On This Day

My horoscope reads...

Cancer
The Bottom Line
Your mind is quick, but your mouth is quicker. A sharp wit is a mixed blessing.

In Detail
Feel like all you're having lately are wardrobe malfunctions? It might be time for some heavy-duty closet cleaning. Holding onto things that just don't fit or that you haven't worn in years just means there's less space in your closet for a fresh start. So go ahead and do a big purge -- donate or sell anything that's just adding unnecessary clutter to your life. Who knows? This might end up creating more room in other areas of your life as well.

Whatever it is supposed to mean.

My darling says...

Happy birthday darling!

My mom says...

What kind of cake do you want? Chocolate banana, white chocolate macadamia or *inaudible*?

To which I chose chocolate banana.

Nadia called at 2.22am to say...

Happy birthday! ... I'm jet-lagged!!

So sorry dear, that was all I could remember cos I was still half-asleep!

Received a message from brother that reads...

Happy birthday. Beside your phone is a present from me.

And beside it? A beautiful pair of Perlini's Silver earrings with blue crystals. Simple and elegant and just the way I like it.

And many thanks to my darling for the lovely set of "cosmetics" which I hope both of us will reap the benefits from. Also to James, for the simple but thoughtful self-cooked pasta on Sunday. Thanks to my pharmacy classmates for a set of jewelry and card that says "happy 21st birthday". Heh.

Random quiz about myself

Your view on yourself:
You are intelligent, honest and sweet. You are friendly to everybody and don't like conflict. Because you're so cheerful and fun people are naturally attracted to you and like to talk to you.

Heh heh. Of course I'm intelligent, honest and sweet. No doubt about it.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:
You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

No comments.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:
You prefer to get to know a person very well before deciding whether you will commit to the relationship.

True to a certain extent.

The seriousness of your love:
You like to flirt and behave seductively. The opposite sex finds this very attractive, and that's why you'll always have admirers hanging off your arms. But how serious are you about choosing someone to be in a relationship with?

Very serious indeed.

Your views on education:
Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

Yes. Definitely.

The right job for you:
You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

I think I have found it. :)

How do you view success:
You are confident that you will be successful in your chosen career and nothing will stop you from trying.

Yup. I agree.

What are you most afraid of:
You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.

Not true most of the time. But it's easy to fall in this trap if you are in a very judgmental society.

Who is your true self:
You are full of energy and confidence. You are unpredictable, with moods changing as quickly as an ocean. You might occasionally be calm and still, but never for long.

Issit. Heehee. I feel like sleeping most of the time!

My preceptor on TV tomorrow morning! I'm so proud of him. COOLNESS.

Sigh.

Last day. I wasn't too sure to be either happy or sad. But right now, I miss my preceptor already. I mean, who wouldn't after having spent 5 out of my 7 days with him? And he's been really extremely nice lately, giving me advices on life and just sharing with me his wisdom and knowledge.

Shucks. I feel like crying already. Bought him a Pierre Cardin pen and I think he likes it. And it's quite uncanny that his parting words are similar to the stuff I wrote in his thank you card.

Sigh. Such a lovely preceptor. He has definitely made a positive difference to my life, both personally and career-wise. I am definitely very fortunate to have a mentor that is passionate about his job and taking great pride in them. His professionalism is something I want to emulate. And it is also uncanny that he is a Canadian and it will be some form of a benefit to my BIG plan. Things just fall in place doesn't it?

I just hope the BIG plan happens. It has been too long. And it's hard to see each other and say goodbye again and again.

A Day At The Hospital

I spent the day at Gleneagles hospital today. It was an eye-opening experience, as mentioned by the pharmacist there. Obviously there is more variety of medicines and the volume of prescription is very high. Was a little disoriented because of the slightly different layout of the medicines. They also have some dosage forms that are not found in the outlet I was at. Like, DUH. They are a hospital pharmacy anyway.

