The Day I Realized I Was Smarter Than I Gave Myself Credit For

Because the guy had to reschedule on a place Friday, I went to meet up at the place this morning before work. So I had to be up early af. The place was decent enough, but if I go with that one, whoever my roommate will be is going to have a significantly smaller room. I’m a princess now, so I get the master. The place also had a lot of damage on the walls, so the realtor wasn’t sure if the owner was going to patch and paint before the next tenants come in. All in all, I feel the apartment search is getting better, I just wish people would respond to emails. This week, I am going to try and see a few more.  

So once I was done there, I headed to the store I was working at today. Today was the Pride parade in the city, so the train was super crowded. The people were bearable and a young kid even offered me a seat. That never happens. I got there much earlier than anticipated, so I walked around the area a bit. Loyola is such a ritzy and spoiled area. Those kids seem like they think they’re better than everyone else because their parents pay for super fancy apartments for them. Anyway. I went to the new Target because I wanted to check it out...plus I had to pee. I went to Starbucks and I really wanted the frap I used to get back when we were still in high school. The girls working there didn’t know what i was talking about, so I had to look it up. I was annoyed, but I got over it. (Heyyyyyyy menstruation) But remember how I said I have been super complain-y lately? Yeah. There we go. 

I got to the store and went to put my stuff down. The pharmacist looked like a recent grad (within the last few years) and he kind of treated me like it was my first day when I first walked in. He was like, “do you feel comfortable filling prescriptions?” Uhhhhh what? Once we got to talking, he realized I had much more experience than he thought. But I still basically rang everyone out. I felt like I was able to do a lot of counseling too, which was cool. There was a guy that wanted something from behind the counter, but as he told me his symptoms, I realized he didn’t need what he wanted.  As the day went on, another older guy came up to the counter and said, “are you a pharmacist?” To which I replied, ‘almost!’ That felt cool. But I could tell he was not really wanting to hear from me and wanted to talk to the pharmacist, but once we got to talking, he realized I knew what I was talking about. The conversation was good and he took my recommendation and told me I would do just fine when I am a pharmacist and he appreciated my recommendations. That really made me feel good. Honestly, it’s been annoying when people ask what I’m doing after graduation. I am obviously not sure what exactly I want to do yet, but days like today make me want to lean toward retail. The numbers and metrics are absolute bullshit, but really getting to help people is why I love doing what I do. I even find myself answering the phone and helping people and almost wanting to pat myself on the back because I’ve had a great interaction. I know I have the personality to work retail, but I also want to have a better quality of life than some retail pharmacists I’ve seen. Only time (and God) will tell where I will be in one year, but I’m going to try and start looking on the bright side a little more while on rotations. 

Lastly, I went to church for the first time in a really long time. The priest was struggling bad. He used a cane and was really having a hard time getting up and down out of the chair. The homily was nothing to run home about, but the sense of peace I feel when I am at my church really says something about it. I don’t like the 8pm service, but I felt like I needed to be there. Now time for bed!

The End to an Era

Listen here, folks. I am finally caught up on this blog. But honestly, it doesn’t really matter because by the time anyone actually reads this, there won’t be anything that says I haven’t been doing this everyday.

So today (!!!) I woke up all excited to work at my store. I said fuck it and was super casual and wore my pride T-shirt because the parade is this weekend. So I looked like I was just some chick shopping in the store until I put my white coat on. She said to me when I walked in, “I didn’t have enough time to call and make sure you were alive because I’ve been so busy”.  I looked at her really confused because in my mind, my shift was from 10-4:30. Apparently, it was 9:30-4. Oops! It really doesn’t matter though because I am not punching in and out because we are using up my intern hours.

All in all, I really like working with this pharmacist. She is very helpful to me and is not lazy (for the most part) and helps a lot with the Spanish speaking guests, even though she is Polish (I think?) she knows a lot of Spanish, which is really impressive! Anyway, the day was uneventful in the best way possible, then I came home and decided I needed to cook the rest of the stuff I had so it wouldn’t go bad. Plus the diet strictly starts on Monday, so I wanted to be prepared. I made some super good stuff. I made a homemade ‘ranch’, some avocado spread for veggie burgers, a taco meat kind of dish with peppers and onions, carrot fries for a snack, red pepper sauce, and some turkey meatballs. I really hope I can be successful on this plan cuz yo girl gots goals. Well, wish me luck. And with that, I am now caught up on this blog, and I can make a daily routine and that makes my Happy Planner ass real fucking excited. ‘Suck on that!’ -Janice Ian (I don’t know why. That’s just stuck in my head. Ok, bye)

15 Miles to the Sugarrrrr Shack

So yesterday (I am FINALLY almost caught up! Hell the to the yes) was a DME day. I actually was able to almost finish my checklist, so that was cool. While I was on the floor, one of the pharmacists said she had a favor to ask of me and to come see her later. She is one of the only people I don’t mind doing stuff for. She was the first person I met when I walked in on my first day, and she has just been really nice to me. So I did my DME stuff then walked into her office to see what she needed. I had to make another one of those easy order forms for doctors to fill out. So I did that relatively quickly, submitted it to her, and then I was kind of just sitting in the office trying to finish my books. I also may or may not have typed up a couple of blog posts while I was there, but I digress. While I was typing, I hear, “Monica, when would you like to meet to talk about the books?” I told him whenever, so I gathered my stuff up and went into his office. The book conversation seemed pretty short this week, so I was happy.  But then I opened my mouth and said I wanted to do a DI question. I think he hasn’t had someone ask him for more work, so I could tell he was a little flustered, but we will make it work. I also asked when I would be giving my presentation, considering I haven’t even started it yet, and he said, ‘are you one of those people who work better when you have a set deadline on something?’ Uhh yeah? I have been in school for a thousand years, so my life has basically run on deadlines for that long! So we decided what I was going to do, then I felt bad, but I asked him if I could go a bit earlier because I was going to go see a place. We got into the conversation about where I lived and where I want to live for the next year and I think he understood. He just, again, said to make sure I’m getting my hours in. So you know what I did? I left at 1:30 to take the 1:50 train out. I felt guilt for about a minute because I wasn’t going to the viewing until 6, but with the hour and a half commute and me not taking lunch, I said fuck it and went.

I decided I wanted to try and get some graduation centerpiece stuff done (yes, we’re over 300 days out, but you know, my mom has been planning since I was born probably), so I went to Joann’s to get some cardstock because I had seen it was on sale. I picked out the ones I wanted, went to the register and barely any of them rang up in the sale. And remember on my last post where I said I complain a lot and I can be a real bitch? Well yes, I was a super bitch to this poor girl. I even asked if someone could help me find what I was looking for because my ‘better than you’ brain could not fathom that I was wrong. I get to the aisle and the manager meets me there, I read the sign, and realized my mistake. I felt terrible for talking to that girl the way I did. So I got what I needed, and of course I got her again to ring me out and I apologized to her about a hundred times. I then left to go back home because I had a bit of time before I needed to leave to go see the place. As I am putting the key in the door, I shit you not I had a text from the guy saying he would have to reschedule. My roommates and I already had plans for 7:30, so I kind of just chilled in bed and worked on Cricut stuff until it was time to go.

We went to a dessert place called Sugar Shack. Very reasonably priced place with a bunch of different desserts! I had a mini funnel cake (which was only $1.50 and the perfect size for one person) and an orange creamsicle slushee with vanilla soft serve. We all agreed we would go back, but would want to try other things on the menu. So as we were on the way home, shit kind of started to get real. One roomie has already sold the coffee table then we got to talking about when we were going to try and sell the other stuff we all fit the bill on. Now I have too much shit to just let this stuff go rather quickly, so I would feel more comfortable waiting until I have a place lined up to start talking about this kind of stuff. I am not sure because these last two moves have been so seamless because I was able to actually do stuff, but man, I’m starting to get stressed out. There are never enough hours in the day, and I don’t care if I sound like a 60 year old man saying that because homie knows what’s up.

