Sophie's Story

           I like being a pharmacist. I like the fact that I'm helping people. (Although there are a couple members among my in-laws who believe this is not true.) Interacting with my customers is something I enjoy. I'm amused by this because I'm also a introvert and more than a little shy. Introverts usually don't take public facing jobs like that. I've been a pharmacist for a bit over 30 years now. While I may not have always liked where I worked, I always liked what I was doing.          Having said that there are a few things about my job that I don't like. Mostly this involves dealing with insurance companies. As I work for an independent pharmacy, we don't have a corporate office to take care of certain tasks centrally. This means that certain tasks must be shared among the staff.  One of the insurers that we deal with requires us to revalidate our information every three years.           The...

           It's vaccine season. The vaccines we ordered arrived a couple weeks ago. We ordered more needle tips and gathered the rest of the supplies that we need. My manager printed out the forms and information sheets as well as appointment pages. The room where we give shots was clean and tidied up. We were ready.           We do shots by appointment to help manage our workflow and because not all the staff are certified vaccinators. It also helps us to be able to get paperwork and billing done ahead of time so that the appointment goes smoothly. Our first appointment day was last Tuesday and the schedule was full.          I don't believe that getting a vaccine should be a painful and bad experience. I like to talk to people during the process of getting the vaccine to distract them from getting the shot. as a result I have had some pleasant experiences. I hope that they have too.    ...

           I'm starting to see pumpkin spice on the menu in bakeries and coffee shops. This is normally something I'm happy to see. I like pumpkin muffins, steamers, smoothies and scented candles. Bring on the warm spices. There's just one problem.          It's too warm out. It's  hard to get excited about pumpkin flavoured things when it's so warm out. Hot apple cider can't really be enjoyed in a t shirt and capri pants. I really want to enjoy these things, but my body still thinks it's summer outside. It's not time for these things yet. We're still running the air conditioner and ceiling fan. The only autumn type product I can really enjoy is apple cider slush from a food truck at the Arboretum,          It's not fair. One of the benefits of living in the north is knowing that summer will come to an end. I won't have to feel slightly damp all the time. I won't be kicking the covers off at three in th...

                  The broiler on our trusty stove finally gave out a couple months ago. Although we could still use three of the four burners and the oven worked apart from the broiler, I felt it was time to replace it. I had been working a lot of extra hours so there was room in the budget.          We had looked at several stores and found one that we liked. C wanted to look at the model we chose a bit more closely and do some research. I eventually got frustrated and told him we needed to get moving on it. He said he wanted to look at one more place. I told him the features I wanted and that it needed to be white to match the rest of our appliances.           Last week I got a text from C. He had found a stove and purchased it. He was looking at a local appliance store and found one with the features that we both wanted. It would be delivered on Wednesday of the next week.  ...

           Last week I wrote a column about why I celebrate my birthday. My original intent was to write a birthday version of things I've learned. That happens sometimes. I may have an idea for a column when another presents itself. Today I'm going with the topic of things I have learned birthday edition. As always these are in no particular order.          I learned that if Barnaby is brushed regularly we don't have as much hair on the floor.  You'd think I'd know this already since I've lived with cats for over 25 years. Experience has taught me that not all cats shed the same. Barnaby is a long haired cat with a soft light coat. When it comes off it tends to form dust bunnies. It also clings to any piece of cloth like iron filings to a magnet. Grooming Barnaby means less hair everywhere else. It also has the added benefit of making his already soft fur even softer. Good thing he likes to be petted.      ...

                I watched a video on You Tube a few weeks ago commenting on the actions and decisions of a celebrity business owner. The comments were about public relations and advertising mistakes along with critical remarks about sales, inventory and merchandise quality. One of the things discussed was a social media post wishing the founder of this company a happy birthday. The presenter talked about how the founder had probably wrote and published the post herself and that it was strange and inappropriate. Once the video was done, I read the comments. I sometimes enjoy reading the comments more than watching the video.          Most of the comments were about how it's really silly for grown women to making a big deal about their birthday. Several of them suggested that while it is ok to have a celebration for milestone birthdays, other birthdays should be celebrated privately if at all. If you have been reading c...