Baby, It's Cold Outside

When I got into the car to go to work on Friday, my dashboard display didn’t appear like it normally did. Instead of showing the time and temperature, it read “ICE POSSIBLE.” That’s when I knew winter had finally hit me. For almost a week, the entire state of Rhode Island talked about the snow forecast for the area. To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention for a couple of reasons 1.The past week flew by- I still have so much to do before I leave for vacation 2. The RI natives (and most people from New England) go on and on about how awful the winters are here and I was getting sick of hearing about it. On The Weather Channel’s website, you can enter two zip codes and their average temperatures using a graphing function. When you put 46032 up against 02896, here are the results:

The average high's for both zip codes, with Carmel represented by the orange line.

And now the average lows...North Smithfield is in light blue

The main difference is the amount of annual precipitation but not by that much... North Smithfield gets 6 inches more each year


This weekend I picked up some extra shifts at various pharmacies in the area. I worked Friday from 4-9 PM and Saturday from 5-9 PM. On my way to work on Saturday, the pharmacy supervisor for my district called me desperately looking for someone to cover a sick-call for Sunday in Pawtucket. Without hesitation, I happily agreed- who can’t use a little extra spending money around the holidays?

When I got to work on Saturday night, I started talking with the staff (FYI- this store was in Warwick), and they described how busy they had been that day. Their theory was that people were getting their errands done before the big snow hit. Hmmm… at this point I remembered Deb telling me we were expected to get up to 12 inches of snow on Sunday and to call the weather line before I came into work on Monday. It turns out we were expected to get 12-16 inches of snow late Saturday night and early into Sunday morning. Now, I’m usually not a skeptical person at all, but the wheels in my head started turning for some reason. Even though I’m sure it’s highly unlikely (ha!), I started to think that the pharmacist who called in sick wasn’t sick at all! At this point, I still didn’t mind waking up early to work 8 AM- 4 PM.

As I’m driving home on Saturday night, the snow starts to come down. The snow initially didn’t stick, and my ride back to Slatersville didn’t cause any problems. After I got ready to get some sleep, I looked out the window and saw that several inches of snow had already accumulated. Oh boy…

I ended up waking up at 5:45 AM to dig my car out and get ready for work. I had completely forgotten to pick up a shovel, so I armed myself with the tools I thought might help completed the job: a large spatula, a tennis racket, and a cookie sheet.

I must have looked ridiculous carrying these things out in the snow

Turns out, I’m a really lucky girl. Two of my neighbors were outside shoveling their cars out, too, and one of them gave me the largest scraper I’ve seen in my life. The other neighbor shoveled 90% of the snow for me! If I didn’t have them helping me, I would have been in a world of hurt. I went back inside to shower, gather my things, and leave for the store. When I went back outside, at least 3 more inches had accumulated on my car (45 minutes, maybe?).

This is crazy…

Take a look at the cars- good luck going anywhere

Unless you're one of the few people getting to go to work (which includes me)... here is a picture of my car

This is a cigarette butt disposal can (I don’t know what the name is, but I do know that I hate it- people stand right outside the door and smoke… YUCK!) to give you an idea of the amount of accumulation

For what normally would have taken me less than 30 minutes, my drive to the store ended up taking more than an hour. RIDICULOUS. The trucks and plows had been out all night trying to stay on top of the snow, but it was coming down so quickly that they struggled to keep the roads clear. I did not get any faster than 30 miles per hour, even though I was sometimes driving on a highway with a speed limit of 65 mph. I had several people pass me going much too quickly, and two or three of them ended up fish-tailing in front of me (defensive driving is so important here, even without the snow). I had to pull over twice to scrape my windshield off and get my bearings on where exactly the road started and stopped. I finally made it to the store without becoming lost but got stuck trying to get into the pharmacy parking lot.

It was pretty slow at the store today, which was a nice change. Don’t get me wrong- I still filled prescriptions almost the entire time I was there (it is a very high volume store that does over 5K prescriptions every week). After work I drove to babysit for Lorna and Craig, who were going to a nice dinner on Federal Hill and to see Wicked (so jealous!).

After the kids had gone to bed and were sound asleep, I poked around the kitchen to get a bite for myself. I found some Sun Chips that I’d been meaning to try and wanted a icy-cold Diet Coke to go with it. I noticed that they had an extra refrigerator/freezer combo in their garage, so I thought I’d take a look to see if they were stashing the caffeine there. They have an alarm system, so when I opened the door, a voice spoke, “Garage door opened.” Not wanting to set anything off, I closed the door behind me…..