The Disappointment Continues

Not intentionally. It was another lab day and I didn’t really do anything new. I made a folic acid solution that resembled apple juice. I was washing dishes and the tech came back with a mask for me. One of the other techs was making a hazardous compound (cyclosporine). So I worked on a few more orders and I went to lunch. I had asked the tech in the morning if I could catch the 3:50 train because I was going to go see a place afterwards. I did a few more things after work, and around 3, she really didn’t have much more for me to do, so I sat at the desk and began reading my books for the week (oops! Not really oops, but I mean, whatever. I don’t like to read). I left around 3:30 so I could go to the bathroom and make the train. I kind of thought I was in the clear because I had not seen/heard the boss all day, but of course I ran into him on the way out. D’oh! But I always have in the back of my mind him saying to make sure I’m getting in my hours.

I took the train into the city and was honestly hungry. So I went to Taco Bell. I always regret it right after but in the moment, it’s bae. The dude that was making the food was asking what I wanted while the guy in front of me was still there. I hate saying my order around people because it’s particular (which can be annoying) and a lot of food. It’s why I’ve started ordering through delivery services; nobody judges your order. Anyway, the dude seemed more concerned with speed than accuracy, so 2 items were wrong. I was just so hungry to go back and complain. So once I was done, I headed to the apartment. The bus was crowded and I was tired having been on my feet all day, but I had to stand. I was concerned I was going to be late because there was a bus reroute, but I made it on time. I get to the apartment and there are a bunch of people outside. I was confused though because the listing said ‘Pl’, but the guy confirmed ‘St’ in a text. Now if you know Pilsen, those are two different streets. So I texted him to double check, but then I realized. All of those other people were also there to see this place. He let like 4 people in at a time...and rightfully so. This place was SO fucking small that the bed was in the ‘living area’. I say that in quotes because it was damn tiny. It had 2 bedrooms and I could not see myself living in something that small. The whole place had to be less than 400 sq ft. Nope, not for me. So I felt like I’d wasted my time. Again. Apartment hunting is so fucking hard when you don’t have the time to actually do it. The first place we loved, I found. I had the time to research, contact people, and go see places. Being at site full time then working on weekends is making this very difficult for me. 

While I was waiting for the bus, I decided to try and call the rental company for the fail that had happened on Saturday. The dude basically told me he would have to charge me a cancellation fee that was $25, so I would only be getting $2 back. Fuck that. I’ll be calling back. I feel as though with age, I have become more pissy. That’s probably not the right word. If something doesn’t go right, I complain. Allllll theeeee timeeeee. My mom called me crotchety. Maybe that’s the right word? Not sure. All I know is I was annoyed as fuck. Then the ride home seemed long, but I made it. Then went to bed. Another day in paradise.

True Intern Work

So I had the intention to catch the early train this day because I hated walking into the meeting last week late. I just didn’t leave the house in time for the bus, so I had to wait for the next train. I’m truthfully not sure if it was intentional or unintentional, but here we are. So I walked in a few minutes late, but at least I looked good and was having a good hair day. They had already started the meeting, so I sat down, and apologized for being late. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I really hate being late. After I said I was sorry, the boss said, “did anyone jump down your throat? It’s ok. And you look very pretty today.” Well then. We’re good. So we went through the meeting and of course I got some more work to do. I was gifted (exaggerating) with making 2 flyers for them to distribute to doctors. While I’m doing them, it seems just like busy work, but honestly right now (Saturday night) thinking back on it, it’s kind of cool to have my name on something like that. Went over the flyers with the boss and I was getting ready to have lunch. Then the sales guy comes over to me while I’m working and asks if I am still doing marketing stuff. I look at him and say, ‘yeah?’ And then he brings me stacks of paper and envelopes. Remember that list I made of the doctors a few weeks ago? Well boy, did that come back to bite me in the ass. I had to stuff envelopes and then address them to these doctors. 88 times...EIGHTY EIGHT. So as I am sitting there, the boss says goodbye to everyone (not me) because he was leaving to go get his Tesla he had bought the week before. So I rushed to finish my shit because if he wasn’t there, I felt like I didn’t need to be either, since I directly work with him Wednesday’s. I finished up what I was doing, then I left when I was done. Then I went home, probably played Just Dance for a bit (when I am not in the lab, I don’t usually stand all day, so I needed more activity), then went to bed.

The Day of Creams

I was in the lab again and it was a day I made a bunch of creams. Tuesdays are the only the day the boss isn’t in, so the tech usually lets me leave earlier than normal. She says I am there so often, so take advantage of him not being there. She usually only ‘schedules’ me until 3:30 anyway so I can catch the 3:50 train. So once I got done with my lunch, I basically didn’t do anything too labor intensive, just filled some orders with stuff that was already made. It was like 2:30 and she said, ‘do you want to just go now?’ I always feel bad leaving so early for like 5 seconds then I am like, ‘are you sure?’ She said yup, and I left. The landlord was showing our place at 4:30 and I knew I would make it just in time to see the people. I think they were coming out of our place as I was going in.

Because I got home so early, I set a goal to finish cutting out fabric for the quilt I’m making today and guess what...I finished! I’m sure my roommates were thrilled to not have that stuff on the table anymore, but lugging it up and down the stairs all the time just does not make sense. I finished up, made a veggie stock with veggie scraps, then made a couple of recipes I didn’t do on Sunday. I finished up kind of late, but still wanted to lay out my fabric to get an idea of what I want the quilt to look like...I love it. But for now, that’s gotta go on hold because I need to find a new apartment, and should be putting my efforts towards that.

Monday on the Floor

So I had a good hair day and wore my hair down. That will come into play later. I was on the floor, as the title implies, so I was able to cross off a lot of things on my checklist. I really enjoyed shadowing that day because it was actually fun. I learned a lot as well. We had this patient who came in to get compression socks in the afternoon. Now the employee is very outspoken and loud, but always to the point. The woman comes in saying what she needs, and the employee asks if she has a prescription. The lady starts to cop an attitude and yell saying how she had gotten these before and doesn’t understand why she needs a prescription. The employee was just telling her if she wanted insurance to cover them, she needed a script. But that really didn’t matter because we didn’t take her insurance anyway. So she got fitted and continued to be snippy with her attitude. But she did end up buying the socks, so it all worked out. After that, I took lunch then worked on some projects I had (I think; I honestly don’t remember). The rest of the day was uneventful, obviously, because I can’t even remember what happened. I will update if I can remember anything else. I probably won’t; no good lying to myself. 

Is a Day Off Ever Really a Day Off?

I had made some grocery lists and gathered all the shit I had to return. I also went to go see a place in the morning. Decent enough place, but one of the bedrooms was way too small for an adult to live in. I will say though, it was nice to be back in the old neighborhood. I really like where we lived this past year, it was just far from a lot of things. I went to Goodwill too to finally drop off the rest of the stuff I had. I went to Costco. On a Sunday. Because I have a death sentence. Actually, it wasn’t all that bad inside, just trying to find the parking was a nightmare. So I went to about 10 other places, dropped off all my stuff at home, then went to drop off the rental at the airport (3 hours early, I may add). I am so glad it ended up working out with the car. I was able to get so much done. I really feel like I could benefit from having a car up here, but we’ll see what happens. On the way home, I ordered Olive Garden because I was going to start my diet the next day. I made a couple of quick dishes so I had something to bring with me for lunch. This diet is basically a lot of whole foods, and NO SALT. When I got to the OG, my food wasn’t ready, because the train was surprisingly on time. So I was about 10 min early. People just kept coming in and the line for take out got longer, then it started raining. I had just missed the bus once I had actually gotten my food, so I ended up taking an Uber home. I cooked, ate, showered, and went to bed.

Finally Back to My Store

I worked the day with my boss, who I haven’t seen in a few months. Just the two of us, so it was a busy day. Trying to get all the phone calls done on top of all the other work seemed daunting. I had one patient come up at 10:11am...we opened at 10. She asked if her prescription was ready because she was told 20 minutes. I looked at her confused because it was nowhere near 20 minutes. But the pharmacist I guess had opened the gate early and she asked for the fill. I think she thought we were ‘amigas’ because she was Hispanic as well, but homie, I don’t know you and I just got here, so you need to calm down (btw one of my favorite new songs lately). Once I took care of her, I went on with all the other stuff. I then had another lady come and ask me to take her meds off of auto fill because she was moving to somewhere that didn’t have a CVS. Curious, I asked her where she was moving. This lady really says, “Kissimmee”. UM WHAT. Not sure if anyone that is actually reading this doesn’t know, but Kissimmee is just outside Orlando, FL. Major face palm moment for me. Well the rest of the day was unremarkable, but I was heading to the airport afterwards because I was picking up a rental.

