We Have To Call Them On It!

Today I read an article in the Globe and Mail about women and politics. "Re-Paving the Way for Women on the Hill....Again". The article opens with a comment from a rookie MP who said that at her first political panel, the moderator made a comment that the whole panel was 'hot'. The rookie MP said that she suddenly realized that that is how it is on the Hill.

Well, it might be the way it is on the hill NOW, however, if she wants to change that, she should be calling them on it. The host may not have realized how offensive that comment was. He probably thought he was giving them a compliment.

It is akin to a male saying "I'd hit that". I once pointed out to a male who had said that that it was violent and offensive and smacked of rape. He was flabbergasted and said he'd never thought of it that way, thought it was complimentary?!

I understand that if the female MPs spend their time calling out the men on the Hill their stay may be less pleasant. However, they are currently the the ones in the public eye and there are a larger number of them than there has been for quite a while. Therefore they should be making as much noise as possible about simple language that can easily be changed. Language can change behaviour.

The men on the HIll need to learn that the female MPs are not 'hot', they are colleagues. They are not 'girls' they are women. Their appearance is not up for discussion.

It is up to the women to point out the ingrained habits of thought.

Apple Can Suck It

As regular readers here (if any) know, I wear hearing aids. This poses a problem when it comes to things like cell phones. Cell phones that are not shielded properly create a buzzing that is very unpleasant and makes talking, or rather hearing the other person very difficult. On an old fashioned landline analog phone, there is a setting on the hearing aid called a t-coil (telecoil) that interacts directly with the phone. Some cellphones have t-coil compatibility. These are rated with T4 being good and T1 not so good. In the US FCC mandates that cellphone manufacturers of a certian size must have a minimum percentage of their phones that are hearing aid compatible. (I have no inclination to look up the actual numbers, if ya feel like it, knock yourself out).



I, like many other people, like gadgets. Apple's iPhone is an ultimate gadget. However if I can't use a phone like,well, a phone, there's no point in spending mucho money on it. I went hunting for info. Found this website on which Apple goes on and on and on and ON about accessibility of their gadgets for disabled people. Yeah, the section on hearing disabled blathers on about things like the video option is great for sign language. Not a fucking peep about hearing aids. I know we are not the largst percentage of the population, but dammit, we are not miniscule either.



Apple is ignoring us. Assholes.



Fuck it. Blackberry anyone?

Money Grab

The utility company has installed something called a 'smart meter' on my house. It measures WHEN I use electricity and then charges me depending on the time of day. There are 3 rates: Stupid Expensive(9.9cents per kWh), Sooper Expensive(8.00 cents) and Expensive(5.3cents). The highest rate applies during peak hours. During the summer, peak hours are 11am to 5pm off-peak is 9pm to 7am and the rest is intermediate. During the winter off-peak remains the same, but peak changes to 7am-11am and 5pm-9pm.

Now, I can change some things like when I run the dishwasher or do the laundry. I have , in fact, done these things. Yet my bill is half again as high as it was pre-smart meter. It's going to get worse, as I cook with electricity and peak time will be changing November 1st. I cannot change my stove to a gas one, as I rent. I have no fireplace to cook over the flames, so I am basically screwed.

I fail to see what else I can change. At night we only keep the one lamp on in the living room. We have lowered the wattage bulb we use dramamtically. The only things that run during the day are the furnace ,which IS gas thank goodness, and the computer and tv. The hubby rarely cooks during the day. Lunch is usually something he can heat up in the microwave or a sandwich.

However, once peak time changes to 5pm-9pm, I will be forced to pay the higher rate in order to eat dinner. I can't eat sandwiches all the time.

Quite frankly I think this is a money grab by the utlity company. They could do other things to promote energy savings. For example, in Italy, houses do NOT have 200 amp service as a matter of course, I think 'normal service' is 50amps. So if you try to run too many appliances at once, the breaker trips. This forces people to spread out what they are doing and reduces the drain on the grid.