Do you know what happened next? I know it’s hard to believe, but I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried…

I locked myself out of the house.

Surprisingly, I didn’t panic- I just had a good laugh at myself. It took an expensive, traumatizing experience for me to learn my lesson never to lock myself out of my own house, but apparently I had not yet learned how to apply to rules to others’ homes. I only had on black workout pants, a long-sleeve shirt, and slippers, then rummaged around the garage to find a set of gloves and a headband. I tried to look for a set of keys but didn’t have any luck. I also couldn’t find a garage door opener at first , but the car that was left in the garage had it programmed onto a button. I went around the house (I felt like such a creep!) and tried all of the other doors (all locked) and looked at the windows (also locked). The next step was to go over to the neighbors to see if they had a key (which they didn’t), but they did call the fire department for me. The fire department arrived in five minutes and opened the door in less than that.

If you don’t know me very well, I’m sure this post makes me seem so incompetent, but I promise that I’m much more educated that what this story might point you towards. Never a dull moment, though...

TGIF

Friday, July 10, 2009

6:00 AM: phone alarm goes off (Ringer is the theme from Saved by the Bell)

6:05 AM: hit phone alarm snooze

6:10 AM: Sweetheart alarm goes off, hit phone alarm snooze

6:30 AM: wake back up to phone alarm. (must have fallen asleep after alarm #3)

6:33 AM: finally get out of bed. Sure my neighbors love me at this point-the walls here are a little on the thin side.

6:50 AM: get out of the shower and attempt to pick out an outfit.

6:58 AM: dry and curl my hair, which I realize is getting long. Not looking forward to finding somewhere to get it cut around here.

7:14 AM: Try to pick out an outfit again. Pick a purple dress.

7:17 AM: Eat breakfast, make lunch, and read parts of the article my students are presenting on later that day.

7:29 AM: Realize that I had better get ready to leave for work. Also realize I wore this dress last week. Quickly change into heather-brown dress pants, a coral top, and brown heels.

7:30 AM: Put on my make-up. Normally would have put it on in the car, but Nick convinced me otherwise a couple of months ago. Read this.

7:36 AM: Leave for work. Decide I'll take a different route this morning that I think is faster.

7:40 AM: Make a wrong turn onto 146 N instead of 146 S.

7:46 AM: Still driving on 146 N. No exits, no where to turn around. Wire fence and steel graters in the highway divider.

7:48 AM: See a dirt road with a sign that says "For Official Use Only." Don't see any exits down the road. Feeling pretty official. Decide to use it to turn around.

7:49 AM: Successfully get onto 146 S. Finally on my way to work. See flashing red and blue lights.

7:50 AM: Get stopped by an older policeman. Took my license and registration (By the way- I HATE my license picture! It is atrocious! Now you're not allowed to smile (with your teeth showing) in Indiana. They claim it helps with computer-driven face recognition. That's fine, but this makes my face looks chubby.)

7:59 AM: After convincing him I am a) a new RI resident b) trying to get to work and c) really sorry and I'll never do it again, he lets me go without a ticket or warning.

8:24 AM: Arrive at work. Sea of cars forces me to park all the way in the back row. While getting out of my car, I realize I forgot my lunch.

8:32 AM: Stop by Debbie's desk. Tell her about my morning. All she can do is laugh.

What a morning! I end up having a great day at work, even if the morning was a little bumpy. I had two more meet n' greets- Debbie has been kind enough to set up meetings for me with people all over the company that I'll be working with throughout the year. I met with a lawyer who is charge of HIPAA (Health Information Portability and Accountability Act) in the morning, and later that afternoon, I met with two people in our pharmacy marketing/merchandising group. One of the individuals is a pharmacist who is now in charge of working with manufacturers to purchase all of the branded prescription drugs we carry. I've always said that I love the variety of opportunities that are available for pharmacists, and so far, my residency has made that even more apparrent.

