day 8: fell off the horse... again!

But I'm hopping right back on! lol. I can't believe this weekend passed by so fast! I'm sure having to work 9-5 on a Saturday doesn't help haha. Hmmm... so where did I last leave off... ah yes, my uneventful Friday leading to my very eventful Saturday :).

day 8: first disneyland trip of the year!
So this year has been a big cell phone alarm fail (it was really negligence on my part :/)! On Saturday I was supposed to go through all this HIV/AIDS stuff with my preceptor but I got super duper sleepy at night on Friday so I told myself that I would wake up earlier and then go over the stuff so I would be prepared. I really don't know why I do this because I pretty much know for a fact that I'll snooze away and just wake up at the regular time to get to work lol. Anyways, so I had to work on Saturday at 9am so I set my alarm at 7:15. I wake up naturally at 7:50 and I'm thinking "well that was a decent amount of sleep and I still have some time since my alarm clock hasn't rang yet..." *takes a look at phone and sees that it's way past 7:15 and jumps out of bed*. I was thinking "what the freak happened?!" and then I realized that I had set my weekday alarm for 7:15 and being that SATURDAY is NOT a weekday, the alarm didn't ring. I am just so S-M-R-T smart! Second time this has happened! Maybe I should just make all my alarms daily instead of on the weekdays.

Anyways, I finally make it out of my house and thank goodness the 10 and 710 freeways were completely clear. I was about 5 minutes away with 10 minutes left until 9am when BAM! they closed off the exit to Downtown Long Beach so they made everyone exit off of Anaheim St. Keep in mind I am not at all familiar with the Long Beach area so all I do is head towards the "Downtown Long Beach" exit off the 710. So I manage to find my way and I'm 10 minutes late. Fortunately, my preceptor was cool and didn't make a big deal. AND he ended up letting me leave an hour early since we were done discussing the HIV/AIDS stuff. I think I definitely need to take things up a notch when it comes to drug knowledge. Example... he was telling me that I need to make drug charts for the NRTIs and NNRTIs for next week and know the drugs so we can discuss next Friday. He was saying that if I wanted to get ahead, I could also do PIs and the other random drugs like Selzentry, Fuzion, Isentress... and being the dumb ass that I am, I was like, "What about maraviroc?" and he says "That's Selzentry..." lol. Another question that I totally aced... "So what's a normal CD4 T-cell count?" My answer: "Well, I don't know what's normal but I do know at what CD4 count we should start therapy lol *with the biggest smile on my face like this =D*.

So after work I headed home to drop off some stuff and then I headed to Disneyland! Yay! They removed the California letter outside of CA Adventures!!! :( Good thing I already have all my California pictures :). So my first objective was to find food lol. I wanted to get the BBQ Chicken Pizza that they have near Mulholland Madness but they're CLOSED!! To make matters worse, Toy Story Mania was CLOSED! arg! Toy Story Mania happens to be my favorite ride at Disneyland :). So to make myself feel better, I got myself a churro :) hehe.

We're making our way back to the front of the park when we decide to go on Soarin' (another one of my favorite rides except I never go on it because the wait is usually super long or it's broken). The wait was actually only 25 minutes! While we were in line, we were making plans to meet up with our other friends Pearl & Alfred. So Tony calls Alfred and they were trying to figure out a place to meet. After he hangs up, I ask him what's the plan and he's like "oh, they're saving a spot for us in line for Tower of Terror". I definitely felt palpitations at that point lol. There are 2 rides at Disneyland I absolutely refuse to go on: Tower of Terror and Splash Mountain (call these absolute contraindications if you will haha for my pharmacy fellows :)). I absolutely HATE drops. My friends joke all that time that they are going to blindfold me and sedate me to go on those two rides one day... NEVER!! lol.... never say never haha =P. Anyways, he keeps trying to convince me to go on Tower... (example: "don't worry they only drop you once..." lies lol). This lady in line even tells me "It's just a little butt lift.." haha. I spend my time half concentrating on reasoning why I am not going on the ride to thinking of an escape route (... I can get to the part where they seat everyone and then say "oh yeah, I have a heart condition..."). So about 15 minutes of me freaking out goes by and then he finally tells me that originally Alfred said that they would wait in line for us at Tower of Terror but he heard Pearl in the background saying "Nooooooooooo!!!!" lol. They were actually waiting for us at the drawing studio thank goodness!