I don’t do this often, but if there’s a day that I have a lot to get done in a day, I have previously rented a car for the day (if it is cheap enough). I had booked this car through Kayak and it came up through a company I was not familiar with. Anyway, I headed to the airport, got to the place listed in the email, and called the number for them to come pick me up. Now, I had plans with my friend and her husband, so I was kind of on a time schedule. I worked until 5, gave myself an hour and a half travel time to get to the rental place, and then was going to head out. So I called the company and they said someone would come pick me up in 15 minutes. First red flag. I’m waiting at the place they tell me to wait and then all of a sudden, I see a truck with their logo drive by. Ummmm what? Red flag #2. So I called them back, and they said someone was enroute. I literally waited 45 minutes for someone to pick me up. Red flag #3. I get there, give the guy my ID and he asks for a flight itinerary....uhhh what? I told him I was local. He says they don’t rent locally. At that point, I was fucking pissed because they’ve wasted over an hour of my time. I get back to the rental place, go to the person who had no line, and the guy says it’s going to be $176 for the night. At that point, I wanted to call an Uber and just leave because I was pissed. Something told me to go into Kayak again. So when I did, Alamo came up. I went to the counter and they were able to get me the car for even cheaper than what was listed. I was so happy I could have cried. I was such a bitch to the people at the other company after wasting my time like that, and I was starting to get hangry. It was after 7:30 and I hadn’t eaten since 12:30. So I got my car and drove straight to Wendy’s. Bitch was starving.

 I went home to change my clothes and headed downtown to pick up my friends. Now since I live here without a car, I have obviously never driven in the city before. That was an experience. I did fine though. I picked them up, we got to the restaurant and sat at the bar. We were about 45 min early for the reservation, so they told us to go to the bar. We ended up just staying there and damn were we having good conversation. I’ve known my friend since sixth grade, and her husband about 10 years now. I always miss her when I’m away. She’s gone through med school and residency, and is now practicing back home. She is so special to me because she literally came to my house the night before we were getting ready to drive up to Chicago to move me in. Anyway, we just had a great time talking and spending time together. Once we got back in the car, I put on some great music and went to drive them back, but went further than I was supposed to because I really wanted to show them my favorite view of the city from the planetarium. I always take people coming to visit to this place because I truly love the view. You don’t get Navy Pier in the view, but nobody likes NP like that anyway. So once I dropped them off, I headed home and went to bed. What a great day it turned out to be after all the shit I went through at the rental place.

Friday in the Isolation Cabin

I was scheduled on the DME side of the store again, and not gonna lie, I wasn’t looking forward to it. When I got there, the guy who was in charge told me the system was down and two of his staff had called out, so they were short-staffed. Basically, he said he didn’t really have time for me, so he told me to sit in the office and work on stuff. At that point, I had not finished my books for the week, so I did have things to do (not gonna lie, I also think I typed up 2-3 of these blog posts I was behind on). So I finished one book and moved onto the next one. I was just kind of in the mastectomy boutique sitting there reading. It was around 1pm and I was getting kind of antsy sitting there. So I asked the guy if the boss was coming that day and he said he wasn’t sure, so I asked if I could leave early. I usually don’t do that, but I could be reading at home. He said he would vouch for me if the boss came in telling him the system was down, so he sent me home. I went back to the lab to check on my schedule for the next week. I told her the situation, and she said to double check with the pharmacist up front before I left. I turned the corner to go see the pharmacist, and noticed the boss’ office lights were on. Shit. He must have showed up within the past 15 minutes. So I went to go grab water and heard behind me, “Monica, are we meeting today?” I’m sitting here thinking to myself, ‘well, YOU’RE the boss, so you tell me’, but I just said yes.

 I went into his office after that and we discussed the books for the week. Now I never finished the second book, but based on the week before’s discussion, I kind of figured it would run the same way: a discussion, but he does most of the talking because he is the expert. I made it through. I just asked my questions while we went along and then when it came time to him asking if I had any questions, I didn’t have any others at that point. But he kind of got serious for a minute and asked me what I was hoping to get out of the rotation that I hadn’t gotten so far. That question kind of threw me for a loop because I really hadn’t thought of it. Initially, I signed up for this because I figured it would be an easy A. I mean, wouldn’t you? But I told him I needed to think about it and would get back to him. (It’s a week later when I’m writing this, and I still don’t know what I’m going to say if he asks me) Anyway, when we were through, I left to take the train so I could meet up with my friend and her hubby.

Well it kind of turned out to be a miscommunication, so I ended up staying home. My roommate and I actually ended up going out because we wanted margaritas, so we went to a Mexican restaurant close to the house. It was pretty good and the drinks were strong! I knew I couldn’t get wild, because I had to work the next day. She proposed we walk home...now she was wearing sneakers, while I wore sandals. It was over a mile home and I had to pee since before we left the restaurant. I almost didn’t make it. Once we got home, I literally passed out because I was tired from the walk home and long day, that I thought wasn’t going to be that long.

Another Day in My Happy Place

So a few days prior, I had been given an prescription for a solution to make. We didn’t have the drug to make it, so it had to be ordered. Well fast forward to that day, the drug had come in, so I was able to make it. The order called for ethyl alcohol, and the tech hands me a bottle of Everclear. I laughed out loud, but she was serious. It was so funny. So I weighed/measured everything out and I then proceeded to spill the alcohol all over my pants. Face palm. It was 10 mL, but I was smelling like that for the rest of the day. I made more creams and filled orders for the day.

Once my day was done, it was annoying that I had to go to a Walgreens about 15 minutes away from my house to go pick up a FedEx order. I guess it was good I had to pick it up, but annoying because I live 2 blocks from a FedEx and they didn’t deliver it there. We’ve been having issues with having packages showing as delivered, but when we go to look for them, they’re not here. It has been nothing short of frustrating. While waiting for the bus, I ordered Taco Bell on Postmates...don’t judge. When I got home, I was expecting another package. Nothing at the front door, I told my roommate (why the FUCK did I just type husband instead of roommate? WOWWWW). I was on edge already. I gave them one chance and looked on the back porch. My package was there thank God. I put my stuff down, settled in, and texted my friend who I had been scheming behind her back with her husband (I guess that’s why I typed that earlier LMAO). He told her the plan was for them to come here for her birthday the next day, so I was really excited to see them. Plus tomorrow was Friday, so yay!

Longest Day of My Life

Quite frankly, the title says it all. Just like the Wednesday prior, I had to be at the pharmacy by 8 am for the sales meeting. Now I was in a pickle. The train schedule is very particular and usually very prompt. Last week, I took the early early train (I think I had to be to the train station around 6:30 in the morning, which meant I was up by 5) and got into Roselle around 7:15. I had talked to some of the techs who said, ‘the boss doesn’t usually get there until 8:15; take the later train because you’ll still make it in plenty of time’. The later train supposedly gets me to my stop at 7:58, and if I really book it, I can be to the pharmacy in 5 minutes. So I took my chances on the later train. First of all, it was three minutes late, which is not usually the case. I casually strolled in at 8:08 am and didn’t see the boss there, so I figured I was in the clear. I went to go put my bag away and get my lab coat and when I walked back up front, he was there. Shit. And the co-owner of his other store was there too, so we introduced ourselves. So went through the meeting, and there’s a lot of irrelevant talking in the meeting, but then I knew I had to finish the forms he had wanted me to complete. Now I didn’t have much guidance on how exactly he wanted these, so I did what I thought was right. I took my lunch and waited because we had another consultation with a patient at 1. The woman was so nice and really had done some research. She was a breast cancer survivor who had a single mastectomy and was looking into BHRT. The boss went over it all and lucky for her, this place also has a Mastectomy Boutique, so once we were done, we walked over and talked with until he was ready to meet with me to go over all of the stuff I had done.

