Christmas Eve

They checked Will's pacemaker this morning and it was requiring the same voltage as yesterday morning, so they didn't make any changes. We were hoping it would have gone down but at least the requirement didn't go up. They are going to let him go home today and he will cone back Monday to have it checked again. We are just waiting on the PA to come fill out the paperwork to discharge him... Hopefully soon so we can be home for most of Christmas eve. I know Will will be more comfortable at home. And we all have to make a few last minute shopping runs... :-)

Will update

Well, we are still at UAB and will be until tomorrow. Around 7 last night his pacemaker started not capturing as well as it should. He would go several beats where only his atria would beat and the ventricle wouldn't respond. He could definitely feel it and would get lightheaded, etc. It went on all evening but followed no pattern. Sometimes it would go 5-6 beats without capturing. Mom and I left around 11:30 and dad waited for the Dr to come by. The Dr was finally called around 1an and the pacemaker tech came in to make adjustments. He had to increase the voltage so it would capture better. This morning he wasn't requiring as much voltage, which is a good sign. They think it may all be due to the inflammation from the surgery and have given him steroids to help with that. The fact that it is better this morning is good news - because if it wasn't there was talk of them having to go back in and put new lead wires or something more serious/complicated. So he won't be going home today as we hoped but pending no other changes with his pacemaker they will check it first thing in the morning and he can go home then. He was just moved out of the ICU to a regular room which is great. He is moving around a little bit and has just begun to eat a little solid food. He is sore but doing well with pain, etc. Please continue to pray for a speedy recovery and for the pacemaker settings to all normalize.
One funny story from last night: the nurses changed shifts last night at 7 and he changed from an older gray-headed woman to a cute young brunette who just graduated from Samford in May. Once she introduced herself and left the room, Will looked at me and said, "game on!". Needless to say, I think he enjoyed his 12 hours with nurse Laura. :-)

Surgery Update

The doctor just came out and told us the surgery was over. They did find a lot of scar tissue which is probably why it took so long. They only had to replace 1 of the 2 leads to his heart - the atrial lead was still working well. We thought he might come out of surgery with a chest tube, but he did not need one. The doctor said he will stay in the CICU overnight and go home tomorrow. We should be able to see him within an hour. Praise the Lord that everything went smoothly!

Will's Surgery

I know, I know - long time no post. But hopefully I can catch up over the holidays!

Today my brother Will is having surgery - he was born with congenital heart disease that required several surgeries when he was young to repair the defects and finally a pacemaker at age 4. He had the pacemaker replaced in 1999 and now has to have it replaced again today (due to battery life). Today he is also having new lead wires placed on his heart that connect to the pacemaker in his abdomen. They are attempting to go in thru his ribs to place the new wires and must go through a lot of scar tissue from previous surgeries to do so. Our hope and prayer is that this will be successful and they will not have to open his chest (which would require much longer recovery). We are at UAB and they took him back to start the surgery around 8am. He was cool as a cucumber, as always... I'm sure he will be flirting with the nurses and have them wrapped around his fingers before too long.
We appreciate all the calls and texts today and definitely appreciate everyone's prayers! We are trusting the Lord to take care of him and guide the surgeons in everything they do. I will update my blog when he is in recovery!

Campbell quotes

Katie and Campbell are here visiting me this week. I just can't resist sharing some of the hilarious comments Campbell makes. She is quite smart for a 2 1/2 yr old!

To begin:
On the way up here, Katie was explaining to Campbell all the things we might do while we're in Charleston...carriage ride, harbour boat tour, great restaraunts, etc. So Campbell was talking on the phone to one of her friends and said, "I'm going to Charleston, and I'm going to ride on a horse, go on a boat, eat yummy food, eat macaroni and see MY jess!"

Wednesday at lunch - Me: "Campbell, I'm so glad you came to visit me!" Campbell: "You're welcome jess!"

In the hotel elevator with several strangers: "Hi, My name is Campbell and I'm 2 and this is my friend, Katie Compton" (pointing to her mom)

To every puppy or dog she saw along the way, "Awwwwww, cute!"
Looking at my cheap target earrings - "These are INCREDIBLE, jess!"

As I was leaving one afternoon I said bye to Campbell and she replied, "Call me if you need anything!"

Visitors!

I have 2 sets of visitors coming in October - get excited!
First, Katie and Campbell and Katie's parents are coming this week (Tues-Sat) for a conference for Mr. Boyd. I am taking Thurs the 15th off to hang out with them and explore the city a little.
Second, my Grandparents are coming the weekend of the 24th. We plan to visit the Naval Museum at the USS Yorktown. I will enjoy showing them around the city!

Anyone else want to make the trek? My apt is always open!!

AU-TN game

I invited my co-residents over to watch some SEC football. Most lasted thru the 1st half, but by the 4th quarter only Carol and I were left! They just don't know what they're missing...

Day 12 of 19

in a row of work. A bit tired, but 2/3 of the way there! The things I do for AU football...

Piano Prodigy

Little Miss Campbell and I a few weeks ago...learning from the best! :-)

She asked me to play twinkle-twinkle or "like the iPod"

Life Lately

I finished up my Cardiology/Heart Transplant rotation in August. Started Internal Medicine in September - can't believe its time for October already. Things just seem to get busier and busier. I feel like a snowball rolling down a mountain...the slope was no so steep at first, and didn't move that fast. Lately, I have certainly been picking up speed and collecting stuff as I go - I feel like at any minute I am going to be barrelling down the mountain side out of control!! But itsn't that what Residency is all about? They told us back in July it would get like this... I didn't believe them, but now I do.

Highlights of Sept:
-Auburn Football is starting off well - I was able to go to 2 games this month and thoroughly enjoyed both. Got to see many great friends too!
-I have built good relationships with my Internal med team and feel like I have really made a differnce in my patients care. Learning a lot in the process!
- I have decided on a church here - East Cooper Baptist Church - they have a Young Adults Sunday School class, plus I am going to join a community group of girls my age that starts this week.
- I just survived my first week of call (ended today at 8am) - I came to despise the sound of my pager, struggled not getting my normal sleep but learned a ton. Thankful to pass off the baton to my co-resident Holly today.
- Had some version of the flu... Andy started it and probably had the full-blown swine flu. Richelle and a few of my cousins got it as well. I only got some of the symptoms, mainly respiratory symptoms, but no fever - who knows?
-Happy that Jay Leno is back on the air as I have always enjoyed his show for some reason...Also - favorite shows starting up - Grey's Anatomy and The Amazing Race!
-Computer had some version of the "blue screen of death" - had to leave it in Auburn for a week and it is still not running right...time for a Mac??

How's that for random thoughts??

Ruth

I recently listened to a sermon series on Ruth by David Platt from Brookhills in Birmingham (I really miss hearing his teachings every week) - It was awesome. Its a 4 part series - one for each chapter in Ruth. I encourage you to listen to it when you have time or are driving long distances (like me)! Go to brookhills.org
A few highlights of the sermon: God brings his people from death to triumph/life, from curse to blessing, from bitterness to happiness, from emptyness to fullness, from despair to hope -- all seen through the story of Ruth.

WAR EAGLE

Game day is here! So excited for the college football season to start and to see what the new coaches at Auburn will do... One problem, I am in Charleston today working and NOT auburn... Very sad! I am having quite a hard time with it... I hate not being there. So much so, that I am now going to go next weekend to the Ms St game as well as the next weekend for W.Va (already planned). I've gotten plenty of text msg's today asking me if I was in Auburn and each one gets a sad reply.
But on a happy note, fellow Auburn High Alum, Ryan and Anna (Guerin) Thompson are coming over to watch the game at my apartment tonight. At least I will have someone to yell at the tv with! War Eagle.

Heart Transplant on news

So, one of my patients was on the news Thursday night because of his recent heart transplant at MUSC. Check it out here

Fire Alarm

So, night before last the fire alarm in my building went off at 3:15am... it was the loudest, most shrieking sound I have ever heard. Did I mention that there is a speaker directly above my headboard in my room? Very disturbing. Spent 1 hour out in the parking lot mingling with my neighbors. Turns out the guy in 7218 was cooking something with a pressure cooker at 3am and it boiled over. (b/c who doesn't cook at 3am?) Firemen took about 20min to come and 10 min to clear the situation. Then it took at least 30 more minutes for the homeowner's association representative to come to our building and turn the annoying sound off! Ridiculous... Glad I finally got to meet some of my neighbors. then had to get up for work at 5:30am...

