Archive for March, 2007

I have completed my first week of work at Walgreen’s. It’s an extremely nice and very well maintained pharmacy. There are a lot of things that they have (powerful computer system, color coded systems, and extensive training programs) that I’ve never been exposed to before. I am currently in the training process. They have a policy where I can not train at the same store where I will be working. It really doesn’t matter, because both locations are about 5 minutes from our house. So, on Monday I show up at my training store ready to get to work. I head over to the pharmacy, introduce myself, and tell them that I’ve been sent by my store to train with them. In return, I get several blank stares. Apparently, my store forgot to call the training pharmacy to let them know I was on my way. After a few phone calls, things were cleared up and I was allowed into the pharmacy to start working. For the next couple of days, I was kept busy filling prescriptions. Back in high school, that was actually one of my favorite pharmacy activities. I was busy, time passed quickly, and I thoroughly enjoyed working with my training store.

I was slowly taught (spring break had just ended, causing a massive amount of prescriptions and refills to be called in) how to use the computer systems, Walgreen’s policies, and in my spare time I worked on my computer training lessons (privacy laws, what to do if we get robbed, sexual harassment, Medicare policies, how to detect food stamp trafficking…etc). One oddity that I want to point out, is that I was allowed to fill prescriptions, that means I retrieved pills, I double checked pills, I counted pills, I put the pills in a nice childproof bottle. However, since I do not have my certification yet, I was NOT allowed to put the label on the bottle. One would think that the pills themselves would be the dangerous part…not the labeling. I do find that a little strange, but perhaps it’s just a Texas quirk, one of the many that keep popping up when I least expect it.
Anyhow, on Wednesday, the pharmacy manager of the training store pulls me aside and informs me that I have not yet registered with the State of Texas Pharmacy Board. Unfortunately, this means that I am not allowed to work in the pharmacy till I have obtained the proper pharmacy technician registration. (by the by, the registration is completely different than the pharmacy technician certification that I have to pass at the end of April) My actual store has begun the process of registering me, but it is still in progress. What am I to do? I get to sit in front of a computer and do my computer training everyday for as many hours as I can take until my registration goes through. Mayhaps I am complaining a little too much, it is a good review, and I’m properly learning things that I’ve just picked up on my own in the past. However, after about 5 hours of me sitting in a dark cement box, in front of a computer watching pharmacy reenactments of everyday tasks, I tend to get a little antsy and a little irritated. I know it’s the law, I’m still getting paid, I would eventually have to do the computer training anyhow, and nobody else can push the registration to go through any faster…but I can’t help thinking, “I know how to do this! I did this for 3 years!”

On a happier note, Brandon came in town for a training conference thing. He stopped by for the weekend, we had a nice barbeque on Saturday night with David, Annie, and Ethan. It was a pretty easy going weekend. The weather has been pretty muggy and gray. So, there was not a lot of outdoor activities, much to Jabber’s dismay. I’ve been trying to teach Jabber to ring a bell when she wants to go outside. When Andy and I go to China, Jabber will be staying with the Trommers in Georgetown. I’m trying to ensure an accident-free trip while we’re gone, hence the bell trick. For the first few days, she just got startled and curious when the bells rang. However, I think she’s starting to get the idea. But we’re never really sure what’s going on in that fuzzy head of hers. Another week is about to begin…let’s hope my registration goes through…otherwise it’ll be 40 long hours of computer training for Angela!

Tomorrow begins my adventure back into the amazing and often DEATH DEFYING world of pharmacy. Okay, perhaps it’s not quite so death defying. Perhaps I’m just trying to make it sound more exciting than it really is. I’m starting my new job as a pharmacy technician at a Walgreen’s Pharmacy. It will be a less stressful job, with decent pay (better than the university, if you can believe it), it’s only 8 minutes from my house, and the people there appear to be genuinely nice. What is slightly depressing about the whole thing is that this is exactly the same job I had back in high school. So, one could wonder why the heck I spent so much money, stress, and time going to school out of state to get a bachelor’s degree when I am in exactly the same position as my eighteen year old self.

I have several reasons, first off….I am currently unemployed and getting bored. I have finished all the tasks that I set out to do around the house, even the ones I really wasn’t looking forward to. I have organized the office (it was our “unopened box” room for the last six months), I have organized all our bills and important paperwork so we never have to treat our marriage certificate or mortgage papers like the goal of a treasure hunt, I have printed out and organized all our wedding photos, I have organized all my magazines (seriously, 75% of my magazines are advertisements! So, I went through and tore out all the articles I want to keep and put them in sheet protected binders by order of magazine and subject), I have read the books I’ve been waiting to read, I have experimented in the kitchen with recipes I never had time to make after work (not to toot my own horn, but Andy’s co-workers are mighty impressed with the leftovers I send Andy to work with), and I have even made really good progress in our garden (which if you know me, you understand why that’s such a huge feat. I generally hate dirt and things that are associated with dirt).

