Saturday, April 30, 2011

Opinions Are Like...

One of the things that chaps my ass more then anything else is when I opine on a subject and am told I can't because "I don"t ____", "I've never___" or "I'm not____" and the like. Some examples "you have a job", "you're not a woman", "you're not married", and the big one "you don't have kids". I will tell you quite honestly that the number of things I'm "not" far outweigh the things that I "am". If everyone could only talk about subjects on which they were experts then the world would be a very quiet place

The thing is this, taking from a famous expression, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and they all stink. But an opinion is a very personal thing and is reflective of how you feel about something and how it affects you, not necessarily the masses. That's why the term "personal opinion" is kind of an oxymoron as all opinions are, at their core, personal...even when it's in the court of public opinion (OK, that was lame). Bottom line-everyone has an opinion on EVERYTHING. Now, whether you agree with this opinion or feel the person giving this opinion is qualified to do so is your problem, not theirs (or mine).

I was thinking that if I was limited to opinions based strictly on who I am then here are the topics; single, forty-something, unmarried, childless, Cambridge, Miller Lite, white hair, pale skin, hockey equipment, Irish heritage...I think that's it. Pretty dull, no? So, no, I will not live by your rules of what I can and can't speak on. I will continue to have an opinion on everything. Whether I choose to share it or not and whether you like it or not is not my concern.

So, in order from above, stop sucking the State dry, I'm sorry it's your time of the month but don't take it out on me, stop being a wuss and letting your wife walk all over you, and you coddle your kids too much, let them walk to school. Wow, that felt good to get that off my chest

Friday, April 08, 2011

Funny Pharm

A (relatively) brief thought for a Friday. There are a lot of jobs that carry a high level of stress or unpleasantness. Cops for example have very stressful jobs. Plumbers have very little to look forward to on their next stop. Proctologist...well, that goes with out say. But I'd have to say one of the worst jobs in this day and age is pharmacist and pharmacy tech. Are there any current jobs where you have to listen to more gut-wrenching, heartbreaking and, yes, preposterous stories from nearly everyone you encounter? It must be hard and it must harden the worker to no end because an hour into their day they've already been emotionally beaten down

Meds have become a huge part of our lives while at the same time insurance coverage gets trickier and pharmacies are caught in the middle. While I waited in line to pick up my prescription last night a woman more or less bared her soul on the pharmacy tech about yes, she can't refill for 2 weeks but that her husband, who has the same prescription, took all her pills and he was out because they couldn't afford the co-pay for his last month and about how her psychiatrist makes her see him before he'll give her a scrip renewal and how she can't afford the office co-pay... I felt kind of bad for her as she seemed, well, desperate. I felt worse for the pharmacy tech who could only say sorry and there's nothing I can do for probably the 100th time that day. As someone who deals with the public and hears sob stories daily I really felt for this guy as honestly, what can he do? It is a sad state of affairs however that this poor lady, so desperate for her meds to keep her going was forced to debase herself in front of this complete stranger as well as all of us in line

I guess my plead to everyone who has an issue is there isn't anything that the person helping you can do. Call your doctor, call your insurance carrier, call your priest, rabbi or imam but don't take it out on the poor pharmacy tech just trying to do their job. There's little they can do for you and making them feel bad doesn't solve any problems