I Always Knew Kate Was My Fave :]

It is official: I have received the best gift in all of giftdom. The gift that gifts me with joy, the gift that gifts me with girly giggles every time I look at it.

What IS the amazing, most wonderful gift, you ask? Well, besides baby Jesus, the best gift of all is:

RONALD WEASLEY'S WAND!!!

"Holy crap" is the most appropriate reaction that I can give here, seeing as how children have access to my blog. Tears of joy wanted so desperately to spew from my eyes, but, hey, I didn't cry. But I DID hug KATHERINE ELIZABETH GATES a fierce hug, one that could have split her in half, I think. I mean, yeah, Christmas Eve is tomorrow, and Christmas day is yet to come, but I'm willing to bet that this will be the best gift I will get. [The best material gift]. SO AMAZING. 

P.S. On the way home from her house, I got pulled over for improper use of my seat belt [the guy was obviously bored and trying to meet his end-o-the-year quota]. The wand was sitting on my pillow in the seat next to me, like a royal scepter, really, and I found myself thinking..."What would Ron Weasley do?" My reasons for the "improper use" apparently weren't good enough, and he wrote me the dang ticket. Jerk. Face.

However, I am so looking forward to spending time with my family. Having a family divided is tough, and has always been tough since it happened. I have two different families to visit who have each combined with another, and they're all in different places at different times, and oh, by the way, you can add in my job that I have now just to complicate things. But I think I have things squared away this year so that I won't be in any hurry. Tomorrow I'm spending the day/night with my Grammy, who is the coolest of the cool, you absolutely have no idea. She's the one who got me hooked on coffee...at the age of 3. I can talk to her about anything. Absolutely anything. And she doesn't judge me an ounce. She's funny and wonderful and vibrant and still so young at heart. I love her so much. :] Plus, I get to share her with the best cousin ever, Megan. We're pretty much twins, just a year and a bit apart. It's odd how similar we look. I hate that I don't see her often. But I'm pretty excited to be spending some time with her. The next morning, Christmas, we'll have Christmas breakfast at Grammy's with the whole family. Then off to Dad's for their Christmas.

Then it's back to Tuscaloosa to see my Granny, Bert's mom, to see her for a bit before I go home and pack SOME MORE. Sunday morning, I load two precious little brats by the name of Carly and Taylor into the blue, now clean, 'stang, and head off towards Destin, Florida to see my MOM! :D Yay! And have my Christmas with her at the beach. And I'll also spend New Years there. 

I hoping it will be the best New Years I'll have ever had. Though...I'll probably be sketched out on and forgotten. If you knew the circumstances, it wouldn't be surprising. 

I hope you're confused. 'Cause I sure am...

THEN -deep breath- I MOVE OUT! So, needless to say, more packing. And unpacking. And crap. Before school starts. With work in between. 

I'm tired just thinking about this. 

AND scene.

I Solemnly Swear.

Nope. I'm lying. There's no possible way, Alan Mullenix, that I can go a day without posting something about pills, crazy people, or pharmacy crap. Do you realize how much I work? How crazy these people are? How many insane things happen in a week? How many STUPID people there are?

It's freaking hilarious. And I have been sent here to tell you about it.

So, yeah, first things first: my pharmacy story for the day.

"Amy!" you say, "Another one? How could there possibly be? What HAVEN'T you heard?"

Oh, my friend; you don't know the half of it.

As it is, we have a customer, an older lady, that fills her prescriptions with us. Normal, yes? I suppose. This lady is a special lady. A lady that I can't speak to without making my stomach muscles ache as I attempt to restrain myself from doubling over with laughter. The reason for this is her speaking voice. Have you ever seen Family Guy? You know, the old man? Herbert? She. Sounds. Just. Like. HIM. It's ridiculous.

Today, she comes back to the pharmacy and asks me to help her with some things that are on sale. Eye drops. Ok, well, that's in our area of "expertise," if you'd like to call it such, so I say, sure. We're dead at the moment, just a few scripts to fill and Jade and Laura were there. So she takes me to the right aisle, slowly, and I confirm the sale price. At this point, I realize who she is...I've only ever spoken to her on the phone and decided she sounded like Herbert. She asks me to then get a sale paper and read for her what CANDY is on sale. Candy. Chocolate. Whitman's, Russell Stover, Lindt, that Rocher stuff...I'm practically a professional chocolate-picker-outer. But then she finds WRAPPED ones, so we switch those out. Then she had to decide whether she wanted Nougat filled, truffles, nutty, chewy, milk chocolate, dark, crispy...I couldn't get away from her. And the more she spoke, the harder it was. THEN she asks me about lotion. Thank goodness we didn't have it. And I tried to steer her back to the Pharmacy to see if they needed help.

