It was ALMOST a Review

Sometimes when you get older and have a midlife crisis, you buy a Corvette or a motorcycle. Others have affairs. Me, I buy stuff, but I can't afford a Corvette or a Harley. So I have to settle for the small stuff.

I found out that you can order little boxes of stuff that are sent to you every month. This blog post was going to review my recent arrival from GRAZE. It's a little box of goodies that comes every month.

So when the box came in, I set it aside. You know, I wanted to do some nice pictures and everything but didn't have time at the moment.

Later I looked at the box:

It says turn it over, so I do:

I open the box. I notice something wrong right away...

I'm supposed to get four goodies...

But there are only three:

And this is what happens when you have teenage boys in the home. If they're not eating it, they're wrecking it. I would like to give you a complete review of my Graze box, but it can't be a complete review because someone got into my box and stole my 4th treat.

This is me...

...finding out that my shift is almost over:

YOU DON'T GIVE GOOD SERVICE!

A woman steps up to the DROP OFF window...

That's where you DROP OFF your new prescription so we can fill it. Later you go to the PICK UP window to PICK UP your medication. Oddly enough, you'd be surprised how often people DON'T SEEM TO GET THIS.

Back to the story...

"I have a question for you about my medication," she says.

"Sure, what's your last name?" I ask. I'm at the computer ready to pull up her file so that I can give her an educated answer with all her information in front of me.

"Oh, I don't get my medication here. I get it at Busy-as-Hell pharmacy across the street. They're always busy and don't have time to answer my questions."

I stare at her, blankly. I'm waiting for the question. She stares back. Ten seconds pass. I give in.

"Sooooo, do you have a list of your medications?" That's a reasonable question. How can I answer her question without knowing what she is taking?

"Well, I can see by the look on your face that YOU DON'T WANT TO HELP ME." 

The actual look on my face was bewilderment. What's she asking me to do is counsel her on medication(s) she received from a competitor across the street. I don't mind helping, but as I then said to her, "I'm trying to help you, but you have to give me something to go on since you're not a patient here."

"I don't know WHY I ever bother with YOUR pharmacy. YOU don't give good service!" she belts out. 

She's NEVER filled a prescription with us. NOT ONE TIME.

Where's those vacation brochures again?

Demotivational Hump Day... Easy Day!

Old, but not Obsolete

Here is a picture of my old iPhone 4s, cleaned and sitting atop the iPhone case that kept it in pristine condition.

I purchased this phone in February, 2011. It has served well beyond its intended life cycle, and certainly longer than Apple would have liked me to keep it.

He was my constant companion. He went with me to several states of the United States, and accompanied me through several states of sanity. He served as my music source, my entertainment, my ability to communicate with family and friends. For over a year he was my only source of Internet access for my laptop computer as a wifi hotspot. And I watched an entire season of Game of Thrones on his little screen.

His little battery started to give up in 2013, but I purchased a battery kit and replaced the battery myself. I'm not a fix it guy, but I was able to get inside him and replace the battery. In the process I mucked up the volume controls on the side, but they can be controlled elsewhere so it wasn't a big loss.

With every update from Apple that I installed, he became slower and slower. I deleted many apps and downloaded many pictures to keep a little bit of space on him, but eventually time itself caught up with the little guy. I was patient with him but then one day one app update just sent him over the edge. After numerous reboots I was able to resuscitate him, but at that point I was afraid to install other app updates. That little annoying number kept getting higher (seen above at 59) and so I decided when the 6s became available, I would get the new and improved iPhone.

He saw me through some rough times. Oh my, some really rough times. And even though he has no consciousness, he knows all my secrets and all my strengths and all my weaknesses. He's not really a he. He's just a piece of technology, but I'm amazed at how I've become attached to this little guy. He never judged me, he never intentionally failed me, and he always did whatever I asked him to do. He didn't have Siri or some of the other fancy apps available to his younger brother and sisters, but I was never led astray by the GPS app he has installed. He certainly helped me call AAA on several occasions, and he woke me up with his little alarm for four years now.

For basic functionality, there really was no need to get the new iPhone. This little guy works just great and he's been re-purposed to keep me entertained with Pandora that still works just fine, blasting through my bluetooth speaker system as we speak. He's still my friend, and he's still valuable, but he will no longer be my daily companion.

He's a lot like me in a lot of ways. He never gave up, worked hard at what he was meant to do, and worked (and continues to work) long past the time he should. He's old, but not obsolete.

Thank you, little iPhone 4s.

You Deal with This

Usually humans communicate with each other by listening to questions and answering them.

But not one of my patients. She's a real pain in the ass. No, her favorite thing to do is tell me about a condition or situation, starting with the history of the earth. Then when she's finally done she'll ask her question.

In most cases, I'll need some clarification on something she's said. But when I try to ask a question, she'll cut me off and talk about something else, usually completely unrelated. Other pharmacists deal with people like this lady. It's also probably why some pharmacists have a drinking problem.

So then I'll try to ask another question and get the same problem. Now I just turn her over to Flynn, our Tech Extraordinaire. He can handle her from now on. I just say, "You deal with this," and walk away.

It's a lot better than having The Authorities come the next day and have me sign a warning letter for my snarky attitude.

Sunday Funnies without Ink on your Hands