I am really hating this as it is forcing me to spend all weekend doing laundry. (weekends and statutory holidays are just Expensive) I can't throw a load in the washer until after 9pm during the week, which means I'd be up till after 11pm to get one lousy load washed, dried and folded. Can't do it when I have to get up early to get to my job. Which I need to pay the enormous electrical bill.

you bought what?

For those of you who wear super low-rise jeans and don't want to show butt-crac, you can buy these sparkly buttcrack covers,



On the same note, have any of you seen that ad for Lysol Hand's Free Soap Dispenser? The theory is that the pump on your soap is teeming with germs. If you have their hands-free device, you won't get contaminated by the germs on your soap dispenser. Umm, aren't you washing your hands AFTER you touch your supposedly germy soap? So what difference does it make? Other than to Lysol's bottom line, that is

More Music Critique

Right, so 'The Bag' continues. I am past the halfway mark. So picture the knit a bit bigger than the last post :)

At the risk of appearing 'old-fogy-ish' Rihanna's current song 'Hard' is pushing several of my buttons.

Button the first: Bad grammer.

They can say whatever
I'ma do whatever
No pain is forever
Yup, you know this

I'ma???!!! I'll let the 'yup' go, but I'ma???!

Which leads to weird slang that is not particulary clear:

Trying to sell they peeping my bag they can't afford it


Then there's the Madonna vs whore problem:

Sincere, I see you aiming at my pedestal
I betta let ya' know

Putting a woman on a pedestal means appreciating her for qualities other than her personality. Such as her virginity or 'pureness'. Argh. This kind of reference really makes me irritable. If sex for a male isn't 'dirty', then sex for a female isn't either. End of discussion. This sort of unthinking use of a sterotypical phrase shows how little people actually think about what they are saying and the behaviour patterns it subtly reinforces.

Rihanna is trying to say that the nasty things people are saying about her don't hurt her because she is 'hard'. As in donning her armour. At least, that is my take on it. So that would make her empowered. However, the pedestal phrase disempowers her. I wonder if she even thought about it. Probably not.

So, I applaud Rihanna for trying to find her way after that terrible relationship, but I don't think she has quite found her way out yet.

A Rant

This song has been driving me mad.

Whatcha Say by Jason Derulo. Specifically, the lyrics.

So let me in (let me in) give me another chance (another chance)To really be your manCause when the roof caved in and the truth came outI just didn't know what to doBut when I become a star we'll be living so large

So, dude acted like a jerk and is wanting a second chance, His bait to bring his woman back is money. So he's trying to buy her off. IF he gets some money. So really, he's trying to bribe her with hypothetical money. Right.

I know what I did wasn't clever But me and you were meant to be together

If they were meant to be together, then why did he screw it up so bad?

don't want you to leave me
Though you caught me cheatin'

Oooookaaay. So, let me get this straight. Dude cheated on his woman. He got caught. He didn't have a ready excuse. He now is trying to bribe her with possible future monies cause they were meant to be together. If they were meant to be together, why did he cheat on her?

I know what I say. Git yer ass to the curb boy and don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out. The video shows her being swayed by this incredibly poor excuse for a man.

headdesk

What songs do you hate and why?

I Hate Winter

Temperature dropped to -15C. Which sucks. But what really sucks giant rocks through a bendy straw is coming out of work at the end of a busy, tiring day and having the view from the driver's seat look like this:

Yup, that's ice on the inside of the windshield.

Stressed to the Max

Recently, my darling kitty Pagan was diagnosed with CRF-chronic renal failure. Basically, her kidneys are not filtering the way they should and more water is being sent out in her pee than should be. This can lead to dehydration. The vet thought that it was time to put Pagan on subcutaneous fluids. We had it done once at the vets. Then I tried to do it at the vets the next time. This was, ahem, less than successful. Pagan fought like a wildcat the whole time. She even peed. The vet gave me the equipment to do it at home saying that often the cat is much calmer at home away from strange sounds and smells etc.