We went over the forms and that was around 3ish (I believe? I am 9 days behind as I write this). I kept telling him, “just let me know what you want me to fix and I’ll take care of it”. Wellllllll. I guess I really fucked up on what he wanted for the forms because he pulls them up and basically changes the whole thing. But as I mentioned, no guidance; just make these forms. So as were sitting here fixing them, I am looking at my watch because I take the train and it only comes every hour or so. We’re sitting here fixing it and he says to me, “I guess you’re taking the late train home today”. Welp. I did. I took the 6:30 train home, so I didn’t get home until after 8pm. It was such a long day. Then on top of it all, I hadn’t made my exercise goal for my Apple Watch, so I had to come home and play wii for a bit to close up my rings. Phew. It was tiring. But back at it the next day.

First Day of Creams!

So I had another day in the lab. I finally got to start making some creams. As I had mentioned on another post, this is usually what someone initially training to work in a lab starts with. But maybe I had to prove myself. Not sure, just starting shit. So the cream I made turned out pretty nice, but I had to run it through an ointment mill, which I have used in the past, but my compounding experience ended in 2010, so it’s been a while. I was setting up the machine to get it all started and I totally put one of the parts on upside down. Rookie mistake. But once I ran my cream through the mill, it came out beautifully. I am no expert on the machine, but I think it basically runs through some rollers and it smooths out the cream into a nicer looking, ‘pharmaceutically elegant’ (missing Dr. Do a lot when I said that!) cream to be dispensed. Once I ran it through there, it was PHENOMENAL (watch ‘Shit Italian Moms Say’ on YouTube if you want to get to know me, because my family and I quote that video a lot). I put the cream in the dispensers and then it was ready to go. Labeled it up and was done. I can’t remember any other things specifically I did, but I’m sure whatever I made came out nicely. Then I’m sure I went home, cut some fabric, watched some of The Goldbergs and went to bed. 

Lab Day 3!

Today (6/17/19- I wrote this post on that day, I just hadn’t written the posts a few days before, so if the parts of speech don’t quite make sense, that is why) I was in the lab. Totally where I feel in my element. The DME stuff seems more like busywork to me, but I know I have to do it. Anyway, so I made some dental solutions and flavored them. Was pretty proud of that. Then I counted a few ready-made things to ship out. Finished up the dental order with a dental gel that was A+ work, if I do say so myself. Then I took my lunch. I haven’t been feeling well lately, but today was the best I have felt in a few days. I had my applesauce and saltines for lunch and worked on my learning plan. 

So we had to take an exam in January called the PCOA, which was supposed to test us on all of our didactic knowledge in pharmacy school. Now at this point in the semester, we still hadn’t learned antibiotics, HIV, or cancer. Our school kept saying how the exam would not count for any grade in any class, so most of us didn’t take it seriously. But anyway. We got an email a few weeks ago with our results and then all this shit they wanted us to do to make a learning plan because we didn’t perform at a certain standard. It is really annoying how they emphasized how this was not for any class, yet they now want us to do extensive learning plans.  Well apparently, this was due 10 days ago...now that we’re not in class, they keep springing these deadlines on us and not mentioning them to us, so everything has been late. I finished it up yesterday after my lunch and just submitted it.

After that, I started reading my books for the week. I really don’t know how I am going to have time to finish two books a week, especially after having worked both days of the weekend. I honestly thought I would have MORE time 4th year because we’re not studying daily and stuff, but it’s been a few weeks now, and I still don’t have my shit together.  Hopefully it all just falls into place, because I am not used to not having a structured schedule. I will get it together. 

When the tech told me to go, I left to catch the train. Went to Joann’s (again) to get stuff to restick my Cricut mat, but that stuff didn’t work, so back to the drawing board. My roommates and I were going to dinner at the Chicago Oven Grinder place. I’d never been before. We waited about an hour for the table then about 30 minutes for the pizza. Honestly...not worth the hype. People rave about this place, but I wasn’t impressed. It was just ok pizza to me. Maybe I’m over deep dish and want NY style pizza. So once we sorted out the check, which was a shit show, we went for ice cream and then headed home. I watched a couple episodes of the Goldbergs while I was packing up an order for a friend, looked at a few places on Zillow, then headed to bed.

Bonus: here’s the dental gel I made!

Another Day, Another Dollar

Sunday was a pretty chill day. I went to bed pretty early the night before, so I felt well rested. Got ready for work and had to Uber because I didn’t get my shit together. I jumped in the car, told the driver to turn left, and she went right, then had to make a very illegal u-turn in the middle of the road and I thought I was going to die. Made it to work. Not a terrible day. Went by pretty quickly for the most part. 

Back to Joann’s after work because I wanted to get a price adjusted, but didn’t work. Got home and started cutting out more fabric while watching Goldbergs, had dinner, showered, and went to bed. I really wanted to go to the grocery store afterwards, but never really sat down and put recipes together. I really should do that so I can shop and cook. I will get my shit together...soon. Ish. 

Another New Store

When the shift was open at a CVS that is close by the house, I didn’t hesitate to take it. I knew (if I was lucky), it was only about a five minute ride on the bus. So I got there about 30 minutes before my shift and the store manager was nice enough to give me the code so I could sit in the break room until my shift started. I shopped around because there was stuff I needed, then I put it all away and went to the pharmacy. The shift wasn’t long, only 10-4, but I was scheduled to go see an apartment afterwards. When I work at stores other than my own, I don’t know the locker situation, so I usually bring my clear bag with me in case I have to store it in the pharmacy. This wasn’t the case here, so I was able to use a locker. Met the pharmacist who looked SO young, but he was a cool guy. Really, nothing eventful happened throughout the day, and the store was pretty chill all day. I was nervous because it had a drive through, but it really wasn’t that bad. I chocked it up to it being raining almost all day, which I hadn’t prepared for and left my umbrella at home.

Once my shift was over, I had to rush to catch the bus to get to the place I was viewing on time. I was pissed that I had to buy an umbrella, but it was raining pretty bad and I needed one. So as I walking up the street to get to the place I was going to see, I ran into one of my friends/classmates! Turns out he now lives on that street. We chatted for a bit, but I felt bad because it was raining out and he didn’t have an umbrella. So I kept walking and got to the place. UMMM when I say it was disgusting, that is not an exaggeration. Honestly, the place was a little out of my budget, but I wanted to go check it out anyway. When I got there, it was obvious that at least 6 people were living in this 2 bedroom apartment. It was awful. Filthy, crowded, and the bathtub had a shade of grey in it that even Anastasia wouldn’t like. Omg it was terrible. I have never been in and out of a place so quickly, but I was out in 2 minutes. Then I had to wait for the bus and headed home. I went back to Joann’s on the way home to grab more fabric. I then went over to HomeGoods to look for stuff for a friend. They had a lot of what she was looking for and I was putting it all together to take a picture for her. While I was doing that, a lady took an item from my display to show my friend. Now I am usually not afraid to speak my mind, but with Rae Dunn stuff, ladies fight over that shit, and I didn’t want to cause an uproar. So I let her take the piece I wanted for my friend. She kept putting it down and smelling some of the bath soaps and stuff. I was ‘sneaky’ and followed her around for a few minutes. She put it down and walked to the end of the aisle, when I picked it up off the shelf and jetted to the checkout line. I felt rebellious, yet bad at the same time. But it was mine because I saw it first...turns out my friend didn’t even want that piece lol. I went home and cut more fabric then went to bed because I had to work the next day...again. 

Finally Friday

(I’m still catching up on this- only a week behind at this point. Yay me.)

Friday morning, I got to site in a good mood because a) it was Friday and b) good music came on my Spotify on the way to site. I got to site at the usual time, around 9:30, and I was told the person I would be working with wasn’t going to see me until 11:30, so I worked on some other stuff until then. Once it was 11:30, I went to do what I am being trained to do, which is basically inventory. The guy who was training me showed me how to do it once. Simple enough. Then I hit a snag and had to ask for help. He came up and was like, “why doesn’t that say copy?” UHHHHH BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T TELL ME IT HAD TO? Then he apologized and took the blame because he really hadn’t told me I needed to do that extra step. Like, thank you. Then I took my lunch at this little ale house on the corner and brought my book to finish reading before I met with the boss at 1. It took them forever to acknowledge me and I started to get nervous I wouldn’t make it back on time. I finally ordered, got my food, and read the book. I (lowkey) didn’t finish the book completely; just shy of the last chapter. 

