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.
If You Still Have Underwear By Sunday You’re Not Doing It Right
Health & Body, home, Massachusetts, Silly, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | January 13, 2019
(My husband has two hearing aids, and I often forget about them in the early morning before he puts them back in after showering, which makes for some interesting conversations. He is also terrible about sorting clothes when he puts laundry away, so things like socks and underwear always end up in the wrong place.)
Me: “Tomorrow’s Saturday, right? Do we have anything going on?”
Husband: *not hearing, and pulling something out of his drawer* “I have a pair of your underwear.”
It Needs To Be A Nudge Nudge Wink Wink Before It’s Official
Extra Stupid, Flirting, Harassment, Hungary, School, Schoolmates, Strangers | Romantic | January 12, 2019
(I have glasses, and sometimes when they get dirty I close one of my eyes and look to see if it’s that side of the glasses or the other that’s dirty. I am walking to class and I see some blurriness, so I do the thing I mentioned. I close one of my eyes and look. Then I notice a boy looking funny at me. I brush it off because not everyone does what I do. It is later that day when I am waiting in the hall and browsing NotAlwaysRight. The same guy I saw sits down next to me and starts to lean in and play bad music on his speaker. I just keep sitting there, still reading.)
Guy: “Soooo… a couple of hours ago…”
Me: *looks up and waits for him to continue*
Guy: *raises eyebrow*
Me: *still waiting*
Guy: *starts to lean in, probably for a kiss*
Me: “Uh. You okay?”
Guy: “Yeah? Why? You scared?”
Me: “No, just confused.”
Guy: “What’s confusing? You were winking at me just a while ago!”
Me: “…” *remembers this is the same dude as before* “Sorry, I was just looking through my glasses.”
Guy: “Yeah, right.” *stands up and starts to leave*
Me: “Well… good luck to the next girl you want to randomly kiss in the hall.”
Guy: *looks at me surprised and hurries away*
(Peeps, if you think someone is winking at you, that doesn’t mean you can just kiss ’em.)
home, New York, Silly, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | January 11, 2019
(I am a fairly large-chested woman. My husband and I are medieval re-enactors, discussing the type of costumes I’d like him to make for me. We’ve settled on a style of men’s clothing that includes a codpiece.)
Husband: “I promise I won’t go overboard on the codpiece.”
Me: “Thank you. I’d like to enter the room at the same time as it does.”
Husband: *indicating my chest* “Just so you know, that gives me a lot of leeways.”
Chicago, Coworkers, Extra Stupid, Illinois, Police, Police Station, Spouses & Partners, USA | Friendly Legal Romantic | January 10, 2019
(My cousin is a very masculine, straight-acting police officer. The following exchange takes place in his precinct.)
Officer: “God, my wife is driving me nuts. Women, huh? Doesn’t your wife just make you crazy sometimes?”
Cousin: “I don’t have a wife.”
Officer: “Ah, sorry, I saw the ring. Divorced, huh?”
Cousin: “No.”
Officer: “Oh. Widowed?”
Cousin: “No, I’m definitely still married.”
Officer: *now very confused* “So, you do have a wife?”
Cousin: *starting to snicker at the routine* “No.”
Officer: *as several other cops within earshot also start to crack up* “I don’t understand.”
Sergeant: *yelling in exasperation* “He’s married to a man and therefore has a husband! Jesus Christ, [Officer], how do you expect to make detective with those deductive reasoning skills?”
Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Extra Stupid, Grocery Store, Oklahoma, USA | Romantic | January 10, 2019
(My boyfriend has taken a liking to a European candy that randomly showed up in our local grocery store, but once they run out of the first shipment they never seem to restock. We find the same candy at another branch of the store, but the packaging seems much smaller than the ones we got before.)
Boyfriend: “Huh, these only come in fours; the ones we got before were in eights.”
Me: “Maybe we accidentally had two stuck together last time and didn’t realize.”
Boyfriend: “That couldn’t be it. The alarms would have gone off, then, wouldn’t they?”