So I tried it again a few days later at home. Just as big a disaster. She peed again. She fought, she howled. Trying to keep the needle in her and not wiggling around was a battle. . The IV bag didn't seem to have any air in it so it was impossible to tell how much fluid was getting in the cat. All in all, very discouraging. All those websites and people who say that it is easy to give sub-q fluids were obviously dealing with very ill cats or cats who are very laidback normally. There was 2 of us trying to do this to one kitty and it was awful.

So, in distress, I turned to a very common panacea. Chocolate! First, I made a big mess:

Then I tamed the mess into a pleasing shape:

And then...I ate it!

Didn't really solve the larger problem of getting Pagan her fluids, but it sure helped in the short term.

Pill Filling Fun

High points from yesterday's work action:

1. We (as in the pharmacy) do not decide your deductible. There is no point asking "why your brother pays a lower deductible than me?" When I tell you to call the provider of said insurance cause it's their contract, that's what I mean. Not "negotiate with me what you'll pay"

2. I didn't fill the 3 things on your prescription cause you told me to fill 2 and to leave the orange one on file. So, when I get to the cash with your bag of completed scripts, don't ask why I didn't fill that one. Also, don't give me a run around about how you have it at home, when, eventually, you tell me you lost it and actually want it filled. I don't care why you need it. Just tell me you need it!

3. If you call in to fill your young daughter's prescriptions, at least know how many different pills she gets. Telling me to 'fill them all' is just an exercise in futility, since it means there will invariably be one missed or an extra one you don't want.

4. If you call and ask for what sounds like 'pravachol', please don't jsut say 'yes' when I tell you I can't find pravachol on your file. Furthermore, service will be quicker if, when I spell pravachol and you tell me no, that's not what you want, you go on to tell me what it IS you want. When I ask you to spell it (since I clearly can't understand your mumbling) please don't respond with " you know, it's on my file"!!!!! There are elevendy billionty things on your file. If you want me to randomly select one, I can do that, just say so. Don't argue with me when it's not what you wanted, though.

5. Dude calls and says he wants some stuff delivered. Then he goes on to say "mouthwash.." I cut him off and ask if it is non-prescription stuff. He says yes. I give him to the front shop. Who then bounce it back to me. Because he needs a pharmacist to write down his refill numbers. That is a surefire way to get your script bumped to the bottom of the pile. You see, the normal flow is tech takes number, fills it, hands it to me and then I check it. When you give me the number, it messes up workflow and everybody has to wait longer while I stop what I am doing and trot back with the request ask the tech where in her workflow she is and then slot it in. It pisses me off if you interrupt me for this. If it is a busy day, as today was since it is the day after a stat holiday, I won't ask the tech. I will put it at the bottom of a rather substantial to-do pile. It also implies that you think you are better than all the other customers since you will only give your numbers to the pharmacist. It does not endear you to me. Trust me.

Tights that Stay Up

I wore a skirt to work today. Which made me ask myself a question. Why don't tights/pantyhose stay up??? I fell like I spent all day hiding in a back room of the pharmacy pulling up the damn pantyhose.

Not so Springlike

Everywhere in the blogosphere, I see people rejoicing in spring with pictures of flowers and trees etc. This is what my lawn looks like right now:

This is what the tree in my front yard looks like:
Spring? What's that? I am anxiously awaiting.

Liar Liar

On friday, the weatherman predicted 1cm of snow overnight. I woke up to this.

Is it spring yet? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?

Ummm, Yay?

It is no longer cold enough to freeze my nostrils shut. It is now only -9C! But it looks like this outside:

Can't catch a break here........

Ciao

Snow Job

If you happen to be an unscrupulous person who is diverting your narcotic pain meds (ie selling them instead of taking them) and send your spouse in to tell your pharmacist that you are in a wheelchair and had to take a 'few extra' and that 'your doctor knows about it; Please be aware that I can see a snowjob from a long ways off. Taking triple your dose is not a few extra.

