Buffalo Pharmer

So why did I change the name of my blog? Well, the Buffalo is the mascot of the University of Colorado Boulder. It's not really supposed to be associated with the other three campuses (Denver, Colorado Springs, and the Anschutz Medical Campus). They don't use the Ralphie logo any more, and student organizations aren't allowed to, either. None of the other campuses has a mascot, so I don't personally see the harm in borrowing the buffalo, but apparently the administration does. Whatever. So I dropped the buffalo from my blog. That said, the Buffalo Pharmer name was such a great pun, and people seemed to like it, so I think I'm going to switch back next week. Sorry to keep doing this to you.

There are some things that I like to do but hate to have done to me. Tousling my son's hair is a good example. I know it doesn't really feel good to the recipient, but I can't resist. He's too cute.

It occurred to me that my last several posts were written on very little sleep. I bet that makes them seem whiny. So sorry. I'll try not to do much more of that. Last night, I got three hours of sleep after work before my exam. What a difference that made! Now maybe I'll end up with a good grade in Principles of Drug Action.

I wasn't really looking forward to the Masters, but it turned out to be a great show. Seeing Phil Mickelson win it, the way he did, with his wife looking on, put a lot of perspective on the whole Tiger Woods thing. I'm sure what Tiger and his family are going through is very difficult for them, and I don't mean to diminish that hardship for them. But Tiger's predicament is directly the result of Tiger's actions. Yeah, it's tough for him, and yeah, he clearly wasn't 100%. I think we forgot, though, that Lefty's wife AND mother are battling breast cancer. It was a stark contrast. And I get the sense that while Tiger's off-the-course issues were getting in the way of his golf, I think for Phil it's the opposite. Over the past year, golf has really gotten in the way of Mickelson's personal life. It was refreshing to see such a high-profile guy who has his priorities in the right order. I like Tiger, and I admire him as a competitor, but as a family man or even as a man, I'm not all that impressed.

The weather has been extremely nice this past week. It's made studying a little difficult. I got to go to the Rockies home opener on Friday. I love baseball. It was a perfect day. I got sunburned on the right half of my face. The Rockies won.

My son split his head open on a door frame. Again. He's fine, but he's got six stitches in his face. He gets them out today. I feel bad for the guy. It's just about half an inch above the spot where he got hurt last time. If he can get another injury running sort of perpendicular to those two, he'll have a nice Harry Potter-style lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. That might make me feel better about it. I mean, kids are going to get hurt, but I feel a little bad that he's going to have facial scars for his whole life. Well, maybe not. I got burned on my hand pretty badly as a child and the scar lasted for ten years or so. Then it spontaneously disappeared. I guess that could happen with Xander, too. Here's hoping.

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to come back to whatever URL I'm using next week. Check them both, just to be sure.

Heartbreak and success, in equal measure

Of course, it's too soon to tell, but based on how I think my exams went today I have cause for both celebration and intense mourning. See, I had an exam in each of my major courses today (Principles of Drug Action and Integrated Organ Systems 1), but over the weekend I only studied for one (PDA), and foolishly chose the one that occurred later in the day. So I was immensely underprepared for my morning exam, and my score is certain to reflect that (unless I'm an extremely lucky guesser). On the other hand, I smoked the afternoon exam. It's almost guaranteed to be my highest test score of the semester, and it's certainly the best I've felt on the way out the door in some time. I'll let you know if my gut was right, but I can pretty much guarantee that the PDA score will be the higher of the two.

I interviewed for a pharmacist intern position at Kaiser a couple weeks ago, and they offered me the job. I wasn't really expecting that. I don't have pharmacy experience and I made a terrible mess of the first half of the interview. Then I let them know that my availability to attend orientation was restrictively limited by my vacation plans (going to Seattle over Spring Break to celebrate my birthday) and my school schedule (I can't skip classes on Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday). Also, I will still need to work my casino job three nights a week to pay the bills. Despite all that, they offered me the position, and even made it seem (in our phone conversation) that they wanted me pretty badly (not like they were settling to fill a spot). So I felt honored and validated by that, and accepted the offer. I'm not sure when I'll be able to start, but I'll finally get some experience in a pharmacy (which I desperately need).

My wife recovered most of the way from her illness. She's not 100% yet, but she's probably 80%, and that makes a big difference when you're caring for a toddler. In related news, I don't think my son caught the bug (knock on wood). It'll be a small miracle if he makes it through without incident, and reason to praise the Lord.

Speaking of reasons to praise the Lord, I'm constantly reminded of the many that I have. Last week I rode a bus with a man on crutches. He was using crutches because he only had one foot. I had to give a prayer of thanks when I saw that. I ride the bus to save money on gas and parking; many people ride the bus because they can't afford to or legally aren't allowed to drive. And I have full functionality in each of my limbs, and a working mind, and a healthy body. I got my cholesterol numbers on Wednesday, and they're all in or very close to the healthy range. My medication is definitely working. When I take stock of my life, I can't help but feel extraordinarily blessed.

That's all I've got today. Thanks for stopping by.

Best. Cookies. Ever.

I paid $3.49 for this box of twelve cookies. I think, given that they are limited edition, I got a pretty good deal. Seriously, though, all joking aside, I love these things. I'll gladly pay more than a quarter per cookie. Never mind that a regular box of Oreos is like two bucks for three times that many. If you cover my Oreo in white fudge, I can't pay too much for it. And no, under no circumstances may you have one.

All that complaining about not having any homework must have worked. The day after I posted that entry they posted our first assignment. We go back to school tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to it. Sort of. I mean, I'm saying farewell to sleep for the next two months, but I feel like I've started forgetting things from last semester. Also, I feel like the first semester was almost a different life. I've been getting into the swing of things at what is still a relatively new job (a job that I love, by the way) and enjoying some time with friends and family. It doesn't feel like I've been a student these past four weeks. People keep asking me how school is going, and I don't know what to say to that. I mean, it's going well, because I haven't been in it for a month, and because all my grades were good, but it's sort of like, "Oh yeah, I'm still in school."

The courses for this semester, in case any of you care, are Principles of Drug Action, Integrated Organ Systems 1 & 2, US Health Care Systems, and the two pass/fail classes that run the length of the program, Professional Skills Development and Experiential Practice. In April we have an interdisciplinary ethics course that will feature students from each of the schools at the medical campus working in small groups. We did an orientation activity with our groups in August, and that was sort of cool. We'll see what tune I'm singing when we add that course in the middle of the semester. I just realized that this semester, P1 Spring, is the lightest load in terms of credit hours in the entire program. So if this semester almost makes me lose my mind, any of the remaining semesters ought to finish me off.

If you actually like reading this blog (I'd be surprised, but who knows), my brother is doing a similar thing only he's doing a semester abroad in Montpellier, France. Also, he's a better writer than me with more interesting things to say. Here's a link.

Tonight I'm going to get a full night's sleep, wake up early and eat breakfast, and pack a delicious lunch. Last semester our days were short but they managed this by pretty much eliminating breaks from our day. This time we get a lunch break every day but it means that class runs longer. I don't know which way I'm going to like better. Probably the one that let me come home for an afternoon nap last semester, but you can't overestimate the value of a little break.

This coming weekend my wife is visiting her friend in Texas. I wish I could go with them. I don't like going to bed alone, and I never get enough sleep when I do. I like to think that I'll be able to focus and knuckle down and get ahead on some studying, but I think I'll probably just get nice and caught up on my Wii playing when all is said and done.

I think that's enough for today. Thanks for stopping by, and come back soon.