Man. Wow.

So yeah. I talk about Rite Aid a lot. Deal with it. I'm there 5, sometimes 6 days a week. I have no other life to talk about apparently.

I'm moving soon. Yay.

I've gone back to middle school and have a new crush. But we all know what happens with those. Not a thing. Eh. It's just as well. I don't have all that much time for a guy.

I passed my classes.

Going to Florida next week for New Years, where the only kind of kiss I'll get will be from my 17 year old cat or my nieces and nephews on the cheek. And I don't have a resolution yet. I might not have one at all. I find if I make them, I don't keep them. Haha.

Christmas is soon. I can't wait. I have no idea what I'm getting because I didn't ask for anything specific. If money, I have to get some apt stuff. I wanna camera though. D:

Hmm. I'm done.

"I'm yo pushaaaaa!"

Well. It goes without saying. Why? Because it's plastered all over Facebook, Twitter, my face, and now here...

I got my tech license!!!!

I'm just a little bit excited, I guess. No more feeling useless at work, staring at people as they wait for their meds, trying to tell them with one facial expression, "Oh, I'm standing here doing nothing because I'm not a pharmacy tech yet. It's illegal for me to touch, count, enter in, and sometimes even look at the drugs. I'm sorry...? ^_^;" Yeah, it's totally not easy to say with one look. Even Pro Hough's opera workshop for two years couldn't help me with that one. But, hey! It's all good! I got it! And I really enjoyed today. Christina showed me how to label and count and put away and mark and all that good stuff. She was really great about letting me learn and helped customers at the registers while I would finish counting or whatever I was in the middle of. I think she knew I was having too much fun. She's really great. :] As are all of the girls. I think they're all excited [relieved]. Lol.

When I got home today, however, I was a little flustered. Just trying to figure things out for Christmas while I was on the phone with my mom. It get's crazy when you have such a huge extended family that you'd like to see within a few days. Anyway, I walked in from the car, didn't see anything. Got off the phone with Mom and realized I left something in my car. I was still sour about something, my mind reeling, so I wasn't "fully present [gah, I'm itching all over thinking about this story...]. When I got to the garage door to go back in, my eye caught something on the wall, almost level to the door knob. I take one fraction of a second to realize that it's a fair sized spider in ATTACK STANCE, looking at me like it's going to take a kamikaze flight to my face and eat me whole. In one swift move, and I am not joking, I karate kick the wall, smearing it's satanic, venomous guts. I walk into the house calmly, and when I closed the door, I then realized what had just happened and had an overwhelming need to cry, or hyperventilate. Also, I nearly peed myself. I had to go lie down and watch Will & Grace for a while. Terrifying. But not as bad as when Bert killed that one spider in the garage and thousands of babies spewed out. -SHUDDER-

Here's a shot of an attack position. I'd post the picture, but I'd probably end up deleting this post...

Complete and utter terror.

Then Grandmother came home, we had pizza, enjoyed each other's company, drank coffee and played skip-bo. I've decided this will be grandmother's weekend, aside from my meeting with my potential roommates tomorrow night. Tomorrow morning/ afternoon, I'm baking with Grandmother. Something I don't think I've really ever done. Either that, or it's been a LOOOOOOONG time. :]

The surface area of an average-sized brick is 79 cm squared.

Watch Out, Ronald Weasley

I say this with utmost respect and complete adoration for Rupert Grint. I think I've made it quite clear how in love with him I am. However, as I was watching The Deathly Hallows for the second time with the wonderful Jon Croy on Saturday night, someone else caught my attention. I noticed him the first time around, don't get me wrong...but I still wasn't sure. It's an odd infatuation, but I don't feel so bad since I've googled him and have seen him looking much cleaner [although I DO love his long hair in the movie. Judge me not].

Scabior. The head Snatcher:

Again, judge me if you must. But I say, "Hello Beautiful" indeed. There's just something about him. 

Anyway, Jasper was grounded last night. He had to stay in his room [my room] all night and didn't get to come out. He's been much better today as I understand, and is, as we speak, just lying sweetly on the floor. I'm not fooled, of course. I know him too well. 

