who's soonger??

All done!

Friday, June 2nd.

These last few days have been quite the adventure. Not only have I been trying to balance the crazy schedule of working at the pharmacy, I've been trying to go out with the fellas. On Wednesday, I worked with my mentor / preceptor on the last little bit on my SPT project. There was a lot of success! (Thank goodness!)

Thursday night was supposed to be relaxing. I was in a rush to get something for the people that I worked with as well as my mentor as a token of my appreciation for their patience and support during this month at the pharmacy. Unfortunately, I was not successful in finding a present but I did purchase a couple of thank-you cards from Hallmark. After the mall closed, Mike and I went over to the grand reopening of the Keg, a fine bistro in town. Since Mike was an employee of the brewery that supplies the restaurant, we got in without a formal invitation. What had been planned for a 1/2 hr loiter turned out to be a 2 1/2 hr adventure! Man-- was it a great party-- all you could drink and eat! There was a live band and lots of people out. They did a great job renovating the place...

Today, the last day of work ended up well. Got all the things I needed to complete completed for SPT. Everything was signed-- all pages photocopied just in case it gets lost in the mail! I'm sending mine through registered mail to be safe... Also in the day, I went upstairs to get my MMR shot (mumps, measles, rubella) The blood titres indicated that I had intermediate resistance-- a booster was given to make sure that I would generate an adequate response... d'oh! My arm is gonna hurt this weekend!

After supper, I did a lot of work in the front of the house. Not only did I cut the lawn (it was optimal conditions to cut the lawn-- cool and breezy-- not too much sun out!) and I also washed the two cars. It has been over a week since I last cleaned the cars. Terrible! But now the oversight has been corrected-- everything is back to normal...

Tonight, I went out with Mike, Jonesey and my friend Vince. We went to this place called the Honest Lawyer (an oxymoron, I know...) Not too many good lookin' chicks out but it was alright. I bought the guys a round with my newly found Schering wealth. (Did I tell you that I work as a pharmacy student promoting Claritin?) Not bad, eh?

I should be getting to bed now-- it's 1:33am early Saturday morning and I thought I should log this all down before I forget it all! I have to remind myself to get the CDs that Jonesey made me the other day... also have to upload a few new pictures into this webpage. After all, I need some new material, don't you think???

And then there were two...

Saturday, June 3rd.

I was surprised to learn that my friend in Windsor also has to hand in her work for the 4-week project that all pharmacy students have to do before writing the licensing exam. So that means that 2 of my close friends have to do this. From what I have heard, only 10% of those doing the project have to submit work. Whew! I dodged a major bullet!

Tonight, I went out with the fellas to Jimmy G's, formerly known as Tilt. They've totally renovated the place. It's now a bar in the front, a pool hall in back. Jim's done a good job with the whole setup. I think he's making much more $$$ with the work he's put into the joint.

Afterwards, the guys and I cruised the downtown to see if there was any action going on. The OAS conference starts up tomorrow and we were seeing if there would be anyone stupid enough to start anything considering that there are polite everywhere and anywhere. It seems as if they are determined to prevent another scandal like Seattle... We'll see how successful they are!

First day on the new job...

Monday, June 5th.

Quite a first day at the new job at Shopper's. Wasn't quite together at first-- I was quite inept, to be honest. However, as the day progressed, I picked up things here and there. Mind you, I only know the most trivial of tasks everywhere but good enough to get the tasks asked of me completed.

My story for today was with a man picking up a renewal. This guy was asking for his script renewed but the pharmacist could only get 4 pills paid for by his plan (he had asked for 8).

After phoning the insurance company, I discovered we were clawed back (them only allowing 4 instead of 8) and explained to him what had happened. Following the PC process, I tried to give the man options. His plan only covers 24 pills per 3 month cycle and only 4 pills were left in this period. I told him this and said he could get his next Rx with 8 pills.

Basically, I followed what my preceptor Gary would have done in the same situation. I'm telling you-- he is my pharmacist-hero. Talk about trying to emulate someone in their profession-- Gary is a class-act. Yes, that sounds stupid but I'm telling you the truth!)

In other news, I discovered that my former place of employment is opening an online pharmacy? I also heard that Jim Gay (from the College) is leaving his position since he didn't get assistant registar and is opening his OWN Internet pharmacy! Talk about gossip in the pharmacy world!

I'd better get going now-- all this talk about pharmacy and the little gossip I hear... I'm getting OLD!

Ripped off!

Wednesday, June 7th.

Wasn't working at Shopper's in South Windsor but at another location in town. As a representative for Schering Canada, I was to promote allergy awareness and the products available-- especially Claritin.

The day was not bad-- a little on the slow side but I was able to counsel other people besides allergy awareness. This is to help me with my OTC roaming skills. It's been challenging to hear people of different backgrounds and beliefs on using medications to help in their situation.

After work, I decided to talk to my boss. After looking at the pay cheques, I was surprised to see that I was being underpaid. Upon discussion with her, apparently she is playing hardball. She is going to pay me at the current wage or a pay scale that pays a lower rate for sites within Windsor and a higher pay scale for travelling abroad.