So what did I do today. Arrived extremely early and proceeded to get myself a bottle of mineral water and some cough drops (was having a scratchy throat and a little phelgmy cough when I woke up this morning). After taking my time to settle down, I went around to get to know the people in the pharmacy. Spent a bit of time talking and then I started to familiarise myself with the store layout.

When the pharmacist came in, we went out for a little talk and I was given some instructions on my assignment. Then the day begins. Torrents of patients started to flood the counter and many prescriptions have to be filled quickly. There is no room for any mistakes here! As I was quite slow with the labeling, I was comfortable only with the packing. But eventually, I got the hang of typing labels and it came to me quite naturally. A few more little details to iron out. Hopefully I could accomplish that by tomorrow.

While we were processing the prescription, we came across a few interesting cases. Like, a lady was prescribed tadalafil (a drug that has similar function as Viagra). I have yet to check what are the not-so-common uses for a lady. And a very fussy patient that wanted all of her 120 tablets at first, then decided to take only 4 boxes (which contains 56 tabs) and finally settled her mind on wanting to have 60 tablets (4 boxes with 5 loose pieces). While packing, we were cursing away...already there was so many customers and yet still so demanding. Wanted to smack her. Pfft.

Did something out of the norm today as well. The pharmacist gave me a few medicines and instructed me to "pop" them from their blister packs into a container. Those are expired drugs and were meant to be destroyed. Well, to the un-enlightened mind, medicines are not supposed to be thrown away "just like that". What if some kid finds it and decided to pop it in his mouth? We are not talking about safer drugs like Panadol, but stuff like anti-depressants, tranquilisers, anti-hypertensives etc. So there I was, "popping" the pills. And as a result, got myself a few cuts here and there. I am having difficulty typing as of now due to my bandaged fingers. :( All my "e" tend to be typed as "r". Bah.

Well, I was missing my outlet quite a lot. *whisper* And especially my preceptor. Even though time passes very quickly at the hospital, there is a lack of something. Maybe it's the familiarity huh.

And tomorrow will be another day at the hospital pharmacy. A wonderful opportunity for me to learn. I think I am very lucky to have this opportunity to see how a hospital pharmacy is like. Ahh. But I still miss my outlet lah. I even went there after work just to see my preceptor leh...

Anyway, I shall go read up on some product leaflets.

More more MORE!

I'm counting down to the end of my preceptorship. Not because I am eager for it to end, but rather, I'm quite reluctant to go. I have spent the past 6 weeks learning and absorbing at the pace I'm comfortable at. And I have the capacity and curiousity to learn more without the rigidness of a syllabus to clamp me down.

This is the first time I have been so happy ever since I stepped into uni. I am just afraid that when school reopens, the mundane routine will set in and I'll get disillusioned once again. This preceptorship programme has been an eye-opening experience. Initially I was a little apprehensive about becoming more cynical when I leave, but to the contrary, I am more optimistic about this profession. I guess I must thank my preceptor for the wisdom he imparts to me. Frankly, my level of knowledge about drugs and their dosages etc will not be as high as my other classmates, but I do know the reason why I am in pharmacy and why things are done in certain ways. My preceptor is very good, because he teaches me the HOWs, he also teaches me the WHYs. And being able to understand the WHYs would make the HOWs make sense.

I know I have totally abandoned the other blog meant for the record of this preceptorship. Somehow, I feel more at ease blogging about my feelings in my "homeground".

Today, I had the privilege to attend a training session with the pre-reggers. It was a last-minute invitation by my preceptor to attend the session. I wouldn't say that it was fun or interesting (in fact, it was sooooo dry I almost wanted to die), but I do realise the importance of community pharmacist in detecting the first signs of an epidemic *touchwood*. They were discussing about cold, cough and flu (simple stuff) but went on to see how malaria, dengue or even mycoplasma infections could be disguised and diagnosed as a common cold, flu or cough. Kinda scary...

