Monday, May 2, 2016

Year of the Dragon

It's Monday again and that just means another week where Lou does the same shit.
I had to work yesterday, it was okay, I even started on processing 2 totes of expired medication. The first step is pulling all those meds off the shelves, step two COUNT them (you ever count 365 tablets only to be interrupted and lose count...KILL ME) after the counting I have to tape boxes and process the expires through our gun, symbol gun actually, they know better than to let us have readily accessible weapons in the pharmacy. This is a very tedious process and time consuming. It's been hard lately to find time to do my job at work, yeah you've heard that one before huh, if not let me elaborate.
I am for all intents and purposes Dragon's main and only technician who knows what the heck they are doing. We have 2 new hires plus another tech from the front store.
New hire number 1 is a very nice young lady who drives a mini cooper and is Daddy's little girl.
Mini is a nice person but boy does she talk and ask so many questions. I know what you're thinking but what's wrong with her asking questions? Well if it were a simple answer to give, that wouldn't be acceptable for Mini, see Mini needs to know the WHY of something. She's like a child that asks Why is the sky blue? For what purpose is it blue and not red, or why is it called "sky" and not "yks"  See that shit gets annoying after about 10 minutes, I have no time to answer questions because I have actual work to do. I only talk if necessary and something only if spoken to.
New hire number 2 is a sweet short guy who doesn't know anything about anything but has possibility. Shorty pays very close attention when you explain something, he only asks for help if he's reached the point where he can't do it by himself.  I think Shorty will stick around awhile if Office Politics doesn't change that. When Corporate decides to move everyone from one store to another you comply. See sometimes you can't be too good at your job. Corporate will up and decide one day "Hey let's send that tech to a challenged store and see if her expertise can turn that place around."
Fuck that, when you hear "Challenged Store" kiss your sanity goodbye, it's time to drink on the job. A challenged anything is bad news, as a matter of fact, a challenging anything sounds awful. I don't want to be challenged I want to pass.

So today I get to work and Dragon asks "Did you guys do the expires already?"
I actually had to turn my head and make sure she was talking to me because there is no "guys" none of these knuckleheads are going to do that task, she knows damn well I'm the only one who knows how to do it besides her of course.
I told her that I had started on Sunday but was unable to finish on account of you know me having to leave this wretched place and go back home to my loved one and pets.
Instead of saying Great Job Lou, thanks for taking the initiative to get started on that task without being asked!
She says "You need to finish that today because I need UPS to pick it up tomorrow" she then proceeds to turn her gaze away from me and make faces at the computer screen.
Well ain't that a bitch. I wish I could just really go off on her because that's what she needs.
I was running late this morning so all I had for breakfast was a banana and a Muscle Milk. My tooth has been hurting lately and as I was brushing my teeth last night I spat out a small piece of blue string, this is one of my stitches.
Mini is here early too so she's mostly in my way, she tries to help me but sometimes it backfires and it turns out to be a giant delayed mess.
The morning is a bit busy but I've hardly had to be at the register or even answer phones. The theme of the day was count pills.
The theme of the day was also Dragon's nagging at everything. I don't know if her period is on or maybe her beau wasn't putting out but I wanted to murder this bitch today. She was vintage Dragon getting on everyone's nerves.
Now Mini talks a lot, she can't help that I suppose just like some of us can't help having brown hair or really hairy arms, she loves to Gab.
Gabbing is all fine if you work at a beauty parlor but in my Pharmacy too much talking will get you yelled at.
Mini tries to be really helpful, she wants to save everyone and everyone has to get their way. I picture her saving birds fallen from nests, or puppies from the shelter, even reading to the elderly in hospice.

It's that helping that doesn't help if you have no idea what you're talking about. It's like you asking me for directions and I say "Why yes, take a turn at that big building by that one place you know near that place you mentioned? If you've passed a tree you've gone too far."

Dragon hates people, no seriously she was explaining to Shorty why she insists on sitting way over the other side of the counter in the corner at drop off.
"I don't like talking to people, I rather not deal with them, that's why I sit over here."
It's true, she sits her ass right there and hardly interacts with patients.
Her predecessor used to sit opposite her, she'd be where I am by the register, I'm the first to greet you when you come by. Her predecessor was everyone's favorite because she was an actual real life Human being that had blood pumping through her veins, not green goo or whatever Dragon is made of, could be ice *shrugs*
Now at the Pharmacy we have two giant signs, I mean massive people.

PICK UP

DROP-OFF


There shouldn't be confusion on where to go, hard to believe as that is, people sometimes are annoying, er I mean get the lines mixed up, so they come to pick up with a prescription and expect you to hold up the line of people behind you that can read.
Dragon has a strict policy, "If they are not picking up a prescription then send them to me. Send them for refills, questions, typing new Rx's all of that."

Mini sends EVERYONE.


 At some point in the day Dragon pinches the bridge of her nose and tells me quietly "Please help her I don't know why she's sending everyone over here?"
Umm cause you said so?
I help her of course and then another tech comes in, this time it's our Front store Crossover (that's just fancy jargon for he used to work in the front now he wants to work in the pharmacy).
Crossover is a very happy person, like super Gay lol, he can be annoying at times, my face hurts from pretend laughing and smiling at all his jokes, I don't want to hurt his feelings. Despite the humor I sometimes don't get, he's a nice man who does his job to the best of his ability.