So that was Monday night. It happened again last night (Wed)at 2:15am!! Again took 1 hour to resolve and another hour for my ears to stop ringing. No known reason for why the fire alarm went off. Interesting day at work on little sleep... :-(

Dinner

I cooked dinner tonight for 8 of my residency friends... One of them had never had a casserole before, so I decided to bring out some of the Golden favorites:
Poppyseed Chicken, Venture Beans (special green beans), Rice, Asian Slaw, and Sister Schubert rolls
yummy!

Work and Play

After all, life is a balance between these two...

Work: I have really enjoyed my experience so far in the Cardiology Care Unit(CCU). The first day was overwhelming, but since then, I have grown to love Cardiology. There are 3 students on this rotation with me and they are all rounding with 3 different general cardiology teams. I got the choice to do that OR to round with the Advanced Heart Failure/Heart Transplant team and stay in the unit. I chose the latter, which was the harder choice, but therefore I have learned A LOT! First off, it's not a team of med students, interns, residents, a fellow and an attending like the others. Instead it is 1 Fellow and 1 Attending physician...and Me. AND, I didn't know until the end of the 1st week that they have never had a pharmacist round with them before. SO... it has been an interesting experience that I have been thrown into, but again, I'm learning a lot.
I have decided that one reason I like cardiology so much is due to my cousin and brother - both born with congenital heart disease - I can now understand their situations much better. As of today (and my opinion changes often), I would love to work in Pediatric Cardiology...
Over the past 2 weeks, I have watched 1 patient go from acute graft failure (immediate rejection of his new heart...near death) to yesterday when he was sitting up in his bed, eating and talking to us like nothing ever happened. It has been a neat process to watch. I will hopefully be able to see a heart transplant procedure by the end of the month. There are many more stories, but that's all I have time for now. Days are long, I am tired a lot, but it is worth it. Can't believe the month is already past the half-way mark.
-Also, I worked my first weekend alone in the Children's Hospital on the 8th/9th and it went well...

Play:
My brother and his fiance, Richelle, came up on Saturday the 8th and stayed until last Wed. I had to work a lot, but we managed to go to dinner together every night. I also joined them for a boat tour around the harbor - it was great and anyone that comes to visit should go on the tour. They toured the USS Yorktown, took a carriage ride, spent a day at the beach and another at the outlets. I was so glad to have visitors in town and I think they enjoyed their vacation.
I also managed to go home to Auburn this past weekend - somewhat last minute trip - but it was worth it. I took Friday off and traveled home Thurs night. We spent Fri and Sat at the Lake. It was relaxing and great to get away from work for a little while. The drive is not that fun, but I survived.
Besides my family, I got to see 2 of my favorite people while I was in Auburn - Katie and Campbell! We had a yummy bfast at Byron's.

Being home really got me pumped up for football season! I am sad I can't be there for the first game but I will be cheering them on from Charleston. I am definitely coming home for the W Virginia game on Sept 19th... War Eagle!

African Children's Choir

Friday night Carol and I went to see The African Children's Choir at a local church. I was so excited about it because of my love for children, Africa and of course Jesus. They were SO great! The concert was such a blessing. The kids were adorable and so filled with joy. At one point during the concert, they each introduced themselves with, "Hi, my name is ____ and when I grow up, I want to be a _____." At first we heard a lot of teachers, lawyers and doctors. Then a few pilots, a judge, a bank manager, artist, etc. The last little boy was so precious - He said, "Hi, my name is Joshua and when I grow up I want to be an Optometrist!" Quite cute... I encourage each of you to check out their website - you will be blessed!
We saw Choir 31

1 Month Down!

Orientation is officially over! (Even though I'm sure I have a lot more to learn!) The past month of my new job has flown by! It has been exciting, overwhelming, helpful and motivating for what we are about to do. Orientation and the adjustment to Charleston has gone a lot better than I thought it would. Number 1 reason is due to my large residency class. We have one of the largest in the nation and I have really enjoyed that. We've been together a lot this month and really developed friendships. For the most part, everyone gets along and I think the time we've spent together this month will help us over the next 11 months - whenever we are stressed, overwhelmed or simply want someone to go eat dinner with. Carol, in particular, has been a huge answer to prayer. She is from Tennessee and will be doing the 2-year Pharmacotherapy program. She is a true Christ follower and we have enjoyed going together to "try-out" the churches in the area. So far we have gone to East Cooper Baptist Church, Ashley River Baptist Church and Seacoast Church. We hope to make it to First Baptist Church of Charleston soon - it is downtown among all the beautiful houses and carries much of the history of the Baptist Church. If anyone has any other recommendations, pass them along!
One thing I have learned about Charleston: When it rains, it floods within a few seconds... (and Sarah, it is worse than you think Auburn is) - It can sometimes be challenging to drive through the streets during a rainstorm. A few of us have even named a body of water that forms after the rain on our walk to the hospital-Lake Roper.
I start my first rotation Monday - in the Cardiac ICU. I am really looking forward to it, but know it will be challenging! I will also have my first weekend alone as a real pharmacist on Aug 8/9...kind of scary! As for this weekend, I plan to eat at some fun places, shop at the market and outlets and REST...let the fun begin.

Elevators

I have come to learn that I don't like Elevators very much! They scare me... the doors specifically. It's a habit to always stick your hand out as you are getting in to stop the doors in case they start closing... and I still jump everytime they start closing in on me - EVEN though I know they are going to AND I know they will open back up. I just don't trust them! I'm always afraid I'm going to get a limb stuck in the door. There are a few elevators out there that don't open back up for some reason and maybe those 1 in a million are what has caused my fear. Who knows. It doesn't help that I work in a hospital with about 10 different sets of elevators throughout.
Another thing about elevators - sometimes it is just akward to ride with strangers. They told us (really, those from the north) on our first day of orientation not to be suprised if strangers talk to you on the elevator. I'm from the south, so that is not a suprise...but it doesn't happen that often. To me, there is just this akward silence where everyone knows you don't have to talk, but you still want to break the silence... Does anyone else get this feeling?
Oh - and Amy and I got semi-stuck in a VERY small elevator in Greece with our backpacks on - we barely fit - I have the pictures to prove it:

Convenience vs. Necessity

So, lately I have been blurring the lines between these two. I often talk myself into buying things b/c they are necessary, but in all reality, they are not and are simply convenience items! For example... My name tag at work wouldn't attach properly to the shirts I would wear each day to work - so I went out and bought a Vera Bradley name-tag laynard so it won't have to attach to any shirt. Convenience or Necessity? Another... My robe I wear every morning is quite hot here in the summer - so I went and bought a cute, monogrammed towel-wrap. Convenience or necessity? And another... I didn't have a mouse pad at work - so I found a cute polka-dot "J" mousepad to buy for my office. Sometimes, it's these little things in life that make you happy! Good thing I'm finally getting paid soon!

Lowcountry Auburn Club

I'm happy to report that there is an Auburn Alumni Club here in Charleston! They are having a dinner in a few weeks, so maybe I can meet some fellow Auburn grads to watch the games I cannot attend...

HAPPY Birthday to KIMMIE today!

Update from Charleston

The past week and 1/2 has flown by!! I haven't had much time to blog, etc, but I will try to catch up. The first week (2 days) of Residency was good - meeting my co-residents, endless meetings, pager presentation, feeling overwhelmed, etc. We got our schedules on Thurs for the entire year and I am thankful to say that I do not have to work on Thanksgiving (i.e. AU/AL game!!) or Christmas! As far as holidays, I have to work the weekend of Labor Day, Easter and Memorial Day (which will change for Andy's wedding) - so not that bad. I was also happy to find out that I will be doing all of my weekend/night work in the Children's Hospital - and I am the only 1st year Resident that gets this privaledge, so I am excited. I was also happy with my month-to-month rotation schedule and got many of the rotations that I asked for.
We had Friday off for the holiday and my mom was able to come up for the weekend since my dad is in Africa. She arrived about 2pm Friday afternoon and didn't leave until 8am Monday morning. I was glad to have her here to help me finish settling in and find my way around town! We managed to go to the movies, eat seafood, exercise at The Battery and County park, lay-out at the pool, see top 5 fireworks, attend church, go on a carriage ride and meet some of my residency friends. I have 2 slideshows of pictures from the fireworks and carriage ride below. Nothing like watching fireworks that go off of a huge aircraft carrier!
This week we have been working on learning the computer systems for order entry and taking a 2-day ACLS class. I am happy to report that I passed the written and live simulation test and am now ACLS certified! This weekend I have to take the SC law test (Sat at 4pm) so I have been busy studying for this every evening. I will be glad to have that behind me!
So far, so good. I am enjoying getting to know my co-residents and am happy to get a few pieces of the residency puzzle each day. I hope to have a better picture of what this year will be like by the end of the month!