Me: *looking at him quizzically* “Huh?”
Boyfriend: “Yeah, if you don’t scan the barcode, then the alarms by the doors will detect it and go off, right?”
Me: *fighting down laughter* “That… that’s not… those sensors detect the electronic tags they put on expensive items, not barcodes!”
Boyfriend: “What?”
Me: *still trying not to laugh* “How would it detect a barcode through your bags? Even the checkouts can’t do that!”
Boyfriend: “So… Wait, what keeps people from stealing the stuff without tags?!”
Me: “Cameras and common decency!”
(I swear my boyfriend is normally very smart, but I was reminded very strongly that day that he has never in his life worked retail.)
Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Extra Stupid, Grocery Store, Oklahoma, USA | Romantic | January 10, 2019
(My boyfriend has taken a liking to a European candy that randomly showed up in our local grocery store, but once they run out of the first shipment they never seem to restock. We find the same candy at another branch of the store, but the packaging seems much smaller than the ones we got before.)
Boyfriend: “Huh, these only come in fours; the ones we got before were in eights.”
Me: “Maybe we accidentally had two stuck together last time and didn’t realize.”
Boyfriend: “That couldn’t be it. The alarms would have gone off, then, wouldn’t they?”
Me: *looking at him quizzically* “Huh?”
Boyfriend: “Yeah, if you don’t scan the barcode, then the alarms by the doors will detect it and go off, right?”
Me: *fighting down laughter* “That… that’s not… those sensors detect the electronic tags they put on expensive items, not barcodes!”
Boyfriend: “What?”
Me: *still trying not to laugh* “How would it detect a barcode through your bags? Even the checkouts can’t do that!”
Boyfriend: “So… Wait, what keeps people from stealing the stuff without tags?!”
Me: “Cameras and common decency!”
(I swear my boyfriend is normally very smart, but I was reminded very strongly that day that he has never in his life worked retail.)
Boston, Extra Stupid, Geography, home, Massachusetts, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | January 9, 2019
(When my wife and I are still dating, we usually stop by her parents’ place when we finish working on Fridays. On this particular Friday, we are going to have a barbecue. However, before we get there, my future father-in-law, who is doing the cooking, desperately needs the bathroom. Given that his wife is busy working on dessert and his other daughter is fast asleep, he trusts his son to man the grill while he runs in to do his business. This is his son who, despite pushing 30, has never cooked anything without a microwave. By the time we walk in the door, the whole meal is charcoal.)
Wife: “How about we just get some sandwiches from [Irish Name]’s?”
(We all agree and write down our orders.)
Wife: “I’ll help them clean up. Why don’t you go get the sandwiches? Follow [Her Street] to [Major Street]. [Irish Name]’s is right on the corner there.”
(Off I walk. When I get to the intersection, I am directly in front of a barbershop. Across [Her Street] from the barbershop is a Western Union. Across [Major Street] from the barbershop is a gas station and body shop. Across [Major Street] from the Western Union is a condominium. There’s not one place called [Irish Name]’s. Without a clue, a pop into the barbershop to ask if any of them know of [Irish Name]’s. The two barbers have never heard of any such place. I know I didn’t mishear which street I’m supposed to stop at. Even if I did, following her street the other way to the next major street would take me to a church, a cemetery, and two private houses. So, I walk up this street until I get to the next intersection. There’s a mini-mart — no sandwiches — an apartment building, a florist, and a dentist. I walk back the other way. A bakery — no sandwiches — a Chinese restaurant, a cab depot, and a realtor. Out of ideas and having wasted a fair bit of time, I walk back to her parents’ house.)
Wife: “Where have you been? And where are the sandwiches?”
Me: “Where am I going?”
Wife: “[Irish Name]’s!”
Me: “Where is it?”
Wife: “ON THE CORNER!”
Me: “There is no [Irish Name]’s on any corner.”
Wife: “Of course there is! I got my lunch there just last week!”
Me: “Well, the barbers down the corner said they’ve never heard of it. How about you show me where?”
