Crazy Intern Pharmacist IV Preview

Picture of The Day

This is a picture of the wife and I during my "photo shoot".  We went to the Redlands airport with Richie to take a few shots for my graduation.  It actually took a lot longer then I was expecting, but my wife and Richie seemed like it was perfectly normal to spend an hour and a half taking pictures of a very non photogenic person.  We got some good pictures, and this is one of my favorites

Thank You: Mom

My mom had always told me that I was "smart" but I am not sure she actually believed that I was smart until after I started Pharmacy School.  But not matter what she thought she has supported me every step of the way (Even if sometimes I took the wrong step). I have always respected my mom, but it was not until after I had kids and going to school full time and working as much as possible that I realized the sacrifice and hard work that my mom did to survive.  I had my amazing wife to lean on, but my mom had nobody, just me, my brother, and herself.  She was able to work full time while completing her AA degree and becoming an RN.  Every time I would get frustrated and feel like giving up I would think back to those times and realize that my mom had it much harder then I.  Over the past eight years she had been there every time we needed her even when she was going through some hard times of her own.  Probably the most help has been, then babysitting.  She would drive down from Angelus Oaks every morning and pick up Ava.  Then in the evening she would drive down to drop her off.  She would/does watch both the kids on weekends so that Posrha and I can go out for some adult time.  Of course my mom has always been there to help however she can financially as well.  Helping me get loans for school or giving me an extra $20 here and there to "Go have a nice time".  Thank you mom without your love and support I do not think that I would have made it this far. 

P.S. could a borrow a $20...I pay you back ASAP

Thank You: Dr. Travis Grimes

I had two friends in undergrad at CSUSB, my wife and Travis.  When and where we meet is lost in an undergrad haze.  I know that we started having classes together doing our sophomore year.  Eventually we started studying together for Organic Chemistry.  There was a lot of smart people in that class but Travis and I would get the top, or near top grades in the class.  We always had a friendly competition with the scores on the quizzes and tests but our scores were always close.  Since we were two of only about 10 Chemistry Majors for our year we had basically all our classes together from then on.  As the quarters rolled on and the classes became harder and harder (Physical Chemistry and Linear Algebra were by far the hardest classes I have ever had) I started to depend on Travis.  He was/is very focused on what ever task is at hand.  He would often be at the library hours before I showed up studying.  I of course would show up about an hour before a big test, having not studied at all.  He would then go up to the chalk board and go through everything that I needed to know.  Sometimes (not often) I would actually score better then him because his review was so good (he would get a little mad about that).  There is not doubt in my mind that I would not have received that grades that I did and passed the classes that I did without Dr. Travis Grimes pushing me to the limits of my intelligence and providing me with a solid work ethic.  Through out the years anytime we would see each other in the morning for the first time we would call each other Doctor (Good Morning Dr. Grimes).  We would chuckle and dream about the future.  After undergrad I went to Pharmacy school and he went to Washington University (the one in Pullman) to get a PH.D.  So in a few weeks we will actually get to call each other Doctor, for real!!! Thank you Travis and good luck with everything that you do.

Thankful: This is Me

I am only three weeks away from the end of pharmacy school.  It has been a journey, rough at times, stressful, boring, exciting, heartbreaking.  There are many adjectives that I could use to describe the experience of pharmacy school.  Right know I feel extremely happy and profoundly thankful.  So I would like to spends the next few weeks and post my thanks to specific people that, without there help and support I would not be 3 weeks away from a doctorate degree.

MIxed Emotions: This is Me

I can't believe that the Lakers lost last night.  Kobe had a good game but did not get an assist, Pau played better but still not to his usual standard.  The "Killer Bees" what a joke, I'm really missing Farmar, Ariza and Sash right know (And so are the Lakers). 

On a more exciting note, I am just 1.5 days from finishing up my rotations.  36 weeks of  &*$%  well not 36 more like 24 weeks, bookended with two great rotations.  This is going  to be a crazy month.  The wife and I leave for NYC in two weeks then when we get back it's all about graduation.  I have a week and a half of review in class and I also want to take the kids to an airshow, and don't forget about Mothers Day.