They're 'Going to the Chapel!'

My little brother, Andy, popped the big question on Friday night to his girlfriend, Richelle!! And she said yes! We were all at the lake for the weekend and he took her out on a sunset boat ride (which is something we do often, so not suspicious) - after the sun went down, he drove to an island where he had hung a large banner that read, "Will you marry me?" Quite creative. When they got back to the lake house, both of my grandparents had arrived as well as Richelle's parents. I was glad we could all be there to celebrate with them. The tentative date as of today is May 29, 2010.

I'm in Charleston!

I made it to Charleston today. 6 hours exactly with a 15 minute stop in Augusta - not too bad... I'm sitting at a Chick-fil-a eating dinner and using their wi-fi since my internet will not be hooked up until Wednesday! Can't believe it's time to start my Residency! I feel like I have no idea what my life is about to be like, but that's okay. The Lord knows and He is in control. I sure hope I will have some visitors soon - after all, I only live a few minutes from the beach! :-)

Pictures from Greece!

The "Best-Of" collection! Just click the picture below and it will take you to the slideshow.

Greece Adventures

Home Sweet Home

I made it home safely last night. My plane was delayed about 2 hours leaving Athens because the air traffic controllers were on strike - (go figure this would happen to me as it did last year in Africa). I landed in Atlanta about 7pm EST but it took forever to finally get to my parents and head home. The tram system in the ATL airport was down because of a medical emergency so I had to walk all the way from Terminal E to Baggage Claim which is a little over a mile! Arrived in Auburn at 10pm which was 6am Athens time... quite tired, but glad to be home.
I think Amy got stuck in Canada last night on her trip home - surely she has made it back to Nashville by now? We organized our pictures and narrowed them down to about 200 to share - she has that on a jump drive and will probably load them later today so I can share them with you! My camera is acting funny and about 150 of my 400 pictures are messed up! Once they are on the computer they have colored spots on them as if they were underdeveloped/overdeveloped - like old film would look!! I am a little concerned and headed down to Cameragraphics in a few minutes to get their help. I sure hope I don't loose all those pictures... :-(

Exclusive Posiedon Landfill and Yacht Club

Let's just say... you were riding the tram on the coast of Greece and wanted to spend a few hours at the public beach but were not prepared for the activities. Not a problem at the Exclusive Posiedon Landfill and Yacht Club. Walk right up, secure a lounge chair and get ready for the parade of peddlers. No bathing suit? No problem. The refugee salesman is walking up right now. Sunscreen? A native of Nigeria will help you pick your SPF. Beach mat and towel? Snorkel and mask? raft? Someone will soon be at your chair to harass you to make a purchase. Sunglasses, floaties, soccer balls, African drum, sandwich, water, watches, belly button rings and henna tattoo artists will all be at your disposal if you so please.
How about a flock of pigeons and stray dogs? Cigarette butts and week-old apples are there in the sand for your enjoyment. But if you can see past all of that, there is a beautiful, crystal blue ocean with yachts and cruise ships floating by for your viewing pleasures.

This was a taste of our experience today at the beaches in front of The Posiedon Hotel. We were planning to go to the upscale beaches of Glafada where we would have to pay 12 euros each ($18) to get on the beach. But Amy spotted this public beach spot from the tram and saved us 30 minutes of lost sunshine. Me, being the practical one, thought this would be a way to save money, so we went. Even though it wasn't the pristine beaches of Destin, we still enjoyed ourselves, had a few good laughs and hours of relaxing on the beach.
We finished the day in Glafada eating dinner at a Mexican Restaraunt. It was recommended in our travel book and it was really good!

This morning was a little sad leaving the AGM conference - we felt like we weren't there that long but hope we still made an impact on the medical team. We had a great ride into town with a missionary family that is returning to the states after 18 years on the field. The wife grew up going to Kanakuk Kamps in Missouri and we enjoyed chatting about that!
We are about to head to bed at our hotel back in Athens. Amy's flight leaves at 6:45 am tomorrow and my flight leaves at 12:30pm. It has been a wonderful trip and we have so many great memories. We can't wait to share our pictures with you - hopefully we'll get them on Picassa soon. So long Greece! Time for new jobs, new towns and reality!

Dollars and Cents (or Euros in this case)

We have learned some of the cost figures associated with our medical team and how much money we are saving by being here. For example, each TB test we give would normally cost $75 but we are providing them free. Multiply that times 800 people and that is big savings. Today alone I did 30 cholesterol screenings and Chem7 panels on portable machines that have been donated. These tests would be very expensive to get in some of the countries. Dr. Rick estimates we will save the IMB about $100,000 on this trip. So thankful to be apart of this and the missionaries have really been appreciative.

Connections

Amy and I have had several connections with people here at the conference. First off, one of her sisters bridesmaids is working in this region as a journeyman so she is here for the conference. Amy has enjoyed chatting with her. Also, Amy has a good friend in Chapel Hill, NC and her co-Sunday school teacher is here.
We met a nice couple who now lives in Augusta,GA but lived in Auburn for 15 years in the 80's and 90's. They went to Opelika first baptist and he worked at the pharmacy school in the IT departMent. He knew all of our teachers, etc. It was fun to talk with them. They are here volunteering. I just met a missionary today who is in Poland but used to live in Auburn and went to Lakeview! He and his family will be talking furlow soon and will live in auburn.
It is a small world...

Eretria, Greece

We made it safely to the conference center yesterday on Evia Island in Greece. We met a group of IMB Missionaries at the aiport Sunday afternoon and rode on a bus with them here - we arrived about 6pm, just in time for dinner. After dinner we went straight to the medical clinic and helped there until about 10:00pm - there were already so many patients to see!

This morning, Amy and I set up a table outside of breakfast where I gave TB skin tests and she tested blood glucose. We each saw about 75 people. Then we helped in the clinic with cholesterol screenings, Chem-8 screenings and about 300 more TB skin tests. We have also been able to help the other pharmacist in the pharmacy. We have a very diverse medical team - 2 doctors from Mississippi, 1 from North Carolina, a hospital administrator from California, Nurse from NC, Nurse from Hungary, Helper/Hygeinist from Mississippi and the other pharmacist is from Miss too. It has been a fun group but often too many chiefs - but things are running smoother this afternoon! It is nice to be here working and not worrying about every little step of our trip. Our meals are planned and we have a great place to rest at night. It is going to be a quick stay, but I'm glad we can help. The conference center is located on the beach (which I haven't had time to see yet). It is a very nice place - has a huge swimming pool - that all the M kids are really enjoying. The church in California that is sponsoring the trip has everything planned out well.

AND... I woke up this morning with strep throat!! Fun, Fun. Good thing I'm working in the pharmacy.

I didn't get to finish writing about the last part of our time in Athens. Saturday night we went to a very traditional greek restaraunt, with live music and dancing. The place was packed when we got there, so we figured it must be good. Turns out there was a huge tour group from Australia and another one from England. There was also a large family from Maryland there. Everyone got up and danced and had a great time. The pictures are hilarious! The lady that sang with the band was really nice and we got to talk to her a good bit. At the end of the night, she told us she was our "Greek mama!" I'm so glad we were able to have that experience.

Sunday morning we had a nice breakfast at our hotel (included) and then went exploring. We saw the Parliment, toured the National gardens and wandered through the Sunday Flea market. We hurried back to the hotel, showered and checked out by 12. Our hotel was really nice - the best place we have stayed so far. We couldn't decide where to eat lunch and weren't really wanting traditional greek food, so we made our way to McDonalds!! I never eat there at home, but of course it hit the spot and we were very thankful for a little comfort food.

The difference between you and me...

