Work sucks, i know. (it's not really that bad)

Nights at CVS have become very un-nightly meaning there is work to do the entire night. It may sound odd to complain about having something to do the entire time while you're at work, but it is so far from the position that i signed up for. Two years ago, i would fill maybe 20 scripts on a 'busy' night, but now it can easily be 120 or so with DreadyFill™  (for those of you just tuning in, this is in reference to the automatic monthly prescription refills that pop in to the computer ever night) and especially if there are a few pages left in the cue upon arrival. In all my complaining, i would never wish to be on the day side and i don't blame them for ever leaving work to do. As with any company, the goal is to do as much as possible with as little as possible. i'm not sure i could deal with that nonsense for any extended length of time.

Why the hell does the Emergency Department have to send 6 people over at one time? Having 9 scripts as waiters working by yourself is a real pain in the ass. Newsflash to everyone who feels the need to tell me that they just came from the ER, no shit, nobody is just here hanging out because they heard there is no wait to use the back massaging chair late at night.

i used to be much calmer in my everyday life, but at work every little thing pisses me off. Nothing is worse than bending over to pick something up and having my pens fall out of my pocket! Oh my God, it pisses me off just thinking about it.  i mouth silent swear words so often at night at the smallest annoyances and give the middle finger to the computer screen for asinine, unnecessary actions that waste my valuable time i could spend simply not doing unnecessary work, it's ridiculous. 

Why in the hell would you send DreadyFill™ in before 1 AM?? Sure it gives you 30 minutes extra to start working on it, but then you have to wait until 1 AM to filter through the 3 goddamn pages of rejections because half of them are simply based on the fact that the insurance is in the central time zone and think we are somehow transmitting from the fucking future. Then every time there is a prescription that gets filled or is rejected because somebody filled a prescription that is already on ReadyFill (DreadyFill™) and failed to remove the scheduled refill, an empty vial (preferably 40 dram) get's thrown angrily yet harmlessly to the floor. i try to call the help desk at least one night per week i work in hopes that they will come to their sense.

Seven to nine nights used to be no problem, but the angry pharmacist seems to erupt around night six these days. Oh well, more work for me equals an actual contribution to the betterment of our store and hopefully the shit i do makes life easier for the unimaginable hell that is working days in the pharmacy.

Last night, everything just went wrong. There were a few pages in the cue when i arrived, which is fine, i can handle that. But for some reason i kept grabbing the wrong bottle not realizing it until i scanned them and kept having to go back and forth to get the right one, there was a compound hiding underneath the stack of scripts. Luckily there was only one rush of people (last week, every night they didn't stop coming), but then i got a paper cut, the robot ran out of labels, the printer ran out of labels, Medicaid patient came right at midnight when Medicaid goes down for at least an hour, some drunk chick tried to hand me her pregnancy pee stick and confirm the results as she explained her sexual history, got to answer pharmacy questions for someone who doesn't even use our pharmacy, got to enter 2 prescriptions for someone who decided they had to have brand which we didn't have so backed those out...on top of the usual happenings...i'm going to bed, one more night to go. 

Christmas 2010

For all those that couldn't make it to our Christmas morning gift opening, here it is.

Weather is frightful.

i'm officially sick of winter. After barely escaping the snow this weekend on a rushed trip from Chicago to Indy (botched trip to Chesterton), coming back to Charlotte has given little escape from the cold aside from a lack of snow. But if it's going to be this cold anyway, you might as well have snow.  Am i wrong?


What kind of morons run Walmart? How can you not have, at the very least, an end cap of tissue near the pharmacy section? i'm not going all the way to the paper section a half a mile away, it's easier to stop at CVS on the way home to get some.


Christmas. Creating that need to spend money on unnecessary items to make others feel loved, creating stress to find the right gift or any gift for that matter...oh well, it works for me. i don't think i stepped into a store this year for Christmas gifts, aside from one for my mom. The cats remain terrified of every truck noise that stops near our house, especially around the 7 pm UPS delivery hour. Their fear of someone coming to the front door and God forbid ringing the doorbell is frightening.

Still holding.

Does anyone know if there is a way to put money toward a particular loan within a group of Sallie Mae loans? i assume i can just send in a payment via mail and specify the exact loan to pay on, but i just wanted confirmation that this is acceptable. Yesterday, i was on hold for 10 minutes then had to do something else so hung up. Today i provided a callback number and when i got called back, somehow we got disconnected (twice). AT&T sucks as well. i just lost connection again. You rat bastards. i can't stand when a simple task take 10 times longer than it should. Decided to just send an email. Found their auto reply in my spam folder.

