more about the soonger |
june 1999 |
Back on the job...Tuesday, June 1.Well, it had to happen-- Soonger is back to the grindstone. Don't know what I'm making officially but I know I put in a solid 8 hours today. Whew-- haven't been on my feet that long in quite a while (I didn't stand that long while on vacation climbing the mountains!) The day started very early for me-- 7:30. Had to get up to do some banking before going to work. Had to make sure the funds were wired to the Caymans on time otherwise Juan and the cartel wouldn't be too happy. Seriously, I had a small investment maturing and I had to determine what I wanted to do with it. The bank manager advised me to take a look at what their bank had to offer with repsect to mutual funds. In my opinion, mutual funds are the smart way to start investing for those who have some money but don't have the time nor the resources to do their homework. (But this is coming from someone who's only taken Economics 100 at U of T...) Started work this morning at 10am. I went in 10 minutes early just in case I might have been stuck by a train-- (it's not cool to be late to work on your first day, wouldn't you think?!) When I walked in, it was surprising to see the number of people waiting for their medications-- heck, it's 10am on a Tuesday. Why do people need their drugs today? Then I realized it was the first of the month and Tuesdays are generally busier than other days (for some odd reason). |
The day was busy in spurts-- we'd have a rush of people, then silence, a madhouse, etc. Whenever I could relax a bit, I had to get back to work! It was one of those types of days. The whole crew was there-- the 3 pharmacists, all the technicians and the summer hand (myself). Guess they're getting ready to open up the new pharmacy in the back. Apparently business is good enough to open up another store in the same medical centre. Hope that means less work for me-- essentially that means the workload is divided in half (but the bulk of the prescriptions come from the guys in the building that I'm currently working in.) Another concern of mine is the status of my 4-week credit course for the summer. Initially I was told that I would be able to do it, but now that has come under question. The College has informed me (and the pharmacy) that my preceptor may not be able to 'teach' me this summer. Apparently there may be a complication, making him unable to do SPT (an abbreviation to what I have to do). That would really suck-- I was preparing myself to get it done and have it over with. If it doesn't pan out, then I'm forced to do it next summer. (I contemplated to kick it back next summer and take less hours but this complication may mess things up!) I have sought the help of another local pharmacist to bail me out of the situation with College approval to teach SPT but my current boss wants me to stay over there... So you see I'm stuck in a rock and a hard place-- I want to get SPT done this summer but my boss doesn't want me to leave. |
Never Been Kissed?Saturday, June 5.Let me tell you that I could not wait for the weekend to come... After three very difficult days on the job, I just need some time to relax and recooperate my poor feet! The 'docs' may be somewhat comfortable shoes, the amount of time standing in them doesn't help. How to people stay on their feet that long? Unbearable... Instead of enjoying the spectacular weather, I stayed indoors and played on the computer (again). Trying to wrap up playing TombRaider 3. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel but still have at least 3 more levels to complete. Let me tell you the CD version is superior to the pirate copies found available on the Internet. The cut scenes and the music that plays adds to the experience... |
While surfing the 'net, I noticed that Dell Computer has removed some of the hot deals they had on their webpage! I could not believe they are no longer giving out the free coupon to upgrade to Office2000! Maybe I'll have to wait until June 17 (the official release date) to purchase such that Dell will preinstall it when I order from them. I can't wait to get my hands on a PentiumIII-550! Just came back from watching the Drew Barrymore film, in case you were wondering what's up with the headline. Went to see it with my gal pal, Renee. Definitely a chick-flick-- too bad I had to go see it with a friend. Not as good as others have told me but nonetheless, it had its entertaining sections. What weirded me out a couple of times was that Drew resembled Tori Spelling. GROSS!!! And another thing, Drew has to wear a bra when she's in front of a camera-- she may distract those who are watching her for her acting talents... |
