A day in the life of a radical pharmacy owner

J was giving me a hard time today about not blogging. I started a post 2 weeks ago. When I was half way through, the computer froze up and it was lost. It is hard to make yourself recreate a lost post. It was about my son going on vacation with my family while I stayed home and blogged. Now two weeks later, I have other stuff to blog about.

I created a MySpace page for myself and for the pharmacy. My page is so-so, but I really like the pharmacy page. You can check it out at http://www.myspace.com/carolinafamilypharmacy

There is a ton of positive stuff going on here in Pleasantville. A family practioner will be opening his office in the building next to us by October 1st. He has come in here several times to meet me and talk to me. He will be e-prescribing. That means he will be able to send prescriptions directly from his office to us at the pharmacy. E-prescribing reduces errors due to mis-read prescription. It also reduces diversion of narcotics. I think it will also encourage people to use this pharmacy since they can transmit it while the patients check-out at their office. We will be able to have the prescriptions ready by the time they get here.

The next bit of good news is that the builder is close to signing a contract for two of the units in my building. The business is supposed to be a veterinarian's office. This would be great for us also. Many of the same medications used in humans are also used in animals. Animals have no prescription insurance. They are strictly cash clients. The vet would also help us to move more quickly towards compounding medication.

July was a much better month in sales. We are going to put out flyers next week and try to keep the upward trend going. K started 4th grade yesterday. We were all a little bit nervous. J started her child fellowship this month. It means longer hours and more intense work. We are having K's birthday party on Saturday and a Premier Jewelry party on Sunday. We are very busy!

I have been a bad blogger. Every time I think about how I need to blog, I remember how long it has been since I have written. Then, I collapse into a spiral of shame and still don't write. *The shame spiral is something my friend JJ from pharmacy school taught me about.

What's going on? Well, June was a scary month. We were down by 11 prescriptions. I started taking medication for my anxiety. It was helping, but I was not at the optimum dose. So on the advice of my doctor, I increased the dose twice over a two week period. After the first increase, everything was great. That week I was calmer, more focused, and definitely more productive. The second increase was a mistake. I took the higher dose for 5 days. I felt like I was having a constant panic attack. I did not sleep well. The worst effect was the akathisia. Akathisia is a feeling of internal restlessness. My muscles want to jerk and move repetitively. I needed to pace around the pharmacy all day. I want to drink alcohol all day. I was getting very little work completed. I had no idea what was going on and described the feelings to JP. She immediately recognized that my dose was too high. I reduced my dose and two days later I felt the same. The medication I am taking has a very long half-life (it stays around in the body for a long time). I finally stop taking it all together. It still took 5 days to feel normal again. I truly felt like I was going crazy. I started the medication at the lowest dose on Wednesday (with some trepidation) and I am feeling great.

July has been great so far. I put flyers out and several new families have moved in. I have done 20 or more prescriptions every day and 10 or more on Saturdays. We having a blood drive next week. Lake Carolina has signed a contract with a family practice doctor. Things are looking up.

May was a tough month in the pharmacy. We are still on track with our business plan, but the cost of drugs is much higher than we planned. When I put together my estimates, I used a drug cost of 75% of my projected sales. This is a common method, but it is not realistic. Most drugs that we purchase come in 100 count bottles. So if someone brings in a prescription for 30 Prevacid, I buy a 100 count bottle for $425.11. My monthly estimate only accounted for a cost of $127.53, but I spent $425.11. I have to buy the drugs so we have had to reduce our payroll.

We let D go a couple of weeks ago. It was awful. I was unable let her go so JP did it. I want to be a great employer. I want to be fair and consistent. I want people to enjoy working here. I am starting out poorly. I feel like it was unfair of me to hire another employee when I still can't pay myself. It was not fair to her, but more importantly it was not fair to my family. I know that I should have been the one to let her go, but I could not.

I have decided to cash out my 401k that I set up 8 years ago. I have only been putting back $50 a month so it is not a lot of money. It is enough to get us through the summer without paying me a salary. It fills me with anxiety because I know how important it is to save for retirement. I told J that when we do start to have some money that we had to put the maximum that we can into a new Roth.

I still love my job even when things are rough.

You Are Cyclops

Dedicated and responsible, you will always remain loyal to your cause.You are a commanding leader - after all, you can kill someone just by looking at them. Power: force beams from your eyes

This is perfect! I will write a real post tomorrow.