Speaking of email, it's that time of year when i try to clear out my email inbox. Why or how i let hundreds of emails build up is ridiculous, but i do nothing to stop it. Worthless. Also worthless is the fact that it gets dark by 5:30. i don't recall this ever bothering me before, but this year i can't stand it.

Entertainment Coupon Book App

It's finally here

i don't know if my complaint just one month ago inspired them to release their iPhone app but it is finally available. At first glance it is exactly what i expected and wanted it to be. It tells you what coupons in your book are actually useful to you in wherever area you may be. We no longer have to flip through the book and try to guess what places might be nearby. We'll see if it actually works out in the field, but it's nice to get what i want.

Coupons continue.

Good news is that we survived the half marathon. i felt surprisingly good the whole race and even had enough for a kick with the finish line in sight. i was hesitant to speed up any sooner based on past results.
After the race, we rested for a bit then went out on the town for sushi (restaurant.com coupon), went to the Charlotte Symphony (Groupon) and ate Cold Stone (Groupon) for dessert. We did stop at Dick's Sporting Goods so Megan could get a new winter coat and even used two coupons there. So far, a good month saving by spending.

In other relatively good news, i only have a 5 night work week this week.

Dreading.

Have you ever just really dreaded something that is coming up, but you can't really get out of it? This weekend is the mini-marathon we signed up for in Charlotte. To recap, the last time i attempted to run a half marathon such as this back in Indianapolis in like May 2007, i remember reaching the 12 mile mark of the 13.1 mile race and attempting to speed up to finish faster. Eye witness accounts confirmed that after i went down the first time, i attempted to get up and run again before finally blacking out completely. The next thing i remember was waking up in an ice bath followed by an ambulance ride to the hospital. Legend has it that my temperature was somewhere near 105 degrees or so. The worst part about the whole thing, aside from not finishing the race and the stupid medical bills that followed was the fact that they put my iPod in the ice bath with me.
i wish i had thought about this sooner, but i should've made this shirt just in case for this year's race.

On the back, i'll just have my name and insurance information.

 

Coupons in November

We eat out more than we probably should, but it's just one of the things we enjoy doing. We love trying out new places and searching for new favorites. In an effort to potentially save money, rather than lying and saying we are not going to eat out at all, we will only eat out at places where we have a coupon.
The month is young, but so far we've enjoyed two meals out with a successful two coupons used. Order waters to drink and it's practically just as cheap as making dinner at home...ish.

So far...
Taxco Mexican restaurant in Belmont - Buy one get one free entree. From the expiring 2010 Entertainment book.
Sake Express in Belmont - Buy one get one free entree. Printed from the Entertainment.com Web site.

Thresholds.

i'm not sure if i've ever talked publicly about thresholds, but inside the deceptively small space in my head, i have set thresholds for many items that determine if i will make a purchase or not. For quality beer (outside the realm of Bud, Coors, Miller, etc), if you can get it for less than $1 per bottle, it is under threshold and i have a duty to purchase. Even better if it is a beer i know i have enjoyed in the past. Along comes the Abita Party Pack that i found at World Market. The sign said $9.99 or so and i thought, "Score that is under threshold!" then when i got rung up, it was only $7.88!! So i bought two. Then today, i went back and bought four more! A few will expire in December, but i have a feeling i can finish those (especially with guest coming to town in October). Another bonus is that it is a variety pack with 6 different taste per box so i shouldn't get sick of any of them. Almost all are enjoyable to me aside from a weak wheat beer in the bunch, but so be it.

When i'm out, less than $3 per decent beer is acceptable, or $2 for domestic. Either way, i typically find it hard to shell out money while i'm out for a beer, proving once again i value money more than alcoholism. 

Weekend in NYC

The wife and i spent last weekend in New York City and had a really good time. i can't say we'll be planning any trips to return, but we enjoyed our time there. One of the highlights of the trip might have actually been something that is not one of the typical NYC attractions. Wherever a waiver is necessary is where Megan wants to be. One of the nights before we left, we were searching Yelp for various activities and sights to see and came across the Trapeze School New York with rave reviews. So we signed up and took a two hour course that by the end had us being caught by one of the instructors swinging from another trapeze. Pretty unique and definitely exciting.