(The two of us walk back down to [Major Street]. She leads me across towards the gas station… and then continues walking past it.)
Me: *pointing behind us* “You said it was on this corner.”
Wife: “It is!”
(She walks into the building directly behind the gas station.)
Me: “This isn’t the corner. The gas station is on the corner.”
Wife: “Gas stations don’t count. This is the corner.”
(Unwilling to continue this discussion, I just roll my eyes. As I do, I glance at the name of the place we’ve walked into.)
Me: “This also isn’t [Irish Name]’s. This is [Italian Name with a completely different starting letter and more syllables]’s.”
Wife: “This place is always being sold and renamed. We don’t bother following. It was [Irish Name]’s when we first moved here, so we just call it [Irish Name]’s.”
Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Games, home, Language & Words, Pennsylvania, USA | Romantic | January 8, 2019
(My boyfriend and I are playing a video game where you can get hit with electricity that either shocks or stuns you. We’re playing on two different monitors. He gets hit.)
Boyfriend: “Oh, no, I’m stunned.”
(About five minutes later, I hear
Boyfriend: “Now I’m shocked.”
Me: *not able to help myself* “What’s next? You’re going to be appalled?”
Harassment, home, Phone, Strangers, Tennessee, USA | Romantic | January 7, 2019
(It’s very late at night, and I am sound asleep when my phone rings.)
Me: *groggily* “H’lo?”
Voice: “[Not My Name]? [Not My Name], it’s Bob.”
Me: “Bob?”
Voice: “Yes. I need to know how you feel about me.”
Me: “What?”
Voice: “Look. I’ve been in love with you for years, and I need to know if you feel the same way.”
Me: “Who is this?”
Voice: *impatiently* “It’s Bob; you know me!”
Me: “It’s 2:30 in the morning. I don’t know who you are, and if you were in love with me, then you’d know better than to call me at this hour.”
Voice: “Look! I just—“
Me: “If you want to talk to me about this, find me and talk to me about it in broad daylight. I don’t love anybody right now. I’m tired. Goodbye.”
(I hung up and went back to sleep. I never got another phone call from the mysterious Bob, and no one ever confessed their hitherto unknown love for me. Seriously, though, there is no confession of love that can’t wait until at least sunrise
Bizarre, Harassment, New Zealand, Non-Dialogue, Park, Strangers | Romantic | January 6, 2019
This happens when I am a single 24-year-old. I am walking home through my local park around nine pm — so wickedly late! — when a girl comes up to me. She’s young, maybe 16 or so, and she tells me she’s been sent over by her friend sitting at the picnic tables to ask me for my number. Apparently, her male friend is too shy to ask me himself.
While this might be considered cute to some, I have literally never seen this boy in my life before. I find it stupid and creepy. But then, I have an idea. While I have no interest in the boy, I am curious about his tactics. I let the girl take my number, and she gives me hers as well as his, so I have some back up that he’s “not a creep or anything.”
About an hour later the young man texts me. Nothing spectacular, but with traditional w1ck3d l33t txt sp33k, with no sense of grammar or spelling, asking me about maybe a date. I text back with proper spelling, capitalization, and grammar — as a hint — to suggest that I don’t know him at all, and point out that asking some stranger for their number in the middle of the night is not the smartest thing to do.
Two more rounds of text ensue; he seems puzzled by my lack of interest. Finally, I drop my kicker.
“You don’t know me at all. I’m just some stranger from the park. For all you know, I could be a psychotic ax-murderer.”
Strangely, he never texted me again after that.
I always wonder if he got the hint about harassing strange women, or if he went around freaked out that he might have just gotten himself put onto a hit list.
Bad Behavior, Canada, Exes/Old Flames, Fights/Breakups, home | Romantic | January 4, 2019
(Things my soon-to-be-ex told me, in reference to his five-plus-year affair, and my sarcastic responses…)
Scumbag: “No, I wasn’t planning to divorce you so I could marry her. Of course not! I was doing it for you, in case you might want to marry again.”
