Work Meeting

July 17, 2012

   A few weeks a go my boss handed me an email. There was going to be a mandatory meeting of staff pharmacists early the next week. They would hold this meeting at four different times and each staff pharmacist needed to choose one. I was steamed. I saw no reason for the staff pharmacists to meet. We never had in the past and no company that I had worked for had ever had staff pharmacist meetings.
One of the days clearly would not work for me. If I picked that day I would be working two 12 hour days in a row. The other day was my day off. I had planned to meet with my intern off site in the morning and to get other household tasks done in the afternoon. I sent an email to my district manager hoping that I could be excused from what I thought would be a time wasting exercise. She told me to set another time with my intern. I gave in and told her which time I would attend. I also told her that I would be leaving promptly at the stated end time.
I wasn't happy with the meeting location. It was in one of the northern suburbs and about as inconvenient as possible. C was not happy about it either. There was a lot of construction and a few high traffic areas that I would have to drive through. He wanted to drive me there, but that was impossible because it was too far away and he had to work too. I told him that I was sure I could manage it. I had driven in traffic before. I don't like it, but I can do it. He spent the next few days trying to figure out how he could arrange his work schedule so that he could drive me to the meeting. I kept telling him that I could do it. I was quite capable of driving myself.
   Inside I wasn't so sure. I like driving,but I'm not a good big city driver. I'm all right if it is a place that I have been to before. My big fear is that I will get lost and wind up someplace dangerous or be unable to find my way home. C was talking about having to edge past Minneapolis or through downtown St. Paul.It didn't sound like fun. I was going to have to do it though. I didn't have a choice.
C and I finally sat down at the computer and found a route that was mostly highway. I started to feel better. It didn't look too difficult. The only problem would be if there were road closures. Hopefully there would be clearly marked detours. All I had to remember is that I wanted to go north and east. I could do that.
The day of the meeting arrived. C was still fretting a bit and told me to text him when I got to the meeting, when I was heading home and when I got home. I thought he was being a bit overprotective, but was willing to indulge him.
I set out with plenty of time. I always allow myself about 15 minutes extra when driving to places that I hadn't been to before. I call it "get lost time". If I were to get lost I would not be running late which would be a bit stressful. I was gritting my teeth as I drove. This had better be good. I was sacrificing a day off and driving what seemed like halfway to Brainerd. I don't appreciate having my time wasted .
The drive wasn't bad. traffic was moving freely with only a few slow spots. I got to the store about 15 minutes early. I could go into the store and walk around for a bit, but decided to stay in the car and read a book that I had brought. It was a nice day.
   Once enough time had passed I went into the store and asked the pharmacy tech where the meeting was. She directed me to go around the corner and up the stairs to a large room. The table were set up in a U shape. There were a few people who were sitting and chatting. I took a seat at the end of the U and away from the door so I wouldn't be directed by any outside noise.
My graduate intern from last summer was there. He got out of his seat to talk to me. I got up too and we met halfway. I was pleased to see him. He now had a store of his own to work at and he liked it alot. I was happy for him. We both went back to our seats and the meeting started.
I was surprised. It was not bad at all. There wasn't much that I didn't already know, but I did write down a few things that were interesting. I was expecting a lot of criticism and nit picking. What we got was encouragement and praise for what we were doing well and some things to help us improve what wasn't going well. All in all not bad. The meeting ended 15 minutes early and the floor was opened up for any questions. I took the opportunity to ask something about something. I had asked other people and had not received an answer. The district manager who ran the meeting said he needed to get back to me. I hope he does.
I climbed in my car for the drive home. I wished that I would be going home. I had things at home I could do. Instead I had to drive to the store to meet with my intern.
   The drive back was uneventful except for one closed road. I told myself not to panic. Home was south and west. If I kept going south and west I would run into the freeway and could find my way from there. There was a detour, clearly marked as I had hoped, directing me to an alternate route to the one I had planned.
   I felt a sense of accomplishment as I pulled into the parking lot of my store. I had made it there and back and with no problems. The meeting was not a waste of time. I was even going to have time to grab a bite of lunch before I met with the intern. If I had to spend my day off working, this wasn't too bad.....