After Soarin' we headed over to the drawing studio and ended up drawing Jack Skellington! My comprehension skills have clearly gone down the drain because the lady tells us to start with a circle about the size of an orange. Being the rebel (or dumb ass) that I am, I drew a circle a little bigger than a dollar coin! So that after we were done with our drawings she asked us to show her what they looked like and she's like "Looks like we've got a lot of good drawings here... we've got some jumbo jacks... *takes a look at my Jack drawing* and some small Jacks too!" bahahahaha. Here's what my drawing looked like (don't laugh at my horrid drawing skills lol):

After finishing up with the drawing, we went to check out elecTRONica. It was really hilarious watching the kiddies dance haha. Although I have to admit the beats were pretty good and it did make me want to shake my booty just a bit... (it'll be our little secret haha).

Oh boy... this post is taking much longer than I'd like =X and I'm so freakin' congested right now so methinks I'll be going to bed. Just wanted ya'lls to know I was still alive and wasn't killed this weekend =P.

Have a Happy Monday!

day 7: TGIF

Hope everyone is having/had a fantabulous Friday! I spent most of mine sleeping in (11am baby!) and studying (poopities). Today was pretty uneventful so I'll talk about my work day from yesterday.

This RiteAid apparently gets their orders on Thursdays and so I helped put the order away yesterday. It was maybe 8pm (I had to work 1-9:30pm...) and I was talking to one of the technicians (she is really amazing at her job) and she told me that the pharmacy used to be a morgue. I guess there was a hospital at this location before they made it a RiteAid and where the pharmacy sits is where the morgue used to be... I was like great! I just LOVE scary movies and being scared *sarcasm*. And I have to work a few night shifts too :(.

Things I've been asked by my preceptor so far:

1. What is galantamine used for and what is it derived from?
• It's for Alzheimer's Disease and it's derived from a plant. (I originally said flower haha. Close enough right? :))
2. Give me some of the really bad things about Amiodarone.

• It turns you into a smurf (blue) because of the iodine. (I actually learned about this from a drug rep for that new drug that me and Tanya thought was a misspelling of amiodarone, dronedarone (Multaq) hahaha. That's one of their advantages.)
• You need an annual eye exam because it causes corneal deposits.
• It's pro-arrhythmic meaning it causes arrhythmias. 
• Its also hepatotoxic and also has pulmonary toxicity.
• When given with warfarin, you need to monitor INR. Most likely you'll need to decrease the dose by 40%. 

I was reading my subscriptions and saw this. Thought it was pretty awesome haha. I want to make one for my TV now :).

Here's my really random current playlist :). Enjoy!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

day 6: sleeping in

So my preceptor is working the late shift today which means I am also working the late shift :/. I used to love working 1-10 because it's less busy at night and you get to wind down. Let's hope its the same for this store. The silver lining is that at least I got to sleep in this morning :).

Anyways, I was trying to catch up on my blog reading (over the break I went a little crazy from all the boredom and subscribed to a bajillion blogs and now my google reader has 32 new posts I need to read :/), and I came across this post. I think it's a fantastic post haha. Maybe it's not that hard to figure the male species out after all? lol.

I have to get going... and may not be able to post tonight depending on how tired I am but at least I get tomorrow off! Although it'll probably be spent reading my HIV/AIDS guidelines since I have to discuss and be tested on it on Saturday (blech!).

Until then, its almost been a week since the new year! Hope everyone's been keeping up with whatever new years resolutions they made!

Good day mates!

day 4/5: gahhhh I already missed a day :(

So I missed a day already :( lol. But the really important thing we learn throughout teaching smoking cessation lessons is that sometimes you fall off the horse, but the important thing is that you get right back on! I've been using this for everything! Last year I made a conscious effort to start flossing (bad teeth run in my family) and sometimes I'd forget (or "forget") but then the next day is a new day and you just gotta doo it!