Me: “Wow! With that level of selfless concern for others, the only reason you haven’t been canonized is that you’re not Catholic.”
Scumbag: “She was really more of a friend than anything else. We were just best friends at work.”
Me: “Oh, I see. So, I guess you also f*** Joe, your non-work best friend?”
Scumbag: “I preferred her because we never had conflict. She was more accepting.”
Me: “Imagine that. One boozy, lying cheater is more accepting of another boozy, lying cheater’s boozing, lying, cheating ways? Who’d’ve thunk it? You mean to tell me there’s no conflict in a relationship when you do everything a woman asks of you and constantly kiss her a**? You think maybe you should have tried that with me instead of being a selfish asshole for our entire marriage? Hmm?”
Scumbag: “I know I cheated but I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”
Me: “Oh, you wanted to divorce me to be with her but still have me in your life. So, you figured we’d do what, have threeways?”
Scumbag: “I do still love you, in my way.”
Me: “Aw, so sweet. It’s just a shame your way totally sucks, isn’t it?”
I Used To Be A Weird Husband, But Then I Took An Arrow To The Knee
Bizarre, Games, home, Pennsylvania, Silly, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | January 3, 2019
(My husband is not a gamer, but he really likes watching me use my PlayStation because he enjoys my adventures. It should be noted that in “Dragon Age: Origins,” my character is married to Alistair, who looks and acts a bit like my husband. Currently, I’m playing “Skyrim.” My Dragonborn is married to Farkas, a sweet-natured but somewhat dim hunk of muscle who looks kind of like the Winter Soldier, and I’m walking around our house because I can’t find him.)
Me: “That’s weird; he’s usually right here at the fire, cooking. Or sometimes he’s asleep in the bed.”
Husband: “Maybe he ran off with your housecarl.”
Me: “I don’t think he’s smart enough to come up with that.”
(I finally try the last possible room, which is where my alchemy table is located, and I just have to stop and stare. A glitch has Farkas sitting down INSIDE the alchemy table, so that his head and shoulders are protruding from the top.)
Farkas: “Yes, love?”
Husband: *after a pause* “This is weirder than anything Alistair’s ever done, and I didn’t know that was possible.”
Me: “What I hear you saying is that I have weird taste in husbands.”
Austria, Boyfriend/Girlfriend, Bus, Extra Stupid, Vienna | Romantic | January 2, 2019
(I am on a bus when I overhear these bits and pieces of a conversation between a man and his girlfriend. Apparently the man has bought a children’s ticket — don’t know what for — for himself and is now angry that he’ll have to pay a fine. Apparently it’s really unclear that a man in his 30s probably doesn’t qualify for a children’s ticket. And then he says this gem
Alcohol, Boyfriend/Girlfriend, home, Illinois, Pets & Animals, Silly, USA | Romantic | December 30, 2018
(My boyfriend and I both really want a dog, but between our crazy work hours, we just wouldn’t be able to take care of one. We’re at my parents’ house for a party, and although [Boyfriend] is usually good at pacing himself, tonight, he gets very drunk, and proceeds to spend the next hour petting my parents’ dog — who is loving the attention — and telling her what a good girl she is. I’m helping my parents clean up when I hear him actually singing to the dog! The next day on the drive home, we’re talking about it.)
Boyfriend: “Oh, God, I can’t believe I got that drunk. Did I do anything too embarrassing?”
Me: *laughing* “Define, ‘too embarrassing.’”
Boyfriend: “Oh, God, what did I do?!”
Me: “Nothing bad. You just got really happy and goofy, and you were petting the dog and telling her how awesome she is. You did start singing to her towards the end of the night, though.”
Boyfriend: “Oh, no. I can’t believe I did that in front of your parents!”
Me: “Don’t worry; they don’t care. After you fell asleep, they both had stories about getting drunk and acting stupid in front of each other’s families. They’re definitely not about to hold it against you.”
Boyfriend: “You sure? I still feel bad.”