Solid Week o' Working...Saturday, June 12.Whew! One week of work has put its toll on me. The feet are telling me that it's time to find a job that does not require me to be standing all day without rest! My feet must have grown one shoe size due to the swelling-- maybe I should find some of those support-hose that some of them elderly people wear... (then again...) What did I do this week? Other than neglecting this webpage, I managed to cut the grass, fertilize and water my poor lawn. Also learned quite a bit of the business aspect of a community pharmacy. Maybe I am suited to this job-- we'll see in the next two years if I settle down... My dog has not been in good health as of late. He's been doing some bad stuff in the house-- lots of puking. I don't know why he goes around and eats dead leaves from the plants in the atrium and vomits them out on the carpet. I don't have the heart to spank him so we verbally scold him and lock him up in his cage. Sometimes I wish he could tell us what the matter is. We're sending him to the vet on Monday not only for his shots but why he's doing this. Perhaps I should bring a specimen of what he's bringing up (looks like a semi-viscous, yellow fluid). |
Also got an e-mail from a far and away place-- Japan. My friend Vince is back in Nippon doing a co-op term at Epson. Hope he's not doing the not-so-impressive job of building drivers for the company. He likes it over there and he's getting some hands-on training in the field he really enjoys. What am I going to say? Although I like some of the attractions Japan has to offer but after my experience at Narita Airport, I'm not to receptive over the Japanese people. (You can read more about my experience in my China '99 journals.) If I have time this weekend, I hope to write my cousin who's now stationed in Singapore a letter. Haven't written to her in over a year. She's working as a dietician-- from the sounds of it, she's finding the job rewarding. Hope it also pays well-- it's expensive living in that country. Maybe I'll find time to work there for a little bit before coming back home to Windsor... Also, I hope to do a little more scanning-- have a couple of webpages I need to update, especially the Cindy gallery. The scans I have aren't so hot (it was a rush-job). Now that I have full access to a high-resolution scanner at home, I can correct my previous mistakes. |
Another week...Monday, June 14.I posted up the PB scans (touched up) in gallery 5 of my Cindy section. Took me some time but I finally put them up. Will also post some classic pictures in my archives as well (in the near future...) The weekend was somewhat productive. Went over to the men's store and purchased a couple pairs of slacks. Severely lacking decent work pants for a while and now I've corrected that error. Probably will wear a pair today when I go in for work. (Can't believe it's the start of another 40 hour week!) |
Also went out for dinner Saturday night. It was some good eatin'. My mom's friends took us out for dinner. Haven't seen them in a while so the conversation was nice. Afterwards, I went out with my cousins to go see Austin Powers 2. You'll have to go see it for yourself to appreciate / pan it. I was somewhat disappointed-- it was weirder than I thought. Also had too many toilet jokes for my liking... Sunday was preparation for a family dinner. A cousin from the UK is over and it was our 'turn' to treat. My mom was amazing by making everything from scratch. Success was measured in the amount of food remaining-- not very much! |
Birthday...Thursday, June 17.After another day logged in at the other pharmacy, I headed back home with haste. It was my mom's birthday (Happy Birthday MOM!) and we were going out-- I had to clean up since I had a stink of pharmacy all over me (whatever that means!) On the way back home, I noticed the gas needle nearly pointing at the 'E', and so a trip to the gas station was important. |
Got back home, got cleaned up, picked up my messages and we were off for dinner. Dinner at Kirin was good-- lots to eat, the food was fresh. The biggest event of the night was when the bill arrived-- !!! Who would have thought? (I was shocked myself.) Afterwards, we went over to my aunt's house to see how my cousin visiting from the UK was doing. She's okay and looks somewhat disappointed her 2 weeks in Canada are almost up. She's headed back on Saturday-- so she's going to make the most of it Friday night. |
Windsor 'pubbing'...Friday, June 18.Back from an 'interesting' time at a downtown Windsor pub, I realized once again why I don't go out at nights while I'm here during the summer. The number of crass, loud-mouthed, under-dressed Yankee-Doodle Americans AND the number of underaged Canadians makes me feel not only old but disgusted. Call me a snob but this atmosphere is much too low-brow for me. Thank goodness I spend 8 months of the year socializing in Toronto. (Don't get me wrong-- there are plenty of reasons why Toronto is not that hot, either... but if I had to pick a poison, the TO crowd is a bit better!) |
What are my plans for the rest of the weekend? Well, it's Father's Day so I think taking my father out for a meal as well as find him something that he may actually use is in order. Hopefully the mall will have some item that I can purchase and not feel embarrassed giving. It's not as if my dad is that difficult to shop for yet I find I have to out-do myself from last year's attempt. |