Well Cross is more knowledgeable than Mini but not too much. By the time Cross arrives I've started counting hundreds of expired pills and numbering the bottles. My highest count today was 490 tablets, that's 10 short in a bottle that normally brings 500.
At some point I guess it got "busy" and Dragon yells at me to go open another register and help Cross out while Mini runs around frantic at production. I took exactly 2 people at the register, two. What was the point of that? I swear this Dragon exaggerates everything, sometimes Cross jokes when the phones start ringing with their "One, Two, Three Pharmacy Calls" and the QT has like 5 things to type (all very normal things that have to happen because that's our job) "Uh oh we're going down, I repeat we're going down people."
I go back to my chair and keep processing the expires when suddenly Shorty is scheduled too?
I just saw him Sunday, which was stupid because Sundays are dead, really 3 techs today?
Cross says "Ok Dragon" as he stares at a confused Shorty  "What are all of us going to do because there's too many cooks in the kitchen honey."
She sends him to Drop-Off.
 Dragon suddenly appears and asks as I'm mid scan "How much more do you have to do because I need the Gun."
Bitch! #%^!!!





Someone come get this lady before I lose my job.
Now, not only must this get done today, I also have about another five minutes to hurry up.
I finally manage to finish, I print out 3 reports for 3 boxes worth of medicine I just processed, I give her the Gun (I wish..) and head to the bathroom, after about 5 hours at work I can use the bathroom.
As I'm getting ready to sit down Dragon calls me on the Intercom "Lou can you bring another battery."
The gun's battery must be wiped, I can't even get paid to piss in peace (say that 3 times fast).
I head to Manager's office and greet my favorite of the bunch, she's such a nice person and even teaches Zumba, she has another job, 3 in total but I forget third? I was invited to some showcase she's having sometime this month, I'd like to go but you actually have to pay 25$ at the door.
I haven't told her yet I can't go.
 Anyways, I knock on the office door and she hands me the battery having overhead the Beast's command on the loudspeaker. I also retrieve my printouts. I seal all three of my full boxes with tape and sit them neatly in a row all ready to go for UPS.
All is well, I have pleased my master.



There's too many of us so I run out stuff to do. I leave Shorty, Cross and Mini to care for the pharmacy while I label the rest of the expires for the upcoming month. The 3 stooges were asking silly questions to basic things that we first learn, Dragon rolled her eyes and was genuinely appalled that these words were coming out of their mouths. Even on the phone they somehow manage to get themselves into entanglements
She couldn't fathom us humans making mistakes or forgetting things when we're nervous or confused. Rather than dealing with them, she sends me to help them of course. So now I gotta stop what I'm doing to help them, not only help but answer any questions they have, they have to learn same way as I did.

Even though all this is going on, the one thing we all do is talk and make jokes, we joke about patients, current events, our likes etc. When Dragon is menstruating, too much laughter makes her mad so she'll randomly yell "Can someone please answer the phone? Hello there's 3 in the QT!  (medical jargon for the computer screen we type E-RX's from)"



She even told poor Shorty today "That's great that you're doing Production (count pills *wink) but I also need you to drop whatever you're doing and get whatever comes in the QT first." He looked puzzled, this was his first tongue lashing mind you, we've all had our licks before.
I'm pushing 40 hours a week now so I'm going into overtime which is bad for management, not bad for me, shit pay me.
I have to leave 30 minutes early everyday. At exactly 4:15pm Eastern time, Dragon looks over my printout and finds 2 medications with a ten or so higher pill count than the stock bottle brings. So if a bottle brings 100 tablets, I should be entering nothing higher than that amount.
Two different bottles had a bit more. She points it out to me and tells me to find the 2 bottles, find them among the 3 filled to the brim boxes I just sealed. Three boxes.


It's almost time for me to go home and this is the nonsense I have to do?
I was so mad, she just told me to go home earlier, now I'll get in trouble for this too.
I find the fucking bottles and she scolds me on something that I had no idea was such a big deal. She then tells me that I have to tell the manager to cancel this Key Rec (document used to record the receipt of goods) and I have to take all of the pills out of the three boxes and do this over again.
Wow.
I finally manage to punch out and go at almost 5pm.
I complete my long hot drive home by stopping at a Tire Shop. My front tire is very shoddy.
It's late and I'm not too familiar with how long these places are open till but I decided to visit the old Tire Shop where my older brother used to work. It was sad being there, my brother is in prison and will be there for a long time. He'll have a much different life when he comes out.

I got a tire for 40 dollars, well 45 in total including tip. What a noticeable difference.

Tomorrow is another long day, another day with the beast with 2 backs. I have to find some time during my shift to Process all of the expires again. I already want to go home.
I had a tuna sandwich when I got home, didn't have too much of an appetite. My head hurts a lot.

I'm going to bed now, need to be ready, have to rest for my quest.









.







No comments:

Begin

 Tomorrow is my first day back at work. It's only for four hours but after almost one complete year of rest and self isolation, I'm ...