Thought on a Fathers Day

Simplified:
Since school has ended my life has been perfectly simple.  Wake up hang with the kids.  Go to work.  Come home and hang with the family....repeat.  It is a great feeling to have a clear mind in the evening and really be able to enjoy myself.  I know this next year will have it's challenges but I can't help but feel relief and excitement knowing that I will be judged by how hard I work and not by how much time I have to study.

Satisfied:
The Lakers are the 2010 NBA Champions.  That was a tough gritty game seven, and all the more enjoyable because of it.  I always say that I would rather watch a blowout so that I can relax and enjoy.  This was far from relaxing but there is exciting to see the Celtics get their hearts ripped from their chests. Satisfied to say the least.

Justified:
Ron Artest 2nd quarter Game 7 NBA finals
Ron Artest 3 pointer with 1 min left Game 7 NBA finals
Kobe Bryant  2010 NBA Finals MVP
Kobe Byrant more rings then Shaq
Kobe Bryant best basketball player on the planet

Nullified:
The Celtics and all their fans.  All the laker hating I had to endure for the last two months

Gratified:
To all my family and friend that have been there to support me and help me over the last 3 years of pharmacy school.  What would I do without all of you.

Vilified:
That ref that totally blew the call that caused the USA to not win their second World Cup game.  It was a horrible call that could cost the US a spot in the 16

Crazy Intern Pharmacist III

Be Careful What You Wish For

So last week I was complaining about not doing much here at the diabetes clinic and about how ineffective my communication was with these patients. It looks like the pharmacist in charge noticed the same thing I did. So he decided to recruit patients for some MTM (medication therapy managment). I have been busy all morning with patients reviewing their medication, making some recommendations, and talking about diet and excerise. I even have a list of pt's who are coming back next week (hopefully with their labs) so I can review further with them.

Since the theme of this post is being careful what you wish for I would like to talk about the Lakers. I have been saying over the last few weeks how boring this years NBA playoffs have been and how there needs to be more drama. We'll the Lakers must have heard because they lost on Saturday which extend the series and added a little drama. I have decided that the Lakers do not need to have drama. I would rather seem them win every game (by a blowout if possible).

I am glad to say that we have finally picked up the last bit of our stuff from our old rental. It took a few weeks and several truck loads but we are finally out of the old place. My daughter admitted that she was a bit sad about leaving the house. I told her that we were as well but moving on is a good thing. She also wanted to see the apartment that we lived in when she was born so I drove her by. We have been lucky looking back, to always be able to move into a bigger and nicer place. I have to say this is the first house that we have lived in that I would actually want to buy.

I have approximately 2 weeks remaining in the quarter!!!. The last quarter of didactic study ever. I can't wait. It is really and truly becoming a struggle to study for anything. Wether it is a quiz midterm of final, so the sooner I'm done the better. Our midterm yesterday is a prime example...I reviewed all the material several time but completely blanked on over half the questions. Why? Because I just don't care. I am very ready to move on. I think actually being on rotations will challenge me in a different way and hopefully put some excitement into my last year of pharmacy school.

In case you are wondering I have typed this post on my iPad. Once you get used to the keyboard it is not any slower then a regular keyboard and I am at the point where i prefer the touch keyboard to the standard. As of late I have been reaching toward regular computer monitors instead of using the mouse. It's crazy how just a few months ago I was perfectly happy with the technology and know I am wondering how long it will be before all monitors have touch capabilities.

Time to finish up my lunch and get ready for some more MTM

A Waste of Time

I wonder what I am doing sometimes. Today is s complete waste of time. I have been sent to this site to educate people about diabetes and test there blood sugar. I have had two people in four hours talk to me and I think it was because they were lonely. At least I have this iPad to keep me busy.

