Illiteracy...in 2005??

I arrived at pharmacy school today to find another asshole parked in my parking spot. Back in January, I won a parking spot located at the front of the lot. It's clearly labeled with a sign that says "RESERVED for P3 Raffle Winner 7am-6pm." The sign is cream and teal in color and definitely is noticable. It has become blatantly obvious to me over the past two weeks that the majority of general public cannot read or cannot see. Last week, some idiot with a Massachusetts license plate parked in my spot. I went to security and had them ticketed. Last Friday, we had this nursing research day thing here at the school. Some stupid nurse staff member parked in my spot. I had her ticketed. Today I pulled in to find some stupid Apple Blossom Festival patron parked in my spot. I had them ticketed. Why is it so hard to read a sign??? Good lord! I have also come to realize that illiteracy affects the old and the young. The pharmacy I am employed at hired a new girl four weeks ago. Around this time I noticed that someone had written the alphabet on the top of our drug bays. We had just had inventory and figured that was why the letters were there. But then I got the pleasure of working with this girl. She was looking for Tegretol in the "A's"!!!! The pharmacist-in-charge asked her what drug she was looking for and she told him. He calmly said, "What letters are atop the bay you are looking in?" She replied, "Aa-Au." He said, "Is that the right bay?" She replied, "I don't know!" He replied, "Try the 'T's'." She giggled and stood in the "A's" for a couple more seconds. Finally she relocated to the "T" bin. It took her 10 more minutes to find the drug. She tries my patience beyond belief! Why are so many people unable to read?? I attribute it to our continual "dumbing down" of the standards in the public education system. Johnny can't do fractions in fourth grade...fine! Let's move fractions to the eigth grade and forget algebra! Perhaps we should forget about fractions all together. Apparently we need to teach the "ABC's" every day of every year in the public education system...how pathetic.

The Imperfect System

The US is one of the few "civilized" countries to still institute the death penalty. My entire life I have supported Capital Punishment. I have seen very deserving individuals put to death - Ted Bundy and Timothy Nichols to name a few. As I age and mature, I begin to see the ethical problems surrounding the death penalty. From the Innocence Project I have seen that hundreds of individuals who truly are innocent are being sentenced to time in prison. The death penalty is final - there's no going back when a mistake is made. The justice system in this country is far from perfect. Anyone that has had jury duty can attest to this. I don't know about you, but I hope I never have to go before a jury of my peers to prove my innocence. Innocence, in this case, truly is in the eye of the beholder. People's perception of what "normal" people do and how they act blind justice. I watched a special on Court TV Saturday night about a man who served 10 years in prison for a murder he never committed. The man was a bit of a hermit and kept to himself. He married his wife when she was 14 and he was 20 something. The woman was as much of a hermit as him. When she was brutally murdered, the judgmental police force automatically assumed that this "odd" man had killed his wife. A jury readily convicted him - not due to a proponderance of evidence, but because the man was "different." Ten years later the man was released from prison with an apology. A simple "I'm sorry" does NOT bring back ten years of someone's life. What if this man had got the death penalty? Granted he would have had years of appeals coming to him, but would it have done any good? A scary thought. I watched "Runaway Jury" last night. A fictional movie...I know. The concept isn't fictional though - jury for sale. How often do you think this happens? The man on the jury offering to sell a verdict wasn't nearly as bad as the defense lawyer who was intimidating the jurors to rule in his favor. I'm still pro-death penalty. I just think that it should be applied with more discretion.

Mixed Feelings

I am sitting here on my last Monday in didatic classes ever...and instead of bubbling with glee I'm somewhat nervous and a little sad. Nervous because I'm about to start a year of clinical rotations - and I don't know what to expect. Also - if you know anything about me, you would know that I do not deal well with change at all. I find comfort in familiarity...and anxiety in the unknown. Dr. Latif pointed out that I have a low tolerance for the ambiguous (the only thing I ever learned from that man). Nervous I can handle...and even understand. But why am I sad? I hated every day of my P1 year. I cursed the students in my class. I thought the majority of them were materialistic jerks (to put it lightly). The only thing that helped me make it through that semester was a picture taped to my wall of Jaguar S-Type R with "The people at Pharmacy school aren't that bad" written across it. I have since taken the picture down and realized that I never really gave half the people in my class a chance. I now get along exceptionally well with the majority of my pharmacy class. I've even become close friends with some of them. There are still a few that I don't particularly care for...and still a few that I believe will make HORRIBLE pharmacists...but on the whole, I feel more like a part of this class than I did of my high school graduation class. This Thursday at Phollies there will be a slideshow presentation of a bunch of pictures of all of us over the past 3 years...and now I know I'll be the sap with the tissue. I swore to God my P1 year that I would never cry over these people. Apparently, my hypocrisy knows no bounds. So these parting feelings - I suppose their normal. After all, isn't graduation supposed to be 'bittersweet?' I wouldn't want it any other way...