When I talked about the books with the boss, it was evident he knew these books back and forth. He would be like, “refer to pg ____” and he didn’t even have the book in his hand. So that’s when I got nervous. I was afraid he was going to ask me specific things which I really didn’t know; I kind of just skimmed and read the bolded stuff. Don’t judge me; I’ve never been a huge fan of reading. Unbeknownst to me, it was more of a discussion and he asked my opinion on things. This dude has ADD (which he has told me in the past; I’m not just passing judgement), so the discussion went every which way and lasted a lot longer than it needed to, but gotta do what you gotta do. 

My phone was dying and I hadn’t brought my charger for the train, so I couldn’t respond to messages. I got a text from my roommate saying she was going out to a rooftop with friends and asked if we wanted to join. NOW this girl usually has friends in town like every other week (another exaggeration), but I figured they were her friends from FL. Since I hadn’t answered the message, when I got home, she asked me again. I said I was tired and had to work both days of the weekend, so I was just gonna go to bed. Turns out she went out with 2 of our classmates! Had she been specific as to who she was going with, I probably would have sucked it up and gone! Anyway, I digress, nothing to do with my pharmacy day, but worth mentioning I guess. 

Supp, Dude?

When I worked in the lab on Tuesday, the tech in charge asked me what my favorite thing used to be to make in the pharmacy. I told her I used to love making suppositories. I really loved making them because they took a lot of steps. When you first start compounding, you make creams. And a lot of them. Creams then gels then capsules then all the other stuff. But yeah, did I mention I used to make a lot of creams? It’s exciting at first, but gets old quick. It’s been a while since I have done them at this point, so I would have been happy to make some. So the tech told me when she saw me on Wednesday that she was saving a suppository rx for me to make the next day, so I was excited. We didn’t make suppositories much at my old pharmacy (typically we only made a belladonna suppository), but when I made them in school, it all came back. 

I can remember our first compounding competition in 2015. After making 2 awesome prescriptions, then having lunch, we were faced with our last prescription, which we knew was a suppository. I believe you only have an hour to make them in competition, but since you have to double cast them, it takes longer because they need to be poured, set, melted back down, then poured and set. I remember we were running out of time and labeling all of the things and filling out our compounding record when a pharmacist (who was also a judge), came up and started asking us some questions about our technique. We answered them, he gave us some advice, then shook our hands and congratulated us on 3 really awesome prescriptions. I don’t think we actually ended up wrapping our suppositories because we had ran out of time, but the judges at least got to see them. But that pharmacist I mentioned? Now my 1st APPE rotation preceptor. Full circle. 

Anyway, so my day in the lab was basically filled with doing that suppository. It took a long time to melt and since I made almost 150, they took a long time to pour and set too. But when they came out...well, see the pic; they were fucking beautiful. Anyone should be happy to shove that thing up their hoo-ha. I am really feisty lately, not sure why. Deal with it. After that, I weighed out some more powders for capsules. Then I got home, cut some fabric, and went to bed.

Check out these beautiful suppositories! Patted myself on the back because these made me proud.

Finally a Day with my Preceptor

Wednesday...the boss made it clear in his email and in our phone conversation that he wanted me to attend these meetings with he and the marketing team. So I took the WAY FUCKING EARLY train, got to Roselle around 7:15 and went to the McDonald’s nearby because nothing else was open that early. I was sitting there and my bestie texted me asking if I had booked my flight home for Thanksgiving yet. Of course I hadn’t, so she gave me these vouchers she got from her last flight because they’re expiring soon. The only stipulation was that I have to make cupcakes for her dad when I get home. DUH OF COURSE. So shoutout to her because I only had to pay $16 out of pocket. Anyway, I started walking over to the pharmacy around 7:45 am because I didn’t want to be late. Doors were locked and nobody was there. So I waited for the pharmacist to get there and I went in and put my stuff up. Finally saw my preceptor for the first time. I have met him a bunch of times before, but he hadn’t been in the office since I had started. We sat through the meeting and he kept talking to the team and giving me ‘tasks’ to do...but like mentioning them in passing. Anyway, the meeting lasted over an hour then we went to see the new lab (even though I had just seen it the day before). Once that was all done, I sat in the lunchroom and worked on one of the assignments he had mentioned. 

 

He told me to come up at a certain time because a patient was coming in for a consultation. So I packed up and headed to his office. The woman was on a bunch of meds and had been feeling really lethargic lately. While we were getting the history, I had the most cringeworthy moment of my life (did I mention I am dramatic?). He was taking the notes and writing down her meds and I thought he was asking me what something was used for and I blurted out the answer I thought was correct. Spoiler alert: he wasn’t asking me and I was completely wrong. Major facepalm. Once that was done, we talked about expectations and things and he mentioned a few more assignments he wanted me to do. He then told me that if the lab manager likes my work, she will ask me to be in the lab 3 days a week instead of just 2, which is my dream, because I really don’t care for the DME stuff. I know I have to do it because I’m getting a grade, but damn it’s so boring. We talked for a bit longer and then I asked him how long he really wanted me to stay everyday because I take the train and the schedule is so strict. He mentioned how he doesn’t really keep track of the hours, but to go when I needed to. I told him the train was coming in 10 min, and he told me to run and catch it. Turns out I had missed that train by like 40 minutes and I would have to wait another 30 for the next one. So fml, as usual, but I made it home eventually. 

Lab Day!!!

I was so excited to be in the lab finally. It has been a long time since I’ve done compounding, but you never forget your first love (or first pharmacy job in this case). The tech in charge probably needed to see what I could do before giving me more difficult orders, so I started with a few solutions. They were pretty beautiful, if I do say so myself. Then I moved on to capsules. Well, not quite. The way they do it is much different than what I’m used to. I remember at our pharmacy if we had a lot of caps to make, we would weigh out all of our powders, mix them in M&P with a bit of the dye to ensure even mixing, then if we had a bunch that day, we would Saran Wrap them and go in that order to fill them. At this pharmacy, they basically just weigh out all the powders, put them in a plastic bag, then keep the powder and order together until the capsule person gets to it. In my opinion, that creates a lot of opportunity for waste, but I’m just a nobody, so doesn’t matter haha (I know I’m not as nobody, but as far as this pharmacy is concerned, I am just the student). So I did that, then went to lunch. Came back and filled a few other things. The tech said Tuesdays she will be sending me home early since a) the boss isn’t there Tuesdays and b) she knows I need to be there mad early the next day. So once I filled the last few orders, she let me go home. Then I am pretty sure I came home and cut out more fabric for the quilt I am making and that’s it. 

First Day on the Floor

It was Monday morning and I was finally doing pharmacy stuff...after a couple of hours. Preceptor was still not there and the person training me didn’t get in until 11:30, so I read for a few hours until he got there. So I worked on the DME side of the store after 11:30. He was training me on the DME and how it is used for patients. Like how to measure people for compression hose, walkers, canes, etc. I also got to meet with the woman who runs the mastectomy boutique. It is incredible what she does. She meets with patients and helps them with wigs, make up, and prosthetics. I felt terrible because I was SO tired that I felt like I was falling asleep while she was talking, but we did that. I then had lunch and went back on the floor afterwards. 

While on the floor, a patient and his daughter came in, ironically, for a walker. The man was older, but coherent, and their relationship was really adorable. The daughter was so happy to see her dad be so mobile in the walker. She then wanted a picture with us to send to someone. Idk man, I just do what I’m told. As we got to talking, she said how here dad has so many girlfriends and is kind of a sugar daddy. LMAO but those gears in my head sure were turning! We finished up a few training things and they sent me home for the day. Fun day, but tomorrow was finally my first day in the lab, so I was excited!

A Much Needed Day Off

Lazy Sunday was just that. Lazy. I didn’t realize how much I really needed rest. I ended up running some errands eventually after I talked myself into leaving the house. Went to get groceries and HomeGoods. I’m gonna be honest here, I’m so far behind on this blog that I can’t remember what else I did that day. I will be better I promise. I am writing a blog from 6/9 on 6/18. I’m working on it. 

New Day, New Store

So this morning (June 8), I had picked up a shift at another store, since I haven’t been getting any hours at my own. It felt like it took me a while to get acclimated to this store. I haven’t been to a store where they didn’t want me to count; they basically wanted me to just pull drugs for the tech to count them. It was a busy store and there were pages and pages of shit to do all day, and the people were dropping off nonstop. I guess there was a nearby store that had recently closed, so all of those patients had come to this store. The workers were all really nice and made me feel at home. They had a lot of snacks and drinks too and they told me to help myself. Once the day was done, I went back to Joann’s again. I got more fabric. Went home and finally watched Always Be My Maybe. Super cute movie. Went to bed and was looking forward to not having to use an alarm the next day.