Amy and I have come to realize how different we are when it comes to traveling... and we appreciate the differences because we always need a little of both sides. For example, yesterday we were wondering the streets of Athens and Amy's idea of figuring where to go is to stop the nearest greek person, act like a dumb blond, speak with an accent, look confused and show them the map for help. I, on the other hand, like to be completely self-sufficient and figure the map out for myself. I would be that idiot walking down the street with the book in front of me, trying to read it while running into somebody or something. Both ways end up getting us where we want to go and for that, we are thankful. We continue to laugh at our differences and thank the Lord that we are all unique individuals!!
Our top 5 list of things we are glad we brought:
Amy
1. Extra tote-bag
2. Chi Straightener
3. Fake wedding ring
4. Gold bangles and pearls
5. Eyemask
Jessica
1. Map & Intinerary
2. Chapstick
3. Earplugs
4. Rainbow flip-flops
5. plastic bags (ziplock)
Next post, we will tell you the 5 things we wish we had left at home! We did overpack just a little bit! Off to the conference!

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Hey Dad - hope you are having a wonderful day - sorry I can't be there to celebrate with you! Love you, Jess
(mom - show this to dad) :-)

Saturday in Athens

The ferry ride back to Athens was a little different from our ride over. First, it was a different boat company and therefore was set up a little differently. We knew it would be dark outside with no view, so we were looking forward to sleeping until we got there. We raced onto the boat to try and find the best seat for sleeping, but were told by some of the staff that we could sit, but not lay down anywhere. Weird. We found a area with a long bench and chairs in front of it and the local guy sitting near us told us that we were forbidden to go to sleep - and if we did, the crew members would walk around and wake us up!!! We could not believe that and thought it quite ridiculous. I thought to my self - If I take an Ambien, they won't be able to wake me up!? Anyway, after about 30 minutes, we see many other people starting to fall asleep in their chairs. So, Amy and I split an Ambien - she put on her eye mask and I put in my ear plugs and we laid across the benches. Three hours later we were woken up by the crew members telling us we would be arriving to the port in 1 hour... seriously? Could they not have let us sleep a little while longer? Despite the little sleep, we still managed to make it an adventuresome ferry ride.
Our boat docked in Athens around 6am and we took the metro back to the hostel where we stayed the first night to retrieve our other backpack. It was right where we left it, securely locked up. We made the trek back to the metro with all of our gear and headed to our next hotel for tonight - Central Hotel Athens. We managed to find a super nice Starbucks on our way and took a little break from the heavy bags. We got to our hotel around 9 am and thankfully they let us go ahead and check in!!
After showering, we headed to see the famous Parthenon at the Acropolis. We managed to find a great little sandwich shop on the way where we bought gyro's for only 1.80 euro. The waiter was impressed with our southern accents and blue eyes. Everyone here has been so friendly and not the least bit intimidating.
All of the ruins were really neat and we'll have plenty of pictures to share soon.
This afternoon we found the great roof-top terrace that had lounge chairs and a hot-tub. You can even see the acropolis from the hot-tub!!
While we were walking around town today, we found a great authentic greek restaraunt close to the acropolis that will have music and greek dancing tonight - we made a reservation to go back - should be fun!
Tomorrow morning we plan to go to the Flea Market and the National Gardens before catching our bus to the conference.
Hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday!

Santorini Day 2

I don't know where to start - today has been amazing!!! I don't have long to write because we are about to catch a bus back to the port so we can get on the ferry back to Athens.
We had a great night of sleep (after 2 nights of very little) and woke up to beautiful blue skies outside our balcony. We got our bathing suits and headed to Red Beach - first we had to walk down to the town square to hop on a quick bus ride. We met this really nice couple there from Switzerland and enjoyed hearing and sharing about each others travel adventures. The bus came and we though it was just stopping to let this car by, well, then it took off and we realized that we missed it!! We were sad, but the beach was about a 1.5km walk, so we started walking. We had to climb around this cliff top to get to the beach, but it was a really neat area. Crystal blue water. It was only a small area of dark sand/rocks with big, red cliffs going up from there. We spent about 2 hours there just relaxing. We felt so out of place because we felt like we were the only Americans there. The water was quite chilly, so we didn't get in too far.
After the beach we caught the bus back up to our hotel. We met another nice couple from Connecticut that was traveling for their 30th anniversary. We had a lot to talk about. He was a dentist and is involved with some mission work in Haiti. She was a professor at the University of Connecticut.
We quickly showered and left our cute, little room to head to the main town of Fira. Once we got here, we secured our ferry tickets for tonight and found a hotel where we could store our big backpack for the day. We walked around the cute shops and alley ways. The Fira port is down this steep, steep cliff and the only way down or up is a cable car or donkeys. So, we took the cable car down and the donkeys back up - it was an adventure!! The donkeys certainly had a mind of their own - at times they would just pause for a few minutes as if they wanted you to take a picture and at other times they seemed to be racing the other donkeys up the steep hill. Amy's donkey was especially ornery... I have a video to confirm that.
We ate a late lunch at this great restaraunt the Smith family recommended. Next, we hopped on a bus to Oia at the north end of the island. It is known for its awesome sunsets. We meandored the narrow cobblestone streets and simply followed the crowd to the end of the island. Amy spotted this great roof-top seat where two other girls were sitting, so we climbed over the railing and joined them. Turns out they were from Florida and we had a lot of fun talking to them. The sunset was beautiful and the views were amazing. Both of our camera batteries died right after the sun went down!
We just got back to Fira and had a great belgium waffle at this little bakery and now we are headed back to the port...
One funny story - at the bus stop today in Fira, I spotted this guy with an Auburn hat on, so of course I yelled out "War Eagle" and he said something like "what?" I said, "I like your Auburn hat" He thought it was quite funny and went on to tell us that he was from Spain and when he was in Washington DC in 1996, he saw the hat on somebody and thought it was "the most beautiful hat in America" and had to have it - so someone gave it to him and I think he has been wearing it ever since! (And honestly is was probably the ugliest Auburn hat I have seen, if there can be such a thing) We made sure to get our picture with him!
Better run - more funny stories to p0st tomorrow from Athens.
Santorini is amazing and I highly recommend it!!

White walls and blue doors

Isn't that what you think of when you think of Greece? Santorini is just that! White plaster buildings with blue doors and windows; a few white churches in the countryside with blue, round steeples. It is absolutely beautiful. I wish I could post the pictures now, but we'll have to save that for later.
We have had an adventuresome day! We left our hostel at 5:30am to catch the metro to the ferry port. Luckily, the hostel had a very safe, secure way we could leave one of our backpacks, so we combined our stuff and made our load lighter for our trip to Santorini. We made it to the port just in time to claim our tickets and get on the boat. Funny thing - our tickets were all in greek, so we didn't notice they had a seat number assigned to you - so when we got on the boat, we chose the best table we could find, only to be kicked out and laughed at by these greek ladies. The boat ride took about 6 hours and we stopped at 3 other islands on the way to Santorini. It was a beautiful ride - we sat inside most of the time but would go out on the deck periodically for the view. Once at the port in Santorini, we caught 2 buses to the area of Akrotiri. The bus dropped us off at what we thought was close to our hotel, only to get lost walking around. This area is not the main touristy area of Santorini, so there wasn't much around. We found a little convience store where the lady called the hotel for us and they came and picked us up for free! It turns out we were probably about 2 miles from the hotel and would have never found it.
We had a nice relaxing afternoon sitting by the pool. From this area of Santorini we can see the water on both sides of the island which is a rarity. We made our way down to the "town center" of Akrotiri where there is about 3 restaraunts. We passed so many cute houses, terraces with beautiful flowers and tons of blue doors. We found a quaint little restaraunt that is letting us use their internet until they begin serving dinner in a little while.
We plan on spending tomorrow morning at the Red Beach area not far from our hotel and then in the afternoon we will go to the 2 main cities of the island before we catch our midnight ferry ride back to Athens.
It's been a great day!

hello from greece!!

I didn't have time to post before I left yesterday, so hello from Athens, Greece!! I left Auburn at 1:30pm Tuesday afternoon with a 32 lb. backpack and another small bag. Amy and I flew separately, which was weird traveling internationally by myself. I flew AirFrance out here and I was certainly lost with all the french speaking going on. Anyway, Amy and I finally found each other in the Athens airport after about 15 minutes - she had me paged over the intercom b/c there was no other way... We successfully found the right bus to get us to the town center (1 hr. long ride, very crowded with the 32lb backpack on my leg the whole way) and then navigated the metro system to find our hostel for the night. I'm glad I can finally say that I have stayed in a hostel, but I won't miss it the rest of our trip!
We made our way back to the Monastiraki part of town and found a quaint and cozy outside restaurant to relax, eat and watch the sunset. It was great! Now we are back at the hostel, preparing for our early morning ferry ride to the island of Santorini.