Democrats...the Anti-Christ?

For some reason in the past couple months, Democrats have recently been dubbed "Athiests" and "God haters." Where has this label come from? Right-wing radical Christian Republicans have been digging at this like an open sore since the election. Apparently, if you don't believe the Earth was created in literally seven days and that God made Eve from Adam, then you're going straight to Hell - and you're also a Democrat! I will admit right now that I am not what I would consider a "deeply religious" person. I have dabbled with Athiesm, Diesm, and other "supreme being" religions. I don't doubt that Jesus Christ roamed the Earth, or that he died on the cross. As far as believing that only belief in Jesus as your savior will get you a ticket to Heaven...that's one belief I cannot and will not ever buy into. I think there is a Supreme Being, and I think she addresses each of us in a way that she sees most fit - whether its Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, etc. Christianity is just a slice of the pie. Personally, I believe if Jesus or God is looking down upon Earth today, they are both disgusted. Not because we don't believe, but because of what we are doing to the Earth itself. We dump sewage in the rivers, we pillage the land, and we kill each other (sometimes in the name of God). We're rapists, murderers, theives, and liars. These characteristics aren't limited to Democrats - they're worldwide. Republicans want to rape the Artic Refuge for oil. Israel and Palestine hate each other solely because of their religions and what they feel is the "holy land." And don't get me started on killing in the name of God - I know that pisses her off. More people have died in the name of God than for any other reason on Earth. That's a scary thought. In my meager learnings of the Bible, I have somehow overlooked that part. What gospel lays out how God wishes us to kill other people in her name? I don't think any of them do. Supposedly the central theme of Christianity is love. If that's true, then I want to know where the love is! It has been my experience that most fundamentalist Christians love two things - money and themselves. They could give a rat's ass about their neighbor, let alone the starving child down the street. That's part of the flaw in their "right to life" movement. They're all about getting the child into the world, but who takes care of it once its born? These are the same people that as soon as someone mentions raising taxes to fund welfare they go up in arms. I say - put your money where your mouth is. If you are truly "pro-life," then start funding orphanages and foster care programs. Donate to programs that provide housing, food, and health care to the underprivelged in this country. Personally, I am sick and tired of being equated as an Athiest solely because I have liberal views on several topics. I was practically black-balled from my "professional" sorority because I expressed my disagreement with their politics. I am affectionately known as the "liberal Athiest." The most disturbing thing about that whole situation is that only one other member of the entire sorority was on board with me...and now she's blackballed too. So much for the "love" of their so-called Chrisitianity... Finally, if you are curious about what "religion" I consider myself - I'm sorry, you won't get a firm answer. I refuse to take a label - simply because I think labels are what got us in this mess in the first place. So if you ask me if I believe, I'll tell you, "No, but...I have a good idea."

Remember...

April 19, 1995 - The Worst Domestic Terrorist Attack in US History

Metal Rooster???

Kit's a fire dragon and I'm a...metal rooster? Ah, c'mon! The fates have betrayed me yet again. When I go to Chinese restaurants, I must face the harsh reality that my zodiac sign is the "cock." I had aspirations and dreams of being a fire rooster...or as the Chinese say, a fire cock. My sister is a fire horse for God's sake! Today, Kit informed me that my true sign is the metal rooster. I'm a metal cock. I can't believe this. Oh, the shame, the shame. At least a title like "fire cock" causes ears to perk up. As a rooster, I know that I am eccentric. I am moody. I am talented. I enjoy solitude. I am self-centered, but brave when duty calls. All of these are true. But a metal rooster...what's so special about a metal rooster? Apparently, the metal rooster, is extraordinally talented. (I'm liking this already). "Of all twelve Zodiac signs, this one is probably the most high-minded of them all, with a very clean line of thought. The Metal Roosters can distinguish right from wrong very clearly and it doesn't matter which direction they pursue, they always wind up going the right way. If they confront a maze, or big problem, they will immediately see a solution because of their analytical, logical way of thinking. Through their perseverance, any hurricane becomes an orderly thing of beauty, just like that! When it's time for romance, the male Metal Rooster has no trouble at all, love just abounds; the female has a tendency to keep to herself, making connections less freely, but lastingly when they happen." Wow...what at first seemed unattractive now is being welcomed with open arms. I am a metal cock...NO - I am the metal rooster!

How Big is Your Hat?