TGIF

This morning, I got off the train and was walking over to site. I was listening to music in my AirPods. Now if you know me, you know I’m literally the most clumsy person on the planet. After the tech had told me the day before I needed to wear shoes that covered my whole feet. So I wore my boots that have a small heel (like I’m talking 1 inch or less). While walking over, I didn’t notice the uneven ground, tripped and almost fell, and my AirPod came flying out of my ear and into the bushes. I was like, ‘SHIT; I really do not want to have to buy another one of these’ (I have already had to buy a single one this year after losing one in church). So best believe I was digging through bushes looking for it. Spoiler alert: I did find it.

Day 2 of rotation and the boss was still not there. The tech set me up to do the last training on the computer then I was reading...again...for hours. She sent me home early because she didn’t want me to start any other training yet. It was nice to go home early, so I went to Joann’s afterwards so I could get the backing to start these quilts! I finished up watching Riverdale and started on the T-shirt quilt I’m working on! But then I realized the baby quilt I am doing had to be started soon because that baby is coming sooner than I had expected. Then I went to bed. Go figure.

June 6...APPE DAY 1!

I woke up and literally could not believe I was finally on my APPE rotations. My first module is at a compounding pharmacy, which I picked, but damn is it far away. Whenever I’m going somewhere new, I like to get there pretty early just in case I get lost or there’s a train delay, or whatever else may happen.  So I was to be there at 9:45, but since the Metra is very scheduled and prompt, I arrived at my stop around 9:25ish. I walked over to the place then kind of just sat there because the person I was training under didn’t expect me that early (I guess). Then one of the pharmacists hands me my list of books this preceptor wants me to get through during the rotation...about 10 of them on random topics. Now I really don’t like to read...I know, I know, how did I make it through pharmacy school? A lot of reading the preface and conclusion pages. 

Anyway, once she was ready for me, she set me up in the boss’ office (he wasn’t going to be there until Monday) to do some computer trainings. So as I’m going through these HIPAA and BBP trainings (that I had LITERALLY completed for school the day before, I am struggling to stay awake. So I finished what I could then took my lunch. There was an older gentleman in the break room who very kindly introduced himself. Besides the pharmacist in the AM and the girl training me, he was the first person to actually talk to me. He looked at me and said, ‘are you Cuban?’ Now that is funny because people don’t usually get it right on the first try, and here’s this 77 year old white Irish man who did. He was really nice and we talked my plans after graduation and told me how I would have no problem finding a job when I was done because I was so young...this man dead ass thought I was only 22. God bless him. Once I told him how old I actually was, he then said, ‘well then that makes sense why you have such a good head on your shoulders and can actually hold a conversation.’ Then I kind of thought to myself...when did parents stop talking to their children? Like even some of the younger people in my class can’t carry a conversation with someone who is their senior. I don’t know because I grew up with the same people many while lives and we mainly all either went to school together or worked together, so we were quite similar in our upbringing, so I guess I can say I am fortunate to have had great influences in my life and that is quite a testament to my character. Anyway, he went on and told me how I would have no problem finding a job because I was smart and beautiful. Really nice thing to say. So once I was finished accepting compliments, (just kidding), I went back to the office. Couldn’t get my last training to pull up, so she told me to just read because she had a meeting at 1. 3 FUCKING HOURS LATER, I’m still literally just sitting there reading. Now I know I have an obligation to be there, but shit, I could have been reading at home with no pants on. Once she came back and apologized for taking so long, she told me to leave whenever I needed to to catch the train. I have never packed up and gotten out of somewhere quicker. I went home, chilled a bit then showered and went to bed to do it all over again tomorrow. 

HOLD ON FOR ONE MORE DAY!

Wednesday FINISH

After having to be up mad early to get to school at 8am, the morning schedule consisted of us working on this stupid portfolio that is apparently a requirement for graduation. It is honestly a waste of time...just let us keep our CV’s updated and move on with our lives. Well, that was scheduled to go for 4 hours. After talking about 2 hours about this, the teacher had to walk around and help a bunch of people because some of my classmates are not tech savvy. I had to stop myself there because I was gonna use the “R” word, because some of them are pretty clueless. That’s putting it nicely. So once my computer died because I couldn’t be bothered to bring my charger, we had lunch.

Once lunch was done, we had more talks from other professors. The one talk was about IRB’s. A lot of shit goes into that to even be able to do research...who fucking knew. Then the next was about the actual Capstone project. I’m about to go on a mini tangent/rant right now, so please bare with me. Now, the professor in charge of this was someone I had a lot of respect for during our 2nd year because she is a really great teacher and is always looking out for us. But as time went on, I saw the real her. She took about 20 of my classmates on a trip to India last winter break and let’s just say there was segregation amongst the black and white students...my roommate was one of the people who went on the trip, so I heard the whole thing. It’s funny hearing about people’s experiences with India because some had an incredible experience, but primarily, my black friends said there was times they would go to restaurants and people didn’t even know they were all in the same group because there was so much space between them at the tables. Anyway, that’s all I want to say about that. Now fast forward to last semester. We have a class called DMTM 2 that is designed basically (in my opinion) to weed people out to see who is ready for rotations or not. It’s a really hard class...lots of info and answers on exams are free response, so you basically need to know everything. In this class, we have to do presentations. She picks and chooses her favorites (very obviously) and one of her favorites was unlucky enough to have to present in front of the whole class. Now this girl is an airhead...putting it nicely. When we do presentations at this stage in the game, we have to have evidence from studies, so that means lots of stats. I KNOW this girl knows nothing about stats. But she did well on that portion of the presentation. And the entire time, she was only looking at the professor. It was obvious that these two had rehearsed this together...and we all knew it. Now when we do presentations, the facilitator always encourages questions from the audience. Once this girl was done with her presentations, the teacher went straight into asking her questions. We all just sat there and scratched our heads. Because this was clearly rehearsed too. When the audience got loud because we had questions, the dumbass couldn’t answer the questions we were asking, and the teacher was like, ‘this is a question for everyone’...UM NO? We all already did our presentations and answered our own questions. Anyway, I digress. But this was hella fucking annoying. 

Once the capstone presentation was over, we had another presentation on professionalism. UGH HOW MANY FUCKING TIMES DO WE NEED THIS SAME SPEECH? After that, they wished us well and sent us on our ways. Big day tomorrow!

APPE Orientation Day 2

Again, had to be at school at 9. The first review session was for law. Now I really love our teacher, because I think he is bae, like a really hot dad. (It’s my unpopular opinion amongst my classmates). He notoriously ends lecture really quickly because he assumes we know the stuff. Good and bad. But anyway, so they gave him 2 hours for this...he finished in 45 minutes. Then they had a scheduled 2 hour lunch for right after. So we had a bunch of extra time. We had to turn in all those papers for rotation between 12-1pm because the chick at the desk is super picky about it. Since we got out so early, thank god she took us early. Side note, at that point, I still had not grocery shopped or cooked yet, so I had no food in the house yet. Thankfully, roomie was like, ‘let’s go to Marshall’s; we’ve got the time’ so we did that and I got Subway. 

Once it was time to start again, it was another 2 fucking presentations that had nothing to do with anything, but we still had to listen to them. When we got home, I napped for a bit then went to get some groceries and I cooked a dish so I had something for lunch the next day. After I was done cooking, I’m pretty sure I just went to bed. We had to be there even earlier the next day. 

Just Another Manic Monday

This morning, we woke up to the sweetest surprised from my roommate: flowers, a sweet card, and my favorite NBC cake (lemon raspberry). Even almost 10 days later, the flowers are healthy and thriving, hunnnnnay! 

Anyway, we had to be at school at 9 am. APPE orientation for the next 3 days. After an intro from the director of APPE, we went into an IPE review and talked about our required IPE meeting we have to do sometime within the next year. Then calculations review. That was SO helpful. I will never understand why my school only does calculations during the first year of school. There was a lot we had forgotten, so this was a great thing. He finished early, so our lunch was longer. I went with my friend to the cashier’s office to see if they helped with CTA bus/train passes during the summer. Spoiler alert: they don’t. That really sucks for the people who take summer classes and can’t afford the $106/month for the pass. Lucky for me, my mom paid for mine because our loans had not dropped yet. 

