Friday, September 28, 2007

Is there no justice?

Is there no justice in this world anymore? I mean honestly after the last few months I’m beginning to doubt this.

So about 8 months ago we were robbed twice by the same duo. Both times one of them came in, grabbed someone, put a knife to their neck and asked for all of our Oxycontin. The second time of which we were quick enough and caught the individuals. And what was their punishment? Maximum of 1 year at a work farm. So you perform an armed robbery, take someone hostage, steal medication and get just a year at a work farm. Jesus I think maybe I'm in the wrong profession then.

The next part here I haven't really been able to speak much of due to legal restraints. That has since been lifted, but its more or less been forgotten... until today.

Our new manager, well she's no longer our manager, has been sitting in jail for about a month ago. She tried selling a couple thousand Lor-Tab (Vicodan, Hydrocodone, whatever ya wanna call it) to an undercover FEDERAL AGENT. Remember that part. It was then discovered that she had been stealing this from us for quite a while. In addition she created fake prescriptions, altered our inventory on top of stealing and distributing drugs. She is looking at about 40-45 years in a federal prison and a 1 Million Dollar fine.

One would assume then that she would be in jail for quite a while correct?

Wrong.

We got a call today that she was released on recognisance, without having to pay her $75,000 bail, and left with her mother. Now do you really think that someone who is looking at that much prison time, and she will not be cut a deal according to the DA, is going to stay in the area? I mean just what the hell is that?

So I have included that the system does not work. I'm going to move towards a life of crime because that seems to be a bit more rewarding than doing things the legal way...

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Why not just wait?

Is it so hard to wait just 2 minutes? I realize we are in a grocery store and that there are pretty cookies near by, but must you be impatient and just leave rather than wait?

We had a prescription for Accutane today. Because of the nature of the drug, it can cause rather severe birth defects, the person has to sign up for the iPledge program to help monitor the patient so as not to cause birth defects. Basically its this long ass process to get the prescription and to top it off the store was never setup with iPledge (seeing as the store is only 4 weeks old).

So I asked the woman politely to wait a minute or two while we made a phone call (to 'borrow' another store's id for now so she could just get it here) but instead she decides to become impatient and states she'll just be back later. Of course she then leaves... without giving us her damned iPledge ID number.

Of course when she comes back she's pissy because 'we said it would take just a minute or two'. It ended up taking even longer than it normally would because we had to start the process all over again.

Is it really that damned hard to wait 120 seconds? What could be so damned important that you have to wander off? Did your dog call you and tell you his tongue was stuck to the freezer? Was your grandmother dying? I mean c'mon...

Monday, September 24, 2007

Biochemistry

Have you ever choked on something? Or known the answer to something, yet answer incorrectly?

For some reason I have an insane knack for this. I can recite to you the structure and properties of all 20 main amino acids... yet when I take a test I freeze. Strange how that works...

And Flu Shots began today. Luckily there were no screamers (either adult or child) and it went pretty smoothly. We're submitting them online this year which ensures we have payment rather than waiting like most years. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is that Humana D members are SOL in terms of coverage for flu shots.. at least through us. Imagine the geniuses that thought that one up.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

How I Almost Lost A Testicle

There is a rather well known story about myself that for some strange reason I feel the urge to share with nearly everyone I meet. Perhaps it is because I enjoy seeing people smile or because I find it funnier than hell myself.

When I lived in the dorms my freshman year in college we quite often became very bored. Sometimes this would equate to us finding random items and throwing them at each other generally to see who would puss out first. One day my buddy Mitch and I were tossing a combination of batteries and little bouncy balls at each other. During one such toss of the balls I decided to do some acrobatics and jump out of the way. What I didn’t realize is that caused my testicles to dangle freely in the air producing a nice soft target for said ball. My left testicle took the brunt of the impact and I was left in a heap on the floor. I spent the rest of the night in bed checking for swelling. There was none, still not sure if that’s a good thing or not, and by the next morning I felt fit for class.

