A for Effort and B for Back to Square One

Started my second rotation this week in a large managed care facility. I think I am going to like this one as well.
Wrapped up my first rotation with an A+, which really shocked me since I thought I was awful at all the pharmacy entering and reimbursement stuff on the computer. The things I suck at were not the things Ralph thought would make a good pharmacist-the things I like and am good at- talking with the patients, showing them instead of telling them things, listening- he felt were a lot more important than remembering whether to hit enter, tab or function key. I miss them and know I will be back visiting as well as hanging w Heidi when I can. I will also miss #2 son dropping in for lunch nearly every week.
I had a call from Ditto- our friend who was my niece's college roommate. I used to IM them then we had a chat room they visited me in (hello Riverdance pals out there) so I got to know her and she's just like another member of the family at this point. She wanted to come up and visit for a night with a family member who had a crisis and needed a break. Buck cancelled his plans to go to Oktoberfest and we headed in to Boston. We had a really nice time, just had dinner and then we checked out Buck's apartment before coming home.
I woke at 5 am with my stomach churning- the food I had been served had been tainted somehow with gluten despite my discussion with the server about my food allergies. I was so sick I had to call in sick to work, which I had never done. I was relieved to find that a woman who trained me was on duty and could do the IVs that day. I have been sick since, it will take me weeks to heal. I am glad I went out but wish I had not eaten and I am not in a hurry to eat out again. I am annoyed to lose so much time walking- I had just gotten to a regular schedule. I am glad I didn't lose time to rotation, but my tail was dragging the whole last week. Back to square one.
I asked Buck to come mow my lawn and do some weeding since I was so wishy-washy, and then I pulled my back leaping to yank the cat back inside, so I am a real mess. My next-door neighbor pulled three bags of weeds from my walk, and Buck transplanted two mallows and a catmint to the front walk to help keep the weeds down (I needed some perennials there but can't afford to landscape yet). He mowed and took several trips to the dump with all the brush from all summer's weeding and trimming. I felt guilty not helping so I made a nice dinner. Pharmacy Son came home just as we were eating- and after all the work was done; perfect timing as usual. We watched a movie- I picked up all three Lord of the Rings movies recently as a birthday present for myself.
We went out on the Columbus Day holiday to shop- got Pharmacy Boy some new shoes for his crooked old feet, a belt, new sheets and a Celtics shirt- hey a boy only turns 21 once. He talked a bit about his new job- they have a managed care section so he does blisterpacking of a person's doses in some new machine. Sounded pretty cool.
So now I am in rotation #2 back in Worcester- can't believe it has moved so fast. It's been incredibly interesting so far. I am doing a lot of reading so trying to break it up with some music, brief walks around the office and spending time with the workers asking questions. Met a former coworker this am on my way in- she works on the same floor as me. Had lunch with an old friend from the neighborhood. This is going to be nice.

quickie post

Short post- first two days on rotation went very well- REALLY like the folks. Slow location- 200 Rx per week (remember last rotation was 650 qd on Mon and Fri). Have been studying top 200 since this place is organized differently than last rotation/current work.
Miss my vacation already. Miss the salt air, miss seeing my nephew and his daughter, miss hanging w my sister and walking daily w her hubby. Glad to be back w the kitties & vice versa. Have been trying to walk 2 miles a day, started on vaca and hoping to keep up. Said good-bye to Mr JellyBelly- no more beans til Xmas. Let's hope to see a thinner, smarter, new & improved BA.

Study-free weekend

Since January of 2004, I have spent nearly every weekend studying. At first, I was working full-time and taking 5 courses, 2 online & 3 with labs after lecture- 5 til 10 pm three nights a week. Friday nights I vegged but Saturdays after morning tea I went right to the books doing online macroeconomics coursework, calculus problems, read the chem and physics assignments for the week, and did the pre-labs.
When summer came, I did O-Chem 4 nights a week with a few Friday lectures to make up the time requirements- two lab nights, two-three lectures. I got up at 5 to do the pre-labs and homeworks before work, and seldom got home before 11 pm. It was grueling.
When I got into the grad program and quit my job, Saturdays were my cleaning mornings and study afternoons, and Sundays were study. I generally got to school by 8 and seldom left before 10 and then read all weekend. At the end of the first year, I finally took the job my friend had pestered me about. He is director of pharmacy at an acute care hospital, and he likes to hire students. I came onboard to work every other weekend. I had to study in a more structured manner- no farting off at all after work and the weekend off I hit the books, but the first quarter I pulled great grades. It was doable on my rotation, but when I started 2nd year coursework, I started floundering big-time. I cut down in January to two days a month, and had Sundays to study. I pulled the grades up and acquitted myself quite well.
Quitting my job and borrowing money to live on was like stepping off a cliff and assuming I could fly. No matter what I did or how well, the mortgage, the furnace, the damp basement, the drafts in the sunporch, the lawn needing mowing, the shovelling of the drive, all hung over my shoulder whispering that there was not enough time, they needed attention. I gave them only what I could spare in moments. As my friend Francois said to me repeatedly, "failure is not an option." He was right- we had too much at stake to lose, and to blow it, we could blame on no one but ourselves.
So by dint of constant hard work, drumming details into my brain over every spare minute, even in the car during my commute, I did it. I succeeded and passed the didactic. Last week was my first week off, traditionally when I catch up on housework and errands. I went to a cookout, a wedding, and started the rounds of catching up- got my annual PPD, got back online, started organizing all my schoolwork, and clearing up, took my mom to visit an old friend for a day and actually watched a movie. I heard from several friends, and called several more. I spent a day vegging and took a 4 hour nap in the 100 degree heat.
This weekend I do not study. I swear I will not touch a book that weighs more than a few ounces (the Keltiad series is easing me back into fiction). After work yesterday I spent the evening on the couch with Pinot Grigio and the Red Sox (Pharmacy Son had the clicker and I was too tired to argue). Today, I shall shop. OK, today I shall shop after I do the laundry, the litterboxes, the dump run and put away some of the crap in the kitchen. But the point is, after three years of non-stop grinding, I don't have to hit the books. I can't tell you how good that feels.