After lunch, was an absolute waste of time. They had PGY1 students who were trying to earn their teaching certificates, so they gave presentations and needed an audience. It really sucks we had to sit through these because there was no relevance to us whatsoever. It was more geared towards pharmacists who needed CE credits. So after wasting 2 hours of our time (if I haven’t mentioned this before, my school fucking LOVES to do this), I went home to get all my paperwork together for my 3rd module, which was annoying because I had literally turned all of this in 3 weeks prior for my last IPPE. Really frustrating. 

So at this point, that sunburn was peeling SO FUCKING BAD. It was like at the really gross phase. But I wanted to try and unpack my suitcases. If you know me, you know it takes me SO long to unpack after I travel. So I did that and wanted to set up the Wii I brought back just to see if it was going to work. Success! I had missed my dance games. So I played 4 songs in the MJ game and literally beat 2 high scores LOL I hadn’t played in like 5-6 years. So then I showered, and went to bed because I had to do this shit right over the next day. 

Back to Life, Back to Reality

Sunday. 

So that 3:30 am wake up call was rough, but I just made sure I had all of my things packed, then went to wake up my dad so he could drop me off at the airport. We live about 10 minutes away and boarding was at 4:50, but I needed to check a bag, so I wanted to leave the house a little early. I said goodbye to my mom and the cat, but man, these goodbyes to the dog are getting harder and harder. She is now 13 and she’s been declining over the last year. She’s still such a happy and loving girl, but it still breaks my heart. She has been such an amazing family member to us all. So I know she might not have heard me because her hearing is declining, but I whispered something to her that I really hope she heard. 

Once we got to the airport, my dad dropped me off and then I got in the line to check a bag. I got to the airport at 4:12 am, and I saw that line and got really nervous! The line for the Delta gate was so long that I was thinking I wouldn’t make my flight! Historically, my flights at PBI are boarded at the FARTHEST gate away, and I knew I still had to go through TSA. So I was waiting in line for about 10-15 min, then the people in front of me went outside. I followed them and thank god because they finally opened up the curbside check-in. Come to find out, the inside desk opened up at 4:30! Once the bag was checked, I went to the TSA line. The guy working looked at my ticket and sent me in a long line. MY FLIGHT WAS BOARDING IN 20 MINUTES, so naturally, I was freaking out. Well guess what...my gate was C1! THANK GOD. So I made it in and on time. They were asking people to check their carry-on’s when we got to the gate, and I almost always do it if I already have another bag checked. So by doing this, I got to board early, which was nice. I don’t remember much about the flight because truthfully, I passed the hell out when I sat down. Next thing I knew, I was in Atlanta.

When I landed there, I still didn’t have a seat, so I rushed to my gate so I could get one and not jeopardize anything. The lady gave me a window seat in an exit row. BLESS HER. And it turned out to be one of those exit row seats with nobody in front of you, so ALL THE LEGROOM! But again...I passed right out. The only thing I remember is the chick next to me flinging her blanket all over the place and taking up the entire armrest (ughh). But since I had passed out, I had forgotten to turn my phone into airplane mode...oops! Then I felt a text message in my purse that was at my feet, and the message said something like, ‘we’re sorry, your luggage did not arrive as planned’. Fackkkkkk. That has never happened to me before. So I check my email when I landed officially and they said they had put my luggage on the next flight in. It wasn’t due to land for almost another 2 hours. When I went to see the customer service guy to really confirm this he was like, ‘well, do you live close by?’ UM NO, SIR, I DO NOT. So I really had to wait that extra almost 2 hours but the bag made it. I was finally ready to leave, so I called for an Uber. The chick outside working was REAL serious about her job and yelling a lot, then I finally was in my ride. Really nice driver who was driving for charity. And some guys from WI in the back. I just honestly wanted to be home, so once I got dropped off, I passed out in my bed for about 4 hours. I don’t remember much about what else happened, just know I showered and went to bed because I had to be at school for the next 3 days. Joy.

Last Full Day of Vacation

Saturday. I woke up fairly early because I was debating going to the local donut shop to bring some home for my roommate’s. If you know my mom, you know she loves weekends because she makes her coffee and sits on the porch rocking chair with her iPad and just relaxes. The pets usually join her outside and she just admires her porch. So I went out with her for a bit and then she was like, “you better go now if you’re thinking about going to get donuts for the girls”. At that point, the sunburn was still killer, so bras were painful. I went out of the house People of Walmart style (Google that if you don’t know what I am talking about), and got my donuts. I always pick up a dozen, but 2 of those are Bavarian for my grandma when they have them. They did, so I went by to drop them off to her so I could see her one more time before I left. She was so excited and then almost started crying because I was getting ready to leave again. Then I get upset too. 

So I get home and tell my dad not to put his paws all over those donuts. Backstory: I have tried to bring the girls donuts home like 3 or 4 times now and by the time I go to pack them up, my folks have cut with a knife and tried EVERY SINGLE donut. Lol We sat on the porch and talked and each had our donut I had gotten for US and then I was finishing up laundry and thinking of packing. We then got a visitor a little while later from my goddaughter and it’s always sad because that means the hard goodbye is coming. We played for a bit then just hung out in the house.

I later went back to JoAnn’s with my mom for her to help me check out some fabric for the baby quilt I’m making. I let it slip that I had a Cricut, and I feel like I saw my mom’s eyes light up. She was pissed that I had bought one because that meant I spent money, but now she’s excited and I am sure I’ll be making all the stuff for my graduation. Which is cool because at least I will get exactly what I want! After that, back home, had one last dinner, finished packing, and went to bed because the 3:30am wake up call was going to come reallllllly soon. 

Final Friday in Florida

So mom and I knew we would have my goddaughter in the morning, but we weren’t sure what time she was getting dropped off. I woke up around 5:30 because I was excited to get her, but she didn’t get dropped off until about 2 hours later. We played a little bit and watched her favorite, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Once my grandma called us, we went to pick her up and went for breakfast. She behaved really well, but didn’t eat much. To clarify, I mean my goddaughter; my grandma may be little, but the woman can eat. Once we left breakfast, we went to Burlington for a while. It was approaching nap time, so she was a little cranky, but nothing unbearable. While my mom checked out, I brought her to the car and changed her pull up because she had peed. We headed home then her daddy came to pick her up for a nap.

Once she left, we kind of chilled for a bit until I had to go to dinner with another friend. Maybe we did something in between that time, but I really don’t remember. OH...yes I do. We got word that my grandma’s cousin had fallen and broken her hip the day before, so they were waiting for her to go in for surgery. She has dementia, so recovery is going to be long and difficult, I’m sure. So my mom took my grandma to see her, so I was home without the car and either napped or watched more Riverdale to wait for her to get back so I could use the car to meet up with my friend. I ended up being a little late to meet my friend, but the place was a cool place. Talked a bunch with her. I can relate to her because she’s a pharmacist with CVS, so I get her horror stories. Once we were done, I stopped by the store to pick out some fun things for a few upcoming art projects. I truly can’t wait to have more free time during this last year to be able to have my hobbies flourish again. Thought I was going to be meeting up with someone for drinks later on, but I fell asleep because I am a terrible human being. So yeah, onto the next one.

Fave Day with Fave Bae

So STILL playing catch up, but I am working on it! Woke up to bring my mom to work and then went back to bed for a bit. Bestie had texted me the day before asking if I wanted to go for a walk and browse houses. Backstory: we live <10 min from each other and used to meet up to bike every once in a while. There is a really nice gated community close by that we used to frequently ride through. One time, we brought my mom along. We rode through the neighborhood, and there was a house that was marked for open house. So we went in and browsed the house just because. Went through and pictured our lives in that house. So fun. Until my mom opened the wrong door and set the alarm off. It was so funny!! We ran out so fast. This happened maybe 10 years ago, but we still talk about it.

