During my freshman year in high school, my science teacher assigned us to interview people in the community about how they use science in their careers. Although I don’t remember most of the people I spoke with, I can tell you that I spent meaningful time with a local community pharmacist who changed my life.
What I saw was a man who loved his career and truly cared for his patients. In an instant, I knew that I wanted to become a pharmacist, and I never wavered from that goal throughout high school.
Knowing what you want to be when you grow up at age 14 is unusual, but it is very liberating. I simply had to work backwards to figure out how to achieve my goal of becoming a pharmacist.
After high school, I chose to attend Ohio Northern University (ONU) because it had a unique pharmacy program. Rather than attending college for 2 years and then applying to the pharmacy program, ONU students were admitted to the College of Pharmacy from day one.
Although it was expensive, being in pharmacy school from day one and avoiding the risk of rejection made it worthwhile for me.
In college, I spent a lot of time in the library. Although the classwork was difficult, I did well with one exception: organic chemistry.
I did fail organic chemistry—a notorious “weed out” course—but I successfully retook the class over the summer and graduated on time with the rest of my classmates. Failing a course is a difficult stumbling block, but I stood strong and persevered.
Today, I’m thankful for the wonderful pharmacy profession for so many reasons.
First, I’m thankful that community pharmacists are the health care professionals most accessible to the public. If my local pharmacist wasn’t accessible to me, then I likely would have taken a different career path.
Second, I’m proud of the work we pharmacists do, the diversity of our career options, and the relationships we share with our patients and fellow health care providers.
Pharmacy is a profession that makes a real difference in people’s lives. It certainly has made all the difference in mine.
Boyfriend/Girlfriend, home, Illinois, Movies & TV, USA | Romantic | December 10, 2018
(There’s a cartoon series that I really like, and I’ve finally talked my girlfriend into watching it with me. Note that she’s really into cars, and I’m not. We get a few episodes in, and she’s enjoying the series, when we see the main character driving for the first time, and she sits bolt upright.)
Girlfriend: “Oh, my God! The car he’s driving! Do you know what that is?!”
Me: “Um… It’s an old car?”
Girlfriend: “That’s a Mercedes Benz SSK! That’s one of the rarest cars in the world! Less than 40 were ever made! Holy cow, I can’t believe they included that! That’s so awesome!”
(As she’s waxing poetic about the car, I remember what comes next in this episode, and freeze. Sure enough, only a minute or two after it appears onscreen, the driver crashes, and the cartoon car is totaled.)
Girlfriend: “…”
Me: “…”
Girlfriend: “NOOOOOOOO!”
Me: “They wreck that car about once per episode. You’re probably not going to watch this with me anymore, are you?”
Girlfriend: “It may do bad things to my blood pressure.”
(She did eventually watch more of it with me, but the car remains a running joke between us!)
Bad Behavior, Bizarre, Car, Health & Body, Idaho, Pocatello, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | December 8, 2018
(I have PTSD from being in a severe car accident as a child that resulted in a traumatic brain injury. I am mostly recovered and normal as an adult. I prefer to have my wife drive on days when my PTSD is acting up. There’s just this one thing: when she’s driving and sneezes, she grips the wheel with a death grip, shuts her eyes tight, and shakes the wheel side-to-side, making the whole vehicle move side-to-side on the road. This is brown-pants-level terrifying for me. She thinks I’m being a baby about it. We have a dumb fight over it, and then get over it. The next week her parents are in town. Her father is driving us somewhere and he’s driving way above the speed limit. Suddenly, he sneezes, and in doing so, grips and shakes the wheel violently, which causes the vehicle to suddenly merge into a different lane.)
Wife: *with terror in her eyes* “Sorry about last week. You were right.”
California, Harassment, Liars/Scammers, Los Angeles, Strangers, Street, USA | Romantic | December 6, 2018
(I am out late at night, walking to a convenience store. I lead a largely nocturnal schedule so I sometimes have to go to stores at night. I live in an okay neighborhood, but not completely safe, so I do my best not to look like an attractive target for harassment or robbery. There is nothing I can do to hide being female, but I wear old frumpy clothes, going for a look somewhere between “poor” and “homeless.” This evening, about a block before I reach the store, a young guy in sweats and a hoodie, who’s casually walking in the other direction by me on the street, suddenly stops and turns to me.)
