A day in the life of a radical pharmacy owner

Every store I have ever worked in has got its interesting/difficult/crazy patients. The pharmacy I worked for during school had an obsessive-compulsive patient. This person drove the pharmacist crazy. They had called the Palmetto Poison Center so many times that the center would no longer take their calls. They would buy enemas and bowel stimulants one day and the next day they would buy anti-diarreal medications. They also loved to discuss in detail the color and consistency of their bowel movement. They was very suspicious of new employees until they could figure out whether the employees were pharmacy students or mere staff member. They loved pharmacy students since the pharmacist would not talk to them. I spent over an hour the first time they got me on the phone. They wanted to know whether or not they should go to see a doctor. I thought based on their symptoms that they had Crohns diseases or at least irritable bowel syndrome. No, it was all self-induced. When I worked in Charleston, we had a patient that bought eight enemas 2-3 times per week. In Newberry, we had a patient that hoarded items. They would buy 6 Monistats, 5 large bottles of Tylenol, and other miscellaneous items in bulk weekly. I am not sure if they had a compulsion to collect or if they were reselling the stuff. I was told that they had a trust fund and someone to dole out their money.

I have been open for 2 months and I think I found my first interesting patient. They has several auto-immune issues. I do not claim to understand auto-immune disease. These diseases present with odd symptoms and are often rule-out diagnosis. Medicine is more of an art than a science. We are very limited in our ability to run true scientific experiment. You can't give one group of patients a potentially life saving treatment and withhold all treatment from the control group. J believes that there is often a psychiatric cause for some auto-immune diseases. She has already met our new patient and has suggested (to me only) that they see a psychiatrist.

We left the hotel around 4 o'clock, too early for dinner. We walked around the mall for an hour. I was to broke to really buy anything. We wandered downtown and found a small Italian place. As we were walking in we saw that the place had a dress code. We were a little skeptical already and took it as our cue to find somewhere else to eat. Of course the desperate wait staff had already spotted us and stopped us on our way back to the car. The nice waiter assured us that our attire was acceptable. The food was a little bit above average. The service was excellent.

We went back to the hotel where I discovered the extent of the roach problem. Several yucky small roaches scattered when we walked in. I mean I am used to the large Palmetto bugs that are native to South Carolina and the rest of the humid South. To me, Palmetto bugs are just part of the landscape like kudzu. Small roaches indicate filth. I was completely disgusted when I noticed a small roach trapped in the LCD of room microwave. I slept restlessly, imagining roaches crawling on me in my sleep.

I awoke with the resolution of letting my trainer know what a crappy hotel she put us in, but I don't like anything that even resembles confrontation. I never told her and class was extra boring. Also, we had lunch from the same place which neither S nor I liked to begin with. If I were able to expense lunches, I would be eating somewhere new everyday. So again, this trip was in August. We did not open until November 1st. Would you like to guess how much of the class I remembered?

We received the lastest, newest hardware and software when we open from a company, Q. I had to sign a note for $22,500 to be paid over the next five years (by which time it will be completely obsolete). Training is supposed to be included in the price. There are two components, the prescription part and the register part. So, S and I traveled to Spartanburg for a 2 day training course for just the register part. The company offered to put us in a hotel so we would not have to drive back and forth. The first day we were late (surprise!) and the trainer was already annoyed. She issued us each 2 manuals which we went through page by page. I have trouble paying attention for more than 10 minutes especially if I deem the subject unimportant. I mainly went so that S would go. She paid a little more attention than me. Soon we were giggling and passing notes. The trainer basically ignored us. They fed us Fats Cafe for lunch. After lunch , we were both sleepy, but we got to make register receipts with personalized messages. S made one that said "Our pharmacist smells like poop". We laughed even harder when the trainer did not notice the message. We survived the first day and headed for the hotel. We checked in, changed our clothes, and decided to go out to eat. I think we probably saw the first cockroach before we departed.

Today, I got to truly enjoy being the owner of my own store. Kai is off for Christmas break. This is the first year in about 7 years that I do not have to make arrangement with his aunts, my parents, or friends to keep him while I go to work. He spent most of the day with me in the store. We played Scrabble in the morning. He won. Then, we started a game of Star Wars Monopoly. I have never completed a game of Monopoly before. We played all afternoon and are scheduled to resume play in the morning. We also filled 15 prescriptions which is busy for us at this point.

