I still know there was something I had to do...

[Kristie]

Just remember...

my problem at the moment is that I have a final project for a class due at 5pm tomorrow.
It's the very last thing I have to do for class ever.
I'm finding it difficult to be motivated.

 

[Liesje]

Oh yeah, and Lies... Pam no longer works at the company... but go ahead and email her because I'm not quite sure who you're actually supposed to contact lol

OK, do you know any HR people? I'll probably have to re-submit the CV anyway now that I'm done with my internship and actually have a degree.

 

[Merc]

It's been aaaages since I've posted in one of these threads...

How is everyone?

 

[Kristie]

ummmmmmmm
I'm a little messed up with the sleep schedule at the moment.
Saturday night I got 4 hours of sleep, then sunday night I got 2 hours, then last night I got no hours and now I just slept from noon to 7:30pm.
I might have to drug myself to sleep tonight if I don't want to become a crazy nocturnal person.

 

[Ultraviolet Light]

Hi, I'm done with college.

 

[kellyahern]

Hi, I'm done with college.

 

[Liesje]

Yeah, so my foot is fucked up and if it isn't fixed in a month, I'll be in a boot and on crutches.

 

[kellyahern]

What happened to your foot?

 

[Liesje]

I have "turf toe" (walking/running on only hard surfaces). I walk a lot and two months ago, it was just really painful and swollen one day and has been painful ever since. The tissue and cartiledge where the big toe meets the foot is damaged and inflamed. It's hard to fix unless you can immobilize the foot for a while. It's funny because I can still to all my tumbling on the trampolines, but it hurts to walk normally.


In other shittastic news, Grand Rapids is currently the eye of a shitty low pressure system. It's snowing in Holland (45 minutes from here). We're right where the swirly thing starts. The barometric pressure is that of a Cat 3 hurricane.

 

[Kristie]

oohhh lies hurt her proximal hallucial phalanx!

love,
I just got an A in that class

on another note, the $850 for the flight to the tiny island has officially been spent.
My credit card is officially crying.
and I am officially still not happy that they're not giving me my money all at once so I can't pay this off right away

 

[Liesje]

I just created the most amazing smell...

First, Max decided to take a huge shit in the hall litter box (he'll never use the ones in the CAT room). So the whole basement smelled like steamy deuce and since it's literally freezing out I can't open the window so I was suffocating.

I found my $21 christmas candle with the burnt out wick, smashed it with a hammer into chucks, put them in a tin cat food bowl (cats tried to eat it, just because it was in a cat bowl), then added some shavings of my favorite incense sticks, and stole Melissa's candle warmer (melts all the wax, like those coffee mug warmers). My room smells sooooo good. I keep flaring my nostrils to get a bigger whiff....can we upload smells over the Internet yet?

 

[Kristie]

that story did not start out very promising

but I predict a day in the future where smells can be sent over the internet! Some day!

 

[Merc]

Well, yesterday turned out to be a real lucky day here too...

When watching the late evening news I found out the Pres. Clinton had been in town all day and I hadn't heard a thing about it - he was here to give a speach, same thing as Bono did here in January, so if I had known about it I could have gone downtown to see him and maybe even get to say "Hello" or get an autograph! It's not that I'm the biggest Clinton-fan in the world, but it would just have been a cool experience...

And... earlier, in the afternoon, I had to go to the doctor because I had troubles breathing - turns out my allergies have transformed into fullblown astma!
When I went to pick up all my medicine at the pharmacy, the lady on the other side of the counter was very eager to explain all about the inhalators... until I told her that I didn't think it was necessary since I was a pharmacist! She was like "Ohhh! "

 

[Liesje]

that story did not start out very promising

Yeah, uh, necessity is the mother of invention, right?

 

[Liesje]

heh, Merc, your story reminds me of when I go into Best Buy or CompUSA or any electronic store for computer parts and they try to explain what RAM is and what a hard drive does and such. Sometimes, I see how long I can take it before I tell them I'm a computer repair technician.