Guy: “Hey. Do you have any change to spare for me so I can take the bus?”
(It is too late for any bus line in this area to be running. I don’t carry any cash, in any case.)
Me: “No, I don’t. Sorry.”
Guy: “Oh, okay.” *goes on his way*
(Half a minute later, when he’s walked at least four house lengths away from me
Guy: “Hey! Hey! HEY! HEY! HEY!”
(I turn around and see he’s actually got his hands around the sides of his mouth to more effectively shout at me.)
Guy: “Hey! Do you wanna [unintelligible]?”
(I make a gesture that I don’t understand him.)
Guy: “Do you wanna [unintelligible]?”
(I make another gesture that I can’t hear.)
Guy: “Do you wanna [unintelligible]?”
(The best I could make it out in the moment, it sounded something like, “Do you wanna fight?” I was bit alarmed, and gestured again that I couldn’t hear him. Instead of doing anything sensible, like walking closer to me, the guy started making the “come here” beckoning gesture with his hands that is usually only made to little children. Having had quite enough of this dude bothering me, and having recently had another bad experience after a man made that same exact “come here” hand gesture at me and I was stupid enough to obey, I physically reared back while making a very alarmed expression, turned back around, and hurried super-fast in the opposite direction from him, to the store I was going to. Luckily, he didn’t follow me. Later, after going over the sounds in my head several times, I realized he had actually been calling at me, “Do you wanna ride?” Yes, the guy who’d just thirty seconds previously asked me to give him change so that he could take a — non-existent — bus, now decided it made sense to try to lure me in by offering me a ride.)
Food & Drink, Geography, Non-Dialogue, Oklahoma, Restaurant, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | December 4, 2018
A few years ago my husband I traveled from Ireland to the USA to complete a coast-to-coast road trip. One day we stopped for lunch in a restaurant that sold every variety of soda you can think of.
At the time, I had seen a lot of talk online about the Mexican version of a popular soda; people were going crazy over it because it apparently tasted so much better than the American version. The restaurant had the Mexican version in stock — at an inflated price of course — and I decided to order one to see what the fuss was about.
My drinks arrived and I took a sip, only to find it tasted exactly like the soda at home. I asked my husband to try it, too, and he said the same thing. That’s when I realised that the Mexican version of the soda is made with real cane sugar, just like in Ireland, and the American version is made with fructose corn syrup. I basically traveled all the way to America to pay through the nose for the same drink we can get at home! My husband still hasn’t let me live it down
Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Food & Drink, home, Lazy/Unhelpful, Norfolk, USA, Virginia | Romantic | December 2, 2018
(My boyfriend says that his parents will be in town for a brief visit in two weeks and have expressed an interest in meeting me. We decide that a quiet dinner at my home would be best, which I don’t mind, as I enjoy playing host. As I’m trying to plan the menu, I keep sending my boyfriend recipe ideas and asking him about his parents’ preferences.)
Me: “Is there any food your parents particularly like or dislike? Do they like spicy food or prefer to keep it mild? Are there any foods they’re allergic to? Do they have any sort of dietary restrictions I should know about?”
Boyfriend: “I’m sure anything you pick out will be wonderful and they’ll love it.”
Me: “Yes, but I also want to be considerate of their tastes.”
Boyfriend: “You’re overthinking it. You’re an awesome cook, and they’ll love whatever you make for them.”
(Realizing I’m not going to get any sort of help, I plan what I think to be a well-rounded menu complete with salad, an appetizer that contains shellfish, a main course featuring beef tenderloin, and a dessert that contains chocolate. Fast forward to the fateful evening; food-wise, everything is coming out looking delicious. I meet the parents, and while they seem to respond favorably to me, I notice between the two of them they’ve barely touched their food. I don’t want to call attention to this fact, but I’m worried something is wrong. They end up excusing themselves early, asking my boyfriend to take them back to his home. He quickly sneaks in a kiss on the way out, saying he’ll call. An hour later he calls.)