I am stressed about Christmas this year. Of course, we are broke. I expected to be broke, but not like this. We have been working on getting a loan for working capital since June. We are working with our third bank now. I haven't drawn a salary since October. JP is not moonlighting this year. We are living on her tiny resident's salary. We would be shutting our doors if JP's family had not given us so much financial support over the past 2 months. I know that Kai is going to have a great Christmas, but very little of it will be coming from me. JP tells me that he has enough stuff and that I am just trying to compete with my parents (and what they buy for Tate). I don't think that I try and compete. In fact, I try to find things he will use and like over time, not just the latest greatest thingy. I loved Christmas so much when I was a kid that I would wake up at 5 am. I just want Kai to have that feeling. When I did find out that my parents (Mom) was Santa, I was amazed at all the work she did to make our Christmas great.

My friend,C, has encouraged me to read Atlas Shrugged. She believes in the philosophies outlined in this book. C is particularly invested portion of the philosophy that deals with selfishness. For example, C and her partner took JP and I to lunch. C later told me that it was actually a selfish act because it gave her pleasure to buy our lunch. She also said that our friendship was worth so much more than a mere lunch. I can identify with this. I buy gifts for people including my son because I want to bring joy to those who bring me joy. I always try to put a great deal of thought into gifts. It is hard to be so limited financially this holiday season. I have to continue to move forward and realize that it will not always be this difficult.

It seems to me that most people, including gay people, feel the need to place same sex couples into gender roles. JP and I don't fit into these roles. I dress in a more feminine way than JP and she wears a baseball cap because she hates fixing her hair. So, many people classify me as the girl and JP as the boy. I cook, install fans, and own a large tool box. JP pays the bills, organizes Kai and I, and is in charge of all the electronics. As I stated, I helped the girlfriend with some of the construction work. I was unemployed so I was also working on several projects around the house. The girlfriend could not stop talk about me getting in touch with my butch side and how she was going to make a butch girl of me. I fixed things around the house when I was married. Then, I was handy. Now that I live with a woman, I am butch. Not that I think that butch is a negative thing. I just don't like being confined to a definition. I also feel like when members of the LGBT use these definitions they take away from the uniqueness of same sex relationships. Enough about gender roles for now.

So, my sister and I repainted the walls as soon as the construction was completed. We got mistaken for a painting crew by a couple of geeky male architects. I guess that is because we are Hispanic as is the entire landscaping crew for Pleasantville. The last part of the project was to lay the carpet. A, the girlfriend, JP, and I met on Sunday afternoon. The girlfriend told us it would take 3-4 hours. It was more like 8 hours. It was hard work. Just after lunch, we had a visitor. This man stopped in to talk to us about using him for a CPA. He kept insisting that we could not possibly laying the carpet ourselves. We even told him that the girlfriend had laid carpet before. He could not wrap his mind around 4 women completing such a project. We finished around 8:00 pm.

The next week the counters and shelves where put in. I began working on the multiple license and setting up inspections. Then, the computers were installed. The following week I was inspected by the Board of Pharmacy. It went very smoothly since I knew the inspector and had everything in place, but the internet. I had no phone or internet service at this time. I was trying to open in two weeks and the people I bought my phone equipment were anxious to install them. The installer, C, called me twice a day for 2 weeks. I was calling my phone service provider, Bell South, and anyone else that would listen. I needed 4 new line run into the building and no one seemed to know who was going to do it. I am amazed that there was only 1 line to begin with. How many businesses only use 1 line? We probably need more phone service that most businesses, but everyone probably needs at least 2 lines. I finally get that resolved and then we begin waiting for our DEA number. The medications arrived on October 31, two weeks after the DEA number

On November 1, we open for business. We were not set up to take any insurance and our credit card machine was not working (though we did not know it).

Let me start by saying that the girlfriend and the electrician saved my ass. It came with a price though and it was more than monetary. My friends and family warned me about hiring a "friend". Well, the girlfriend was never actually my friend. She swept in A's life about 8 months ago. I thought it was weird that she had no friends or family to speak of. I also had begun to suspect A's judgment by this time. However, I really needed some carpentry and some dry walling done. I found the electrician through a friend, but he had no interest in the other part. I also liked the idea of giving work to someone who was helping to support my best friend and her kids.

The girlfriend did a great job, but it took so much longer than I expected. It should have been done in two weeks, but it took four weeks. She lives about an hour and a half away so I promised to pay for gas. I expected her to arrive around 8:30 or 9:00 am and leave around 5:00 pm. I also offered to let her stay overnight. A typical day started at 11:00 am and ended at 2:00 pm. She did stay one night, but only because she and A were involved in one of their psychotic dramas (that is a whole other post). It was a strange time for me because it was exciting to see the progress, but I dreaded see her and/or the electrician. It was like having lingering guest and you have to pay them. I did help as much as I could, but I found the forced conversation too taxing. I felt like she was fishing for some information about A. They have a dramatic relationship filled with jealousy and mistrust so I never knew if what I casually mentioned would turn into a fight. She spent way too much time on the phone or crying while I was also on the phone with A. I am sad to say that shortly after the project was finished, A and I stopped speaking. It had nothing to do specifically with the project, because I was pleased with the final outcome and I compensated the girlfriend more than fairly. A withdrew from me and I got sick of having a one-sided friendship.

