who's soonger??

more about the soonger

june 2001

Friday, June 1.

Start of a new month but I'm too lazy to write up code for a new page. It was another ugly day here in Windsor-- bad weather, chilly-- is it too much to ask for it to feel like June?! In any instance, I had to run a couple of important errands today. First, I had to make sure my application to start my internship was sent off to Toronto today. (done) Then I had to see what other tasks had to be done. (done)

This afternoon, the house was all mine. My folks went to see my aunt in the east end, and then had to do some food shopping. I was home alone with Rex. What do I end up doing? I was on the Internet trying to find the nearest Pep Boys from my house. I used Microsoft's Expedia website and let me tell you how powerful that site is. You can go ANYWHERE in the US, including directions! The beauty of the site-- the information is FREE! (Music to my ears...) I was also looking into this amazing car polish, Zainos Brothers polish. To the gurus of car polish, this is up there. I did a price check on this product, and it's pricy. Since it's mail-order only and there's one distributor in Canada, the stuff is going to run me C$50! Whoa! I have think about whether or not to follow the advice people on this bulletin board I subscribe to. They say it's the end-all-be-all product. Too bad I know no one who has used this product!

Tuesday, June 5.

Let me tell you that it was a definite lacklustre first day on the job. In case I didn't tell you, I'm working at Hotel-Dieu downtown Windsor for the next year. Today started off okay-- I got up at 7 and was somewhat eager to go to work. I was watching TV to see the weather report and catch up on the sporting event highlights on TSN. That caused me to be a bit behind schedule. I wound up 5 minutes late for work. Oops! Not a great way to start work! (However, part of the reason why I was late was to make sure I had a good parking spot for my car in the parking lot!)

In any instance, the director showed me around and explained to me what was expected by a new staff pharmacist. He also gave some good advice as to what things to expect and watch out for as a pharmacist. (It can be a touchy place...)

The staff was very friendly and very willing to provide me with the training required to contribute to the efficiency of the pharmacy. My first job was to deal with drug distribution. The two technicians to "show me the ropes" were very easy-going and joked around a lot. That's a good thing considering it's my first day and I really know no one there. They were a little surprised to hear that I'm a pharmacist and will be working there for a while.

I am trying to learn how the computer communicates with the automated filling station. We have unit-dose on a 24-hour cycle. What that means is that we sent up to each floor a day's worth of drugs for the nurses to give to each patient. Each patient has a compartment in this medication cart with their medications prescribed by their physician. It is our responsibility to fill the cart accordingly. Prescription orders are entered in by pharmacy technicians and checked by a pharmacist for accuracy and therapeutic appropriateness.

That was my first day. Tomorrow I have to make sure to get to work on time and remember to swipe in (instead of punching a timecard). My schedule is fairly easy to remember: 8-4 Monday-Friday. There are a few days where I am scheduled to work 7-3 but that's not that often. Waking for 8AM is a chore right now-- imagine 7AM! Wow.

Monday, June 11.

This weekend, I went over to the 'States to find the leather treatment, Lexol leather conditioner for my car. I didn't want to pay the ridiculous $400 that the dealership was going to charge me. Instead, I opted to listen to my acura-tl.com brothers and sisters advice for leather treatment.

On Sunday, Immie, Mike and I went over to Detroit's west side to find the Pep Boys. I am thankful to Microsoft's Expedia.com for the exact directions to the place. It was easy to find-- too bad the roads were so blasted bumpy!

We then went to check out Fairlane Mall. I could not believe how crappy Fairlane has become. A decade ago, it was the premiere mall in the Greater Detroit Area for sure! Now it's a hole. I was not impressed by the place whatsoever. I did manage to find a great bargain so I shouldn't complain.

The ride back was somewhat of a surprise. I was actually pulled over by Customs to check out my car. Guess they didn't believe 3 young males who were over in the 'States for three hours only purchased US$25. (But it was the truth!) After a fruitless 2 minute search of my immaculate 2002 TL Type-S, they let us go.

Today, things at the hospital are turning for the better. I am now doing REAL pharmacy stuff. They have me on the computer tomorrow to do some order entry-- at least that has some cognitive component. Secondly, I am going on ICU rounds to check out their IV-PO stepdown procedure with one of the pharmacists. Later this week, I will check out sterile prep, the narc room and outpatient stuff. Hey-- I may be able to sign my 'first' script. Weird!

When I got home today, I took it E-Z. It was really warm and humid so I stayed indoors. My mom made steamed pork buns. Not the ones that gave me horrid belches in Toronto. These ones lacked the veggies that would give the stench-- substituted for mushrooms. Ate 5 of them and that was it-- I was stuffed.

