Blood, 703/548, and Gambling

I spent the whole week wondering why I signed up to give blood at school since I'm deathly afraid of needles. I suspect it has something to do with the way Mike charmed me into it and kept talking to me about it during seminar. But still, I almost cried when I saw the needle Friday morning. It wasn't a big deal after it was in and I was waiting, but it took a reeeally long time, and when it was all over, I felt like I was going to throw up. Next thing I know, my legs and arms started to feel a little tingly, and I was breathing into a paper bag while the lady (is she a nurse? I don't know) put cold clothes all over my neck and forehead. I sort of blacked out into the lady's arms and she shook me and jogged me across the room to a bed. Since I had high heels on and couldn't keep up with her pace, I made a big racket with my feet dragging, and I am so embarassed everyone saw me like this.

Friday night, Lindsey and D came over, and the three of us drove out to Southfield to meet Joe and Stephen from 703, Stephen's girlfriend, and Stephen's girlfriend's friend. I'm hoping Joe and Lindsey will reconcile since he is the nicest guy ever, and she is so lucky to have someone like that who wants to spend time with her. Here's the cute "hopefully-to-be"-couple at dinner ;)Saturday night was Ricardo's Reception and Casino Night. DTC (Detroit Technical Center) Ricardo rented out this big banquet center at Livonia Marriot Hotel. There were like 300 people there and there was a live DJ, catering (a pasta bar where they make whatever kind of past you want on the spot with different sauces, veggies, or meats!), bartenders, and "in-training-to-be-professional" casino dealers. Here's us all dressed up :)
There was a roulette table, two poker tables (where we were), two craps tables, and two blackjack tables. Everything was played with "funny money", and whoever had the most money at the end of the night got prizes. There was also a raffle with some pretty crazy prizes (like a $500 American Express certificate), and a prize to whoever gambled away their money first which turned out to be me! Luckily, Jessi had to take his wife home to their six kids so he gave me the remainder of his and his wife's funny money, and Kathleen gave me $100 of the funny money she hadn't spent.

Lynda got drunk quickly (that's the other thing - we were probably the only two people "underaged" there), and her husband played poker throughout the night. We were at his table when the last round of gambling was called off, so everyone pretty much bet everything saying that whoever won this last round, would have the most funny money in the room. Sure enough, here is Rick counting his chips and Lynda smiling with a drink next to him!
I gotta say, gambling with four buddies you know in a quiet house for $5 is nothing at all like gambling at in a loud room with 10+ players you've never met before and a pro dealer! But I had more fun than I can remember having in awhile, and I'm glad D convinced me we should go :) I gotta say - it's going to be a nightmare for my bank account when I'm old enough to gamble!