The rest of our trip will be something like this:
Thursday - ferry to Santorini, beach, etc
Friday - beach at Santorini and overnight ferry back to Athens
Sat - Athens sight-seeing
Sun - more Athens sight-seeing in the am and then catch an afternoon bus to the conference center where the IMB annual general meeting is taking place
Mon & Tues - help out in the medical clinic for 800-900 missionaries - will probably be giving a lot of immunizations, TB skin tests and helping out in the pharmacy.
Wed - Tenatively plan to go to Corinth for the day and back in Athens that night
Thurs - fly out!

IT's going to be a quick trip, but we're going to try and see as much as we can...
I will hopefully try to update my blog again from Santorini - not sure if I can figure out how to put pictures on here though...

Yeah for vacation and traveling!

Top 10 place to live...

AUBURN, AL. US News and World Report just released the top 10 best places to live in the US based on strong economies, low living costs and plenty of fun things to do. Check out the article here. Proud of my hometown!

I miss kamp!!

I really miss kamp! I spent the last 3 summers in beautiful Colorado and I am having withdrawals... I miss the weather, the scenery, the laid backness, and especially the people! not to mention my best friend out there - Miss Maggie Braner. and today is her birthday! Happy 8th Maggie.
did I mention... i miss kamp?

Licensed Pharmacist

Today I went to the Alabama Board of Pharmacy meeting for the last step in becoming an official pharmacist! (official in AL...SC still TBD) It was a very interesting meeting. The board members were all very nice and welcoming, but they stressed the many important responsibilities that come with our profession... trustworthiness, liability, drug diversion, last step before a med is taken, etc. I can say that I am proud to be in a profession that plays an integral part in our health care system and look forward to the impact I can have in people's lives! Yeah for being official!

June = Vacation

Yesterday started my official "vacation" time in my mind. First, I took the NAPLEX Pharmacy Board Exam on Monday afternoon and passed!! I also passed the law 2 weeks before that, so all of my studying is done! Second, I am completely moved out of my house in Bham and my apartment in Charleston is settled. My intern hours are complete, paperwork done, and again, No studying, no moving... Third, I have nothing but fun things going on in the month of June! This weekend I am going to Charlotte, NC for my friend Jessica's baby shower - should be good times with good friends. I have a mini-vacation planned with Katie, Joy and Kimmie next week at the lake. And Amy and I leave for Greece in 13 days! So, all that to say, I am thrilled to have some time to relax a bit. I started off my vacation at the lake yesterday afternoon with my brothers. We had fun on the boat - I enjoyed watching them wakeboard, trick-ski, do a scary rope swing and attempt a slalom course. I managed to get a little color on my naturally pale skin. Too bad the color is red right now... Yeah for vacation!

Charleston Apartment

It has been a long 5 days! We pulled out of Birmingham at 7am Saturday morning and arrived home to Auburn at 10pm last night. It was hard work, but I'm glad my apartment is settled for when I return in a few weeks. My parents were a huge help and I'm so thankful for the time they spent with me there. Several people wanted to see photos of the final product, so here they are:

Moving to Charleston

Well, my house is all packed up. My parents are coming up this afternoon to load and then early tomorrow morning we are hitting the road for Charleston. I-20 almost all the way - about 7 hours... I sure hope all of my stuff fits!! Packing really makes you realize how much "junk" you have, store, keep, "need" for daily living. It always overwhelms me, makes me want to throw it away and ALWAYS brings to mind the verse, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matt 6:19-21 I'd love to always say my heart is not with my stuff and only with things that are eternal...it's a daily struggle to keep focus on what's really important!!

Countdown for hours...

I have since realized that Graduation was a little anti-climatic...all because I still had 85 hours of internship to complete, 2 law exams and my boards to take before I could actually work as a Pharmacist!! Well, tomorrow is my LAST day of working for free and my hours will be complete. YEAH! Yesterday I was able to sign up for my boards - didn't quite get the dates I wanted, but I think it will still work with my moving schedule. So, please keep me in mind on Wed the 20th for the AL law exam and Monday June 1st for the NAPLEX board. SC law exam still TBD.

Meeting Patrick

I was able to meet precious Patrick O'Reilly when they came through Auburn last weekend! It was a quick visit, but hopefully I will see them more in June. Thanks for the picture Naomi!
 

Anybody but Adam...

For you American Idol fans you know what I'm talking about. Most of my friends do not like him, but I know there are some of you that do. I can't stand him and I hope by some miracle he gets booted tonight. Check out this blog for a good laugh: Anybody but Adam
I honestly really like Kris Allen - he is just more my style...

Graduation

Jessica Golden, Pharm D. Yep, it's official!!
Yesterday was a great day. It was nice to have our own graduation ceremony separate from the rest of the University. I was honored to serve as the Graduation Marshall - even though at times I felt a little silly carring our banner... I was so glad my parents, grandparents, brother and uncle all came to share in the festivities. I was also so glad to have April Speaks and Julie Carter there supporting me as well! We had a nice family lunch at Aricia and took plenty of photos. The past 4 years have flown by and I am thankful the Lord guided me to pharmacy school, sustained me through it and allowed me to share in this special celebration of accomplishment!

Success!

The rain held off this afternoon- Hallelujah! Graduation at 10am tomorrow - can't wait!

rain, rain, go away!

Today a group of my pharmacy school friends and I are supposed to take pictures on Samford Lawn/AU sign with Aubie! But the forcast says 100% chance of rain this afternoon! BOO! :-(

Change is in the air...

TODAY WAS MY LAST DAY OF ROTATION, LAST DAY OF BEING A STUDENT...EVER!! I'm so excited to be moving out of this phase of life... and wondering what the next phase is going to be like... I am glad the Lord is in control of that, thankful He will guide me, comfort me and protect me along the way.

I feel like my life is going to be turned upside down the next two months!! It will look something like this:
Heading to Auburn this Sunday with Graduation festivities on Monday and Tuesday. Then I will be finishing up my license hours at the AU student pharmacy for a week and 1/2 while studying for the boards. I will head back to Birmingham the weekend of the 16th to continue studying and PACK... I plan to take the NAPLEX boards on the 19th or 20th. Move to Charleston on the 23rd. Take Alabama law test on the 28/29th. Clean up and officially be out of Bham house by June 1st. Take SC law test sometime early June. Get Alabama Pharmacy license at board meeting in Bham on June 10th. Greece trip with Amy June 15th through the 25th. Head back to Charleston and start work on Wednesday, July 1st!! Whirlwind... Ok, now my head hurts...off to bed!

Rite Aid Ramblings

I was thinking today at work about ridiculous things that slow pharmacists down in the retail setting...most of them are embedded in the story in the post below, but often it is people's questions that take up a lot of the time. And I am not meaning the questions you should ask your pharmacist, because I am all about us being one of the most approachable and trusted professionals in the medical field - no, I am talking about the questions that have nothing to do with your pharmacist... Here are a few samples from the last few weeks at Rite Aid:
-"Where is the wine in the store?"
-"I just bought some sugar-free honey from Wal-mart and I was wondering what is in it that makes it still sweet?"
-Lady in the drive-thru window - "Could you go get some Aloe-vera gel from the store shelves for me, so I don't have to come inside?" (seriously, are you that lazy?)
-"Do you have those talking Easter eggs that you hide and then they talk so you can find them easier?"
I know there are more, but my mind cannot remember them all right now...

On a slightly different note, today I spent about 1 hour helping this lady figure out what kind of insurance she had when she approached the counter with a 10-digit account number only, no card, no card name, etc...very helpful...and then when I finally ran the prescription through for the probably much needed antibiotics and told her it was $1.10, she said she didn't have the money and would try to come back tomorrow...seriously?
Only 2 more days!! But, who's counting?

The answer to why it took 2 hours to get your 20 Vicodin

My preceptor showed me the following article and I found it to be quite hilarious and true - I think all the situations below happened today at RiteAid... I think Sarah will enjoy this the most!

