In Case You Were Wondering

There are some commercials that seem to have been airing for a really long time. The Discount Tire company one with the old lady throwing the tire through the window and the Tootsie Pop commercial with the owl. I was wondering how long these have been on. Thanks to the internet, such useless knowledge is available at my fingertips.

According to the Guiness Book of World Records, the Discount Tire commercial is the oldest first airing in 1975. However, a further search reveals that the Tootsie Pop commercial has been around since 1970. Aren't you glad you know that now.

Other fun facts are available about the Discount Tire spot. The old lady is actually a man, because the tire was too heavy for the old lady they had cast to throw. They also had to throw the tire at the window three times before they got the desired results. The first time the window didn't break, the second time the tire didn't hit the logo, and the third time it worked as planned.

Ah, Memories

For some reason, I was thinking about live chickens the other day, and it reminded me of being in Honduras and how people used have tons of chickens that would sleep in trees. They would put up ladders against trees and then the chickens would just climb on up. I never thought that chickens would want sleep in trees, but apparently they don't mind. I think it's funny though.

On a similar note, I was taking the bus home from school yesterday, when the one ahead of mine broke down, which lead to about 25 people boarding an already full bus. That also reminded me of Honduras, where it was not unusual to pack over 100 people on a bus. I remember one time traffic got stopped because of a wreck or something and I counted 128 people on the bus with me. There may have been more too.

Almost Done

I only have one more day of official class this semester, which is tomorrow, then it is just finals. I'm pretty excited about that. This is also the last semester that really involves a lot of learning new material. Next semester is a lot of review stuff. It is only one class, worth 9 credit hours, and some electives. I hear it is pretty intense. It seems kind of strange that at this point I'm closer to the end of the tunnel than I am to the beginning.

On another great note, since joining my employer's profit sharing plan, I've actually earned money rather than just losing it. Of course, I've still got a lot to make up before I start coming out ahead.

My New Favorite Thing

Recently I decided to purchase a PDA in order to run drug information programs that are so very useful in my line of work. It arrived yesterday, and I have been having a great time fiddling with it. They're so much fun. I also downloaded the Standard Works on it so I can carry it around to firesides and stuff rather than my regular scriptures which I don't usually take due to the fact that I'll probably set them down and forget them somewhere. It's so convienient.

Cephalosporin Antibiotics

I've worked at Walgreens for almost two years, and have seen a great many prescriptions for antibiotics, but until I started the infectious disease class this year, i didn't really know the difference between all of them. One thing I didn't know about were the great number of cephalosporins that I didn't know about. Of course, a lot of them are administered IV, so that's why I've never heard about them, but trying to remember all of the names is quite a chore, especially since the names all start with cef- or ceph-. Anyway, I guess I'll get it all straightened out eventually. It is quite interesting though.

My Birthday

So yesterday I celebrated my 27th birthday. I'm getting up there in years for sure. In the morning I enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the fabulous eatery that is Gunther Toody's. The best part was eavesdropping on the conversation of the people sitting in the next booth over as they described their feelings about the elections.

The parentals also came for a visit, since it's Labor Day weekend and all that. In the evening, we went to Annie's Cafe and also to the Tattered Cover, a fond memory of my youth, even though it isn't quite the same since it left the Cherry Creek area. There was just something great about a 4 story bookstore. We also went to Famous Footwear, TJ Maxx, and Target.

So that was about it. A great time was had by all, or so I would like to think.

Thoughts on Retail Pharmacy

I have worked at a pharmacy fro about 19 months now, and I've noted a few trends that go on with patients regarding their medication habits. Here are a few of the more annoying ones.

1. If someone loses a their prescription and it is for a controlled substance, they demand to have it replaced because the world will end if they don't have it. However, no one ever loses their blood pressure, diabetes, or cholesterol drugs.

2. When people need refills for their controlled substances, and the doctor needs to be called for authorization, they like to call several times per day until we finally hear back from the doctor. Most people don't really care if their other meds are delayed in the same manner. Most people also don't realize that if they would take care of this before they run out, many headaches could be avoided.

3. Medcaid, while a great program that many people do need, causes people to lose any sense of responsibility for their own healthcare. Why should they call the doctor for something if there is someone at the pharmacy who can do it for me? What do you mean my medicaid isn't working? Can you call and get it fixed for me? Another thing is when people cruise through the drive-thru pharmacy in their new car and have medicaid. That's kind of annoying.

4. Speaking of drive-thru pharmacies, what is it with people and thinking that just because there is a piece of glass between them and the you, that gives them the right to be rude.

Well, I guess that's enough ranting for today.

Blogging, eh?

Inspired by family members who have stepped into the blogging arena, I decided to try my hand at the whole blogging thing. Of course, I don't know what makes me think that other people actually care what I have to say or do with my life, but you just never know. I hope no one is expecting much out of this, because it is sure to not be too exciting. I don't have deep thoughts on much of anything, so I probably won't be doing much heavy duty reflecting. I do read a lot of books though, so maybe I can comment on them. Once school starts back up in the fall again, my life will once again revolve around the pursuit of knowledge of pharmacy related items, but at least I only have 2 more years before my 7 year higher education odyssey comes to and end and maybe I'll have time to pursue other interests. Here's hoping that will happen.