 

[Kristie]

word.
I mean, I'm not a computer repair technician, but I can manage better than many. I don't mind it too much though, those people have to cater to the lowest common denominator. Plus... I admit I don't exactly emit an aura of genius.

I get it at hardware stores, too.
Believe it or not, I do actually know a little bit about construction.

 

[Merc]

heh, Merc, your story reminds me of when I go into Best Buy or CompUSA or any electronic store for computer parts and they try to explain what RAM is and what a hard drive does and such. Sometimes, I see how long I can take it before I tell them I'm a computer repair technician.

Yeah, sometimes I do that too! But I was just so tired of everything - not being able to breath properly makes you pretty impatient... so I thought I'd might as well tell her from the beginning so I could get out of there as fast as possible!

I actually did it in January when buying my malaria profylaxis... when the lady behind the counter was explaining everything about the medicine to me I was just like "", you know, the ordinary very polite and interested customer... when she saw how much I needed and what the price would be (650$!) she asked me where I was going and if I was going on holiday, and I told her that, no, it wasn't a holdiday it was going to be hard work... then she wanted to know what I was going to work with, and I told her that it was my masters project... and so she wanted to know what I was writing my masters in and I told her "Pharmacy" she got the same "Ohhhh "-look!

I don't know, I think it's because I am actually very young for being a pharmacist...

 

[Liesje]

Did you have to have a yellow fever vaccine? I did and I got some yellow fever from it. The worst part lasted about 12 hours. I felt like I was going crazy, I was dilusional! Then I just had "norma" fever and flu for a few days. Weird stuff.

 

[Kristie]

Guys?
I'm sad.
I'm moving away on Monday and I didn't think I would be quite this sad... but I'm really sick of struggling to make friends and then moving away as soon as I do...
and even then, usually I'm not too distraught about not seeing them anymore, but I found some good ones here and I am really quite distraught.

 

[bonosloveslave]

Kristie

 

[Merc]

Did you have to have a yellow fever vaccine? I did and I got some yellow fever from it. The worst part lasted about 12 hours. I felt like I was going crazy, I was dilusional! Then I just had "norma" fever and flu for a few days. Weird stuff.

Yellow fever, Twinrix, the whole package...

But I didn't get sick from any of them - my arm just hurt really bad after one, can't remember which one actually... maybe it was the menigitis...

But I remember that the doctor who did the vaccinations asked me if I had any food alleriges, I think it was eggs especially, because if I had then I could get sick from one of the vaccines... again I don't remember which one...

I admit, vaccines is not the field in pharmacy that has my biggest interest!

But what you went through sounds horrible! I feel very lucky that I got through 3 months in a high endemic malaria zone in rural Kenya (with frequent visits to health facilities, talking to patients etc) with only a case of very light pneumonia! A friend of mine, that was in Kenya at the same time as me, but in a different place, got malaria a week after she arrived - apparently her profylaxis didn't work that well!

 

[Merc]

Guys?
I'm sad.

I'm sorry Kristie!

I've moved out a few times, but it's always been for shorter periods and I've always returned back home again, so I haven't really got any good advise...

I hope things get better soon!

 

[Liesje]

Yellow fever, Twinrix, the whole package...

But I didn't get sick from any of them - my arm just hurt really bad after one, can't remember which one actually... maybe it was the menigitis...

But I remember that the doctor who did the vaccinations asked me if I had any food alleriges, I think it was eggs especially, because if I had then I could get sick from one of the vaccines... again I don't remember which one...

I admit, vaccines is not the field in pharmacy that has my biggest interest!

But what you went through sounds horrible! I feel very lucky that I got through 3 months in a high endemic malaria zone in rural Kenya (with frequent visits to health facilities, talking to patients etc) with only a case of very light pneumonia! A friend of mine, that was in Kenya at the same time as me, but in a different place, got malaria a week after she arrived - apparently her profylaxis didn't work that well!