Why your pharmacist hates you so much…
For those of you who work in a retail pharmacy, a typical workday account…
For those of you who wonder why the pharmacist always looks so annoyed, the answer…

You come to the counter. I am on the phone with a drunk dude who wants the phone number to the grocery store next door. After I instruct him on the virtues of 411, you tell me your doctor was to phone in your prescription to me. Your doctor hasn’t, and you’re unwilling to wait until he does. Being in a generous mood, I call your doctors office and am put on hold for 5 minutes, then informed that your prescription was phoned in to my competitor on the other side of town. Phoning the competitor, I am immediately put on hold for 5 minutes before speaking to a clerk, who puts me back on hold to wait for the pharmacist. Your prescription Is then transferred to me, and now I have to get the 2 phone calls that have been put on hold while this was being done. Now I return to the counter to ask if we’ve ever filed prescriptions for you before. For some reason, you think that “for you” means “for your cousin” and you answer my question with a “yes”, whereupon I go to the computer and see that you are not on file.
The phone rings.
You have left to do something very important, such as browse through the monster truck magazines and do not hear the three PA announcements requesting that you return to the pharmacy. You return eventually, expecting to pick up the finished prescription…
The phone rings.
…only to find out that I need to ask your address, phone number, date of birth, if you have any allergies and insurance coverage. You tell me that you’re allergic to codeine. Since the prescription is for Vicodin (hydrocodone+Tylenol), I ask you what exactly codeine did to you when you took it. You say it made your stomach hurt and I roll my eyes and write down “no known allergies.” You tell me…
The phone rings.
…you have insurance and spend the next 5 minutes looking for your card. You give up and expect me to be able to file your claim anyway. I call my competitor and am immediately put on hold. Upon reaching a human, I ask them what insurance they have on file for you. I get the information and file your claim, which is rejected because you changed jobs 6 months ago. A jerk barges his way to the counter to ask where the bread is.
The phone rings.
I inform you that the insurance the other pharmacy has on file for you isn’t working. You produce a card in under 10 seconds that you seemed to be unable to find before. What you were really doing was hoping your old insurance would still work because it had a lower copay. Your new card prominently displays the logo of Nebraska Blue Cross, and although Nebraska blue cross does in fact handle millions of prescription claims every day, for the group you belong to, the claim should go to a company called Caremark, whose logo is nowhere on the card.
The phone rings.
A lady comes to the counter wanting to know why the cherry flavored antacid works better than the lemon cram flavored antacid. What probably happened is that she had a milder case of heartburn when she took the cherry flavored brand, as they both use the exact same ingredient in the same strength. She will not be satisfied though until I confirm her belief that the cherry flavored brand is the superior product. I file your claim with Caremark, who rejects it because you had a 30 day supply of Vicodin filled 15 days ago at another pharmacy. You swear to me on your mother’s…
The phone rings.
….life that you did not have a Vicodin prescription filled recently. I call Caremark and am immediately put on hold. The most beautiful man on the planet walks by and notices not a thing. He has never talked to a pharmacist and never will. Upon reaching a human at Caremark, I am informed that the Vicodin prescription was indeed filled at another of my competitors. When I tell you this, you say that you got hydrocodone there, not Vicodin. Another little part of me dies…
The phone rings.
It turns out that a few days after your doctor wrote your last prescription, he told you to take it more frequently, meaning that what Caremark though was a 30-day supply is indeed a 15 day supply with the new instructions. I call your doctor’s office to confirm this and am immediately put on hold…I call Caremark to get an override and am immediately put on hold. My laser printer has a paper jam. It’s time for my tech to go to lunch. Caremark issue the override and your claim goes through. Your insurance saves you 85 cents off the regular price of the prescription.
The phone rings.
At the cash register you sign…
The phone rings.
…the acknowledgment that you received a copy of my HIPPA policy and that I offered the required OBRA counseling for new prescriptions. You remark that you’re glad that your last pharmacist told you that you shouldn’t take over the counter Tylenol along with the Vicodin, and that the acetaminophen you’re taking instead seems to be working pretty well. I break the news to you that Tylenol is simply a brand name for acetaminophen and you don’t believe me. You fumble around for 2 minutes looking for your checkbook and spend another 2 minutes making out a check for four dollars and sixty seven cents. You ask why the tablets look different than those that you got at the other pharmacy. I explain that they are from different manufacturer. Tomorrow you’ll be back to tell me that they don’t work as well.

Now imagine this wasn’t you at all, but the person who dropped off their prescription three people ahead of you, and you’ll start to have an idea of why…
your prescription takes SO DANG LONG TO FILL!

April

Only 5 more days of rotations!! Graduation is 8 days away!! I can't believe it - I will no longer be classified as a student!!
This weekend I started packing a few things to help offset my crazy month of May - I am really NOT excited about packing and the moving process. I love my house here and I hate to leave it, but I know a new adventure awaits me. I've been trying to enjoy my last few weeks in Bham, seeing as many of my friends as I can. A few highlights of the past weeks:
*Secret Church at Brookhills on the 10th - it was my first experience and it was amazing!! I have really grown to love David Platt's teaching of the word. I sure will miss it, but plan to continue listening to his sermons on my iPod.
*Easter Egg Hunt with Campbell; Then this past week she and I had a dinner date to Moe's - "Welcome to Moe's, Jess!!" We had a fun night, she has so much personality, and she loves to dance!
*Katie McDowell Isaac came to town all the way from Canada and we got to have a quick lunch with her! She was my discipleship leader the last 2 years in high school and we were Alpha Gam's together for 2 years as well. I will always be blessed for the spiritual impact she had on my life. Her precious son, Quinn (4mo) came as well!
*Hanging out with baby Isaac who's almost 3 months old already - He even went shopping with me for the new couches I am going to get when I move.
*Amy Pennington and I have planned an exciting graduation trip to GREECE!! We will be traveling June 15-25. For the first 4-5 days, we will be doing sightseeing (Corinth, Island hopping - Santourini, Athens) and then joining up with the IMB's annual general meeting of all the missionaires in Eastern Europe. It is the same kind of meeting that I went to in Africa last year. Amy and I will be serving as the Pharmacists on the trip and helping provide medical care to the 800+ missionairies. I am so excited about seeing this part of the world and providing a little help to the mission field.

Patient Etiquette

My friend Sarah published the following article on her blog back in December and today at RiteAid my preceptor shared the info with me again - It was funny back in Dec because I could imagine these things happening at a community pharmacy, but now that I actually am working there - they have a whole new meaning!

A Pharmacist's Guide to Patient Etiquette:

1. Be sure to stare at the pharmacist while your prescriptions are being filled. Staring at the pharmacist makes him or her work faster. [yesterday this mean old lady stood right in front of my computer while I was imputing her prescription and said "what is taking SO long young lady, do you have a problem?" tears welled up in my eyes...]
2. Never remember the name of the medications you are taking. By calling it "the little white pill," you are sure to receive the correct medication.
3. When calling in 8 prescriptions or more, always arrive at the pharmacy to pick them up within 10 minutes of calling. It's okay to hurry pharmacists. If they make a mistake, it won't kill you or anything. [they actually call us from the parking lot and then come thru the drive-thru 1 minute later thinking it will be ready - McDonald's doesn't even work that fast!]
4. Feel free to ask the pharmacy staff for the exact price of your prescription before it is filled. The staff should know every co-pay for every insurance plan.
6. Be sure to get upset about the co-pay. The co-pay is set on the whim of the pharmacist and has nothing to do with your insurance company.
9. Upon calling in a refill for a maintenance medication without refills, always question why the doctor has to be called when you've taken the medication for years. It is only a myth that prescription medications have to be ordered by medical doctors.
10. Always question why the insurance company does not want you to get your Synthroid 10 days too soon. After all, you pay $5 for it, so it's not like it costs more than that.
11. Over-the-counter displays are put there in order to entertain your children. Please encourage them to play with any item and even open one or two.
12. Make sure you save all of your old insurance cards. One of pharmacists' favorite games is to guess which one is current.
13. When you call in a prescription, just say, "I need to get my [name of drug] refilled." You can be sure the pharmacist will recognize your voice and know your prescription number by heart.
14. Pharmacists are some of the few people whose ears work independently. So when you see a pharmacist on the phone, feel free to just start talking -- his free ear will hear everything. [or start talking when they are counting #99 of a #120 order]
15. The pharmacist is the only person in the store is really capable of writing down your refill numbers, so when you call, demand to speak only to the pharmacist.
16. Try to do all your pharmacy business on a Monday. The pharmacist will appreciate it.
17. When walking up to the counter, just say, "Can I pick up my prescription?" Guessing who you are is another pharmacist game.
18. When there are several people ahead of you near the pick-up counter, always stand right at it [and even put your groceries down on it --]. The pharmacist will then know how important you are and fill your Rx first, and, if not, you can listen to juicy patient-pharmacist conversations.
19. If you are not asked for your insurance card, it means that the pharmacist wants to fill your prescription and then, after you are told how much it is, you can shout, "I have insurance." The pharmacist will love to do it over.
20. When you need a really old prescription filled, tell the pharmacist that you have a standing order for it. This works especially well if the doctor who wrote it is dead.
21. When you get a new insurance card, make sure you keep it a secret. The pharmacist would rather phone your old company to find out why your Rx claim is being rejected.
23. When you order your prescription refills and the pharmacist asks which ones, respond by saying, "All of them." He will know.
25. when asking for a refill on a pain medication, make sure you wait until the last one is gone and then try to call late on a Friday afternoon. It will be easy for the pharmacist to get in touch with the doctor to get a new Rx.

