The Pharmacy Years, Institutional, Part III
After the New York debacle, I returned to Florida with a leaden heart and a bruised ego. But within 2 months, I was back full tilt in the pharmacy grind. As you'll read later, I began a job in an independent retail pharmacy. I would remain there for nearly 8 years. A month or so after I began, I received an urgent call from the woman who ran the Medical Administration Records at my old institutional gig; they needed me back.
So flattering to be needed. I accepted before realizing what I said. I now had 2 jobs: retail from 9 to 5, nursing home from 6 to whenever. I agreed to this as I needed the money, but had no idea what a taxing, demoralizing year that lie ahead. Also, neither of jobs was aware I held the other one. A stressful balance I can't believe I pulled off.
By this time another company had bought the institutional pharmacy. They were a large outfit with several facilities in the Southeastern U.S. Papa director had stepped down the year before and junior was ousted from that spot by a new director, one of the most contemptible people I ever had the misfortune of working with. Her name was *Rachel. Actually, it wasn't, but work with me. All that matters in recounting this was her demeanor. She was a condescending bitch, there's just no sugar coating it. She belittled everyone in the pharmacy to the point where a literal mutiny formed! The gang of techs were ready to go to corporate to get her thrown out. This proved unsuccessful, despite the fact that Rachel managed, with her surly tone and less than gentle way of handling business, to alienate Directors of Nursing at some of our longstanding accounts. I think we lost a few over it. Facilities with which relationships had been forged and nurtured for many years. It was disgusting.
This is not to say that she wasn't smart, savvy, and a hard worker. She was tireless with physical projects (like a remodel of the place) and her consulting gigs. She was willing to stay into the wee hours if necessary. Being on the night shift, there were some times I was there until 1. This was not good as I had to get up at 7 for the daytime job. After awhile, I became zombified, like someone in a permanent Xanax or Valium induced stupor. Also not good as both jobs required me to have my thinking cap on tightly.
There were many ugly episodes. Rachel once hurled the large, hardcover Facts & Comparisons drug reference volume at me when I discovered an entry that contradicted something she vehemently stated just before. Another time, she kicked in the door to my work area and announced that she "could fire (my co-worker and I) right on the spot" because we weren't cranking out orders fast enough. Ah, the old speed versus accuracy dilemma. More of a retail issue, but every pharmacy deals with it. Rachel and I (and most everyone else) butted heads almost daily. As you'll learn, I was dealing with a tough boss during the day. While many folks were singing "Miller Time" at the end of their shift, I went to suffer even more. I was in a world of.....
Exhausted all the time. Grouchy. Perhaps my mental fatigue also lead me to make bad relationship decisions that year. Here again I recount what a mistake it is to date your co-workers. I made the mistake not once but twice, back to back. First, with one of the pharmacists, a lovely, older, divorced Dominican woman. I even got to meet her children. She was a lovely person, but our union was short-lived for a variety of reasons. Mainly, I was immature.
Immediately following that break-up, I made a monumental error. Rachel brought one of her star techs up from a Broward County branch to help out. *Adrianna was a tall, brash Latina who pretty much shared whatever was on her mind at any moment. Kinda like her boss. Adrianna invited me out for a drink after work one night. I was surprised but also strangely disinterested. My "type" was more of what a friend called the "Dewey Decimal sexy" genre, though a glance of my previous dating history revealed otherwise. In fact, most were like Adrianna!
Our date at a pool hall/bar was interrupted by another co-worker, a good 'ol boy named *Mike whose voice was a few octaves deeper than Karl's from SLING BLADE and loved to talk about turkey hunting. He was clearly interested in Adrianna, and she was clearly enjoying all the attention.......
TO BE CONTINUED
*Not the real name
So flattering to be needed. I accepted before realizing what I said. I now had 2 jobs: retail from 9 to 5, nursing home from 6 to whenever. I agreed to this as I needed the money, but had no idea what a taxing, demoralizing year that lie ahead. Also, neither of jobs was aware I held the other one. A stressful balance I can't believe I pulled off.
By this time another company had bought the institutional pharmacy. They were a large outfit with several facilities in the Southeastern U.S. Papa director had stepped down the year before and junior was ousted from that spot by a new director, one of the most contemptible people I ever had the misfortune of working with. Her name was *Rachel. Actually, it wasn't, but work with me. All that matters in recounting this was her demeanor. She was a condescending bitch, there's just no sugar coating it. She belittled everyone in the pharmacy to the point where a literal mutiny formed! The gang of techs were ready to go to corporate to get her thrown out. This proved unsuccessful, despite the fact that Rachel managed, with her surly tone and less than gentle way of handling business, to alienate Directors of Nursing at some of our longstanding accounts. I think we lost a few over it. Facilities with which relationships had been forged and nurtured for many years. It was disgusting.
This is not to say that she wasn't smart, savvy, and a hard worker. She was tireless with physical projects (like a remodel of the place) and her consulting gigs. She was willing to stay into the wee hours if necessary. Being on the night shift, there were some times I was there until 1. This was not good as I had to get up at 7 for the daytime job. After awhile, I became zombified, like someone in a permanent Xanax or Valium induced stupor. Also not good as both jobs required me to have my thinking cap on tightly.
There were many ugly episodes. Rachel once hurled the large, hardcover Facts & Comparisons drug reference volume at me when I discovered an entry that contradicted something she vehemently stated just before. Another time, she kicked in the door to my work area and announced that she "could fire (my co-worker and I) right on the spot" because we weren't cranking out orders fast enough. Ah, the old speed versus accuracy dilemma. More of a retail issue, but every pharmacy deals with it. Rachel and I (and most everyone else) butted heads almost daily. As you'll learn, I was dealing with a tough boss during the day. While many folks were singing "Miller Time" at the end of their shift, I went to suffer even more. I was in a world of.....
Exhausted all the time. Grouchy. Perhaps my mental fatigue also lead me to make bad relationship decisions that year. Here again I recount what a mistake it is to date your co-workers. I made the mistake not once but twice, back to back. First, with one of the pharmacists, a lovely, older, divorced Dominican woman. I even got to meet her children. She was a lovely person, but our union was short-lived for a variety of reasons. Mainly, I was immature.
Immediately following that break-up, I made a monumental error. Rachel brought one of her star techs up from a Broward County branch to help out. *Adrianna was a tall, brash Latina who pretty much shared whatever was on her mind at any moment. Kinda like her boss. Adrianna invited me out for a drink after work one night. I was surprised but also strangely disinterested. My "type" was more of what a friend called the "Dewey Decimal sexy" genre, though a glance of my previous dating history revealed otherwise. In fact, most were like Adrianna!
Our date at a pool hall/bar was interrupted by another co-worker, a good 'ol boy named *Mike whose voice was a few octaves deeper than Karl's from SLING BLADE and loved to talk about turkey hunting. He was clearly interested in Adrianna, and she was clearly enjoying all the attention.......
TO BE CONTINUED
*Not the real name
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