The Daily Grind

Life has settled into a very comfortable routine, finally. I'm working regular hours, the kids are used to the fact that Brad takes care of them most of the time, and Brad is now accustomed to managing the household and kids. I've finally stopped needing my GPS to get to work and back (give me a break, I've been driving in the dark, rain and fog for the past few weeks!) and I understand the American accent a little better now.

Working in an American pharmacy is amazing. The system we work with at Rite Aid is fantastic - it makes the work day so simple and hassle-free; it's practically paperless. Prescriptions come from the doctor's rooms electronically, we fill them and bill the insurance electronically, and the patient gets notified to pick up the medication electronically. Alternatively, the patient can send us an electronic request for medication, we send an electronic request to the doctor, the doctor replies electronically, and the patient is electronically notified to pick up their medication - all without a single phone call or fax message being sent.

Most of the people I work with are great - upbeat and fun, really enjoyable. My manager, on the other hand, is a pain in the neck. He constantly tries to make me feel stupid, and reprimands me for not doing things properly when I haven't been shown the right way to do them. He gave me a written warning for a mistake I made in my second week on the job - 2 more written warnings mean I get fired. He never misses an opportunity to tell me how much more money than me he makes (despite the fact that I'll be earning the same in about 10 months), how much better educated he is than I am (despite the fact that I passed an equivalence exam that satisfied the Board of Pharmacy that I am equivalently qualified), or to pass on "helpful tips" on how to be a good pharmacist (despite the fact that I've been a pharmacist for 9 years, he for 3). In my head, I know that I shouldn't let him get me down, but he wears me down with constant reprimands multiple times a day, to the point that I come home feeling inadequate and incompetent. It doesn't matter how perfectly I do anything, he finds something wrong with everything I do, at least a dozen times a day. I'm not in a position to argue, having only been on the job for 4 weeks, so I just nod and try to do it better next time...

On the bright side, I will soon be splitting my week between 2 pharmacies, and the way my schedule works out, I'll only have to work with this guy one day every 2 weeks. I can't wait.

Socially, I haven't made many friends yet. Working full time and studying the rest of the time doesn't leave much time for finding friends. Brad has made friends at CrossFit, where he works out 2-3 times a week with the Benades. They are a bunch of insanely fit, good-looking people who are passionate about their health and about CrossFit. They routinely do things like lift 1 million times their body weight, do 1000 push-ups on their pinky fingers, and run 50 miles in a single workout, (and that's just the ladies!) on a strict diet of broccoli, lean chicken and almond milk. I've met some of them, and they are all wonderful people, but I have to fight the urge to shrink into the shadows and try to hide my unsculpted form. I can't tell those people the ugly truth about myself - that I can barely do 10 push-ups, and that I partake of bread and ice cream and cheesecake. When they start talking about burpees and thrusters and pull-ups, I hang out with the kids and we talk about Humpty Dumpty and the three blind mice.

Brad and I wake up at 5am every morning so I can work out (he's my personal trainer because I have no willpower). Some mornings I get a workout in, but often the kids wake up and we lose the opportunity. It's very frustrating, especially when I see how defined and strong he is, and I realise I'll never get there at this rate. Another thing to feel inadequate about... I guess I'll just go get myself a big bowl of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream then.

So that's me, folks - a shadow of my former self. An incompetent pharmacist, a fat, slovenly wife and social misfit. Things can only get better from here. I'll keep you updated on my progress - hold thumbs for me.