*I know this isn't funny to most non-pharmacy people, but it is good to see how the public acts in a pharmacy and the day-to-day issues we deal with...

Fun times at RiteAid

Well, someone got arrested at RiteAid Friday while I was there! Yep, gotta love retail work. The guy used a stolen id and check to buy his cigarettes. Smart guy he is, he dropped the id in the parking lot on his way out. Another customer turned it in. The guy calls back to see if we had his id and the clerk said, "yes, you can come get it!" In the mean time, she called the police, they found out he had 5+ warrants out for his arrest and they came to the store to wait on him. As soon as he walked in they arrested him. Quite a commotion...easter candy everywhere...the guy complaining that he will miss Easter this year if he goes to jail! Well, buddy, it looks like you will be missing several Easters if you think stealing other peoples money is okay. Seriously?

Lease signed

I sent off my signed lease today for the place in Charleston. So, it's official... I am very thankful the Lord provided this blessing!

Taxes

So, I did all of my taxes ALL BY MYSELF this year! I am super proud...can you tell? The first couple years post college, I shipped mine off with my parents. Last year I only had Kanakuk summer income, so my nice brother helped me do them online. This year, he left me to fend for myself. I was a baby at first about it, but I got on Turbotax and figured it all out...My negative income (little summer money + loans) gave me a $120 refund (and I didn't even pay any income tax...)! I also figured out how to get my Colorado state tax back. Success!

Retail rotation

I started my retail rotation at RiteAid this week. It is my first real experience in the retail world (except the student pharmacy)...and my last rotation in pharmacy school! Very unusual. Anyway, if I had written this blog on Monday, it would have been very negative because I HATED my first day! I didn't know how to do anything on the computer, little old ladies were yelling at me through the drive thru, operating the drive thru is dumb and the techs didn't teach me anything, instead just pushed all the buttons on the computer with out showing me. But, it has improved slightly since Monday. I'm not a big fan of my store or the pharmacist that works the opposite days of my preceptor, but I am learning and getting faster at operating retail pharmacy tasks. The 8-hour days are going by faster and I am glad I am not working the 12-hour shifts like the pharmacist. I think not getting paid/free labor is part of the problem - but I need to get over that, as it is part of my education! Only 21 more days...

Baby Patrick is here!!

My good friend Naomi and her husband Matt, welcomed their first child into the world last Thursday the 19th! Patrick James O'Reilly. I was so sad not to be there, but hope I can visit soon! You can look at their blog - The O'Reilly's - for pictures of Patrick - He is precious!

Spring Break 09

Well, my last Spring Break is almost over... and it didn't even feel like a break! I counted my Las Vegas trip as my fun and decided to work for free AGAIN for more hours - in the AU student pharmacy this week. I finished my 40 hours today...still have 85 left to do, which will have to happen after graduation. :-( It wasn't too bad, just standing on your feet for 9 hours a day is not the most fun...
A few exciting events of the week...went to the AU Men's Basketball game on Tuesday night (NIT)- it was exciting but disappointing at the last second - we lost by 2. The place was packed and it was good to see some familiar faces. Wednesday night my mom and I went shopping in Montgomery - got a few staple items, including a dress for graduation which was exciting! Thursday night I got to see my old roommate Ashley Pickers and catch up with her life. This afternoon I started babysitting for the Speaks (4 boys) and will be here all weekend - it's bound to be fun and adventuresome.
Today my mom and I found the place I will probably be living next year! We spent some time searching the internet this week and I came upon an ad on Craig's list that ended up being a great deal. It is a brand-new condo in a gated community that is only 7-10 minutes from the hospital! I'm planning on signing the lease next week as I think it is a great place, location, price, etc and we won't have to make another trip to Charleston. It really is an answer to prayers. You can check it out at: www.ownregatta.com
I start my LAST rotation at Rite-Aid in Crestline on Monday...fun, fun!

Pictures from Vegas

Here are some of the pictures from Vegas... the golf course was beautiful!



And this is a video from the beginning of day 2 - announcing Will

Las Vegas video

Charleston here I come!

I matched with my first choice - MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina)! I am excited about the opportunity but also nervous at the same time. I really appreciate how supportive my family and friends have been - they all think Charleston will be a great opportunity for me and a great place to come visit! I received the email about 8am this morning right before I went to rounds. But, I was SO distracted during rounds as I was texting everyone to let them know and also to find out where all of my other pharmacy friends matched. A few got their first choices, a few their 2nd/3rd/4th and a few didn't match and will be trying to "scramble" for a position at a program that also didn't match some of their spots. All that to say, I am very blessed to have gotten my first choice and am confident that this was the Lord's plan!

Stay tuned...

Match day is tomorrow!! So glad it almost here as I am very ready to know where I will be next year. I still have no clue what I'll get, but I know any of the choices will be a great opportunity. The matching service posts the results at 11am central time, but they try to send you an email sometime in the morning before 11. So, hopefully I can sneak out of rounds to check my email - but at the latest, I will know at 11am...crazy! I'll post the results as soon as I can!

Wi-fi on a plane

How cool is this... I am on a southwest flight right now using the free wi-fi on my I-touch! This is the flight they are testing it out on... Anyway just left vegas and I'm due into bham at midnight... Tomorrow is going to be a long day at work. Vegas was fun but the golf was a little disappointing- for Will at least. He did not play his best the first day shooting 8 over and we thought for sure he would turn things around the next day - he did improve by two strokes with 6 over sat but today was a nightmare as he finished 11 over and the team didn't finish that strong either. The guys enjoyed the course but know they have a lot to work on. This was their first tournament of the spring season. I'm glad I got to see him play but hate he didn't play his best. We didn't have much time to do other things in vegas but I finally talked my parents into seeing the "O" show last night and it was great!! Highly recommend it. Well I will post the pictures tomorrow. Got to get back to the last 100 pages of the last twilight book, breaking dawn. Cheesy books but entertaining...

Headed to Vegas baby

I'm at the Bham airport headed to Las Vegas today for Will's tournament. The tournament is called Southern Highlands Collegiate, hosted by UNLV. The play days are 3/13 – 3/15 and the scores can be found on www.golfstat.com if you are interested. It should have a good field; Will is excited about playing. Last year Charlotte finished 2nd. It will be interesting to see how competitive they will be this year. My parents arrived there yesterday and have already found my recommendation to stay at The Bellagio to be enjoyable. I looking forward to joining them. I made sure to pack plenty of green, white and black for the course and no AU gear, as Auburn will also be playing in this tournament. Probably the one time in my life when I will be cheering against my Auburn Tigers!

Amy's in Africa!

So, my good friend Amy has been in Ghana, Africa for almost 2 weeks now. You can check out her blog at www.amykinafrica.blogspot.com or on the link to the right. She is working at the Baptist Medical Center in northern Ghana for a her elective rotation - I had the privilege to meet the pharmacist and doctors she is working with on my trip to Cote d'Ivoire this summer - they all came to the IMB meeting. I know she is having a great experience - can't wait to hear more about it!

Rank List

Well, it's official - i turned in my rank list yesterday. Still unsure about it, but I trust the Lord will place me where He wants. I put 1-MUSC/Charleston, 2-Vanderbilt, 3-UAB, 4-Wake and 5-UNC-chapel hill. I'm really hoping I get one of the top 3, but I know I will be fine at any of the programs. Now I just have to wait until Wed, March 18th at 11am to find out!

Decisons, decisions...

