A Fond Farewell

Six years ago I came to this city a naive boy from a small town who thought the path his life on was clear and simple. In two days time I leave this city for the final time, a man who feels as if he has fewer answers than when he started, yet with a much clearer idea of who I am as a person.

As strange as it may sound, I think of this place as home. I truly did not enjoy school back home and, aside from my family and the pharmacy, I have no reason to go back there. Not once was I sad when I officially left, something which at the time I found unusual.

This time it is different. I feel like I'm leaving home for the first time. I find it hard to believe that I will not awake here any longer and enjoy the... quaint aspects of the city.

To be honest, I am excited for a change, but I feel as if a huge door is closing on my life. Now I am married, I have a child on the way, and I'm starting on my career in a way. For the first time in my life, I truly feel like an adult.

The other night I began surfing through my initial posts here. I find it humorous, and slightly embarrassing, my initial posts here. Then again, I had no idea what the hell I was doing.... wait, I still don't know what the hell I'm doing here. Yet you people keep coming, so that must mean something.

Six years ago I came to this city with absolutely no idea what to expect. I had no idea I would earn a degree in business or that I would become as enveloped in the industry as I have. I had no idea that I would shed my insecurities and negative qualities in my personal and work life.

I am at peace with many things that I never thought I would find peace in.

A few months ago I argued with someone over what the purpose of this blog is. He insisted that it was a personal indulgence devised only to hear myself speak. Naturally I argued that that was nowhere near the purpose of this place.

Since then I have conceded that while he was not entirely correct, this place has turned into a personal narrative. And with that in mind, the next four years will probably be some of the most interesting of my life. Grab some popcorn, pull up a seat and prepare for a damn fine show.

Six years ago I came to this city a boy... and today I leave it as a man.

Baby Names

As expected I have been glancing over baby names the last few weeks to find something that is fitting for a future little Phathead.

And I started reminiscing about naming a child in the old time days. Old time days are anything before the year I was born. Yes, it's arbitrary, but too damned bad.

Anywho, for instance I know a guy who's name is Dick. Not Richard, just Dick. My question is, how do you hold your child in your arms for the first time and go; "Awwwwww he looks like a Dick... let's call him Dick."

Really?

Hell I went to high school with a guy named Steven Stephens for cryin' out loud. What in the hell do you have to be smoking.... well wait a minute, they were potheads, so that makes sense.

The picture accompanying this post is of one of my father's favorite racers, Dick Trickle. Outside of the motorsports he's known for... well his name. Apparently when he was born, his parents decided to give him the option of having a name that would fit well with the porno industry.

Now it is mine and my wife's term to name a child. Do we go for a double entendre? Something simple like Bob? Maybe name it in honor of someone? DrugMonkey perhaps?

Maybe follow my own guidelines and create my own.

Hmmm, that does give me some ideas...

I'm Tired of the Whining

If there is one thing my generation knows how to do, it's how to whine. I've often been told by those older and more wise than I that once upon a time, people took things in stride. My generation, so they say, likes to nitpick and complain whenever given the opportunity.

To a certain extent, I believe this to be true. We live in an instantaneous satisfaction society now and that is one of the byproducts.

But good god am I getting sick of the whining.

If I see one more person discussing what they're fall back options will be when they finish pharmacy school and can't find a job, I may smack them upside the head with a 2x4. God forbid you actually have to distinguish yourself in a way other than having a Pharm.D. and perhaps look outside your comfort zone for a job.

It annoys me. Really, really annoys me. I am about to start a job as a cashier for Walmart. Does it suck? You bet your ass it does, but I'm not bitching about it. It's a small hiccup in an otherwise long road.

The doom and gloom about the future job market seems to be saturating my peers. Sweeping generalizations are applied simply because someone cannot find a job in a particular area.

Again, it's fucking annoying.

Am I going to have to put up with this for the next four years? Am I going to need to invest in several cases of Johnnie Walker?

Or am I completely missing something here?

Just Want To Say...

Thank you guys for making me number one. It takes a lot to beat sites such as "Shemale Midgets - Little Dwarf Shemales" and "Transvestite Butt F'ing Video", but I couldn't have done it without you!

What Is Pharmacy School

Often I have discussed how few people know what it is a pharmacist truly does. An extension of that is even few people know what pharmacy school is as well.

I have been inquiring about the viability of continuing several things I do for fun during school and often I find myself having to explain precisely what pharmacy school entails. Most people seem to think it's a two year associates-type degree that you can finish at night. All are equally shocked when I start describing what it is I will be doing over the next four years.

Which leads me to wonder if those deciding on pharmacy as a profession choice are fully informed. Often I find myself wanting to compare pharmacy school to medical school, namely in terms of intensity, but I do not want to draw that parallel and have it spread.

So my question to you is, how would you describe pharmacy school to lay people. Obviously it has to be in concise phrases void of complex explanations. Most people don't know what Med Chem or Pharmcotherapy is.

Perhaps I could condense it even more into an informative post for those looking towards pharmacy in the future.

That being said... any ideas?

To Infinity... And Beyond!

Yes, this post is about a movie. No, I am not shamelessly plugging the movie for Pixar as there is a legit point to be made here.

That being said, I'm a huge fan of Pixar movies. I am consistently amazed at the films they produce year after year. The wife and I are kind of movie buffs and I think one of the most amazing sequences ever put on film is the opening sequence to the movie Up. The fact that so much can be said without much actually being said... well that's damn good film making.

Naturally we wanted to see Toy Story 3 when it came out. Thinking about it now, I realize I was a wee ten years old when the first movie came out. It doesn't really seem that long ago, but time flies when you're a professional student.

I can't say a whole helluva lot without giving away parts of the movie, but let's just say it was beautifully done. The really odd thing is because, in a way, I had grown up with Andy over the last fifteen years, I could kind of relate to the overall story. I mean I had first seen the movie when I was ten and I was seeing the completion of the story with my wife who is pregnant with our first child.

Like I told my friends, if you don't get a little choked up at the end, you probably don't have a soul.

It was just a strange experience simply because I haven't really related to a movie like that in quite some time. I felt rather... well old even though logic tells me I'm really not.

And it makes me wonder where all of my childhood toys are. Oh Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, where art thou?!?