I'm Back.....

As of Thursday morning, yours truly will once again be setting foot in a pharmacy.

It has been over three months now since I have done so, and for me that has been three months too many. Naturally there will be a bit of training to do, but I never thought I would be so excited to see drug seekers again.

And no worries, I'm not done at Wally World yet. I'll be doing the both for the time being to keep my hours up where I need them. Thus I'll have stories from both there AND the pharmacy.

It's a bloggers dream!

And now to prepare for school...

What's A Pharmacy Blog Without the Pharmacy?

It's a question I've been pondering as of late. Tomorrow will make it exactly two months since I have worked in a a pharmacy. While that may not seem like a good deal of time to some of you, it is still rather strange.

Hell even my friends have commented on my lack of entertaining stories and/or texts during a day.

Now that the wife and I are fully situated after the move I found myself with little to talk about. I no longer have the day to day interactions that I enjoy so thoroughly.

Yesterday I happened to overhear an older couple talking about how they had been turned away by the pharmacy in the store because they could not answer the question. It was about Medicare and four wheeled walkers which I quickly educated them on and told them the steps they needed to follow in order for Medicare to pay their portion.

It was a rush in a way because it was something I have not been able to do for quite some time.

What's making it even more difficult is... well the money aspect. I'm sorry but the pay as a cashier at Walmart does not compare to that of a senior tech in a pharmacy. Money will soon be getting tight if I don't find a place to call home.

Later this week I'll be making my rounds hitting up every pharmacy in sight in the hopes that something will materialize before school starts. Seeing as summer is nearing is conclusion, I figure I'll have a much better shot now than I did in May.

So, again, I ask what is a pharmacy blog without the pharmacy?

I'll tell ya what it is... not as damn interesting that's what.

I Now Work for Big Evil

There are times in one's life when you must swallow your pride and chose to do something you don't really wish to do, but you are left with no other option.

You see, as of yesterday I am an employee for Big Evil (codeword for Walmart) which in itself isn't a bad thing. While I dislike how they run their pharmacies... actually I don't think they know how the hell to run a pharmacy, but I digress... I do have to admire how they run their retail business. I have studied them in depth in various classes and have come to admire what they accomplish.

If anything, you have to pat them on the back for their propensity to hire individuals with various disabilities. You simply don't see that anywhere else and I rather enjoy that fact.

No, this isn't a rant about actually working for Walmart, but more what I'm doing. You see, I'll be your simple cashier at the register when you go to leave. No pharmacy job, no fancy job doing layouts or things of that nature. For eight bucks an hour, I'll be the smiling face that crushes your bread under several cans of soup (kidding of course).

I know a job is a job, but in some ways it feels like I've had to take a brief step backwards. In time I'm weasel my way back into a pharmacy and for various reasons I need a job ASAP when we move in about three weeks.

Do I feel I'm overqualified? Sure, but in the end what's it matter. One of the pharmacists I have worked with the last six years has tried to teach me to view all of life's difficulties as a character building process. To learn form them and grow. Granted this is a minor setback, but I might as well learn from it.

So the next time one of you goes to your local Walmart in the coming month, and some young man is checking you out who may seem just a tad out of place... well that might be me. And I'll be there with a smile.

She May Bite My Lip...

But this is generally what I wake up to each morning. Swear to God this dog has at least 20 different facial expressions. At least she keeps me entertained.

Now let the job hunting for the day begin!

Missing A Part Of You

It's been over two weeks since I last worked in a pharmacy. That is my longest stretch away from one since I started working when I was 15 years old.

To be honest it's rather strange. I wake up each day and it's not as if I don't know how to occupy my time I just feel.... I dunno, lost. I mean when you take the pharmacy out of the pharmacy nerd, what do you really have left?

I will concede, it's nice to have time off to what I want, when I want. But now I'm ready to go back. I'm not the type of person who can just sit on the couch and be a bum day after day after day. I want to get back to bitching about insurances and dealing with pissed off patients.

In reality it feels like a part of me is missing if that makes any sense. There are three main things that keep me functioning on a daily basis; my wife, my job and my affection for motorsports (in that order of course). You take any one of those away and it just isn't the same.

I'll be honest, the lack of income is rather daunting, especially with a big move coming up. Honestly, I just want to get back to helping patients on a daily basis again. Whether its answering minute questions on a daily basis or helping solve some complicated insurance problem for them.

I swear, I'm a week away from just wondering the aisles of a Walgreens looking to answer a question for a random patient.

Yesterday I decided I need to find some type of short term job to occupy my time. I don't care if it's minimum wage shoveling cow shit, I just need something.

Granted I am excited for school to start in the fall, but I'm even more anxious to set foot behind the counter in a pharmacy again. And the sooner, the better.

Does that make me ill?

Coca-Cola, Montel Williams and a Piece of Lint

Those three things surmised my life in the last three days. Lessons learned from the opening days of unemployment:

1) There is shit on for TV during the day. I mean utter and complete shit. Even Nat Geo is stuck playing the Dog Whisperer all day. I hate that guy.

2) You can find lint in the weirdest places. This may not be news to some, but it is news to me.

3) I can't drink regular Coke anymore. Actually I can't drink most regular sodas anymore. I think Diet sodas have corrupted me

4) My neighbors are fat. I mean like really fat. I mean fupas galore fat. It's amazing.

5) Daydreaming is nowhere near as fun when you're 24 as it is when you're 14.

6) Internet porn is overrated

7) Seven out of ten people do not stop at the stop sign on the corner I live on

8) One cannot remain nude all day in an attempt to be lazy and comfortable. Too many scary circumstances

9) Medco still sucks

10) And finally, I think I'm allergic to natural light. I've been working indoors for so long I cringe whenever it graces my skin. I think I'm going to need to purchase a nice buzzing fluorescent light to maintain my sanity.

And to think, I may have another couple months of this. Wonder what else I'll learn.