. Not to mention saving so much money! I mean, I’m more than willing to spend money every couple of weeks to go on fun and exciting dates. When you get into a relationship with someone and they always wants to go out and about, you end up spending way too much money.
I’d like to thank you for reading! This is my first article in a little over a week and a half due to recovering from having all 4 wisdom teeth removed last Thursday and disrupting my creativity. I’m starting to get back into my full writing mode, and more to come soon.
Do you enjoy the single life? Have you had a bad relationship? Feel free to comment and tell us all below!
~J. A. Ross
When I eat, I sometimes like to get creative with my food to make it more exciting; especially only being able to eat only soft foods at the moment. Due to my recent wisdom teeth removal. I used Progresso’s Creamy potato with bacon and soup. I then had some Cajun sausages, I grilled them a couple nights ago, and not being able to eat them normally, I blended them up.
I then mixed them into my soup. After, I put in about 5 thin slices of Colby Jack cheese, and re-heated up the soup in the microwave. Lastly, I added some garlic salt and chili powder. Least to say, it was some of the best soup I’ve had in a really long time. Give it a try, you won’t regret it!
~J. A. Ross
Recently, I’ve had a few people ask me what exactly defines a haiku, and why I enjoy writing them so much. Well, for starters: it’s a form of poetry that’s written in a 5 by 7 by 5 syllable format; anything that meets those qualifications is a haiku. Now, writing a bunch of jumbled words together would still be considered one, but not necessarily a good one (Unless trying a bit of experimenting).
Personally, I write haiku’s for a few reasons. A big one is the simplicity of the format. It makes it nice and convenient for me to have an easy release of my creativity. Secondly it’s the challenge it presents to me. It’s always my goal to find the most creative words possible to fit the syllable scheme, whilst telling a story as well.
I also don’t like just putting in some random gibberish. Meaning is always something I strive to put in my haiku’s (as well as the rest of my poetry). Lastly, I love to create specific ones to make it contain various references in the few words used.
The best way to start your journey with haiku’s is to think of something that inspires you; or observe your setting., writing a brief description on it. Then proceeding to come up with the right words to fit the format, and make your description powerful to build a picture in the reader’s mind.
Hopefully this gives a little insight on my love of haiku’s and why it’s my most common form of poetry form I use. It’s an art in it’s own! Also, once you master the haiku, try completing one of it’s sister poems- the tanka (5,7,5,7,7) and advance your story telling and poetry skills to the next level!
Example of a haiku (my own creation):
Trees sway back and forth,
Approaching storm looming near,
Winter emerging.
Hopefully this was informative to any newbies to the world of haiku’s. Feel free to leave feedback or ask questions below!
~ J. A. Ross
Once again it’s that time of the year. The holiday season that is so beloved by many. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanuka, Kwanzaa,and more. This also means that the infamous Black Friday looms near. It all started back in 1924 after the first Macy’s Day Parade, and the term ‘Black Friday’ began to be used officially in the 1960’s. This means that this nonsense, all out shopping day has been going on for just over 90 years!
Whoever came up with the idea to put items on such absurd sales, and not expect there to be some violence, must have not not graduated high school. I’ll admit it has toned down a little over the years, but you still regularly hear in the news that so in so got stabbed, shot, or worse trampled. All of this over getting some temporarily inexpensive items, so cheap people can buy a bunch a stuff they most likely don’t need.
Many fail to release that the majority of these items on these crazy markdowns, will end up going on a large sale later anyways due to most of the items being older models that are being cycled out. Black Friday is a large company’s solution to getting rid of their old stock, and still profiting heavily from it. I know they do this; I work for a company that already has Black Friday sale’s going on. I see this type of thing every day I come to work (all price changes throughout the year).
Not only is Black Friday dangerous, but it’s also very unfair to any employee unfortunate to have to deal with all of the abrasive consumers. I wouldn’t wish that hell on anyone! If you haven’t ever had to work on a that day, you’re lucky! I’ve worked in store in the past, during this shopping event; it was a nightmare! It’s just an ocean of angry, stupid, and confused people. Sure not everyone fits that category. But it seems that the sale clicks something in their brains to make them turn into a bunch of assholes.
I do understand it’s a great event for people with lower incomes to get some gifts for their loved ones. But they should also realize that they just get swindled into buying more discounted items than one normally would. This often means less thought into the gifts too. They could’ve just waited until after the sale when the items sometimes get marked down much further, but without the mob.
For items they aren’t purchasing as gifts, why not just wait until the holidays are over. The after Christmas sale’s are nearly as good as the Black Friday sale, but you don’t get killed or maimed in the process! The point of this article is, that if you’re a regular participant on this after Thanksgiving shop-fest, you should put some consideration on at least being a decent human being. Remember to stay safe this Holiday Season and shop smart!
~ J. A. Ross
My family recently bought a mini schnauzer a few months ago. They’re incredibly intelligent animals and are fairly obedient… even as a pup. Now, I don’t live with my family anymore, but I visit regularly. My younger brothers were begging for a dog and the parent’s caved into the request. These type of dogs are great for children, and get house broken easily as well.