Second reason, I have tinkered with the idea of going back to pharmacy school. However, rather than blindly throw myself into an expensive and tedious four year program, I want to make sure this is what I want to do. It would really be horrible if I went halfway through the program and decided pharmacy sucks and I wanted to quit. Being a pharmacy tech gets me back into the environment where I can make a sound decision.

Third reason, I have missed the deadline for most graduate school programs. So, while I ponder what I want to do and which path to pursue, I can at least bring a little money into the household. I have already signed up for my pharmacy tech certification test (something that was not required in KS). Once passing the test, my pay will increase by quite a bit. Though I suppose no matter what the reason, a job is a job, and it will help pay the bills and ensure that Jabber remains a pleasantly rotund puppy.

This weekend, Andy and I began the tedious process of trying to figure out how to garden. Neither of us have really had much experience before, but with the weeds beginning to take over our yard, we had to take a stand. Starting yesterday morning, we dug up all the old mulch that the builder put down for us. To our annoyance, we also discovered all sorts of fun surprises, broken glass bottles, cement chunks, pieces of piping…etc buried in the mulch. With that gone, we put down some new soil in which I could plant some pretty flowers.

We wandered around Lowe’s for a good amount of time, waiting for a certain type of flower to strike my fancy. I’m not entirely sure why, but I’m usually not looking for something in particular, things just have to catch my eye (this goes for clothing, shoes, home decor, and apparently gardening supplies). After vetoing chrysanthemums, magnolias, morning glories, daffodils, jasmine, lilies, irises, lavender, and pansies, Andy’s patience was starting to wear a little thin. I don’t blame him, my only reason for not choosing any of the aforementioned flowers was that they “looked funny” or they “weren’t right”. I finally decided upon, much to Andy’s relief, some nice yellow and red marigolds (a nice shout out to Iowa State colors, though done unintentionally).

With that settled, we suddenly came across an unforeseen problem. We wanted to buy new mulch to replace the nasty gray stuff that had been sitting in our yard all winter. That doesn’t seem like such a hard task, right? However, who knew there were so many different types of mulch? My parents used to buy mulch for their yard back when I was little, and it always seemed so easy. It’s mulch! But we were faced with what brand, what wood, what color, what price? With much hemming/hawing, reading of labels, and contemplation on what mulch actually accomplishes, we settled on a nice reddish cedar mulch. Mostly because we finally asked the Lowe’s lady for help, but also because I do love the smell of cedar.

After hauling all our stuff home, we got to work planting, mulching (is that a real verb?), weeding, and watering. It was hard work, but I’m rather pleased with our results. Andy’s only complaint is that the brick that we laid around our very dead looking tree is crooked. I’m not entirely sure what we’re going to do about it…with the dead looking tree or the crooked brick. What did the puppy do all weekend? Well, with the fear that Jabber would wander off with both of us not paying attention, the poor puppy had to stay indoors. So, she sat in the front window carefully keeping tabs of our activities the entire time we were outside (if you look at the second photo below, you can see a certain furry face with her pink tongue hanging out keeping an eye on me). Towards the end, we let her come outside with her leash on for easy capture, and let her roam a little. She did seem a little too interested in my new carefully chosen flowers, as in…”mmmm those could be tasty” interested.

While I was on a spring flower decoration warpath, I also decorated the inside to look more spring-like. I purchased some fake flowers from Michaels (they were 50% off!! Gotta love a deal) and a new spring wreath from Garden Ridge. Andy was excited because Garden Ridge was having a sale on nice tiki torches. He’s always wanted to have tiki torches in our backyard. Looks like we’re ready for some nice summer barbeques! Anybody interested?

Most of us think of ourselves as decently strong people. Sure, we have our tiny faults and little addictions (caffeine, reading trashy celebrity news magazines, chocolate, shoes, things that sparkle, computer gadgets…etc). I, on the other hand, have managed to keep my addiction hidden for the last couple of years. Why? Partly because I have been so busy, and partly because I know I get a little crazy when I go into this particular mode. What is this horrendous addiction you ask? I am absolutely and unequivocally addicted to books. You may laugh at this statement, but it can be quite a problem.