Me: “So, is everything all right? Your parents didn’t seem to like the anything I made for them and were wanting to get out of here pretty quickly.”
Boyfriend: “Yeah, the food was a bust for them. We’re at [Nearby Restaurant] right now and they’re getting something to eat. I excused myself to the bathroom to call you really quick.”
Me: “Did I do something wrong?”
Boyfriend: “I thought your food was delicious.” *sigh* “It’s just that… Well, my father doesn’t eat any type of salad except potato salad. My mother is a pescetarian, meaning she’ll eat fish, but not meat, and the only beef my father will eat is ground beef. Not to mention the only types of side dishes he’ll eat are either pasta, potatoes, or biscuits, not vegetables like you made. Oh, and my mother is allergic to chocolate.”
Me: “…”
Boyfriend: “…”
Me: *annoyed* “And you didn’t think any of this information was important enough to tell me when I was planning the menu? I asked you about these things and was told, ‘whatever I make is fine.’”
Boyfriend: “Yeah, I f***** up, didn’t I?”
Me: “Big time.”
(And that’s the story of how I first met — and starved — my in-laws. Since I’ve been with their son, they’ve come to love the dishes I make, as long as I keep their preferences and dietary restrictions in mind.)
Coworkers, Harassment, Kansas, Non-Dialogue, Office, Rude & Risque, USA | Romantic | November 30, 2018
I have been working at my current company for about three years now as a trainer. This company seems to experience higher-than-average turnover due to the stress of the job and lack of management. I recently announced that I will be leaving this company to become a trainer elsewhere. As soon as I announced that I was leaving, one of the employees I trained started acting a little “friendly.” It seems that he has always had a crush on me, but has kept it professional.
When he heard that I was leaving, he asked me to go get a drink with him, multiple times. I turned down each request, as I am married; he is even friends with my husband. However, tonight I received a direct message from him on Facebook, followed by a picture notification. Dreading what it contained, I had my husband open it. Yep. Dick pic. It was accompanied by a message saying, “You always make me laugh. I wish you weren’t leaving.”
Hotel, Parents/Guardians, Silly, USA | Romantic | November 28, 2018
(This takes place in the midwest of the USA in the 1970s. I wasn’t born at the time this story took place but I’ve heard it multiple times. My father is your stereotypical New Englander, which includes hating to spend money. When my parents first met, my dad owned two suits; he’d wear one all week, then take it to the dry cleaners and wear the second for a week. He also had only one belt, which Mom says “was held together by about 200 staples,” because he refused to spend money on a new belt. One of the first things she did when they got married was buy him several new suits. He has to go on a business trip and this is what happens when he returns.)
Dad: “You dressed me too nicely!”
Mom: “Why? What happened?”
Dad: “When I got into the elevator, a woman got in with me, leaned over, and whispered how nice I looked and asked if I would like to go back to her room!”
Mom: *trying not to laugh at Dad’s ignorance* “Honey, that was a prostitute!”
home, Language & Words, Sillly, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | November 26, 2018
(When my TV is on but idle, it runs a slideshow of various photos and paintings. One night when my partner and I are settling in, we turn on the TV to the image of a bright orange sunset. My partner was an art student, and often has to explain to me who famous artists are.)
Partner: “Wow. That’s pretty. It looks… Aya Surani.”
Me: “Oh? Does she shoot landscapes and stuff like this?”
Partner: *clearly confused* “Wha… No, from Lord of the Rings. It looks Eye of Sauron-y.”
(When I explained what I thought I’d heard, we had a good laugh for about five minutes. I just assumed Aya Surani was a photographer I’d never heard of. The kicker? My partner hasn’t even seen the movies or read the books!)
A Long Time Ago, In A Ballet Performance Far Far Away
Ballet, Geeks Rule, Musical Mayhem, New York, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | November 24, 2018
(My husband and I are at a performance of Balanchine’s “Stravinsky Violin Concerto,” which is a “mood” piece with no specific plot. I love ballet; my husband is not such a fan. This conversation happens during intermission.)
Husband: *frowning* “I don’t get it. There’s no storyline. I don’t understand what it’s supposed to mean.”
