Oh dear it’s been a while….

Well it’s been awhile since I last posted on this blog and I hope all of you have not entirely given up on me. This is reminiscent of that time I started a diary with 100 pages in it and it took me around five years to finish it.  I will try to not let my blog go the same route.

Anyway, I have a specific topic in mind today that I would like to write about so I might as well get started. Looks like my last post was almost a year ago (whoops) and around that time I was getting ready to graduate from university. Well….I graduated….and I’m still working at the pharmacy as an assistant. Still trying to figure my life out. My degree hangs proudly on the wall, framed and all. Occasionally I dust it. This is my life. But it hasn’t been all bad. Searching for a career related job has been tough and still on going, but I have made some friends in the process.

It is almost a year since I started working at the pharmacy and what a journey it has been. I have a novels worth of customer stories and have seriously debated starting my own Pharmacy Problems twitter account. Seriously, the things people say to me blows my mind on a regular basis. I’m sure most people in retail experience this. However, what I really want to talk about ties into the importance of the month of March for pharmacies in Canada. March is pharmacist awareness month.

I know. That’s a thing.

I didn’t even know it was a thing until this month and have absolutely no idea how long this has been a thing.  But if my six years of pharmacy experience have taught me anything, this month is greatly needed.  A lot of what happens in a pharmacy goes on behind the scenes and because of that, I feel that people do not fully understand what your pharmacy team does for you. On that note, I do work in a locally owned, small, family business and so I can’t speak for big box store type pharmacies.  But I do know that my pharmacy team works hard and goes the extra mile on a regular basis to provide excellent care to you and yours. And about 85% of the time we receive sh*t from patients for events that are not our fault. For example, it is not my fault that your doctor did not write a strength or directions on your prescription and that their office is now closed for the day and so we cannot contact him/her to ask what they wanted to write down.

Just a disclaimer for those who don’t have experience with pharmacy related things, this is a real example that happens more often than you probably want to know.  For further reading I thought I’d leave you this little gem which I found on my internet travels.

Why your prescription takes so damn long

Back to the subject at hand, Pharmacist Awareness Month is a way to let people know what your pharmacist actually does for you. To spread awareness, my boss came up with the excellent idea that we should do a video for our YouTube channel.  Thus, our Jimmy Fallon inspired hashtag video was born.  I hope it provides you with a few laughs.

Post University Woes

I recently finished the last term of my undergraduate degree and am currently job-hunting and not-so-patiently waiting for my convocation ceremony in June. My courses finished in December and I could hardly contain my excitement the day of my last exam. I felt that a chapter of my life was ending and the door to a bright future was opening before me. But as I am entering the fourth month since my courses ended, my excitement is beginning to fade and fear and anxiety are creeping into its place. I am now faced with the exhilarating but also terrifying question, “What next?” A question that seems to be the favourite of my family and friends and a question I have yet to figure out myself.

Lately, I seem to have settled into a woe-is-me slump consisting of lazing around the house in my housecoat perusing every single job listing I can find, only to come away dejected that out of hundreds of posting there are only a handful I am qualified to apply for. And “qualified” being a bit of a stretch. I have redone my resume so many times for various positions that I feel as if I should receive a certificate for excellence in bullshitting. While I have had a few bites, nothing substantial has yet to come. If I think too hard about the future I find myself beginning to panic and spiral into a “I’m going to be homeless” rampage and “Maybe I can fashion my degree into an umbrella to keep me dry when it rains.” Eventually I run out of steam and am well aware that both of these ideas are completely ridiculous. I am educated and have worked hard to earn my bachelors degree. There will be tons of opportunities for me…..right?

Perhaps my biggest problem is that I live in a small city. I love where I live and I love that my childhood home and my family are only a 40 minute drive away. I love that my friends of ten years and more are living around me. I find myself feeling that this is exactly where I want to be, however, the job market is telling me otherwise. I am slowly coming to the realization that if I want to find these opportunities and begin my career I will most likely have to move to a larger city or even to a different province. While both options seem exciting to me, I am also afraid. I will be far away from everyone I have ever loved and cared for. But I will be striking out and creating a path of my own. I am fortunate in that I will have my partner of three and a half years to support me, a partner who is no stranger to carving his own path.

For me, finishing university has been a lot harder than I thought it would be.  I have been in school all my life and am now on completely unfamiliar ground (I should mention I am also getting really good at pretending like I know what I’m doing and should probably receive a certificate for that as well).  However, as I finish writing this post, I am already beginning to feel more confident about uprooting and flying from the nest. It will be a great adventure and I’m sure it won’t be a complete disaster….

It’ll be fine.