Yes that's right, I am a good citizen.

I vote in elections and on Tuesday I donated blood.

I'd like to say that this was a noble gesture. That if one is eligible to donate blood then one should. That I share my office with a woman who needs periodic transfusions due to a disorder in her liver that I don't fully understand.

The truth is that I didn't have breakfast on Tuesday morning, and they were giving away little bags of Cheez-Its. I do like Cheez-Its and the price seemed to be right.

The other excuse is that donating blood means I don't have to be good and drink Amstel Light. I can have all the Guinness I want and that makes me happy.

I know they tell you you're not supposed to skip breakfast on the day you donate and you're not supposed to drink for at least a day after.

I had the Cheez-Its before they poked my arm.

And my friend Chris, or maybe it was Tim, or Nigel or whatever, in London used to talk about how they gave his mother Guinness right after she gave birth to him. That's not beer. That's nutrition, that is.

So I got Cheez Its and a Guinness. And The Suz's IsBoyfriend came over and made us dinner while I lounged on the sofa knitting. So all in all I think it was worth all the questions and the needles.

They gave me a t-shirt too.