When I call your doctor, I will be asking what the dose change is. When the doctor tells me that the dose hasn't changed, I will be suspicious. When the doctor goes onto say that you told him you took a few extra because you are back at work and your back is bothering you a bit, that sends alarm bells clanging. Especially when I asked the doctor if you were back at work in a wheelchair. And the doctor said no, you were not in a wheelchair.

Then when I calculate the supposed dose you tell me you are on, depending on when you started it, you should have been out 10 days ago, or still have 2 weeks left.

So, do me a favour unscrupulous drug diverting person, do your homework and remember, no matter how big a snowjob you give me, I have a shovel.

Adventures in Pharmacy

Due to a migraine, no real knitting has happened for a few days. Thus, it is time for another installment of work stories.

I had a lady come in to get something for her kids to keep them from being carsick. When I pulled out the Gravol (dimenhydrinate), she said that her brother-in-law out west used something that didn't make him sleepy. So I suggested the ginger tablets (also made by Gravol). Ginger has been used for centuries to settle stomachs. Nope, she was having none of that. She wanted the mystery product that her BIL used. I asked if this product was a patch?(scopolamine) Nope. I had no idea and suggested she get him to tell her the brand name or, ideally, the ingredient in whatever he was using. She whipped out her cell-phone and called him. What was the mystery product? Dramamine. Of course he wasn't at home (he was on his cell) so couldn't tell her the active ingredient.



However, with my 18 years of pharmacist experience, I knew that the active ingredient is the same as Gravol. She kept insisting it wasn't. Finally, I just had to tell her that the only thing we had was Gravol. Did she want it or not? As I was ringing her sale up, her cell phone rang again. It was someone in the parking lot. She had blocked them in with her company car. Since the phone number was on the vehicle, the blocked in person called her! She was all huffy about it.



Umm, this woman came in. Was rude to me. Refused to believe me when I told her something true to AND blocked someone in the parking lot. Nice person.


Onwards. Same day, a couple of hours later. Client came in with paperwork from her new job. Said paperwork contained (supposedly) the drug plan information for billing. she wanted her kid's $100 medication billed to the plan. I explained that I would try, but the paperwork typically doesn' t have all the info we need. Sure enough, there were 2 sets of numbers. One for the actual insurance company. One for the third party computer claims company. But no indication of which 3rd party computer claims company. There are many. There was also no indication that her particular plan was accepted online. I tried to take an educated guess and wrestled with it for 15 minutes. With her standing in front of me getting irritable. Finally gave up and told the lady that without the 3rd party company name, I couldn't do it, could she come back when she had the actual card in hand? She got all huffy and angry and stalked off.



Apparently, I was supposed to be psychic and know what plan to use. Lady, if Iwas psychic, I wouldn't be working. I would have divined the lottery numbers ages ago and I would be living the good life. Somewhere warm. With a poolboy and a masseuse on staff. Oh. and a personal trainer to get me off my ass so it didn't become the size of HER ass.

That is all

Ummmmm, Really?

So, I worked this past Saturday.

I had a client come in and wondered where you got "those bags you put camphor blocks into to hang around your neck"? Hanging camphor blocks around your neck to help with a stuffed up nose is a very old remedy. We health proffessionals no longer recommend it. Camphor is toxic. There are babies who died when they got ahold of some. Often a very small amount. I told the lady that I would under no circumstances use that on a child. Ever. Her reply? "A doctor told me to". Yeah. Lady there are doctors out there who I wouldn't let treat my pet. The problem was that the kid was stuffed up and couldn't breathe through his nose and all the infant decongestants have been pulled off the market due to "lack of proven efficacy". Right. So, instead of giving a small dose of Dimetapp or some other children's formula, the doctor suggested a poison. Good call doc! Mom refused to believe me and will be hanging 50 grams of poison (of which the kid only needs to get 0.5-1g into them to kill them). Fingers crossed the kid survives into adulthood.

