Blah, and misc.

Gave blood. Usual procedure, as experienced previous twenty times: lie back in comfy chair, needle goes into vein, blood flows through needle and plastic tube into bag, thence to deserving souls, v. good.

Yesterday's procedure: lie back in comfy chair, needle goes into vein, blood flows through needle and tube into bag but also around needle and out over arm. Nurse, who seems a little uncertain about what she's supposed to be doing, ignores blood-on-arm issue in favour of fumbling with tape for fastening tube-and-needle apparatus in place. Tape sticks to itself. By the time this is resolved, blood has become bored with arm and has wandered off to explore the armrest.

In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't *that* much blood - probably only about a tablespoon's worth - and I'm not squeamish about the sight of my own blood. But I was vaguely irritated that the nurse spent several minutes fussing with the tape before even acknowledging it. A simple 'oops' would have sufficed.

So, feeling tired and drained and slightly nauseous, on to games shop to ask for refund on unusable software. Manager refused to refund what I'd paid, because I'd opened the box and so he couldn't resell it at the 'new' price. Am bloody-minded enough to stand on this, since am legally entitled to full refund (vis. Trade Practices Act 1974, thanks to the late great Lionel Murphy).

So, we're talking to the Office of Fair Trading. Lot of bother to go to over $15 (difference between purchase price and offered refund), but is principle of thing, dammit.

(Suspect am beginning to sound like cerebrate. V. odd.)

mpeg, will probably distress some of you. It certainly bothered me.

In other news, after listening to several of the LHPO's songs, am beginning to suspect that it isn't primarily about the music.