the thing about 12.5 hour shifts...

is the standing... i just wish there wasnt so much standing! i guess i'll get used to it, and i already am- but i tell ya... when they figure out a way to do pharmacy work sitting down, i'll be a happy guy... my feet definitly are feeling much better than before and i have much more energy when i get off shifts now vs. the first couple weeks, i.e.- its not taking as much out of me... i'm enjoing getting to know all the new people-- i really love to work with the night pharmacist, Ron... this guy-- this guy works from 8pm to 8am EVERY NIGHT... not alternating weeks (7 on, 7 off), not 4s and 3s... i mean every single day, day after day, week after week, month after month... his last time off was in february of this year... and before that it was september of last year... its so crazy! but he is a really cool dude, and he loves to talk and he has so many fun stories-- and i look up to him in a lot of ways-- not really in maybe all the ways that MATTER (family, God, ect) but in all the quirky, personality, work ethics, kind of ways-- he's got this extreemly dry sense of humor about most things, but he still will laugh when you tell a joke... and he is a good communicator, meaning he expresses his stories well, and he is a good listener when you are talking-- i'm learning a lot from him.... i get to work with him whenever i stay after 8... today i came in at Noon-- worked till 5 and took a 30 minute lunch break at the ghetto taco bell down the street (and when i say ghetto-- i mean its ghetto for a taco bell!)- i mean after standing there at the register for 5 minutes and having had 3 employees walk by me and not say anything, i was starting to feel A LITTLE unwanted, but thats another story... and then i did from 5:30pm to 12:30am standing back there in the pharmacy (with a bathroom break in there somewhere)... but i had a good time... everyone is very nice and i'm just trying to soak up as much as possible... tonight the topic of girlfriends came up- and all the girls just gasped when i said i hadnt dated in about a year-- they were just like "but you're in pharmacy school, and you're a good looking guy!! whats the problem??" and it wasnt like a polite question, it was like they were seriously bewhildered-- and i was like "well i dunno- i think i'm just really shy and i'm not good at talking to girls and stuff..." and they were really funny and were saying like "ok- so when a cute girl comes to the counter, just go ring her up and when you're giving her the change or handing her her drugs just hold her hand a little... and if she likes you she'll be happy and if she doesnt she'll let you down easy... you're not afraid of rejection, are you?"... it was hilarious- i had a good time talking to all of them... they were just saying how all their boyfriends couldnt get good jobs, and how crazy it was that i had "security" written all over me with the whole- gonna be a pharmacist in 2 years- thing... and they just couldnt imagine how i could ever have any kind of hard time getting a girl-- i think it made me feel good because atleast it wasnt the whole "why would you WANT a girlfriend? you should just prepare yourself mentally to be alone for long periods of time and be happy with that..." philosophy that is repeatedly told to me by my friends on the MJ blog-- and i know they're doing their best to help... buuut anyways...

i am feeling really good, emotionally and my leg is feeling about the same as always, but its not getting any worse, and i'm managing it very well-- i've had several good nights of sleep this week where i've only been up for about 20-30 minutes with pain and have been able to get right back to sleep-- i'd say everything is going very smoothly... and i cant really complain... one thing i've noticed so far this summer is just my shifting attitude about living here alone... at first i thought it would be OK, but bearable, then i thought it was really lonely and i felt kinda sad, but recently i've just been enjoying living alone and feeling very comfortable here... its nice- i mean i live in a REALLY big house all by myself, but i dont even mind any more-- i can be as loud as i want, i can watch movies late with the bass turned up and not worry about keeping anyone else up... i can leave the bathroom door open all the time (ok i know thats too much information...)... and i dont even THINK about anything at all when i'm going to bed (in terms of "oh no!- i'm alone in a large house in a bad part of town and its 1am... i hope nobody breaks in!!")... like i did the first few nights, but i dont even care any more-- worrying doesnt fix anything... it just keeps you up later thinking... better to just relax and go to bed, and if someone breaks in, i'll just deal with it--though i really hope that doesnt happen-- annnny ways--- i have the day off tomorrow because i'm working 8 hours saturday for a girl and that will give me 80 hours for the last 2 weeks and they dont let you go over that-- not that i would have minded... but anyways-- sleep time!-