I headed out to the Pride Festival at 12:00 pm after shutting down the pharmacy an hour early. D had checked us in and set up the tent. I brought sunscreen, hand sanitizer, wet wipes, and my business cards. We set these items on our table and hung a sign that said " Forgot your sunscreen? Stop in and get some." I should had put the word "free" somewhere on the sign since dozens of people thought we were selling sunscreen. I probably only talked to 2 people who will actually consider bring their business to me, but the day was success. The tent was close to the stage so we were able to watch all of the entertainment including an awesome comedianne that J and I have hung out with a couple of times. I was sitting in the shade the entire time and people came to me instead of me having to mingle with them. I had two excellent encounters, as well. The first was with a friend of D's. I was explaining to him that I do not like the sun since it doesn't fit with my gothic-like style. He said
"You will be really grateful for that when you get into your thirties."
Ha! I am 20+12 so I really appreciated the comment. The second encounter was with a reader of the blog. It was so awesome to meet someone who reads the blog that I don't officially know. You made my day.
We packed up an hour early because I got 2 pages for patients that needed prescriptions. I came back to Pleasantville and took care of my patients. I talked to J while I was at home. She made it to Canada safelyand was headed out to a women's dinner. I almost stayed home because I did not want to drive back downtown. However, I forced myself to head out to the lesbian bar. I sat with members of the lesbian area network, an email/social group I belong to. B is the coordinator for the network. She is outgoing, funny, and slightly pushy. She is constantly drawing new women into the network and forcing them to interact. Tonight, I met 2 couples that are about the same age and J and I. The first couple was composed of an alternative grocery store employee/doctorate of religious studies and a server/nursing student who just moved here from the small town I worked at during my fellowship. The second couple was composed of a water quality monitor/rugby player and another rugby player/ job unknown. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to both couples and hope to hang out with them again. B coerced me into dancing several time. She will not take "no" for an answer. We danced until about 12:00 pm and B suggested we go to the show bar. I agreed to go because I wanted to stay out until at least 1:00 am. Most of the time, J and I go home by midnight or before. I was trying to prove to myself that she is the one who wants to go home early. However, at 11:30 I was trying to go home, but B won't let me. I went to close my tab, but it mysteriously disappear. I am not sure if the bartender was too busy to find my tab or if she was excited to see me without my girlfriend. Either way, thanks.
When we got to the other bar, B paid cover charge. It was packed. I wanted to leave immediately, but stayed because B had paid for me to get in. I am so glad I stayed. I saw Pepper MaShay perform live and she was great. Pepper MaShay is best known for the song from Queer as Folk that frequently played at Babylon, "Let's get soaking wet". Then, to end my night on a high note, the regular live singer at that bar came out dressed in a cream zoot suit and sang "Minnie the Moocher" (to me). My Columbia Pride 2006 was almost perfect. I just wish J had been here to enjoy it with me.

This was published in our esteemed newspaper yesterday:
Voters should protect marriage
By KAREN JO GOUNAUD
Guest columnist
Guest columnist David R. Gillespie on April 21 addressed what is perhaps the most important issue of the Nov. 7 election: the constitutional definition of marriage in South Carolina.
The meaning of that institution from the beginning of time has been "one man, one woman." Unfortunately, the homosexual lobby has made considerable progress in recent years toward discounting that sacred definition. With the help of savvy marketing techniques, biased media, relentless legal manipulators and activist judges, the laws and culture have been radically changing. Consequently, more and more Americans now accept or excuse a virtual potpourri of sexual identities and behaviors that our nation once rejected and condemned.
Attacking traditional marriage has become the activists' most important effort in this culture war. Because of all the misleading, inaccurate claims the public has accepted, it has become imperative for South Carolina to protect itself from this aggression in a special way: by creating and adopting the South Carolina Marriage Amendment.
South Carolina citizens can best prepare for this historical voting opportunity through objective fact-finding and respectful discussion. One of the finest reports available is an article by author Frank Turek called "Protecting America's Immune System - A Reasonable Argument Against Homosexual Marriage."
Mr. Turek warns against both homosexual marriage and civil unions. He calls traditional marriage "the national immune system that protects our civilization from destruction." Anyone preparing seriously for the Nov. 7 vote should read his full report.
Here are some of his major points and arguments:
"Traditional marriage is beneficial to the public welfare." The majority of skilled, objective family analysts consider it the gold standard for raising children. It results in lower rates for poverty, suicide and crime while bringing better health conditions. It also lowers government welfare costs and makes men more focused and responsible. It provides women, especially mothers, with more security, improves the life span of both spouses and encourages an adequate replacement birth rate.
"Homosexual behavior is destructive to the public welfare" by increasing health problems among those practicing homosexual sex, shortening the median life span by 20 years to 30 years, spreading disease to innocent people and costing Americans millions of dollars in higher medical insurance premiums.
Legalization of homosexual marriage also leads to more destructive attitudes toward traditional marriage and parenting. For example, in Norway, after a decade of legalized homosexual marriage, out of wedlock births have soared (to)... nearly 70 percent of all children. "When the entry standards for marriage are weakened to include same-sex couples," says Turek, "marriage and child-bearing will just be considered incidental."
Closer to home, Massachusetts' homosexual marriages have a shorter history, but the results are already provocative. For example, concerned second-grade public school parents in Lexington were recently told that because of Massachusetts' legalization of homosexual marriage, children's gay advocacy books like King and King (where the prince marries another prince) are required classroom reading.
Even more disturbing, Catholic Charities of Boston, one of the nation's oldest adoption agencies (specializing) in finding good homes for hard-to-place kids, had to shut down because it could not in good conscience place kids with homosexual couples as it was now required to do for a state license. That requirement is also contrary to the constitutional principles of religious liberty.
Activist Massachusetts judges and weak legislators have proven that only the power of a state constitutional amendment, perhaps even a federal marriage amendment, can keep the Massachusetts story from repeating itself here.
Traditional marriage is America's, and South Carolina's, immune system. Without the structure and strength of true marriage, and the civilized family and community life that flows from it, the fabric of our civilization is in danger of being destroyed.
Strong traditional families still exist across America, but they need help. The marriage amendment is essential to give that help to the children and families of South Carolina.
Ms. Gounaud is the founder and past president of Family Friendly Libraries. She is a Christian musician and writer in Columbia.