After watching the news, I washed all 3 cars! Wanted to take the bug guts off from yesterday. Thought about applying a third coat of wax but then I remembered the weather report-- more rain. It was a pleasure to see how the water was REPELLED from the paint. This Zaino wax is the sh*t!

Then I washed my bro's car. It hasn't been cleaned in 3 months. Pathetic! I could see where I didn't wash-- the dirt was that thick. (And he has a beige/silver car!)

My parent's car wasn't that hard to clean. Very fast-- I thought about applying my special wax but then I saw the stone chips I forgot to 'touch up'. Used the paint with their nailpolish-like applicator and will wax tomorrow. (Don't think my parents are going out and so I can apply the wax in the garage!)

Tuesday, June 12.

It was an easy day at work. Went for rounds in the ER-- no real recommendations by pharmacy other than meds to treat an otitis externa. It was, in fact, boring, but something I had to do once, right?

Afterwards, I did some work in the internship activities/questions. Spoke to my preceptor with regards to the pre-assessment. We'll finish up the rest of that assessment on Thursday.

For lunch, I ate with the pharmacists instead of the techs. It's not that we're segregated but the director / ass't director take different lunch breaks than the techs. So I sat with the former. I had no idea we had cable TV in the DI room! Watched CNN and talked politics with the director.

In the afternoon, it was checking out the Clozaril protocol we have and as well, a refresher course on Kroll. It's amazing how much I forget about the program after not using it for over a year! It came back really quickly. Then it was more internship questions. Just starting to type it out in case I am one of the very unlucky 10% who have to submit things to the College.

One thing that annoyed me today was one of the activities. It asked that I refer to the Hospital Standard of Practice. I looked EVERYWHERE to read up on the stupid thing but to no avail. Went on the 'net to OCP webpage to find it but their search was useless. They only have the 'community' Std of Practice. I guess it's the retail stores that lack any standards so they have to spell it out to you people. (Kidding-- there are some pharmacists I've seen in both hospital and retail who shouldn't be even practising pharmacy AT ALL.) Wait a sec... I'm not even a pharmacist yet-- what kinda guts do I have to say about others, let alone myself???

Wednesday, June 13.

It was another day at the office. Today, one of the technicians showed me what they do when they replace ward stock. That's the stuff they keep on the floor for every day use. That's not to be confused with cart stock, which intuitively, is found on the medication carts. They are only different by name, not by concept.

My ward stock run was cut short by the physical I had to do. It was occupational services to make sure that I don't file for workers comp right away. The MD on board was one of the people in my brother's family practice. The evaluation took less time than our conversations. Very easy. The only hard part was for the blood work they had to take-- see if I have immunity, etc. Didn't we already do that for SPEP?! Ridiculous! The urine sample wasn't a problem. The Centrum I took in the morning really showed up in my pee! ;)

For lunch, I ate with the pharmacists. It was the weekly 'educational' meeting. It was Charlene's and Cathy's time to talk about what the interns have to learn. It seems like they will have a lot of opportunities to 'use' the interns as gophers. Sucks but we gotta do it, right?

By the end of the day, I was surprised that I actually made a request for OVERTIME today. Received an order for methadone for a patient at 3. The stock solution that we had wasn't enough for the person (we make 72 hr supply) so I had to mix more stock. Charlene, my preceptor, was watching me follow 'the recipie'. She showed me all the documentation required so that was all good. Since this stuff was supposed to be good for 2 years, we added preservatives, so it was more than just 'mix with water'!

Anyway, what I thought would take 1/2 hr at most ended up taking almost 90 minutes! Hey-- My skills are highly valuable so I might as well punch in the extra $$$!

Today, I went over to my old Shoppers to pick up my Sympatico High Speed package as well as a 6/49 ticket ($10 mil). Installation looks easy enough-- that's what I'll do today after supper-- hook it up to the Pentium-3 system (my bro's). Shouldn't take too long.

Finally, I have to go out to Shoppers to photocopy something. The battery backup broke down about 4 months ago and Pat didn't go dig for the receipts until today. Good thing! The 2 year warranty ends in less than 2 weeks! Well, it'll good to get the replacement and not have to worry about it.

Incredible Weekend

Saturday, June 16.

Quite a weekend and it's only half done! On Friday, I took the day off to head up to Toronto for my convocation. The day before, my brother and I drove my parents over to Detroit to send them off on vacation. (My parents are on a European cruise lasting 10 days!) It doesn't mean my parents didn't want to attend my convocation, but the contrary. I told them the wrong day and they booked the cruise before I could make the correction. Oops!