Me: “Think of it like an abstract painting. Or… wait.” *thinking fast* “Remember when Luke and Yoda were on Dagobah, and Luke was going into that forest where Darth Vader was, and he asked Yoda, ‘What’s in there?’ and Yoda said, ‘Only what you take with you.’? It’s kind of like that. It’s what you take with you.”
Husband: “So, the stage is a cave filled with the Dark Side of the Force?”
Me: “Uh, yeah. If it helps.”
Husband: *nodding sagely* “Oh. Okay. I get it now.”
It’s About The Turkey, See The Stuffing, The Potatoes Are So Mellow, I Yam What I Yam
Roundups | Friendly Healthy Hopeless Learning Legal Related Right Romantic Working | November 22, 2018
In memory of our little experiment with a different style of titles, we offer up a Thanksgiving spread of stories with absolutely normal titles. Feast upon some of our best-loved tales of the foods of Thanksgiving, including some all-time favorites!
Talking Turkey – Sometimes it’s the simple things.
Going Red About The Green – What’s the matter, pumpkin pie?
A Barrel Of Laughs – By any chance, did the writer fall in… and were they wearing green? It would explain the previous story…
Not Talking Turkey This Thanksgiving – Fare is fair!
Pranksgiving – That’s not how a turducken works.
Not Talking Enough Turkey – He likes his turkey as dry as a martini, but hold the booze and give it to the poor server!
A Cocktail Of Lies And Cookies – He likes his cookies like… Wait. Never mind.
Wasn’t Born In The Pumpkin Patch – Guess he won’t get a visit from The Great Pumpkin, either.
With Great Bacon Comes Great Responsibility – Some love it. Some hate it. Some say everything is better with bacon.
A Monster Mash Potato – We think it sounds tasty…
More Thanks-taking Than Thanksgiving – This story of turkey-grabbing mayhem is a favorite for good reason!
We give thanks for the things we have, the friends and family we love, and the end of those goofy titles. Now, let’s eat!
Car, Engaged, Ignoring & Inattentive, UK | Romantic | November 22, 2018
(My fiancé and I are in the car with my fiancé in the driver’s seat. We are heading down a long road that has at least two traffic light crossings very close together. As we are approaching the first set of lights, they turn red, but the car is not slowing down. Slightly panicked, I alert my fiancé.)
Me: *voice rising in pitch* “You’re going to run a red light, [Fiancé]!”
(He slams on the brakes and comes to a sharp halt just before the crossing, staring ahead.)
Fiancé: “That could’ve been bad.”
(I notice that on the other side of the crossing, waiting for the light to turn green, is a police car.)
Me: “I can’t believe you almost ran a red light in front of a cop! Did you not see that it was red?”
Fiancé: *sheepishly* “All I saw was green. I saw the cop car… just not the red light.”
Me: “Are you colourblind?”
(My fiancé eventually explains that he was looking ahead at the second crossing, which was green, and completely forgot about the crossing he was approaching. He was very glad I stopped him from running a red light in full view of a police car. This will make for a great story to bring up next time he criticises my driving skills.)
Need To Put More Than A Hundred Feet Between Me And You
California, Gas Station, Harassment, Los Angeles, Strangers, USA | Romantic | November 20, 2018
(My car’s gas gauge is wonky, and one time my car unexpectedly runs out of gas while on the road, around early afternoon. Luckily, traffic is sparse and I am in my neighborhood, maybe 100 feet from a gas station. I manage to park on the side of the street, fish my empty gas can out of the backseat, and walk the 100 feet across an intersection to the gas station. As I’m crouching down near one of the pumps, filling up the gas can, some dude suddenly looms right over my head. I can see his pickup truck with its door open parked right behind him; it’s obvious he’s not an employee here. It’s just as obvious that he’s not here to get gas, himself.)
Dude: “Uh… so… Um-hmm…”
(I ignore him and pretend to be terribly busy. Nothing good has EVER come to me from talking to strange men.)
Dude: *inching even closer to me* “Uhh… Um-HEM! HI! HELLO! MISS!”
(I sigh. Clearly he’s not going away.)
Me: *side-eyeing him* “Yes?”
Dude: *suggestively* “Soooo… I just saw you walking down the street with your gas can while I was driving.”