So, we have the drama from our construction worker and then we add in the *odd* electrician and his partner. S is a large man from Chicago and N is a small woman from South Carolina. Again, they saved my ass. S is great at his job and he is also one of those people who has lots of opinions which he must share. They seem to be forever on a break. When they were working, he was downright nasty and disrespectful to her. She would spend 1/2 hours at a time in the car with the window shades put up in the front window. It was freaking hot. I am not saying she was shooting up in her car, but it sure seemed like it. I also never knew when they were coming to working. Unlike the girlfriend, they did not come every day. When they did come they would stay until 9:00 pm or later. By week four I was so done with all of them. S and N had been over for a couple of days in a row and they kept telling me that they were almost finished. Around 8:00 pm this one Thursday, I am standing in the kitchen ranting about them going home to myself (I thought). Well, my tape recorder, also known as Kai, went downstairs and told they that it was time for them to go home. So N calls me and asks if everything is okay and "did we make you mad?" I felt awful. I had to go downstairs and try and take it back. I explained that I was frustrated and tired. I felt even worse when they gave me the billed. They charged me about half of what one should pay for an electrician labor. I am happy to say that everything finally got finished and works perfectly. I also am still trying to make up for being such an asshole by giving S and N a discount on their medications.

Next post, we lay carpet (hee,hee)....

Since we have been open for just over six weeks now, I feel that I must record some of the problems we have had.

July-August 2005- Closing was a nightmare. The builder was ready to close at the end of June. My realtor lost interest in the process after the contract was signed in February. She also told us what we wanted to hear rather than the facts. The mortage was a huge hassle because this property is a mix of commercial and residential property. Oh, did I mention that my parents actually bought the property? I had to serve as the mediator between the builder, the mortgage people, and my father. The problem with that situation was that my name was not on the mortgage at all and I have a different last name. Needless to say, it only confused the process even more. The closing date got changed 5 times. My lawyer, who is also my neighbor, was ridiculously patient. The builder was nice enough to allow us to move in 10 days before the actual closing. I did most of the packing up of our apartment and I moved several loads of boxes by myself. The last time I moved was five years ago. I am not terrible concerned or even aware about my aging. However, I felt every bit 5 years older moving all of our stuff. I was not able to help on moving day which is still a point of contention. We spent our first night here on July 29th.

After the closing, I began the search for a contractor. So every day for a month I called and recalled a variety of contractors. Some thought the job was too small, some thought the job was too complex. My favorites were the 3 or 4 who came over and spent an hour or more and NEVER called me back. I decided during this time that I should have chosen a different profession. I should have become an electrician or a contractor. I could have made a ton of money by just returning calls and showing up on time. I don't know if it is a gender thing, but these guys would not call me back, not even to tell me that they did not want the job. I ended up hiring my best friend's girlfriend and a random electrician. I will continue with that misadventure tomorrow

I am D. I just open a new community pharmacy in the beautiful state of South Carolina. I have been searching blog space for a blog written by a pharmacist. I have been reading some excellent blogs by nurses and doctors, but no pharmacists. I realized that I could create a blog and document the experience of opening my own business and my own leftist thoughts.

I will start by introducing the people who will appear frequently through out this blog. J (or JP) is my life and business partner as well as the business manager. She is a resident in psycharistry. Psycharists are the ones with medical degrees who can prescribe medicines. Please don't mention that you *also* have a degree in psychology. S is my sister and the over-the-counter products manger. She is 6 months pregant with a girl. K is my eight year old son.

After many months of delays and construction, we open our doors November 1. We are located in a planned community. My friends call it "Pleasantville". It is. No, really .... it is. Sometimes, I feel like a little kid playing house. Of course, I think we are the only gay couple in the entire place. I always introduce J as my partner and people ask me if she lives upstairs with me. Oh,yeah, another unique feature of this business is the building itself. It is a live and work townhome. There are 3 stories. The bottom floor is where the pharmacy is located. The top two floors are our home. So, back to J, people here do not understand that she is my significant other. I could introduce her as my girlfriend, but that means friend here in the South. "Lover" sound too pornish to me. "Wife" seems confrontational.

My plan is to share my experiences in Pleasantville.....