I didn't travel to Toronto alone, my brother wanted to go. He didn't go to convocation, but instead, he wanted to go test driving cars uptown Toronto! (I don't blame him!)

The day went well-- we got to Toronto around 11:30. Had lunch at my favourite BBQ house in Chinatown. The boss liked the gift I left him before I left a couple weekends ago and he was kind enough to treat my bro and I to lunch. He's a great guy and I will always go to his shop each time I visit Toronto...

My bro dropped me off and I went to UC to pick up my robe and hood for convocation. It was good to see so many familiar faces there. We were catching up post-PEBC exams-- where we are working, people telling stories about their vacations, new car purchases, etc. Everyone was in good spirits.

Convocation went without a hitch. Everything was running smoothly. I had a prime seat in the front row by the main exit. I saw Janet, Jacqui, Arthi and Marissa from this seat. I was also smart enough to bring my portable CD player during the ceremony. After my 15 seconds of fame, I listened to my tunes (the new Radiohead CD, Amnesiac as well as the Rent Soundtrack.

After the ceremony, everyone went outside to take pictures on the front campus. I met up with a few people and then went to return the gown and pick up my deposit. We then met up once again at Hart House for a small gathering. I met up with Pat there.

We then went uptown to meet up with my Aunt Candice. Another top-notch supper was eaten. My aunt was kind enough to give me a very generous graduation present. Pat and I then went to find a grocery store that sold durian fruits. (Don't ask what they are-- they are hideous!) We bought it for my aunt in Windsor who was kind enough to take care of Rex while we were up in Toronto.

We left Toronto around 9 and got home a little after 1. Weather back was good on the most part-- a little rain here and there but nothing that made driving hazardous.

Now that my parents are gone, my bro and I have to fend for ourselves. We went out for Vietnamese food for lunch and I bought pizza for supper. We now have plenty of leftovers for tomorrow! Man, is Capri Pizza of Windsor one of the best pizzarias around!

Sunday, June 24.

Another week, another dollar made. Perhaps my view on life is a bit drastic but now that I'm done school, there seems to be a finality to that chapter of my life (Weird-- I've been in university for 7 years. You'd think that I would DIE to get out, right? Guess again!)

This week was better with respect to me and the workplace. Don't get me wrong-- I like with whom I work, but the tasks asked of me wasn't quite that challenging. At least this week, they had me go up on rounds with the various pharmacists and I saw what programs they have implemented. That's such a relief considering what tedious, somewhat boring stuff they have going on in the dispensary!

This week has been tough doing things on my own. I'm so used to having my parents around. Being on my own is a good thing but when I'm home, I'm used to having everyone home. A strange situation but rest assured, my folks are coming back on Monday. (Which reminds me to check the schedule of Northwest Airlines tomorrow at work!) Pat has gone out a couple times leaving me to fend for myself. That's not a bad thing, I've made myself spaghetti and other easy to make meals. Hey-- I manage.

This weekend, I did some major domestic work-- wash clothes, fold laundry, do dishes, wash the car-- you name it! I have to cut the lawn and maybe trim the hedges. Suburbia life... I should go out and clean out the dog droppings in the backyard. After a week, it should be a mine field out there! Watering the plants is no big deal for it's rained the past couple of days late last week. May consider watering the places of the lawn that I burned with weed & feed. I wonder what our plans for supper are TODAY???

Plans for this afternoon are to scan some pictures for the webpage, write a couple of letters to send snail mail and probably do some homework in the evening for this week.

Fireworks night

Wednesday, June 27.

Instead of sticking around downtown after work, I opted to rush back home. Why is that? Each year, Detroit and Windsor have the 'Freedom Festival'-- world's largest international celebration. We celebrate our respective independence days. They hold a night of waterfront fireworks, sponsored by a US dep't store. It beats Toronto's Symphony of Fire hands down.

It's much too warm for me to be soliciting at a downtown establishment for my liking. Sure, that's a pretty lame excuse but really, I have become a wimp with regards to warmth and over-sun exposure. The fact that I am working may contribute to this-- as well as the fact that I cannot park my car just anywhere!

Mike gave me a call earlier this evening. He wanted to know if I was headed downtown or not. He has his weekly beach volleyball game and was planning on going downtown afterwards. I declined and decided to watch the show from the comfort of my own home! Plus I can do my internship work at home. (Seriously, do I see myself doing homework tonight???)

FYI, things at work are pretty good. They have me doing more stuff outside of the technical activities done earlier. I enjoy the people who are there-- they are getting to know my not-so-serious antics but they do see that I know a thing or two. (Not too much, though.) I just want to get things done but at the same time, ensure that the work environment is not too stressful.