(There is a very expectant pause while he’s staring at me hard enough that it’s almost like he’s attempting hypnosis. Already knowing where this is going, I put on a sweet, condescending tone of voice and a fake smile.)
Me: “That’s great for you!”
(I immediately dropped the smile and turned away from him again. He was somewhat flustered at this, but wouldn’t you just know it – he persisted in repeatedly offering me “a ride” to my car, anyway. Shockingly, I said no. Several times over. He finally left, with extreme reluctance. I have a very high skepticism that it’s even possible he didn’t see how close my car was parked, but frankly, even if I had to walk 100 miles instead of 100 feet, I’d never have agreed to get into his truck. 100 feet! That’s how little it takes to have a creep notice you walking alone down a street and decide to follow you in his car!)
Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Language & Words, Long Distance, Phone, Silly, USA | Romantic | November 18, 2018
(My boyfriend and I have a tricky arrangement where he works almost two hours away and stays there rather than commuting every day. He usually comes home for a long weekend, but something comes up and he has to stay for two weeks.)
Me: “I wish you were here. For snuggling. And smooching.”
Boyfriend: *laughs* “And other things that begin with S?”
California, Musical Mayhem, Pets & Animals, Spouses & Partners, USA, Vet | Romantic | November 16, 2018
(My husband and I have been talking about getting a new cat for a while now. I’m set on getting a rescue, but my husband is set on getting the same breed as our last cat, who was a retired grand champion Scottish Fold. One morning one of our clients comes in with a stray cat she found. She can’t keep him because all her cats hate him, so the doctor agrees that he can wait out the stray hold period with us. Before I even start work that day it is already decided by all of my coworkers that if he doesn’t get claimed I am taking him home. He is a scrawny cat with folded ears, obviously a half-breed with an American Shorthair on the other side. My husband comes by to pick me up for lunch and gets taken back to the kennel room to meet the cat. It is love at first sight, and on the way to lunch we have the following conversation.)
Husband: “So… what’s his name?”
Me: “We haven’t decided yet. The doc was thinking Hamish or Shamish, [Coworker #1 ] voted for Haggis, and [Coworker #2 ] said Macbeth. I was thinking maybe Jamie for the Doctor Who character… What do you suggest?”
Husband: “Well… I mean he is handsome, and boy, does he know it.”
Me: “Yeah, he is.”
Husband: “And he has those intelligent eyes and a hunger pang frame.”
Me: “Yes, he does.”
Husband: “And you look into those eyes and you’re helpless, right?”
Me: “Yeah… What are you getting at?”
Husband: “You haven’t figured it out yet?”
Me: “No…”
Husband: “Well, babe, he’s—” *starts singing* “—a b*****d, orphan, son of a w**** and a Scotsman, dropped in a forgotten spot in [Shopping Center].”
Me: *finally catching on* “Oh, dear.”
Husband: “Alexander Hamilcat! His name is Alexander Hamilcat, and there’s a million things he hasn’t done, but just you wait, just you wait…”
(We took Alexander home a month later. He is curled up in my lap as I type this.)
Flirting, home, New York, Revolting, Silly, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | November 12, 2018
(My husband walks into our bedroom, naked, and slithers up into bed with me.)
Husband: “So, I was just in the bathroom trying to poop, and I thought, ‘What do most guys do while they’re trying to poop, but can’t? Probably watch porn. Hmm. I’m going to go have sex with my wife, instead!’”
Health & Body, home, Ireland, Lazy/Unhelpful, Spouses & Partners | Romantic | November 10, 2018
(My husband gets dozens of zits from dry skin if he doesn’t apply cream to his body after showering. He is lazy to do it and I constantly nag him about it. He also stubbornly claims that the cream does nothing for it, despite knowing full well it does. One day we have this lovely conversation.)
Me: “You should apply cream more often.”
Husband: *interrupts me mid-sentence, triumphantly* “I did, just yesterday! See? You did not notice!”
Me: *simultaneously finishing my sentence* “…because you did yesterday and look, your skin looks so lovely.”
(He got that “busted” look on his face while I was grinning from ear to ear, and honestly he has been doing a big better on the “applying cream” front since then.)
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