So I wrote this letter to the editor:
Karen Jo Gounaud would like us to believe that the "protection" of marriage is the most important issue in the upcoming election. Is she living in the same country that I live in? Every day, we are sending young men and women to fight in a war that most of us no longer support. Many families are struggling to pay bills as gas prices continue to rise. Millions of American have inadequate health insurance and health care. This is divisive and unnecessary amendment that would undermine the Constitution.
She goes on to encourage the citizens of South Carolina to prepare for the vote "through objective fact-finding and respectful discussion". She suggests reading the article "Protecting America's Immune System - A Reasonable Argument Against Homosexual Marriage" by Frank Turek. This article is neither objective nor based in fact. The "fact" that gay men live shorter lives and are sicker than the general population comes from a study done by Paul Cameron. He has been censure by several professional associations including the American Psychological and the American Socialogical Association for his flawed study methodology and misrepresentation of facts. He used the obituaries of gay men in 1983-1984 to create his data. I agree that there should be a respectful discussion. This inflammatory, psuedo-scientific article is not the starting place for this discussion. I suggest instead that you talk to a homosexual person. We will be happy to tell you about our non-legal families and why we want to be able to get married. If you sit down with a gay family and still believe that same-sex marriage should banned, then vote for this amendment. Let's really discuss the issue and not use fear and ignorance as the basis for our decision. If you don't know any gay people, check out www.scequality.org and watch a video about our families.

I hope it gets published. I am sure they got plenty of letters on the topic. J says that they will call me before they print it and there have been no calls so far.

J got on plane to Canada today. She is presenting at a national meeting. I am so proud of her, but I will miss her. I am headed out to Pride. I am bring my cards and sunscreen for people who may have forgotten.

I am having some blogger block today so I am going to string together a few small thoughts.

There was some interesting news on the pharmacy front a couple of weeks ago. A student at the University of Cumberlands (a "Christian" university) was recently expelled as a result of his MySpace page. The student had listed his sexual orientation as gay. The student was expelled and told that he could not finish his last semester and graduate. The kid hired a lawyer and started talking to the school. The interesting pharmacy part is that this university is trying to receive funding for their new pharmacy school. The state briefly considered not giving the funding, but the student settled with the school. He was allowed to finish out the semester and will be transferring to another school. Of course, the school will receive the money for the pharmacy school. I do not think state money should go to a university that does not have the same anti-discrimination policies as the state has. I read a rumor that I have not been able to find again that the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) may not accredit the school unless it changes it policies. I will try to keep up with that story. It will take a couple of years to build the school and then some more time for accreditation.

I have had to come out to two sets of patients that last couple weeks. Coming out is such an involved process. I put a rainbow sticker on my car and an HRC equal sign on the door of the pharmacy. Do I have to cut my hair into a mullet? :) The first couple were very funny. We were talking about Jennifer. The wife asked me if I was in a relationship with her. Her husband was soo embarrassed. He did not think I was gay (I am actually bisexual, but whatever). He had introduced me to his single friend the week before. The guy owns a restaurant and did not give me a second look. I am not young enough, thin enough, or blond enough. I am so clueless though because I did realize that he was trying to set me up. The second couple just kind of stumbled on the information when asking me if she also lived with me. They then proceeded to tell me about this really cool gay guy that used to live next to them. I felt like they were trying to sell me on how progressive and open they were.

I was watching render, a video about Ani Difranco. She is amazing. I love Ani Fucking Difranco.

Pride season is here. We have been going to Pride fundraisers all over. Tonight, we are going to attend the Mr. SC Pride pageant. We sponsored a contestant. It should be fun since the best of our drag king troupe are competing in the contest. Next week, we are setting up a table at the Pride festival to promote the pharmacy. The week after that I am going to Pensacola Pride.

I am continuing to try and blog at least once a week. It is becoming difficult for me to blog during work hours so I will be trying to blog on Saturday afternoons.