Then when we were back in the store, my preceptor went through with me on the "little" antibiotics (an-tie-biotics for you American speakers, heehee) project. He said that my piece of work was the best he has seen so far, but there is definitely room for improvement as my level of knowledge on antibiotics is still quite rudimentary. He made me do this so that it can help me later in future when I go out to practice. And I think he is quite excited over my BIG plan on going overseas as well. He always manages to squeeze in a casual question about my status. Haha...

Oh my, there I go again. Babbling on and on and on and on about my preceptor. I think that he's just so cool lah! Really. And I just cannot stop talking about him. But I must! In case my baby gets too jealous of a man 12 years older than him. Heehee.

Thoughts

Had the longest "chat" with my preceptor today. I mean, normally we DO chat, except that it relates to very professional matters. And today, suprisingly he asked me about my BIG plan on going overseas...but of course, as usual, conversations are cut short because of customer interruptions. Then he filled me in with lots of interesting trivia about other outlets which I should not reveal here. Heh.

I'm kinda sorry that the 6 weeks went past so quickly. To tell the truth, I enjoyed every single minute of it. Despite my embarrassing mess-ups and stupid mistakes, I have (for once) put on a positive attitude and learnt from them. And I am quite proud of myself... :)

My only regret is the lack of motivation I have at times, resulting in my retarded learning progress. I could have pushed myself harder and make myself meet the expectations I set for myself. And sadly, I did not meet the expectations I set. And I think my preceptor is a little disappointed over this as well.

Oh well, since this is the last week and I had the opportunity to do an early evaluation with my preceptor, I should grab my final piece of cake before it's gone! I think I'm going to miss him quite a bit. He's a wonderful guy.

Lastly, I had a wonderful weekend. :) Thanks.

My Wish List

1. The latest Foxtrot comic.
2. The past Foxtrot comics.
3. The first ever Foxtrot comic.
4. Basically the whole set of Foxtrot!!

Let me start all over again.

1. Whole set of Foxtrot comics including the latest one.
2. Latest Calvin and Hobbes comics.
3. A new Roborovski. Even though I think I am not prepared just yet to welcome a new companion.
4. Fully-paid treat to the spa (inclusive of massages, facials and whatnots)
5. An air ticket to New York. No need return tickets lah. Not necessary to come back. Haha.

Jumping phone

The most amusing thing I saw today is when I was in between the vitamins shelf and I suddenly heard my name being called. I turned around towards the dispensary and guess what I saw. My preceptor, a full-grown 34-year-old, jumping up and down while clutching the cordless phone and repeatedly calling my name.

-_-"

Blog entry: By request

I'm creating this post by request. But even as I type this, I am getting a little dizzy and sleepy. I don't know why I'm so tired today. Maybe because I have been eating non-stop since I woke up. So most of my body's blood is shunted to my stomach rather than my brain and limbs. Maybe that kinda explains why I'm so clumsy today. Ooh yeah. Butterfingers. Yummy.

Well, had a very interesting conversation with a few people this morning. I was literally laughing and rolling on the floor. What's that acronym that has been overused that relates to this excessive laughing? Laugh Until I Roll Around Like A Hotdog (LUIRALAH?? Looks nice. Haha.) Or is it, Laughing And Turning Around To Laugh Somemore (LATATLS?) Or, Roll Around Like A Ball Laughing (RALABL. Not grammatically correct, but nevermind.) Someone, enlighten me please. I have no idea. And I think there's a MAO somewhere. (Something like the Monoamine oxidase that I know.) Anyway, where was I? Yes, laughing very hard. It was a good morning. But my baby aka demanding boyfriend was making a fuss. He claimed that I was being naughty. And apparently the long post I did yesterday was insufficient to appease him. Even the lyrics dedicated to him just 2 entries ago was deemed as not specific to him. Haiyah, demanding TLY, the lyrics is for you ok. And when I type "baby", it's only you OK?? Besides, you should know very well that I have never had a child. Geez.