Today the cardinals have crawled into seclusion to pick the new pope. In celebration of this joyous occassion, I am retiring to my study to read "The DaVinci Code" for the second time. HA! The Church of Rome is probably one of the most corrupt institutions on the planet - yet it is still so reverred. The cardinal molestation scandal is really just the tip of the iceberg. In all honesty, if this would've been a foreign government that was moving diplomats who had molested young boys around the United States we would all be up in arms. Yet it seems as if a lot of people simply accepted the cardinals as "weak." How pathetic... I also am a bit confused as to this whole "the Pope speaks for God," thing. I'm not a Biblical scholar by any means, but I'm pretty sure a central theme is that God speaks for himself and does not want nor require anyone to speak for him. In Catholicism, can you actually talk to God? Or do you have to follow the "chain of command" to get to God? Another thing that boggles my mind about Catholicism is that, apparently, your importance and power in the church is determined by the size of your hat. I am a bit bwildered by this concept - mainly because I do not like hats, but there are other reasons too. As a famous comic once said, "How can you take a religion seriously that basis its foundation in the size of hats???"

A Nation Divided

"What we have here is failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach... So you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it. Well he gets it! I don't like it anymore than you men." The Civil War officially ended in 1865 due to the Southern surrender at the Appomattox Court House. However, here we are in 2005, 140 years after the surrender, still waddling in the war. Growing up in West Virginia, I have been exposed to the "culture" of the Civil War. My hometown changed hands hundreds of times during the war. I've been to Gettysburg, Antietam, and Harpers Ferry. I've read the chapters in history books. What I still fail to realize is our glorification of this event. We don't even celebrate our fight for independence this much! Going to school in Virginia - this has become even more apparent. I've seen more houses flying the Confederate flag than the US flag. Why? Why are people more apt to be loyal to the South than to the US? Look at the map. Just look at it. Then look at a map of the election results from last November. Look similar? I think they do. I finally realize why the Confederancy won't die - it's freaking immortal! Our nation is as divided today as it was in 1865. We may have sowed the borders back together, but we still didn't fix the country. Now, instead of the South voting for slavery, they're voting for extremist Christianity - and of all things, the reversal of states rights! Case in point - the use of Congress to override a State judge's opinion in the Terry Schiavo case. Our nation has been united for brief moments in time - only to regress to our division upon a return of "normalcy." I just hope we remember that "united we stand, divided we fall." Because, "You can't trust freedom when it's not in your hands; when everybody's fightin' for their promised land."

Responsibility

Responsibility... It's a word that most people don't know the meaning of anymore. When I was in the fifth grade, our teacher gave us a riling speech about how we were going to have to be more responsible for our assignments because in middle school the teachers would not keep asking us for them. We would get zeros! Ha! What a joke. Sixth grade was by far the easiest grade of all. Those teachers practically spoon fed us everything. There was no need for responsibility. When I was in the eigth grade, I got the same damn speech I had in fifth grade. Guess what - didn't happen in high school either. High school was a breeze ~ still no responsbility required in the educational department. How do we expect our children to learn a sense of responsibility when we never teach our children that? And better yet - how do we instill responsibility in society when our leaders have no sense of responsibility? Case in point - the nevirapine fiasco in Africa. NIH knew this study was riddled with violations of patient safety. Their document keeping made Richard Nixon look good. So what do they do? Why, they contend that "the study suffered from flawed document keeping and violated some federal regulations, but they believe its scientific conclusions about nevirapine's usefulness and safety remain valid." OK - so they can't keep records and they violated a couple federal laws - they're study was positive right? WRONG! What kind of ethical responsibility is that?? Compound with this the fact that NIH is preying upon people in a continent riddled with poverty and AIDS. These people are just happy to get AIDS medicine - since good ole' George W. Bush stopped the funding of Planned Parenthood Clinics in Africa because they might mention the option of abortion, AIDS medicines are quite hard to come by. *GASP* Not abortion! It's much better to bring an HIV positive baby into a nation of poverty with a life expectancy of 21! (Note large amounts of sarcasm). But the Mexico City Policy is a whole other story... No wonder our youth and our society has no sense of responsibility - parents have no sense of responsibility, the education system has no sense of responsibility, and our leaders have no sense of responsibility.