So when she asked me to go with her, that was the first thing I thought about. We ended up walking in a nearby community and I prayed to get a little more sun to even our this streaky arm tan situation I have going on. It was a great time. We talked a lot and then she made me emotional because I know she’s had my back since the beginning of my pharmacy journey, but hearing her say it and almost tear up talking about it made me feel proud. So once we walked and talked for a while, we went back to my house and just sat in the AC for a bit and rehydrated. It was damn hot that day. We were both hungry, so we decided to go have lunch. Chatted more there then went to Ross to look for a fanny pack (lol). She is heading to Europe during Thanksgiving break, so wanted one to hold her stuff. We are bad for each other shopping, but that’s ok. Then we walked over to Publix to grab wine for her and went home.

I laid down for a nap for a bit then had to go get mom from work. Picked her up, then showered and got ready to meet up with besties and my goddaughter for dinner. I went to pick up one of them then we headed that way, so we actually ended up being about 10 minutes late. We talked some more then had some food, and bestie went to the bathroom, came back, and said she felt like she was going to pass out. Other bestie is a nurse, so she grabbed the baby in one hand and told bestie to lay down and held her feet up with the other hand. She relaxed a bit then felt much better. We left and I went for a milkshake before I dropped bestie back off at her house. I went inside to see her mom and sister and let me tell you. I truly believe in the power of prayer. Her mom is a nurse as well, and I know she has a really great relationship with God. She has continued to pray for me and my journey for the years and she hugged me and said how happy for me she was that I finally have gotten to this point. We chatted more and I stayed over to watch some of the NBA Finals Game 1. I stayed until about the 3rd quarter then left because we were both tired. Watched a little more Riverdale when I got back, then went to bed.

HumpDAYYYYYY

Wednesday I, again, woke up early to take my mom to work so I could keep the car. Another thing I knew I wanted to do was go down to Sawgrass to literally go to the Disney outlet because someone had posted a bunch of stuff that was on sale there, so I had to go check it out. Once I got home from dropping mom off, I came back and went to bed for a bit, because I did not want to be stuck in rush hour traffic. So I slept for a couple hours then headed down. It was a little less than an hour ride, which I remember feeling a lot longer as a kid! Anyway, I got down there and shopped for a little bit, but I knew I wanted to be back by 4. So I didn’t walk the whole mall and I really didn’t shop too much (I can’t wait to go back there and shop the shit out of Sawgrass once I’ve lost weight and I get to shop for career/professional clothes!). I left and headed to the Royal Inn.

My bestie invited me to go to my goddaughter’s swim class. Only 15 minutes, but she did so awesome! My parents planned to take me out to dinner to celebrate the official P4 status. After the cutest swim lesson ever, I went to put gas in the car and stopped by Marshall’s (in the same plaza) and ran into a woman I ALWAYS run into while I’m home. She has a daughter who went to the same elementary/middle/high school as me who is a few years older than me. She used to come into Target all the time when I worked there, so she knew I was going to school to be a pharmacist. It really felt good to officially tell her I am almost finished. So we chatted for like 15 minutes as we usually do, then I left to pick up mom and meet dad at the restaurant. They wanted to go to a fancy restaurant in Wellington that I had not been to, but a bunch of my friends have been and loved it. It’s next door to a Pei Wei...well it was! When we pulled up, I told my mom the PW sign wasn’t up anymore. I went to the door and there was a sign saying it had closed two days ago! I think my parents were bummed. So we went next door for dinner and my mom encouraged celebratory drinks, which she NEVER does...that’s how I know she’s proud of me for finally getting to P4. She didn’t order a drink, but dad and I did. Dad’s drink was so strong he had to have her drive him home LMAO.

But after dinner, I headed back with bestie because I wanted to be there for my goddaughter’s bathtime because I had bought her these bath bombs to try. She lovesssss bath bombs. When I have them to her on Sunday, she asked me to give her a bath right then and there, even though it was like 11 am haha. So she was playing with a dirt pile at pop pop’s house (yes, my bestie lives 2 doors down from her parents) and then we went for the bath. The girl was so impatient that she didn’t even want to wait for the bath to fill up. Once she gets a bath, she gets pjs on and winds down with her dad on the chair. I stayed around to talk and she was falling asleep and she would wake herself up and say, “titi?” And her mom said yes, titi is still here. She did it again another time too. That’s what she calls me if I haven’t mentioned that before, but I loved that she was looking for me. Once she went to bed, I stayed and chatted with mom and dad for a while, but I realized it was a school night and we were all tired. (Bestie is a teacher) So I went home, watched a little more Riverdale, and went to bed.

The Best Day

So on Tuesday, I dropped my mom off at work mad early. I knew when I had gone home that I wanted to spend at least one of my days at the beach. Honestly, I knew that is what I wanted (and needed!), but I had reservations. I have not been to the beach in years (to actually swim and stuff; I’ve been to take some pictures, but that’s different) because I have been so embarrassed I would run into someone I knew and they would see me. I am obviously not happy with how I look for a while now, so I didn’t want to see anyone. But I knew I needed the salt and fresh air (hell, and the tan). So when I got a text from my best friend asking if I wanted to go to the beach, it seemed like great timing. I guess the last time I actually went to the beach was before I was wearing glasses full time, so I didn’t know how to do the beach. Lol that sounds stupid, but hear me out. Do I wear contacts so I can actually see all the time and wear my old sunglasses or do I wear my glasses and be blind while I’m in the water? I opted for the contacts. We got there, applied our sunscreen (more on that later), and waited for a bit to go in. When I say the water was perfect, it was legit perfect. Not too cold, and just amazing. So I went in and literally 5 minutes later...lost a contact. Shit. And of course I did not pack my glasses. So I was basically blind in one eye for the rest of the day. Well I had a great time at the beach with my sisters. Real and deep conversations and just a good damn time. Needed the sun therapy for sure. We went to lunch afterwards and the great times continued. When I got home, I finally looked at my, erm, tan. Well turns out you actually have to rub in the spray sunscreen too after you spray it. So I was left with burned, streaky shoulders. Yup, it looks real cute. I tried to use the cocoa butter self tanner spray we had, but that didn’t work. I am happy with the tan elsewhere, but damn, my arms look bad. I’ve finally started peeling today (Sunday...yes, I’m still behind, but I am working on it). So there’s the recap of my amazing beach day with my sisters (3/4 of the cheetah sisters, missing my actual sister).

While looking at some emails and stuff from school, I decided to check and see if my grade from the presentation and the class were posted and guess what...they were! And guess what...that meant I AM OFFICIALLY A P4! That was a great phone call to make to my mom (my dad was home with me). I swear my mom was crying. But it felt good to finally say that, after starting my journey back in 2010. YAYYYYYYY!

Memorial Day Monday!

We had a busy day! The morning just kind of got away from us...just spending time with my parents while my dad was cooking for our lunch/dinner. We kind of just hung out at the house, then went to pick up my grandma to come over to eat. A few weeks ago, I had texted my parents and I asked if my dad would be BBQ’ing for Memorial Day. If he was to BBQ, I asked for ribs, corn on the cob, baked beans, and potato salad. He had never responded to the text, so I figured nothing was going on. I had called my parents a few days before I got here and he was out grocery shopping for everything I had asked for =) I was a happy chick. Once we picked up my grandma, we headed home to eat (after some wine!) and yum! I missed my dad’s cooking. After we ate, we had an eyebrow appointment. Left the house pretty early because we didn’t want to be late. I finally felt like a girl again. We stopped by our favorite local ice cream shop to pick up a pie, but there weren’t any left, so we just got ice cream. We came home and had visitors! My goddaughter and her mom came over to hang out for a bit. It was hilarious because she’s growing up too fast. We FaceTimed with my sister and she was basically holding the phone and talking the whole time...she’s only 2! Anyway, she is hilarious and had us all laughing a lot. Once we came inside, she kept asking me for what I thought was cheese. After offering her cheese a few times (lol), she pointed at her teeth. She slept over my parents house a few weeks ago and they all brushed their teeth together, so now that’s her thing when she comes over here. So I took her in to brush her teeth and my gosh it was cute. We played a bit longer then she went home for bed and I probably wasn’t that far behind her. I laid in bed looking for a new show to watch, and I settled on Riverdale. I didn’t realize how much I would actually like the show, because I figured it was geared toward teens. Anyway, that’s my show now, so I’m going to get through all they have on Netflix and then move onto the next. That’s it for this day!