Then I had a client who was pissed her welfare drug coverage wouldn't cover her estrogen supplement anymore. The plan will only cover it for "short term use in the management of menopausal symptoms." She had been on it for at least 6 years and the doctor finally cut her off. Naturally that is the pharmacy's fault. Even when we can show her the fax on which the doctor wrote, "she has been on it well past short term use. she no longer qualifies" This person proceeded to argue that she has diabetes and blah blah about why she deserves special treatment. She went on to say that she couldn't take these antibiotics (hands me a bottle to dispose of) and is it okay to just stop suddenly? (the antibiotics are $70 us taxpayers won't see again. That she got for $2) I told her to tell her doctor she can't take them and to get another anitibiotic because otherwise the infection will get worse. Whereupon she informs me that she "didn't have an infection". Then why were you on antibiotics? That you didn't pay for?
She decides to pay for her hormones and the technician went off to get that ready.

Another client has since approached the counter and wants help with earwax removal products. We go over to the shelf with the products and annoying lady from the above paragraph butts in and starts to tell him what he should do. I interrupt,"I've got this under control. Please go wait for your prescription over by the counter" Then turned my back on her. The ear client also turned his back. I suspect he was not amused at a complete stranger butting in like that. I know a store front shop is not private, but if you aren't a doctor and I am counselling a patient, I outrank you and please fuck off.

I have never been so close to asking a client what her supposed disability was to be on permanent welfare. She was hale and hearty in front of me. Able to argue and impose herself on others. I did not. But I sure wonder.

Yeah, that was a normal day at work. Blargh.

Mushroom

It transpires that my now ex-boss is spineless. Apparently the other side of the clinic is saying that "big changes" have to happen. When I asked for some specifices, since I can't just "change" I was told that they didn't know what, exactly, either! WTF??

I have no problem working with people. I have taken consturctive criticism in the past and changed things. In fact I have had a supervisor say that I take criticism very well. But I do need something to go on. As this is not the case, I am walking. They can line up with my other clients for my time. Unfortunately, now I have to live cheap until I get my clients back into the swing of things.

Pisses me off. I clear my schedule for these guys and at the last freaking minute they come up with nebulous requirements. I had one job in the past that was awful with no clear mandate. Never again!

ciao

Grrrrrr

Too angry to blog. Too angry to knit. Not good!

Work is pissing me off. Some people have unreasonable expectations and I am waiting to find out if the new boss is a conciliatory (read spineless wimp) type or a supportive of his employees type. I suspect it's the former, in which case I will be taking a bit of a walk.

No Wonder

Having just spent 2 nights waiting for someone at the local emergency room, I now have a theory why the waits are so long when you go. Even if you have a legitimate emergency room problem.

Morons can't figure out if the problem they have is an emergency. Of all the people I saw go in or out of the big double doors to the magical emergency treatment area, only 5 had anything visibly wrong with them.

One was a screaming baby. Another was a limping fellow that came out in a walking cast. Then there was the lady who moved all hunched over. There was a young man who was huddled into his chair while waiting who just moved badly. The kid holding his arm still, with his other arm.

Then there were a whole bunch of people who looked completely normal. There was a kid about 12 still in her dance/gymnastic tights holding an icepack to her ankle. Which sounds like it might be legitimate, but the kid barely had a limp. I can tell you right now, she has a mild sprain. Keep putting ice on it, buy a tensor bandage and stay out of the emergency room, you idiot.

I lost count of the number of people that looked like drug-seeking-individuals to me. (And being that I am a pharmacist, my radar is pretty accurate)

My tax dollars at work. Lovely.

Whiny-ness

So it's too dark after work to take pictures of knitting progress. Those will have to wait till tomorrow.

Instead, a whine.

Last week I spent 2 days sweating over the carpets with a rented steam-cleaner. Less than 3 hours after I was done, the cat had a fur-ball on my still damp carpet. 2 days later, the hubby made an injudicious move and spilled my glass of champagne on the carpet. At least it was white wine, I guess.

2 days after that Raven managed to knock over a full, 16 ounce glass of lemonade onto my rug.

Is it any wonder the rugs needed shampooing? And that totally icky amounts of gross water were extracted from said carpets?

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother.

Ciao