When I start a book, especially a decently interesting one, it is almost impossible for me to put it down. Case in point, the latest Harry Potter book (HP and the Half Blood Prince), I HAD to finish the book. I read the entire thing so fast that, truthfully, I don’t remember a single thing that happened. Another example, when I used to spend 2 hours a day driving from Denton to the UNTHSC in Fort Worth, I got hooked on books on cd. I would actually sit in the car outside our apartment just to finish a chapter. I would have listened to more, but I started getting strange looks from the neighbors. That’s what was wrong with books on cd, you couldn’t bookmark your place. This affliction probably started when I finished my first chapter book (Romona Quimby by Beverly Cleary) in one afternoon. The sense of pride, the knowledge that the book has been completed and a conclusion drawn was exhilarating. I simply cannot bear to leave a story open. If I have started a book and can’t finish it, then the rest of my day revolves around when I can get back into the story. What will happen to the characters? What plot twists have I not anticipated? Will the story end to my satisfaction or will the author be irritating and not give me what I want?

In the last few years, I’ve been working, planning a wedding, setting up our new house, and getting used to having a puppy around the house. I haven’t had much time to devote to my addiction, which is for the best. Otherwise we’d be living out of boxes, sleeping on the ground, dreaming of our wedding that took place at a Chucky Cheese’s with everyone wearing shorts and tank tops. However, after the initial shock of quitting my job subsided, the idea of being able to spend time reading popped back into my head. I tried to ignore it, knowing that I would never accomplish anything if I started reading. So, I busied myself with organizing the house, taking care of health insurance, applying for jobs, going on interviews, planning our trip to China…etc. However, in the last couple of days, even those activities have slowed down to a light trickle of duties.

Then when the cable went out one night, I gave in and cracked open a brand new hard cover book that I received from Andy’s parents for my birthday. (Eragon by Christopher Paolini) The addiction kicked back with a vengeance. I was immediately drawn into a new land filled with new characters whose personalities were still a mystery, and new story lines that were filled with potential clues that would help me later on in the plot. Before I knew it, Andy was already sound asleep next to me. I told myself that I would only read one more chapter. After that chapter, I looked at the clock and decided another half an hour wouldn’t be too much trouble. On and on it went until…Andy’s alarm clock went off…THE NEXT MORNING! Even with the knowledge that I had just stayed up all night to read, I just couldn’t go to sleep without knowing what happened. So, Andy left for work, and I kept on reading. I’m telling you, it’s a true addiction. One that can only be hindered by truly pressing things in life (mainly work or school).

There you go, you now know my weakness and potentially one of my greatest, in my opinion, strengths. Sure, staying up till 9 in the morning to read a children’s fantasy book is not so great. But in a world that is so dependent on television and internet, I’m proud that I actually enjoy reading so much more. It’s relaxing to escape your worries and get absorbed into a story that has very little to do with real life. With that said…I do believe I have the second book of the Inheritance Series, Eldest, sitting on my bookshelf beckoning to me. So, if you call in the next couple of hours and I don’t answer, you know where I’ll be.

I know most people assume that since I’m currently unemployed, I wake up around noon, bum around, watch television, and then go back to sleep. What a relaxing time, right? Not the case if you have a puppy named Jabberwocky. When Andy gets up in the morning (around 7:30), he lets the puppy out in the backyard to run amuck as he’s getting ready. Right before he leaves for work, he lets her back in the house. She will then proceed to nap while I sleep until about 9. At exactly 9, (I’m really not sure how she knows) she’ll start whining. If that’s not enough, then beginning at 9:30, she’ll start poking her very cold, very wet nose at which ever of my body parts is hanging out of my nice warm blanket (i.e. hands, arms, feet, in between toes…). I then proceed to shriek very loudly and jump out of bed. She’s definately got a system down to a science, my mom would be proud. No slug a bugs in bed in this household!

Last weekend, I tried my hand at making some of my mom’s authentic chinese recipes. The menu included Shang-Hai ribs surrounded in a bed of steamed broccoli florets, beef and bell pepper stir fry, and pan fried pork-carrot dumplingesque things. Dessert was homemade fresh mango sorbet. To tell you the truth, I’m really rather proud of myself. Sure, they’re not quite as good as my mom’s. But hopefully with some practice, I can fine tune them to my liking.

In other news, Andy and I have decided to take our China trip this April. It is very last minute, but why not take advantage of me not having to take vacation time? We’ve saved up for this trip for a long time now, and I think it’s a great deal. Also, it turns out that April is one of the cheaper months to go to China, since it’s still out of the tourist season. We are confirming the details at the moment, but if you’d like to join us, just give me a holler! It’s a nine day tour (includes travel time) to Beijing, Suzhou, Wuzhou, Hangzhou, and Shanghai. Here’s the travel agency we’re going through. I’ll be sure to post more when I’ve got more info. Needless to say, we’re pretty jazzed about the whole thing. Hope everyone’s weeks are going well!