Still struggling over what order to rank the residency programs in. I have a tenative order, but at any moment in the day I could talk myself into one program more than another and totally change the list. This week, as I have prayed over the situation, I have found more peace - in knowing that His purpose will prevail, whether it is my choice #1, 3 or 5. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails" Pr 19:21.
I was reading a few chapters in Elizabeth Elliot's Passion and Purity today and these few sentances just stuck out and really spoke to me... "the heart set to do the Father's will need never fear defeat. His promises of guidance may be fully counted upon. Does it make sense to believe that the Shepherd would care less about getting His sheep where He wants them to go, than they care about getting there?"

Lunch with Campbell

Today I got off work early and was able to eat lunch with Katie and Campbell at Moe's. Campbell overheard the employees saying their traditional "Welcome to Moe's!" - she then turned to me and said, "Welcome to Moe's Jess!" It was precious and the highlight of my day!

Flight/Trip Cancelled and SNOW!

Well, as I was about to get in bed early last night for my 6am flight out to Denver, I checked the flight status and my flight from ATL to DEN was CANCELLED!! I have to admit I was somewhat excited because I was dreading the trip a little bit...didn't really feel like I would end up going there anyway (for many reasons). So after about 2 hrs of calling, busy signals and holding, I spoke with someone at Delta and had the choice to delay the trip a few hours or just cancel it all together. I went ahead and cancelled because I figured i would get to Atlanta and get stuck there today. It was a good choice as I checked all the flights this morning - old and new - and they were all cancelled! I feel like this poisition was not where the Lord would have me for next year and I'm thankful to have one less choice for my rank list. Even the guy on the phone with delta said, "yeah - you better stay home, this is not meant to be." Now if the rest of the choices would be so obvious...
Anyway, so I woke up in Birmingham to snow!! We've gotten about 2-3" so far. It's beautiful and I'm glad to be here and not traveling.

Sarah came to Bham

This past weekend my good friend Sarah from college/pharmacy school came to town!! She left Atlanta about the same time I left Nashville on Friday afternoon (after my interview) and we arrived in Bham about the same time. It was SO great to have her here and show her around - I took her to some of my favorite restaraunts and we also did some cheesy touristy stuff like The Vulcan. I had never been up to see the Vulcan before, so I thought it was a good idea to take her there. She didn't tell me about her newfound fear of heights until we were getting on the elevator to go up. It was neat to see Birmingham from that view...it was quite windy as you can tell by our pictures. We then took her dog, Colby on a walk at Vulcan trail. I enjoyed having someone at Brook Hills with me on Sunday and was glad she got to see the great church I have found here. She was also very patient in listening to all of my pros/cons about my residency decisions all weekend - I was very thankful for the insight and understanding. All in all, it was a great weekend and I really appreciated her taking the time to come!

Update on Interviews

I feel like just yesterday I was headed off for my NC interviews, but now 3 weeks and 5 interviews later I have come to neglect my blog! Overall the interviews have all gone really well. They were all very long days of answering a million questions, but I always came up with an answer and didn't find myself stumped on many of them. I really enjoyed talking about my Africa experiences and also the route I took to get to pharmacy school (year off, med school rejections, etc.) - it gave me a chance to share how I know I am in the right place with my career and how my faith plays into that. BUT...all that to say, I am SO confused as to where I should go! There are definite pros and cons about all of them, but none of them would be a bad experience and none of them were a "lightbulb" experience like "THIS IS WHERE YOU SHOULD GO!" I would really love to stay in Birmingham and not move, but I also know I could have a great experience elsewhere. My top 3 in no particular order (for now) will prob be UAB, Charleston(MUSC) and Vanderbilt... Wake was a great program, but I'm just not sure I would want to live there - I know nothing about Winston-Salem. UNC is prob rounding out at #5 just because of the distance and they pay a lot less than the other programs, with the most work! I'm really considering making a big pro/con poster so I can visualize all the different options...I'll let you know how that goes.
I am really struggling about this decision and am spending a lot of time asking the Lord to guide my heart. I know it will all work out for the best, but I need to know what order I am going to put them in...by next Friday the 6th! I'd appreciate your prayers over this matter and for my fears, doubts and anxieties to be quieted.

Oh - and I'm still headed to Denver this weekend for an interview at Children's Hospital next Monday. I have known for a while that this option is probably not what I want (b/c I still want some adult rotations) but I didn't feel like I could cancel the interview - so I'm going for the experience and who knows what it will show me!

Feb 3rd

Well, I'm sitting at the Birmingham airport about to board the plane for Raleigh, NC... I'm quite nervous about the 2 interviews because I haven't had much time to prepare for the questions like I wanted to. Oh well...

Today is Campbell's 2nd BIRTHDAY!! She is getting so big and is at such a fun age right now. She has progressed from calling me "jess" to "jess-i-ca" - it's like she thinks we've been saying my name wrong the whole time and she wants to correct us! Her birthday party is Saturday at Chuckie Cheese - should be fun!

Tonight at 6:30pm central on ABC, Katie's friend Hannah will be on Wheel of Fortune!! Katie was able to go out to LA for the filming a few weeks ago and you might just see her on tv at the end...

Birthday Fun

Today (and this weekend) was great! I enjoyed being home for the weekend and tonight I had a great dinner with the girls at a restaraunt called "26" (for the end of me being 26...). I am blessed by wonderful friends and family - thanks for all the birthday wishes!

Happy Birthday Dad and Jess!

Two of my favorite people have their birthday on January 29th! My dad and college roommate/Kanakuk friend, Jessica Smith. I hope you both have a wonderful day - You are a blessing to me!

Baby Isaac is here!!

Precious Steven Isaac Sprayberry was born this Tuesday, January 27th at 1:21pm. He was 7lb 12oz and 19.5inches long. He's quite adorable! Mother and baby are doing great. Enjoy a few pictures by proud "aunt" jess...

Interviews Scheduled!

So I now have 6 out of 6 interviews for Residency scheduled! I am very thankful for the opportunities and look forward to hearing more about each program. February is going to be a whirlwind of a month, but hopefully the Lord will show me what He has for me next year through the process. Here are the dates I will be traveling so that you can please keep me in your thoughts and prayers!
Wed, Feb 4th - UNC (Chapel Hill, NC)
Thurs, Feb 5th - Wake Forest (Winston-Salem, NC)
Wed, Feb 11th - UAB (Bham)
Fri, Feb 13th - MUSC (Charleston, SC)
Fri, Feb 20th - Vanderbilt (Nashville)
Mon, Mar 2nd - Children's Hospital of Colorado (Denver)

Conversion from Analog to Digital delayed...

How many more months must we listen to those annoying commercials about the BIG SWITCH that was supposed to happen on Feb 17th and now has been extended 4 months by Congress??? I don't understand how people are not ready for this...they have been warned for over 2 years and if they can't watch TV on Feb 18th, they might just do something about it...but no, we are extending the switch. Does the government honestly think that those who were lazy enough not to go get a converter over the past 2 years are suddenly going to jump into action? Seriously.

Happy 2009!

I can't believe it's already the 15th of the new year...back to life and back to reality.
A few things have happened over the past few weeks that have made my heart just hurt...
1. My friends Kimberly and Miller lost their baby boy at 18 weeks - my thoughts have been wtih them this week and I know the Lord will keep them strong and provide peace during this hard time.
2. My cat Sugar was finally put to sleep last week - turns out she had severe renal failure, so I am glad she is not suffering anymore.
3. Will's golf coach at UNCC left to take the head coach job at Duke. He was a great coach for Will and I hope the team can still do well this spring despite the changes. I don't want Will to get distracted too much about where he will be next year, so that it affects his performance.
4. I had to tell Kanakuk that I could not go on the Rwanda mission trip this spring - in the end, it was a very expensive trip and things didn't really fall into place for me to go. Hopefully, I will have an opportunity to return to Africa soon...
5. I just worked 75 hours for FREE at the AU Employee/Student Pharmacy over Christmas break...did I mention for FREE?!

But there are many things going on in my life that give me cause to rejoice:
1. Kimmie is going to have baby Isaac any day now...
2. I have 3 interviews lined up for residency (UAB, Wake, UNC) and am hoping to hear from the others soon!
3. I was able to visit Sarah and Kimber in Atlanta a week and a half ago...it was great to be with old friends.
4. Florida won the national championship...yeah for the SEC
5. I went to two AU basketball games over the break and my dad caught me a t-shirt! No really, have you seen how excited people get over winning a t-shirt? They go crazy...for a t-shirt!
6. I am graduating in 3 months and 20 days...but who's counting?
7. I have today OFF and next Monday OFF!!