OK. I think that's all for now. I need to read up on cough, cold and flu. Whee~ They should make us do this much earlier so we can help with the counseling. But nevermind. I read it long time ago. Just a little revision now. Heehee.

I'm so full of myself. Ick.

Dumdumdum!

Work today is slightly less pharmaceutical than usual. So that is why it ended up in this blog rather than on the other one. Hee.

And because I am pretty jolly today, I shall write a long entry. I hope. :)

Went to work slightly late because I decide to laze on the bed for slightly longer than usual and thus, left the room slightly late. When I reached the bus stop, the bus was slightly late and when I reach the main road to catch the public bus, I was late. Since I didn't want to wait too long for the next bus to come, I decided to take another route. So there was I, waiting at another bus. Good thing the bus came promptly. But the bus driver seems to be driving slightly slower than usual and as I got to the next bus stop, I realised that my route is a little faulty. So I had to traverse the whole of Holland Village to get to the other end to catch another bus to work. So there I was, spending precious 10 minutes walking from one end of Holland V to another. But it was good exercise nonetheless. Thank goodness for the good pair of shoes I bought from *cough*Bata*cough*. Heh.

Preceptor was unusually busy this morning as well. So I amused myself with rearranging shelves and refilling empty shelves. A baby peed in her nappy and it leaked! So I had to double up as a cleaner and help clean up. Haha. Then I resumed the inventory work which took me about 30 minutes to complete keying in the data. Thereafter I went around the store to pretend to be helpful again. Heehee. Preceptor probably sensed that I had nothing to do and he assigned me to the surgicals (aka first aid) section to rearrange everything. Meaning, I had to clean out the whole display and reorganise the whole thing again. Didn't really require much brainwork, but it definitely need creativity to be able to put everything you want on a shelf. So there was I, happily removing everything (those self-adhesive-gel-type of bandages and gauze pads and alcohol swabs and loads of sterile cotton balls) and rearraging them. So now the leftmost shelf has all kinds of bandages grouped together, followed by different types of tapes to hold those bandages together. Makes sense doesn't it. Previously the tapes and bandages are placed on totally different ends of the display. Then all the insulin syringes and needles are all moved "downstairs". Moved stuff here and there. It took me almost the whole morning. Supposed to complete it by 11-ish, but because there were so much interference from customers looking for stuff, I had to abandon my mission for a while. Heh. So my whole morning was gone rearranging stuff.

Had a good lunch...only 3 dollars! Haha. I am so thankful for this Indon auntie that comes along EVERYDAY at LUNCH time and DINNER time to deliver our meals! I remember I jokingly told someone that I should start making friends with the Indon maids who frequent the shop and then get them to cook meals for me. Haha. My "joke" came true partially. Except that this kind lady isn't a maid. She's a rich old lady with a bigbig heart and I love talking to her. She's already 68 but she looks like she's just approaching 60. Very cheerful lady.

Oh. And after lunch, I resumed the inventory counting. This was when I almost went bonkers. I don't mind counting tablets...ONLY if they come in strips or blisters. NOT when they are loose. And if the bottle originally contains 1000 tablets and some of it has been dispensed, it's no fun at all. my highest record so far is 739 tablets. I was going mad counting those coffee0coloured tablets. At least they are still of a reasonable size. The smallest tablet I have seen and counted has a diameter of approxiamtely 2mm. Get that, it's 2mm. Diameter eh. Good thing there's only 120 of those tablets to count. Haha. And it kinda struck me that in no circumstance I should lose any of those tablets. Cos they are expensive things. Some tablets has a unit price of a few dollars! Imagine you have to take it 3 times a day, for a period of a month. A tablet of Drug X costs $2.45. So there you go, a month's supply will cost you $220.50 already. And imagine you need to be on this drug for long term, i.e., years and years and years. For one year, it will be $2646 on medicines alone. So, think about this. Watch your diet and lifestyle carefully. Because if you can make a lot a lot of money now at the expense of your health, it will eventually end up as your medical bill.