About a month later my girlfriend and I were heading to an amusement park for the day. Afterwards we got ourselves a hotel room for the night to rest up after a highly exhausting day. When I awoke the next morning, however, I found I was unable to stand up fully erect. I could only hobble around the hotel room hunched over and bow legged. I thought I had broken something the night before which scared the leaving shit out of me at the time. Being the man I am, I trudged on pretending that it really wasn’t all that bad. We drove the two hours home, on a very bumpy freeway mind you, while I felt like my testicles were going to literally explode.

Now it may have been the blinding pain emanating from my boy parts, but my girlfriend finally convinced me to make a visit to the ER. Now if you ever have to visit a doc for something in that area be prepared for a barrage of STD questions. I mean shit, I swear to God he was trying to trick me into admitting that on the weekend I dress and drag and have orgies with midgets while wearing my high heels. Then he decided that I needed to piss in a rather large and intimidating container. Of course when I actually tried to fill the same thing I was walked in on…. Three times. The last time I wanted to look at the woman and ask if she wanted to help, but I was scared that she’d actually say yes.

He comes back and tells me he thinks my testicle has twisted around, like meatball in spaghetti, and may need to be removed immediately. Thus he states that I need an ultrasound. Now first remember that they keep that goddamn gel in the freezer, so needless to say when it was applied things shriveled up like the first time you took a shower in gym class. Tack on the fact that it was a 50-60 year old woman and it was one of the unsexiest experiences in my life. This woman was quite a charmer and I actually forgot she was playing with my balls. Sadly I did not get her number when I was thru. I will say it was quite interesting to see the insides of your gonads. Although I was disappointed I did not actually get to see any of my swimmers.

After my nut massage I went back to the exam room and the doc finally came back with a diagnosis: an infection of the epididymis. The epididymis is a tube which essentially connects your testicles to the Vas Deferens. Basically my nut was infected. The lesson learned is that when there is a traumatic injury to that… region… it can cause urine to go back up the urethra and cause an infection. Funny how you learn life’s lessons?

To top off the experience the doc turned out to be the twin brother of one of the pharmacists I work with. Made for a very awkward meeting several months later.
All in all it cost me several hundred dollars, none of which would my friend who caused this little experience pay for. At least I got to have my balls massaged, although I never did get that number..

Friday, September 21, 2007

Stupid Questions, Stupid Answers

Why must people ask the most inane questions?

Someone today asked for 500mg Naproxen. I politely told her that 500mg Naproxen is prescription only, but the OTC version is available in about half that dose.

She then states that we have 500mg on the shelf and asks how it can be prescription only if its on the shelf. I ask her to show me where it says this. She points to a box of Tylenol. I try to explain to her that Tylenol and Naproxen are not the same thing. She then proceeds to tell me that her mother takes 500mg Naproxen out of a bottle that looks precisely like this and that this is what she wants. I tell her that there is no Naproxen in this product, but she insists that she wants the Tylenol and only Tylenol... Oy.

Then again this is the same woman who called in once and wanted the blue pill filled that's next to her Fosamax in her medicine cabinet...

Thursday, September 20, 2007

So where does the money go?

The cost of prescription drugs is outrageous in many aspects. How some of the elderly and lower income familes afford these I really have no idea. And yet drug companies reap the benefits of these prices in the form of profits.

Recently the drug Coreg came out generically. Prior to this, Coreg was a rather expensive medication costing in the neighborhood of $100.00 a month.

Two weeks ago the generic equivalent, Carvedilol, came to market. When I first looked at the invoice I thought my eyes were deceiving me. It not costs patients just $5.00 a month for this exact same medication.

Oh but it gets better. A few months before the generic release came Coreg CR... just a long acting form of the same drug. Once again, the monthly cost of the drug is in the three figures, yet you can receive essentially the same drug for a mere five bucks.

Where the hell is the logic behind this? Getting into this industry I thought that the point of all of this was to help people, not to pad pockets. Makes you wonder just where the hell all that money ends up...

Time for a ride...

So it had been suggested that perhaps I consolidate my posts regarding my ordeals at work and life into a blog for easier reading. So I shall attempt this route from now on.

Perhaps this will make you laugh, perhaps this will shed some light on myself and perhaps you get a feel of just what I deal with each day. Until then, let the ride begin....