I'm Your Huckleberry

"Alright Clanton. You called down the thunder, well now you got it. You see that - it says United States Marshall. Take a good look at him Ike because that's how you are gonna end up. The cowboys are finished you hear me. I see a red sash I kill the man wearing it. Run you cur. Tell all the other curs the law is coming. You tell them I'm coming and Hell's coming with me, you hear - Hell's coming with me!" I decided to end my week from Hell by enjoying one of the greatest movies ever produced - Tombstone. I LOVE THIS MOVIE! Favorite character of the movie - Doc Holliday. His sarcasm has no rival. So no politics tonight - just a great movie with great lines. And now I'll leave you with the greatest sequence of lines in the movie:

Texas Jack Vermillion - "Have you ever seen anything like that before?"
Turkey Creek Jack Johnson - "Hell I ain't ever heard of anything like that"
McMasters - "Where is he?"
Doc Holliday - "He's down by the creek, walking on water."

The Hypocrites Strike Again!

Apparently the Right Wing hypocrisy knows no bounds. During the Terry Schiavo fiasco in Florida, there was apparently a memo circulating between Republican Senators on Capital Hill which stated that the fight to remove her feeding tube was "a great political issue ... and a tough issue for Democrats." The memo went on to say, "This is an important moral issue and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important issue." The Republicans were using Terry Schiavo as a political pawn? Say it ain't so! I can't believe it...

Humbled - slightly

This afternoon, the 17 year old boy next door came to the door. By an act of God, his speakers in his car had stopped working. I was like "YES!" He wanted to know if my dad was here. I sent my father next door - thinking that the boy wanted some help with his car...not the speakers. Dad went next door and piddled for a while and then returned to have dinner with me and the rest of my family. During dinner the doorbell rang. I got up - and it was the 17 year old again. He asked if Dad could come out and play (actually he asked if he could come back next door). So...I told him Dad would be out to play after he finished his spaghetti. After dinner I sent Dad next door again...but before he went, he went to the garage and got that gadget that tests current. I asked him what he was doing - HE WAS FIXING THE BOY'S SPEAKERS!!! Can you believe this? My own father aligned with the enemy! So I told Dad that I didn't appreciate him being a traitor. Dad just walked out the door. I sat there wondering why my father would fix the speakers when I am finally getting some peace! When Dad got back, he relayed to me that he couldn't fix the speakers because it wasn't a wiring problem. The boy had blown a fuse in the amp that fed the subwoofer (there is a God). When I asked Dad why he attempted to fix the speakers, his reply was, "You don't know what it's like to not have anyone at home to help you." Good point. Then he continued to tell me that 17 year old boy was very grateful for Dad helping him and that he's really glad he has neighbors like us. Wow - now I feel like total ass. And to top it off - he promised to keep volume down when he drives by our house. Perhaps there really is a God after all...

Dextrose = Sugar???

Today was the day from Hell - and that may be an understatement. Let's put it this way - tonight after work, I purchased a 14 day supply of Prilosec OTC to prevent a repeat performance of gastritis. Today started at 9:00 with my ICARE lab. I gave a 20 minute presentation on a patient with metastatic breast cancer. I then had to answer stupid questions from a girl in my group who is an idiot to say the least. Allow me to illustrate. Her patient had viral gastroenteritis and a blood sugar level of 200. For hydration, she gave the patient D5W (5% dextrose in water). Ok - NEVER give a diabetic patient more sugar when their sugar level is 200!! What a dote. But the best part is that she argued another member of our group that it was just "free water." He was like, "yea, free water with sugar in it!" The professor even tried to correct her - and she continued to argue. We moved on. So after ICARE lab, I trudged over to my 3 hour law lecture. That was a barrel of laughs. We spent 45 minutes discussing the ethical considerations with the right to refuse birth control pills (see previous post for my views). My blood pressure was running at about 190/173. Good thing Kit wasn't in class today - or we both probably would've gotten kicked out. The conversation then turned to Roe v Wade - which I pride myself in being pretty well versed in. The law professor was quoting it incorrectly. So - I told him how I interpret Roe v Wade. He told me I was wrong. It was quite evident at this point that he was definitely pro-life. He went on and on about how having an abortion at 32 weeks is no different than a man killing a woman and the child. The man would face murder x 2 and the doctor nothing. I say - it's a mute point. You can't have an abortion at 32 weeks! Roe v Wade prohibits that. But - he wasn't listening. So what can you do? I just went back to playing on the computer and wished for class to carry on. After law, I had my ICARE Musculoskeletal final. That was a joke. The first five questions - ALL herbals. I HATE herbals. Never even looked at them. So by this time, I sure you're wondering they the hell Motley Crue is hanging out on this post. Well - I took Roma's good advice and started to fight fire with fire. I dug through my CD collection and pulled out my Decade of Decadence CD. When I drove past my neighbor's house tonight - Kickstart My Heart was playing at full volume. :) Oh yea, did I mention I'm going to see Motley Crue this summer? :)