You can read both of our full thoughts here.

Other highlights included the usual: a bus tour to see the city, Top of the Rock, American Idiot musical, a little shopping, San Gennaro festival in Little Italy, Museum of Natural History. Hayden Planetarium, Bodies exhibit. It was definitely a full weekend.

ITTPMO

In other Insignificant Things That Piss Me Off, how can the Entertainment Book not have an iPhone app? It is always the thing that prevents us from using the stupid thing in unfamiliar parts of town. Couldn't they partner with someone to simply notify someone that this location does have coupons available, with or without checking in. It would increase the value of the Entertainment Book significantly.

I heart NYC

After two strongly dissatisfying trips through New York City in the past, Megan and i will give it a go this September. i figure if we're not in a car we can't be forced to pay a toll to go across a bridge that we had to cross due to construction, only to have to turn around and cross the same damn bridge. i haphazardly started looking at flights yesterday and they seemed pretty reasonable (cheaper than flying to Indiana), so that 3 day weekend in September is now booked. 

For the first time ever, i have decided to actually use some Hilton points to pay for a room. i'm not sure what i've been waiting for, i guess i've been holding out for my 7-night stay in Hawaii.

Any suggestions for NYC?

going on.

Last week was full of activities that i haven't done in years.

First, wifey and i went to the batting cages. It took me more swings than usual for the bat to go where i thought i was telling it. Although Megan claims not to be a baseball player at all, i was shocked and embarrassed when she hit better than me. i did win at putt putt, so if you're keeping track, the summer series is now tied at one apiece. Then one day i played some actual 3-on-3 basketball which last occurred sometime before 2003. For some reason, basketball left me almost as sore as dodgeball used to. Luckily, it was a quick recovery and to finish the week, i played a few hours of sand volleyball.
This week has been rough for Megan. First off, her laptop gets stolen from work which has an alarm system on the building meaning it was stolen during work hours with essentially the only possible suspects being employees. When the cops showed up to the scene of our fender bender today, we asked if they had any leads on the laptop case. No dice. 

And now it's July.

The deed is done. Cancun was fabulous. Now instead of having a smart, sexy, fantabulous girlfriend or fiancee, i have a smart, sexy, fantabulous wife!
We had a wonderful time at the resort and even with good old Tropical Storm Alex passing through, everything was perfect. Here is a link to a little video montage provided to us by our photographer:

My, my heart's like a kickdrum
http://video214.com/play/SiBv1UKjDo0jdkTt4abZVg/s/dark 
(you'll probably have to copy and paste the link to open it)

It doesn't look like we have many trips planned the rest of the year, yet.

Remember we welcome all guests*!! Free weekends fill up fast, so book your stays soon!

*all guests approved by a majority vote and with a clean visitation record with a revisit stamp of approval

Claiming another Phillips.

It won't be long now until we add another Phillips to the population. Oh hell no is it a little one. It will be an applesauce affiliated beautiful young lady. We are overly excited for our trip to Cancun and the impending wedding. Should be a good time starting next week.  Just four lousy work nights left.

Tomorrow morning is game 2 for the USA in the World Cup. i've watched way too much games this year. While i've never watched so many in the past, i feel like this World Cup is lacking great goal scoring and there seems to be a plethora of own goals and crappy goalkeeping. 

Of course the NBA finals nails in the coffin are put in by none other than some Slovenian Sasha Vujacic. That better be the last highlight i see from a Slovenian this weekend since they will be put in their place in less than 12 hours. 

And now it's June.

Time flies. Fun or otherwise. Even the ten-day work week flew by. Nothing passed time quite like playing Red Dead Redemption this week. While i do enjoy playing, the fun to time-flew-by ratio just doesn't work for me. Every time i would look up at the clock, 40 minutes had gone by. i was so frustrated by the unbelievably quick passage of time, i haven't touched the game in three days.

The one thing i accomplished this week was replacing the needle on my record player. All this time i thought i was going to have to order one and there was one up there in a baggie. i just had no idea what a new working one was supposed to look like. The other highlight of the week so far was going to Carowinds. It was the perfect day at the amusement park. Essentially no wait for any ride thanks to kids still being in school and a early rain. The awesome thing about living less than 20 minutes away is we got to come home and get our bathing suits, grab lunch then head back to the water park. Awesome.