I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do Friday night, but I knew I had to go do something or I would go crazy! Following some advice, I headed to Thayer Street in Providence. It is a busy, eccletic street near the center of Brown University. I think it was a little slower that normal, seeing that school wasn't in session, but I was okay with that. I didn't stay out too long- just some people-watching (love this!) while sitting at an outdoor table, sipping a glass of wine at a local restaurant, Paragon. At the end of the night, even though I didn't want to go out by myself, I'm glad I did. It's funny- I've never felt uncomfortable about doing things by myself until now, when I actually have to. Having the option of being with people or doing something alone somehow seems different to me than my current situation.

A big thank you to those of you who have called, sent e-mails, written cards, and mailed packages! Mrs. K- you are so thoughtful! I am looking forward to seeing you at Andrew's baptism. Debbie and Jerry-- I love the new kitchen accessories! I was actually in desperate need of dishtowels- and they are in my favorite colors! I'll put a picture of them up tomorrow for all to see.

Stay tuned- more to come on today's adventure in Wickford Village tomorrow! Goodnight!

A Great First Day (But Not Without A Hiccup)

Today was my first day of my community practice residency! For privacy reasons (mainly for the company), I will not be publishing the actual name of the company I'm working for while I'm blogging. Just know that I am a Post-Graduate Year 1 (PGY1) resident that works for a large national drug chain. Most of you reading this already know who I work for anyways (The Man, as Nick says). I was a little overwhelmed today with the volume of information, but I'm sure I will get settled in during the next several weeks. As I learn more of my job functions (and as appropriate), I'll share what I am doing with you. The Clinical Services Department Staff was very welcoming, and I am looking forward to calling 12087 (I think that's my cubicle number) home. If you ever come to visit Woonsocket, I'm on the second floor. Just after you enter the doors for my department, I'm the first cubicle on the right. I love friendly faces. :)

After work, there was a meeting for Network of Executive Women that Deb (my preceptor) let me tag along to with her. There was a panel of eight top female executives in the company that shared best practices, experiences, and personal stories about their careers. (TR even was there and gave a speech at the beginning of the meeting! I was going to introduce myself to him afterwards, but I opted instead (and kind of chickened out- it was my first day!) to meet a female panel member that is a Vice President with Gina instead. TR is the CEO of the company and meeting him is definitely on my agenda for the year.) It was a great way to end my first day- thinking about my career aspirations and how I want to help change pharmacy practice.


When I went to take my things out of my car, I realized that my water bottle had at some point opened during the ride home. That's okay... I mean it's not like I had my calender in there (I did), important papers (yep), or a prescription I needed to get filled (that too). So, behold the paper maze that is my apartment.

In the picture just above, you can see one of the post-it notes I used (ten!) to remember the order of the papers. Next to my keys you can see the spoon I had to use to open my door. Yes, a spoon... This was after a half an hour of waiting for the maintenance man to come help me get into my apartment because my key wasn't working on the deadbolt. As it turns out, all I needed was a spoon. Silly me.

I promise I will get around to sharing my apartment with you! However, tonight, I've got work to do. Cheers!

I Should Have My Own Show

Do you ever feel like your life could be used as the storyline for a sitcom? Me too. Read on...

After a long day of shopping, sorting, and more cleaning, I was winding down for the evening and thought I'd take some pictures of my somewhat finished aparment to share with you. I started in the living room/kitchen/great room but decided to start with my front door. Behold, Apartment 121W.

Swoooosh. And just like that, I was locked out of my apartment. At 9:00 PM on a Sunday night. I knocked on my neighbor's doors and two other doors of people I've met, only to get no answer. Desperate, I stopped the valet trash man to use his phone. (About Valet Waste- Let me just say that I think it is absurd to pay to have someone walk around the apartment building and pick up trash. I don't even want to know how much I'm paying for the yellow-vested guy with the hiking boots to take out my garbage. And no, it's not optional here.) Just that minute, my next door neighbors showed up (whom I had not met). Angelica was nice enough to lend me her phone to call a locksmith. It took everything in me not to break down, but I somewhat held it today until the locksmith came to save the day.

He ended up not being able to pick the lock, which actually makes me feel somewhat secure to know that not even a professional could break in without an electric drill. I would normally feel guilty about a half an hour of drilling, but 1. My neighbors didn't answer their doors and 2. the people above me wake me up with crying children and keep me up with fights that border on verbal domestic abuse. After it was all over, I had to laugh at myself... all I wanted was to have good pictures for my blog!

Locksmith drilling my door open: $140

After-hours lockmsmith service call: $40

Learning never to lock myself out of my apartment: priceless