So before I forget, I was watching the Katy Perry special on Monday night and one thing she said really stuck with me. She said,

"Sometimes the things you want to happen in your life don't happen on your schedule because it's all about timing."

I feel like its a really positive statement and a really positive way of looking at things. Anyways, I think I've got some explaining to do right? Here goes..

day 4 - light at the end of the tunnel
So I my preceptor told me to come in at 9am today which means extra hour of sleep right? Wrong. LA traffic is all about timing. You leave 15 minutes later? BAM! You're stuck in maybe 30 minutes to 1 hour more of traffic. So instead of leaving at 7:30 to get to my rotation site by 9, I got up at 5:30, got to my site by 7:10 and just slept in my car until 9 lol. I've got a blanket and pillow in my car now so it looks like someone is literally living in my car.

So I get in and once again I'm a filling automaton with no idea how to work the computer and because of that I feel like I shouldn't even attempt to answer the phones! What am I supposed to say "Hi, please hold on for someone that can actually help you 'cause I'm just incompetent". It's weird. I need someone to lay down the ground rules you know?

I get out around 5:30 and it's seriously pitch black outside. The drive on the 710 is great until the dreaded 10 interchange. There has to be a way to make that thing better isn't there?! But I make it to the interchange in less than 30 minutes but from there, it literally took me an hour to get to my house. I want to say it's about 6 or 7 miles. Freakin ridiculous!

So I got home and thank goodness my mom bought food for me! Yes, I'm spoiled now haha. I actually spoke to my mom about this the other day. I was saying how I wasn't spoiled as a kid 'cause they never let me buy anything that I wanted. And so my mom was like "well look at all those pretty dresses we bought for you." and I was like "I hated those dresses! They were so itchy! I mean like toys and stuff." And she was like "well we got you Barbies!" lol. I had TONS of Barbies. I actually stored them in a suitcase haha. Anyways, in the end we both agreed that NOW they spoil me :). I hate to say it but it is very nice =D.

I did get a nice surprise in the mail today! My Ugg wannabees from American Eagle just came in! So warm! I've been wearing them in the house hehe :).

I was supposed to work on my Depression presentation and case presentation for the meeting but I was just a tad... distracted lol. We'll just leave it at that ;). A little mystery never hurt anyone haha.

day 5 - joy to the world
A little late for Christmas you say? Those closest to me will understand why there's a need for celebration hehe.

I woke up around 9 today and managed to crank out both my Depression presentation and my case presentation :). Skills... I know *brushes dirt off shoulders*. Then I headed to Long Beach which was a pretty smooth ride except there were about 10 cops on the 605 giving people speeding tickets. Every time I pass a cop I hope and pray that they don't tag me. The meeting went very well and I did both my presentations EXCEPT for the fact that quizzes are being reinstated *barfs* (Lauren's influence finally kicks in haha... I guess she was the one that started "Yumes" too haha). Oh well, I guess I better get started with that studying for the boards stuff lol

Anyways, as I mentioned earlier I got some Fresh & Easy coupons I want to use so I'm going to head out. I need to make stuff that doesn't need to be heated up because I don't get to eat in the break room and so I don't have access to a microwave :(. I just eat in my car lol. And plus one of my sisters posted this recipe on Facebook and it looks delicious!

Goodnight friends :)

day 3: what a freakin' boner of a day

I don't know how it started but my friend started using the term "boner" to describe events that are total doozies and ever since then, the term caught on and I've been using it ever since. I really don't know why boner would be a bad thing lol but I guess it's more of the sarcasm? Anyway, today was a total boner. First of all, I couldn't sleep ALL FREAKIN NIGHT!!! I think I might've gone to sleep at like 3am. I was basically Chandler from "Friends" all night long... "If I sleep now, I'll get 5 hours of sleep"... "If I sleep now, I'll get 4 hours of sleep"... "If I sleep now, I'll get 3 hours of sleep"...

So I wake up at 5:30 after snoozing for 30 minutes and left my house for Long Beach at 6:10am and got to Long Beach at 6:50am. Then I just debated, read HIV/AIDS guidelines... or play bejeweled... you can just guess which one won lol. After an hour of playing bejeweled (I know... such a hard life... my index finger was tired :P), I finally went in to meet my preceptor. He was really nice, quite funny and he talks to himself a lot haha (I mean I do that all the time being an only child haha). It was like I was doing my community rotation all over again... except more intense because instead of doing around 160 scripts a day at Target, I'm doing 400-500 scripts a day. Thank goodness for "automation" aka "Peggy" or so they call her.