Another perk to the mini schnauzer, is they don’t really shed much. This makes it great for keeping your home loads cleaner, without having to worry about pet hair all over the place. They’re essentially the perfect indoor dog. Another great perk, or at least one that I’ve observed, is that these dogs really don’t bark much; unless threatened of course. This is fantastic due to most smaller dogs being infamous for being quite the little yelpers!
This dog has been named Buddy, a common, yet suitable name that fits his personality well. Whether you’re playing a little game of tug-o-war with one of his toys, or let him hop up in your lap and he starts to playfully lick you; he’s a real character! All in all, I’m very much looking forward to spending more time with the dog, and continuing the bond!
~ J. A. Ross
Tool; the band that’s known for their surreal music videos; songs containing deep, intricate, (and often laced with humor) lyrics; and large time gaps in between album releases. 10,000 days was released back in 2006 and is their most recent release; featuring the well known tracks of Vicarious (Grammy nominated), The Pot, Jambi, and the nearly 11 minute Rosetta Stoned.
Currently they have 4 studio albums, one EP, and one special box set album which had a limited release. This album has some alternate intros to the songs ‘Pushit’ and ‘Third Eye’. Along with some additional formally unreleased tracks, and some live versions of some of their songs. This also includes a live cover of the Led Zeppelin song ‘No Quarter’.
Another thing they’re known for is their absolute die hard fans. Tool has been going through a near decade long lawsuit over copyrights on artwork, and it was finally resolved recently; freeing up their more of their time to work on new music. Their lead singer, Maynard James Kennan, is also involved in some side projects. Predominantly with his band Puscifer, along with making his own wine.
The abrasive fan base has been demanding a new album for years. With the constant badgering, Kennan has been known to not really want to get vocal about Tool really at all. Let alone put as much effort in in pushing out a 5th album. I myself am a huge fan of them (seen them live twice); they’re my favorite band after all. I too have also been a little guilty of posting the occasional ‘waiting for the new Tool album’ memes. But I do it in good taste as I still highly respect the band.
As much as I would love to see a brand new Tool album, I’ll always be fully content with the gifts these musical legends have already bestowed to us. Think about it, their average album length is around 70-80 minutes. The average length of the the CD’s I own (nearly 100) are around 40-50 minutes in length. So even though they have only release 4 full length albums since 1992, they overall have given us 7-8 regular albums worth of total content.
With the large time frame between releases, you’re also getting a lot more quality in the music, and album packaging. They are known to be perfectionists in their craft. The music they currently have is fantastic, and actually gets better with each listen! It’s such unique music, and no other band sounds quite like Tool. So many other fans bitch that we’ve been waiting a long time for new music; that they owe it to us.
In reality, they don’t owe us shit. It’s their music. People who are true fans of the group, and not band-wagoners, will (and should) always appreciate what we have currently. It’d be wrong for fans to take Tool for granted as very few bands have come along, and given us the same musical experience. So take those albums you have from them, keep on listening, and give the band some time to do their thing. Perhaps then, they’ll gift us with another masterpiece.
Donating plasma. Many people have heard of it, however some people don’t know quite what it is. It often gets confused with donating blood, but it’s completely different. For one, the needle can generally be much larger when donating plasma; which will automatically make some people go, “oh hell no!” right off of the bat. The money. That is the main attraction for most people to get interested in the plasma donating scene.
Just at the center I donate at, you can make over $4,000 a year from this, considering they don’t defer you any days, (you can get deferred for being dehydrated, low protein, etc.). This also includes the monthly bonuses they offer to those with a disciplined donating schedule. The amount you get paid can depend on where you donate. For example, I get $60 a week donating: $20 first donation, and $40 the second; this isn’t without any of their offered bonuses. You can donate twice a week and most centers pay you the same day you donate.
People who give blood generally don’t get paid, though…. they do get a free meal and get to be a good person in general for providing blood to save lives. When donating plasma you get paid, and you still get to be a good person whilst saving lives! Not only that, you get to watch Netflix, read a book,… a blog post; and you’re technically getting paid to do that as well!
As mentioned, they can defer you and relatively easily. I’ve been deferred at least 6-7 times in the last year that I’ve been donating. People who donate can tend to operate their daily routine a bit differently from others, because they always have to make sure they’re drinking a lots of water, and eating a good meal before going in. The more water you drink, the faster you’ll donate; it’ll make the the blood flow better into the plasmapheresis (named after what the removal process is called) machine to separate the plasma from blood more effectively. Another huge reason is simply… you’ll not be the king of the mountain after donating, quite the opposite in fact.
You’ll want to take it easy after donating, avoiding all alcoholic drinks, smoking, chewing tobacco, etc. You also want to eat a filling meal and drink a lot of water to re-hydrate yourself, and assisting your body to restore it’s lost plasma. Water is incredibly critical in plasma production due to plasma being about 90% water. It takes nearly 24 hours to replenish, and all plasma centers (in the US), are required to not allow any one person to donate more than twice a week, and with at least 2 days between a donation.
Back to the money. The money from it is such a useful resource for many things. Hell, I even paid for nearly 70% of my last vacation with money I’ve made from it, just this past September! I’ve gotten groceries and other needed products with this money, when otherwise I would’ve feel a bit short. I’ve met several nice and interesting people along the way, which makes it all the more worth it each time I come in to donate. Nothing quite like making money and saving lives by doing so! Any questions, feel free to ask in the comments section!
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