25 Random Things About Me

1. I can Fly Airplanes
2. I slow down at intersections even if I have a green light because I am scared that somebody is going to run their red light
3. I work at LA Times as a distribution manager(paper boy) for over 5 years the hours where from 12 midnight to 7am
4. At the job mentioned above I once worked for 400+ days straight without a day off
5. When I started Pharmacy school I didn't even know the generic name for Tylenol
6. I had my first cigarette when I was 12 years old.
7. I at my first beer when I was 12 years old
8. I often think about winning the lottery...Then I think about how a would distribute the money to my family and friends
9. I was not a Basketball fan 5 years ago...know I don't miss a Laker game.
10. I am upset at myself for not traveling when I had the chance
11. I am a fully converted Mac user
12. I can't drink a starbucks coffee without the cup liner thing...not sure why
13. I ran out of gas while flying once14. The first movie that gave me nightmares was Aliens
15. I have watched Driving MIss Dasiy at least 30 times
16. I have seen Rage Against the Machine 7 times in concert
17. I have totaled 2 cars
18. Failed a class once because I didn't feel like going to the Final
19. Have questions about the existance of God
20. Beleive that Doctors are messing with Natural Selection
21. Can't stand people who are intolarent of others
22. I do not eat Pickles23. Want to eventually buy a hanger and build a plane
24. Would liike to be an elected offiicial one day
25. I love Taco Bell

Laughter: This is Maika

A Pain in the Eye

My wife had to get a benign growth removed from her eye last week. The Dr had to cut it out and stitch her eye back up. If you look closely you can see the four stitches. She has been in pain all week and is taking steroids to keep the inflammation down.

As for school it was actually a bit abnormal as I actually learned a little bit today
1. CCB's (med chem)
2. Statins (IPDM)

The stress this quarter is building and we have our first test on Friday. Up to this point I have "failed" all three of the quizzes we have had. Sadly our class lost 5 members due to a horrific test during the fall quarter.

Mammoth 2009

Here is some pictures from our annual Mammoth trip. This is the first year that we have taken the kids

Above is the family at a lake in Mammoth

This is a picture of Porsha making a valiant effert at snow skating

Steelers in the SuperBowl

As I sit here studying for my Endo Test (on friday) the only thing I can think about is the Steelers in the SuperBowl....I can't wait until the game

Son Of God

Yes I did have a son, he was born on June 28 at around 1pm (it's all still kind of fuzzy) he was in the NICU for 12 days which was about 11.5 days to long. I still don't really understand why he was in there so long. Originally they wanted to run some cultures to make sure he didn't pick up any bugs on the way out. So that was supposed to take about 72 hours. He continued to have some breathing "episodes" (by episode I mean he stopped breathing for 10-15 seconds, hardly an episode) so they kept him in the NICU. Finally after the holiday the decided to do a sleep apnea test on him. He passed with no problem...and finally they let him out.

Would you like to know his name?
Maika Pu'u U'la Ahi K. Dittmar
still can't remember his middle name fully it's kamakala or something close to that

He has been home for about 6 days now and is doing great

Here is a few pictures with many more to come over the next few weeks

My goal is to post every day in an attempt to make this a habit

Is it Summer Yet?

I just logged onto my school email for the first time in about a week and I received an email that said our Medicinal Chemistry books are a must for next quarter. So they went ahead and bought the books for us and they will just charge our student accounts once next quarter starts. How nice force us to buy a book we will probably never look at. They did the same thing to us with Pharmacy Law and I never cracked the book and still was able to get an A...imagine that

I'm also a little irritated that my school just had to send us an email about next quarter less then a week after our end of the year assesment

Give us a break

My Daughter and Me

MIA: This is me

I have been gone for a long time so let me recap the last 9 months

1. Started Pharm School
2. Found out we are having another kid
3. Finished 1st quarter of Pharm school (barely)
4. Holiday Vacation
5. Started 2nd quarter of pharm school
6. Found out the baby is a Boy
7. Finishing up midterms
8. Preparing for daughters 3rd Birthday
9. Hoping to pass 2nd quarter of pharm school

Let's Take A Drive

The new car, finally!!! Its been two months since our honda has been gone. It's nice too have two cars again