I seriously felt like I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. The thing about working in a community setting is that everyone has their little quirks and how they like things done. When you're a newbie and especially as an intern, you kind of feel like you have to earn the respects of everyone in the pharmacy. Respect isn't just given to you, you really have to earn it. I feel like a lot of interns walk into the pharmacy with this "holier than thou" attitude. Honestly, pharmacists are nothing without their techs and techs are nothing without their pharmacists. So I finally managed to figure out how to use the freakin phone (I must've made so many mistakes) and called for a few copies and took a few new ones.

So finally in the afternoon after 2 other pharmacists came in there was finally time for my preceptor and I to talk briefly about expectations. I guess he only wants me there when he's there so this week he has Friday off but has to work Saturday so I have to do the same. Total boner right? Really dude? Saturday? I seriously wanted to punch him in the face but hey, my grade depends on me not getting in trouble for punching a preceptor... or possibly just hurting my own hand lol. I've never punched anyone before but I really want to punch someone really really hard just to see what it'd be like lol. Would I even make a dent? haha. Probably not... But yeah... he wants me to make drug charts and read about the virology and epidemiology of HIV/AIDS so that's what I'll probably be doing after work. Thank goodness there was no traffic when I headed home and my mom had bought me some Vietnamese food to eat (yumes!).

Just finished watching the Katy Perry special on E! It was really cute to see her talk about her and Russell. I can't believe she's only 25...

Ooo! I got some coupons for Fresh & Easy! Time to go buy some food for work. Probably going to call it night... I know.. super grandma status but seriously I'm running on 2 hours of sleep.

I'll leave you with the super cute packages from my pharmacy school besties!

pharming besties! :)

thanks for the presents lauren!!

That's all folks. Have a good night!

day 2: stupid alarm clock

Stupid alarm clock... but more like stupid me!! So I have tons of reading to do for my rotation that starts tomorrow and I was going to wake up at the break of dawn (aka 8am) to start reading so that I wouldn't feel as guilty later on when I'm going shopping with Judy (kekeke :)). So I wake up naturally and I'm thinking, "My alarm clock didn't ring yet so it must be 7:30am" and I grab my phone and see that it's 10:35am. I was like ":-O". Por que alarm no ring-o? Did I sleep through 2 alarms (I set one at 7:45 and another at 8)?? So I go to crack down on what the heck happened and realize that both the 7:45 and 8am alarms were for Weekdays Only >:-|. Big fail on my part haha.

Anyways, I can't believe break passed by so fast :(. It will be so hard to get up tomorrow morning... hopefully my preceptor will get that we just had two weeks of break and give me a break? Like a Kit-Kat bar? =D

Have a Happy 2nd Day of the New Year!

day 1: happy new year!

Happy New Year everyone! So one of my New Years Resolutions is to make a post everyday. After having lunch with friends I made my way home from ringing in the new year in Palm Springs. I wanted to leave a little bit earlier to scope out the outlets but they were packed up the wazoo (I guess it's a given being that it's new years but still lol). So I thought "I'll just go to Ontario Mills instead"... fail lol. They were just as packed. So then I was just like screw it and I just drove home. But then I realized that I wanted to get one of those photo memory boxes so I stopped at Ross, Marshalls, and Target. Yet another fail. They had some but not exactly what I've been looking for. I've been trying to organize my bookshelf and I was looking for this very specific drawer letter tray. It looks something like this:

See how they're like drawers? You would think Ikea would have something like this but I haven't been able to find it there. And they are white :). I'm thinking I would probably find it at The Container Store? Help would be greatly appreciated!

Anyways, here's some excerpts from NYE in Palm Springs!

the boys

the girls

 I'm trying to make a list of New Years Resolutions haha. We'll see how many I actually keep :/

Well, that's all for now kiddies. I'm off to organize my life for Monday :(. *sigh* Please let my preceptor be nice!

-j