Going to breakfast tomorrow morning with my big sister [Kate] before we go fill out my papers to become an official Psych major. Yep. That's right. Maybe get my schedule under way as well, although I still have to talk to the music minor... O_o

Do you ever have moments when you can't remember a simple word? Like right now, I can't even remember what the word is for the person who counsels you on what classes to--

ADVISOR!

That's it. Seriously. "I'm not that smart." 

So, there's a chance I've found an apt. for next semester. It's not set in stone, and the rents are still thinking about it, but maybe it will happen, and Jasper and I won't be stuck in this museum, and I can go out WHENEVER I want and not feel guilty for leaving Grandmother behind. If it doesn't happen, then it will be okay. A lot of it depends on me, which I'm so ready to do. But I've got to watch what I spend. I may think I make plenty of money to pay rent, but then there's gas I have to think about, which is quickly becoming as pricey as gold. And then groceries. I think we can all say I don't need to worry about eating. I can stand to lose a few pounds. Fact-O-the-Matter is the healthy crap costs a lot more.

Did you know the word 'set' has more definitions than any other word in the English language?

Curiosity didn't kill the cat...I did.

I was going to talk about a few things in this blog. Like how LARPo reads Troll Zombie Slayer books on the job, how much I enjoyed the Harry Potter movie, and possibly spout off some more about pharmacy life. Also some anonymous shout outs, which I'll still do because I'm pretty upset, which works for the mood of the entry.

I was also going to talk about what a mess Jasper is, especially with the Christmas tree. All in fun. But it all changed when I walked in from work to find the big pineapple vase [1. Who has one of those ANYWAY?!] in hundreds of pieces at the foot of the fireplace. Yeah. Guess who did it? Jasper. Guess who's BEEN breaking things? Jasper. Guess who unraveled the lights from the tree after we put them on? Jasper. Guess who has been climbing all over things, crying all night, climbing on tables, ETC? Jasper. My cat.

I'm so mad. I live in a house that is NOT cat proof. And it makes me wish every day almost that I had never gotten Jasper. Which sucks to say. I have to start thinking about the possibility of finding him a new home. You say "My God, it's just a cat!" Yeah, well, try living with one for 17 years and then tell me a cat is just a cat. He's my companion. They make being home alone more bearable. For me. Really, I don't care what you think about cats. I know some of you loathe them. Well, good for you.

Mom tells me he's just a kitten and he doesn't know what he's doing. True.
Grandmother understands this. False.

I'm not so happy. For me it's like saying I have to give up my child.

---------------------------------------------------

Shout Outs: [Just remember what "assuming" does to us]

1. Hey, yeah, I love how you completely change when you're around "them." We have lots of fun, just the three of us, but add them into the mix...? I mean, do you honestly need their approval? Is it not cool to like me? Because, hey, that's just ignorant. I'm fantastic! But I mean, look... Keep it up and we just won't worry about it anymore. Hate it, because I thought we were best friends.

2. You both have absolutely picked me up this semester. I thought things would change since I had to go to Sheltonia for the semester. But you've kept me in the mix, kept me included. You've loved on me, hugged me, spent time with me, laughed with me, everything. I can't thank you enough. You've become some of my best friends. So, uh...what do you want for Christmas.

3. You're my hero. Have been for 22 years and counting.

4. I'm tired of looking for the approval from you that I know I'll never get. Just stay in your little bubble in your little spotlight. Little. L-I-T-T-L-E.

5. You're my cross-country best friend. I need for you to fly here. Right now. It's about time you got your apparation license. I feel like we've known each other for forever. Just hold on. Imma move there one day. Far away from here. ONE DAY.

6. Come home already. Dang. <3

That's all I got. =/

"Feeling fly, like it's Quidditch."

Ok, so this will probably be a long entry. And you'll probably learn more about me than you'd like. So read at your own risk as I'll risk the high possibility of being judged. This I'm okay with because, for the most part, I'm okay with myself.

Also, forgive me if I seem bitter and accusing; it's Monday, I've just eaten since 11, and I'm pretty grumpy.

First things first; I want to clear up any "misunderstandings" people have about the pharmacy. I don't care if the pharmacy at home serves you faster than the Rite Aid I work at. I just don't care. Take a moment from your adderall and look around you; from the counter perspective, there's a hospital before you, a STUDENT health center to your left, a UNIVERSITY behind you, and plenty of doctor's offices no more than one to two miles away. Let it sink in. Think, if you're capable, about how many people, how many students, how many germs, how many bacterias, how many Sorority/ Fraternity initiations gone wrong there are possible. We are the center. We get tons of people. There is a process to filling your precious prescriptions. And I may get a few things wrong, or I might even leave some things out because I'm not an official tech yet. But I know it's a PROCESS.