In great news, i will be in a location to watch USA take on England. In bad news, Dick's Sporting Goods was out of stock on the jersey and the only thing they did have that i wanted in my size had seems already coming undone. Must have been made in America.
Also, there is actually a chapter of the American Outlaws USA soccer supporters in Charlotte. i'm guessing it is a small contingency, but would still would be fun to watch with others that know that the world cup is happening at least.

Can't wait for June!

June looks like a fantastic month. Wedding, World Cup, not much Work.
As it stands, i am scheduled to work just 8 nights in the month of June. (Sorry Carl). How is this possible you might ask? Well, i swapped to work Memorial Day weekend for the June 5th weekend. Not my choice, but i didn't have any plans for Memorial Day so why not. Also, i am taking 3 nights off for this little wedding vacation we're taking to Cancun. What up? To be fair, i am working a 10 night stretch to finish off May.

So yeah, just over one month before we get married. Kind of a big deal. Then there is the 2010 World Cup.
Let's take a look at the USA games.
June 12th - England 2 PM ---Perfect. i have no obligations this weekend and invite all to come for the sorta-annual Beer-BQ....i immediately digress...this is lake weekend...could be a major soccer viewing problem.
June 18th - Slovenia 9:30 AM --- i work this weekend, i will be off to watch the game but it falls in my 12 hour window of off-work time, so enjoyment will be limited.
June 23rd - Algeria 9:30 AM --- This is the one that sucks.  i'm not sure who scheduled our flights to Cancun at 11:30 AM, but that essentially means i'll be watching this from the airport and could elevate or damper my initial mood in Cancun.

i almost hope USA finishes 2nd in their division so i can watch the game Sunday morning instead of the alternative which would be a kickoff time just 4 hours before the wedding ceremony.

Feeling Blue

Less than two years old, this computer is experiencing blue screen symptoms. Not sure why it works in safe mode with networking, but not in full mode. Even after a system restore of about a week ago, it still won't load. Who knows. Aside from being able to play iTunes, all i use my computer for is Internet anyway and i can do that which gives me time to consider my options. It's definitely time to finally buy a hard drive to back up all the goods (music and photos). Any recommendations on that stuff? i heard one recommendation to abandon the laptop and go for an iPad. Seems too early for me to adopt that technology.

Time to go back to work tonight after a nice week off. Only signs of the severe sunburn are some minor itching and the final stages of shedding my skin. Speaking of grossest things ever. We were eating outside at a restaurant this week when my face was in full peel mode. There was a strong breezy current blowing from our table inward toward the rest of the tables. At one point, i'm pretty sure a skin flake may have blown inward toward the other people's table. i'm sure they couldn't even taste it.

Appreciating Nothing

You never truly appreciate what you don't have until you have it. That's what they always say, or should have said anyway. In this case, i'm talking about little things that can affect your everyday life to the point of being aggravating and disruptive. Some people have headaches or muscle spasms or trouble sleeping.

i thought things were getting better with my sunburn when i was able to sleep half-way on my side last night, but then today i itched. i've never experienced such a dramatic sunburn itching irritation. At times the itch was so intense i was screaming profanities at the cats. After taking a shower (i think the spray just helped scratch areas i couldn't reach), i used aloe which felt like it intensified the itch, i took another shower to wash it off, then i even tried vinegar (desperate times call for Google searches), then i starting popping pills (some Benadryl and ibuprofen). Finally i used some CVS cream with vitamin E i found in my bathroom supplies. After thinking, i am gonna lose this battle, i threw on a shirt and left to run some errands. They sort of subsided to a tolerable point, but now that i'm just sitting here thinking about it, i feel like they're creeping back.

Just be thankful for everything you have and more importantly, the things you don't have.

Savannah Recovery

We had a really great weekend in Savannah and now i sit on the couch wondering why the hell i thought spending several hours on the beach without sunscreen would be a good idea. Fortunately it is gloomy outside because just seeing the sun makes my skin hurt more. i really just want to lie in bed until after i shed off the painful skin, but it is impossible to lie down comfortably. i keep getting cold but i can't put on a shirt. Luckily, i can justify my lazy day because i am waiting on the cable guy to show up between 8-noon.

Friendly reminder, taking sunscreen with you on the trip does no good if you don't take it with you to the beach and actually apply it.