Madam: what a coincidence. I've been donating for 25+ years and I can usually pump out a pint of my "crimson liquid of life" in less than 5 minutes. I will often do push-ups or curls the night before I know I'm going to donate (as I just did 5 hours ago). Then again, I once asked a Nurse why my blood came out so fast, and she asked if I drank a lot of water. There's a fine line there, though. You need a certain amount of water to keep a healthy BP, but too much can elevate your BP to the point they won't let you donate (when the diastolic is over 100). Drinks with caffeine and, of course, salt will elevate your BP and so will, surprisingly, black licorice. Good luck and keep on savin' them-there little babies (I'm a ped.-pac. donor; was born CMV-negative)

Let's go back to Valentines' Day 2012. Was dating a woman 25 years my junior for 3 years, then on the most-romantic holiday of the year, she set me up to fail and we ended things pretty much right then and there (though I didn't realize it at the time). And 2 years and 3+ months later, neither she nor any of her confidants have ever told me why: met a guy her own age and/or religion (Jewish), wanted to play the field, wanted to play on her own side of the street (to me, the most-likely scenario)? Why couldn't she tell me what went wrong? Still, after all this time, virtually no closure. Then, this past holiday season, met an age-appropriate woman, visited her over the course of 5 weekends, and on the last visit, after exchanging hugs and kisses and Xmas prezzies, she tells me, "I can't have sex with you and I can't be in a relationship with you". Then had the temerity to tell me she didn't owe me a reason why. In this case, as she warned me from the beginning, I think her love of wine was more important than that of a functional relationship. Lastly, someone I've dated on and off for awhile told me 2 months ago she'd be coming to visit over Memorial Day weekend, then informed me that she just wasn't feelin' it and offered no explanation why. So, tell me, ladies, why can't you just "be cruel to be kind" and actually communicate with us when something is wrong or, worse yet, when it's over and why? Is that so hard? I'm obviously still willing to play the game, but I have serious trust issues now, deservedly so. Any feedback from the distaff side would be welcomed, thank-you. sign me, "Dazed and Confused in the Dez"