Anyway, have been rambling a lot. Hee.

Had quite a nice dinner. Bought myself popiah. But it's terrible. Dunno why she decide to sprinkle peanuts. SO weird. And it's so dry and tasteless. I still prefer the ones my uncle made. Yumyum.

And oh, I get to sleep in a little longer than usual tomorrow! Whee~ My preceptor has decided to let me run some errands around city area. So I can go there and get good food. Yay.

I'm so going to get fat.

Lyrics post

Something I have posted up before while I was looking for the song. Now that I have found the song itself, I'm going to post the lyrics up. I think Corrinne May's songs are very meaningful.

And this song is for you, baby. I'm thinking of you.

Same Side of the Moon
I'm looking out the window
Where we sat to watch the stars
There's a chill within the air
It makes my heart long for your touch
You may be miles away
But as I kneel to pray

I see the same side of the moon
That we'll be looking on when the world turns blue
And know that time and space
can't come between me and you
We share the same side of the moon
And though you'll never see all my tears shine through
I know I can't be that far from you
If we're both looking on the same side of the moon.

I picture you across the oceans
In your corner of the world
I pray the wind will blow my voice
And gently whisper in your ear
Your night may be my day
And though the seasons change

It's still the same side of the moon
That we'll be looking on when the world turns blue
And know that time and space
can't come between me and you
We share the same side of the moon
And though you'll never see all my tears shine through
I know I can't be that far from you
If we're both looking on the same side of the moon

Briefly.

Have not been updating my blogs regularly. Heh heh. Partly because I'm getting lazier, and another part is because nobody comments anymore! :( Boohoohoo.

Anyway, I'm pretty cheery today cos the weather's very nice and the ants strolling around did not bother me much. And because I have been wonderfully patient as well. Muahaha. I'm not making sense.

Well, I shall stop here for the moment. The choir was the category winner in the competition. Not bad at all. :)

Shall go shower now! Need to wake up veyr early tomorrow. And argh...what should I wear?!

Fly higher and higher and higher and higher...

Have not been blogging properly for quite a long time. Have been missing in action from this blog as well.

Well, what what I been up to lately. All I can say is, I have made quite a lot of phonecalls. And I have also killed manymany ants. Yes. Those tiny little irritating beings have decided to invade my room. Even though I managed to seal up one of their entrance/exit, they still appear and are happily strolling around on my table and on my notes and on my Mac and on everything else! Argh. I just hope they don't find their way into my underwear drawer. Grrr. Die all ye ants, DIE.

I am so tired. Just went out to spend about 4 hours discussing abotu a project. For once I don't dread doing a totally useless project. Muaahaha. The whole session was spent mostly on catching up with other on our preceptorship and exchanging gossips. Muahaha. Also, today might be the only day I have actually SAT for 4 hours straight. Have never sat for so long ever since I started work. Heh.

The choir will be leaving for a foreign country this coming Tuesday. And I did not bother to even leave a goodluck message for them on the forum. I just don't feel the need to. They have forgotten about me already anyway. So I have also forgotten them. I am still contemplating whether to quit the CCA next academic year. I am just very unhappy that despite all the shit I went through, everyone thinks I'm lousy and inefficient. Of course they did not know all the hardship I had to go through since the start of the academic year - inexperience in leadership, partial break up with bf, then having to bid goodbye to bf, then the horrid test results, the pain of losing a friend to some high-handed arrogant arse, be entangled in a political tussle that I have no interest in and finally, having to deal with some tough characters. And I have not mentioned the hair-pulling 2 concert per semester. Anyway, all these are over. I still harbour bitter feelings towards this choir that I used to love so much.

Sometimes I need to stop involving my feelings in the things/persons that do not appreciate my efforts at all.

Just Fly Away

You can fly so high
Keep your gaze upon the sky
I'll be prayin every step along the way
Even though it breaks my heart to know we'll be so far apart
I love you too much to make you stay
Baby fly away

Fly Away, Corrinne May