1. We have to make sure that we have your drugs so that you don't bite our heads off when you come back and find that you have nothing to pick up. We're saving YOU time. You're welcome.

2. We have to make sure you're in our system. It DOES matter. There is a reason you have to get doctors to prescribe you these things; they're not something to play around with. People misuse and OVERuse these things, and it's our job to keep you from killing yourself, okay? We have to keep up with what you take, how much you take, when you're supposed to take it, and if something else you're taking is going to react badly with another prescription. There's a method to the madness. I SWEAR.

3. We have to find you're bottle, tube, whatever, of drugs. If they're tablet, capsules, whathaveyou, then we have to count them out. Multiple times. If we give you too much, that's just bad news. It puts everyone at risk. Lose-lose. Okay. Not so bad.

4. Labels. Necessary. You don't want to get Jim Bob's medications. There's no telling what he has to take with those 19 kids. Is it 20, now? I don't know...

5. INSURANCE is key. For you. As much as I hate insurance companies, because they all pretty much suck in the long run, we want to make sure you get the lowest prices possible. We have to make sure they'll cover it to save you money and to save all that hot air you've stored during the day for your spouse, loved one, or child at home. I don't want it. I want you well, but I don't want you jumping down my throat. I might sound like a hardass right now, but I'll tell you right now, I'll cry. So save it. Save time, money, hot air, wet receipts.

6. Pharmacist has to check our work. Imperative. He catches all the last minute mistakes. We're all human. We make them. And he has to approve our work. It's for your benefit. For your safety, and for our nerves.

And you know what, then it's yours! Take it! Leave! And most importantly, be patient with us. Many many more things can happen that take your time away, things that I'm not going to go into right now. We can't just throw your pills in a bottle and hand it to you. It doesn't work that way. Wish it did, but... what are you going to do? "B & M-ing" won't make things go any faster.

I also have another job in the pharmacy. My job is to make sure that Christina smiles at least once every few minutes while I'm around. She's this tiny little person that can get SO frazzled, so excited, and I've made it my job to make her day a little more pleasant. She's pretty much my favorite in the pharmacy, though I love the other girls, but she makes me laugh so ridiculously hard when her feathers are ruffled. :]

I've decided to keep my other point for another blog, another day. It's about having gas. Look forward to it. Pre-judge me. I dare you. But we WILL have that discussion.

Over 3 million people suffer from obsessive hoarding. Interesting.

I've been sleeping all day.

Because I puked my guts out all night last night. Totes. So, Emily and I have narrowed down the culprit. She didn't get sick. We both ate chips, salsa, and cheese dip. No problem. I only had 3 tacos, and she got a taco and a cheese quesadilla. Okay, so that was odd. Then I remember that Emily had a beef taco, whereas I had chicken tacos. Dirty chicken. It was probably washed and prepared in actual Mexican water. Would make lots of sense.

At any rate, I woke up this morning at, oh, I don't know, 1am, 1:30...Somewhere in there. And I finally fell back asleep around 4am. And, oh by the way, I'm home alone, so I was pretty much fending for myself. I wanted to call my mom so that I could cry and be pitiful, but I didn't see what the point was in calling her when she's miles away in Florida. So I called my sister down the street instead. Lol. Of course there was nothing she could do for me, but I figured someone should know just in case I puked myself to death. Jasper was of course no help. He sat there and watched as I filled my trash can with my dinner, and I think he even tried to come up and snif it, but my retching startled him. But he did cuddle with me this morning, so I forgave him.

And I'm sure you all want to know this. You're welcome.

I slept today until 11, talked to my mom while lying in bed, feeling completely good as new, but still felt inclined to be pitiful on the phone for my mom. :] I love her so much. I know she'd run up here in ten minutes flat if she had a good pair of running shoes. Like a good pair of tires. I then ate breakfast because my stomach was completely empty, which settled fine, and guess what I did then? I went back to bed around 1. Stayed there and slept until 5pm. Ran over to Kate's house to let Brooklyn and Heidi use the potty, then came right back home and ate some dinner, which again was fine. And I've been drinking Fresca all day. The new Sprite in my eyes.

I watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and have also been watching Will & Grace. Which I'm watching now. In bed. And I'm still excited about going to bed. Even though I've slept all day. Good thing I had no work, no school, no plans.

Mmm. Goodnight.