Guess what? The higher scale was the wage that I was lead to believe was my base pay. Looks like Soonger is been taken for a ride. I will tentatively accept my pay as it is now because I do not travel nearly as much than I do working in town. I am very disappointed by where I am now since I have committed to the job. In the future, I will ensure all agreements are written on paper and reviewed with an attorney. It's sad to see when a person's word isn't good enough in life...

oops!

Friday, June 16th.

Oops! I made a terrible mistake yesterday-- totally embarrassed by the whole situation. Since it was a Claritin Day again, (as always), I thought it was another 3-8 shift. So I took my time yesterday doing all the things I wanted to do: got up late, watched TV, played a little Sega DreamCast (thanks Vince for lending it to me!), even burned a CD!

When I checked my schedule for what was the agenda for Friday, I panicked! Thursday's hours were 11-4 and I was checking my schedule around 1:30. Yup, I made a big time error. I called up the store I was working at that day and said I'd be there in 1/2 an hour.

It took exactly a half-hour to drive down there and luckily, the staff was cool with my error in schedules. I worked 2-7. People there were pleasant. I was able to give out stuff and answer people's questions about allergy meds. It was your standard day-- I was a little uncomfortable with where I was working-- in the waiting area-- but I did get the job done.

That evening I relaxed and did my own thing at home. The fellas were off doing their own thing-- Mike had a long day so he stayed home. Jonez and Max? I have no idea...

Plans for today: I made sure my hours were 3-8 tonight. Jonez told me his friends from Western are coming to Windsor tonight-- there may be plans. Personally, I want to go see the movie, Shaft.

Car hunting...

Wednesday, June 21st.

Soonger did a little car shopping yesterday. Along with my buddies, we went over to the Honda, Toyota and Mazda dealers in town. I wanted to check out the Toyota Solara (2-door Camry) and the Accord. Mike wanted to test the Miata that was on "special". Anyway, I was quite impressed by the 2 cars that I tested. The Solara, a car that a friend of mine owns, was quick, nimble and very quiet. The $32K price tag was a little higher than what I expected but the quality is all there. Next time, I will take a look at under the hood to see what is driving that beast.

The Honda Accord SE (special edition) was quite the peppy car. It's a lot more powerful than the car I currently drive (we've got a '91 Accord). The 150-hp VTEC engine has a lot going for it. The ride being much stiffer and quieter than the older models give it something to brag about. The guys had plenty of room in the back (these guys are 6' and 6'5", respectively). However, I don't plan on transporting many people in the car. Being spacious is only important if you have a family. I don't plan on starting one in the near future so the 2-door coupe seems like a more logical choice.

On a final car note, I have also been doing a lot of research on more exotic cars-- the BMW 323Ci, the Lexus IS300 and the Acura CL to be particular. If I could wish for any of these cars, the Lexus has to take my vote. If you want to see what I'm talking about, Canadian Driver's link will give you a good idea why. The offical Canadian page has more info on it as well. Wow! This car has a lot going for it. The $40K price tag? I'll have to drive it to see if it's all worth it! More news to follow...

Yesterday, I also went to see a movie, Gone in 60 Seconds. I have to say it was a fairly entertaining movie. Mind you, it's a thoughtless type of movie with a couple of twists but it's basically your crash-em-up type of blockbuster. No real plot and the action is here and there. The final chase is your typical finale. Still, I gave it a SoongScore of 7.5 out of a possible 10.

Another week gone?!

Friday, June 30th.

I cannot believe another week is gone-- however, I am happy the weekend is almost here! Whew! Work has been very busy in both jobs. Don't mind it, really-- it keeps my brain active. Compared to other years, if the brain is active, then the mind doesn't rot like it has in previous summers. It has been somewhat satisfying to actually apply the knowledge I learned in school for good use (if it would be used for evil then that would be okay too...)

On the car front, I've done some more research on the Lexus. Man, that car becomes better and better each time I find more information and more photos of it! Perhaps I may have persuaded my friend to take a look at it as well. Who knows? Maybe there will be two members of the Class of 0T1 with a Lexus upon graduation?

The only thing that is keeping me away from purchasing the Lexus is the BMW. That is truly a fine piece of art. In fact, I went down to the BMW dealer yesterday after work to see if there is a car to test drive. Of course, the car was out the only time I was available so I booked an appointment for next Tuesday. I spoke to my friend Mike who is a car enthusiast. It's almost a sure thing that he'll come along with me to take a look at the cars there as well as take a car for a spin. They're trying to push a demo on me-- a 323 Ci in Alpine white with the premium package. They say they'll sell it to me $1000 over "invoice".

What I can't understand is this: how can you sell something that has been used for a profit? For instance, if I was trying to sell you a bottle of water and I poured a glass out of it, who would buy it 10 cents cheaper? I think the layperson would pay the 10 cents more to make sure they have an unused product. Of course, this is the car industry we're talking about, compared to an essential product. But the whole concept is mind boggling. Car dealers are one of the most shady people out there. I think only lawyers are lower on the pond scum scale...

Not much else planned here. Long weekend coming up (Canada Day) but nothing planned for me. My friends in Ottawa invited me up but I don't think I can make it. Work the days surrounding Saturday (Canada Day) and the weekdays proceeding it. Oh well, there will be other years...