Me: “I’m very sure. Although…” *laughing* “You never sing to me! Or tell me how pretty and awesome I am! I’m a little jealous of the dog.”
Boyfriend: *guilty* “Of course I love you more than the dog. But… I live with you. I see you every day. I don’t get to see dogs every day; when I do, it’s an occasion!”
At The Checkout, Harassment, Holidays, Pennsylvania, Retail, USA | Right Romantic | December 27, 2018
(It is the holiday season. My shift ends in ten minutes and I just want it to end without incident. My male boss is at the cash register next to me; I’m female. A middle-aged man comes up to the counter; he’s a bit annoying, but seems relatively harmless. He pays and leaves, but comes back after my boss goes off to do other things. I am twenty, but not used to people hitting on me, as I look around fourteen.)
Me: “Hello again.”
Customer: “Just decided to get something else.”
Me: “All right. What was your phone number for the rewards card again?”
Customer: *provides number*
Me: “All ri—“
Customer: “Remember it. I’m free after seven.”
Me: *too creeped out to respond*
Customer: “It was a joke.”
Me: “…”
Customer: “You’re supposed to laugh.”
Me: “Uh-huh.”
(The transaction continues in silence until the computer prompts me to ask if the customer wants his receipt emailed. It does this at random.)
Me: *trying to continue smiling* “Would you be interested in having your receipts and coupons sent directly to your email?”
Customer: “No, but I’ll happily give you my email.”
Me: *failing to continue smiling* “Please confirm the information on the screen. Okay. Your total is [total].”
(He hands me cash. I hand him change and accidentally drop some.)
Me: “Sorry!”
Customer: “Don’t worry; you can throw money at me anytime.” *leaves*
home, Movies & TV, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Spouses & Partners, USA | Romantic | December 24, 2018
(A commercial for Outlander comes on while my husband is watching football. Having enjoyed the story and historical fiction in general, I get distracted and, consequently, stop what I am saying mid-sentence.)
Husband: “I guess I need to get a shirt like that?”
Cheaters, Great Stuff, Holidays, Retail, UK | Right Romantic | December 24, 2018
(I am working on the fragrance counter of a large store on Christmas Eve when a man asks for my help selecting presents — women’s perfume. He tells me he needs two presents, one for under €100 and one under €20. He chooses to go over budget with the more expensive gift, and we are now browsing for the smaller gift.)
Me: “Okay, it seems you like [Fragrance #1 ] more than the others. It costs €25 for 75 mls, which is a little over your budget, but you do get a big bottle, which is good value.”
Customer: “Hmm… Yes, I do like it a lot more than [Fragrance #2 ] and [Fragrance #3 ], but it is a little bit too expensive, seeing as I’ve gone over budget with the other one.”
Me: “Okay, well, we do have [Fragrance #4 ] on sale for €19.99 for 50 mls. It’s a very good brand, and a nice, medium-sized bottle.”
Customer: “Right, I’ll go with that one, then! Any chance you could gift wrap them both for me?”
Me: “Great. Let me just scan them through, and I will wrap them while we put your card through.”
(I wrap them, and then notice that the bottles are hard to tell apart when wrapped in the same paper.)
Me: “Would I be able to put a name on either gift for you, sir? They look very alike, and it might be hard to tell them apart without labeling them.”
Customer: “Oh, they do look the same! Yeah, could you put [Name #1 ] on the [expensive perfume] and [Name #2 ] on the other?”
Me: “No problem. Let me just grab my pen!”
Customer: “Actually… could we swap that around? [Name #2 ] on the [expensive perfume] and [Name #1 ] on the other?”
Me: “Of course.”
Customer: *laughing* “You see one’s for the wife, and the other’s for a colleague… Can’t be mixing them up!”
Me: *smiling and joking with him* “No, you’d be in trouble if you did!”
Customer: “Yeah, the wife mightn’t mind [cheap perfume], but [Name #2 ] told me specifically to get [expensive perfume]!”
Me: “…”
(It made me wonder just how close he and his “colleague” were.)
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