I believe it's the meningitis that is grown in a culture containing egg.

Ellen and I were worried about malaria. First, because the pills our Health Services gave us as part of the course had a side effect of yeast infections! Yeah right! We both paid extra to get the name-brand Malarone from our own doctors. We were very careful about reminding each other to take it at the exact same time every day. Our professor was worried about malaria as well, especially in one particular area. I tried using the nets, but I would get so tangled I'm not sure if it did any good!

I actually got sick the second day there and was sick for the first 2.5 weeks. I lost 12 pounds! Finally I found some Cipro in a med kit and just took it. It must've killed whatever was in my stomach because I was finally feeling better as we were leaving. Then I got a sinus infection on the plane home and ended up being sick with viral infections for five months back in the States. I had to see the Dr. three times b/c of fever. They said anytime we had a fever we had to go in to make sure it wasn't malaria.

Next time I go, I'm getting a prescription for the Cipro to take along. Must've been bad water (which I was very careful about, but what can you do?)

 

[kellyahern]

Kristie

 

[Merc]

Ellen and I were worried about malaria. First, because the pills our Health Services gave us as part of the course had a side effect of yeast infections! Yeah right! We both paid extra to get the name-brand Malarone from our own doctors. We were very careful about reminding each other to take it at the exact same time every day. Our professor was worried about malaria as well, especially in one particular area. I tried using the nets, but I would get so tangled I'm not sure if it did any good!

...same time every day AND with the biggest meal of the day! Sorry, it comes with the profession!





Anyways...

I don't know what it is with that malaria profylaxis thing!

The doctor I went to to get my perscription was the same doctor that had taught me in tropical medicine just a few months earlier...

So, when I'm in his office to get my perscription, he asks me what I want, and before I can answer he says "What about chloroquine?" - I was like "WHAT?!" , cos a few months earlier he just taught me that the Falciparum parasite was resistant to chloroquine in the area where I was going!

So, I just say "Ehh, no thanks, I was thinking of..." and before I can finish he says "Lariam?" - again I was all and I told him, no, that I wouldn't take Lariam because of the side effects* and that I would like Malarone... and then he said that he would actually also recommend Malarone, he was just suggesting the other things because I was a student and he thought I had to save some money!!!

I thought slepping under net was cosy in some way... just not when I got a mosquito inside the net!


*) I know Malarone is not without side effects as well (and especially not when you have to take it for 3 months - it's not even approved for use over 1 month here!), but... chosing between insanity and liver damage...





ETA: I've uploaded a few pics from my trip to the rain forest - more to come soon! http://forum.interference.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=3703311#post3703311

 

[hippy]

Guys?
I'm sad.
I'm moving away on Monday and I didn't think I would be quite this sad... but I'm really sick of struggling to make friends and then moving away as soon as I do...
and even then, usually I'm not too distraught about not seeing them anymore, but I found some good ones here and I am really quite distraught.

Are you going back home?

You can come live with me in Boston

And maybe you'll meet some really awesome people on the tiny island of St. Eustasis!

 

[Kristie]

merc - those are beautiful pictures!
and I got way too excited for knowing that was a black and white colobus monkey

yes, I'm going back home... in fact, I'm halfway there. We've stopped for the night in the middle of pennsylvania and the hotel has free wireless.

I'm sure I'll meet some awesome new people!
I hope.
We'll see.

 

[Merc]

merc - those are beautiful pictures!
and I got way too excited for knowing that was a black and white colobus monkey

Thanks!

How come you knew the name of the monkey?

 

[Kristie]

Thanks!

How come you knew the name of the monkey?

the value of a degree in anthropology
I took a class on primates as an undergrad...

 

[Merc]

the value of a degree in anthropology
I took a class on primates as an undergrad...

Yeah, well, that would explain it...