Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Keep Calm and Carry On

Wow, lots of news updates. I think this post would be best in my favorites format... (A list, of course)

  • Nick and I had our first Skype date on Sunday! If you aren't familiar with Skype, it's an online service that allows you to video conference with other people on the internet. All you need is a web cam or microphone (depending on whether or not you want video or just audio)- the service is actually free. I used to be a little weirded out by the whole concept of web cam (Chelsea can attest to this), so I was a little skeptical. Everyone would rave about how great it was to be able to see the other person while you are talking to them. I never thought it would make that much of a difference, but it *does.* I found a web cam on Ebay for only $13 (including shipping!) and had it sent to Nick as a surprise. If anyone has a Skype account, let me know- love to chat with you! I love it so much I feel like I should wear a t-shirt or something of the sort to advertise for them. If you haven't tried it, I *highly* recommend it.

  • Work has been busy. I'm currently working on developing my research project, which focuses on demonstrating the impact a community pharmacist can have in the quality of life for patients with chronic pain. I did a retrospective analysis with Chelsea last year for our PharmD project, which was a great learning experience. However, I never realized how much more complicated it is when you involve actual patients. The other challenge is recruitment of patients for the study. I am only going to be in a store one half-day per week, so I am going to have to rely on store teams to help me. I just got a critical piece of information around the definition of a clinically significant change in a patient's quality of life in an e-mail late today, so I'll be able to finalize some of my study methods in time to present them to a clinical committee next Wednesday. (However, they need the materials by this Thursday. Yikes.)

  • Best practice: when you get someone else's mail in your mailbox, *please* do not 1) throw it away 2) open it, then throw it away 3) open it then give it to the original recipient 4) pretend like you didn't get it and proceed to throw it away. I only say this because in the past month I have had two pieces of mail, one of which is extremely important (my benefits information for insurance at work). (Note: The whole benefits issue could be a story in itself. I'll explain more later when I have the energy.) Just yesterday I had a letter placed on my door handle that was opened. Great. It was a preloaded card for the Massachusettes Bay Transportation Authority that I had bought online to use to travel to the Logan Airport when I go home to Indy in October (I get Columbus Day off). I tried to see if there was a way to check its balance online, but no such luck. I'll have to call them tomorrow to find out if whoever opened it decided to use it to buy a ticket for themselves. Although, I'd like to think that if they were going to do that, they never would have brought the card to me in the first place.

  • I'm still traning for the Newport mini- I'm up to five miles at a time, which may not sound like a big deal to some of you but is to me. It's definitely making me drink more water that's for sure. If I haven't had enough to drink, I can tell after just a couple miles into the run when my body is starting to yell "Why do you hate me?!" It's a good thing that my desk is near the bathroom (and water fountain if you're curious) because I've probably been four or five times a day in the past week. It is slowing down, but I wouldn't be surprised if co-workers think I have a bladder control issue. My next task is to find a nearby park to run for my longer distrance runs on Sundays- jogging along the side of the slightly winding, hilly road just somewhow doesn't make me feel comfortable. Besides, I don't have my real insurance, so I'd be in deep if I got hit by a car. (Relax, I have temporary insurance and am covered on Mom and Dad's until the end of this month. Speaking of which, it is already September!!

  • I can't believe I forgot to tell Deb this today, but I am now licensed in Indiana! I got the e-mail from the board today, and I am very excited. Indiana's BOP gives you your score. I wasn't really interested in seeing the exact results- just knowing that I passed was enough for me. But thanks to the IPLA, it's confirmed- I'm better at pharmacy law than therapeutics. Super.

  • Starting last Friday, I have been partaking in what I've dubbed "The Deep Clean." I am having my first guest at my apartment this weekend- Nick! It's not that my apartment that was dirty to begin with, but there were just a lot of loose ends to be tied up. There were quite a few things that I just hadn't gotten around to yet. I mean, decorations are nice, but if you are the only one that ever sees your apartment, sometimes figuring out what to put in the glass vases next to the entertainment stand fall by the wayside. I was also putting off cutting the plastic mat for my pantry (it's an open metal rack. I thought having everyone be able to see what I am eating would motivation to not eat junk, but not really sure how that is working out. At least I'm an optimist at heart.). I was nervous that the plastic mat would needed to be cut with some type of exacto knife and that I'd cut a finger off, but I only ended up using regular scizzors and my leopard-print measuring tape. But my favotite addition was the poster I finally hung in my kitchen that I brought with me to Rhode Island....

I think it is just the perfect saying for me right now. Not only that, it matches the rest of my kitchen (go figure). Hope everyone is having a good week- more to come tomorrow!



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