Pharmacists Save Lives Too

Last night was an incredibly busy day at the CVS where I work. It was only a 5-hour shift, but Mondays are always busy. From 8 to 10 PM, it was just myself and my pharmacist, but we were able to manage decently. It was a few hours before I was able to take a bite of dinner, or even go to the bathroom. But that's the life of community retail.

Around 8:30PM, a mother and her daughter approached the counter asking where the Benadryl was. Before pharmacy school, when it was busy and a patient asked me where something was, I would point them to the aisle and get back to my work. However, it seems that my way of thinking has changed completely from getting tasks accomplished, to maximizing health outcomes. 

We are taught in school systematic approaches to asking patients questions in order to extract the most appropriate information.

Me: Are you looking for tablet or liquid?

Mother: Probably liquid because my daughter says she is having trouble swallowing.

I turn to the daughter, and say: Do you feel like your throat is closing up?

Daughter: Yes

Me: Have you eaten anything recently? Or come into contact with anything foreign?

Daughter: I had something with peanuts.

Me: When did you eat it?

Daughter: About 5 minutes ago

It was at that point I immediately got the pharmacist to assess her. She was unaware she had any food allergy, but it was clear she was going through anaphylactic shock. We offered to call 911 for her, but she was refusing (some sort of psychological trauma from her past, when her grandmother died in an ambulance). Instead, we had her sit in the waiting room for about 20 minutes after she drank 4 tablespoons of Benadryl to monitor her status. 

We debated taking an EpiPen off the shelf to use for her, but my pharmacist wasn't quite sure because she wasn't aware she had any allergy at all. So instead, we called Urgent Care centers to see if they were still open. We found a couple and gave her the phone number/address, and they drove off. 

This may not sound as exciting to you all, but when I think about how I could have just told her where the Benadryl was and let her go off, she could have been in a very bad situation. 

Hey, pharmacists save lives too :) 

First 2 weeks of PY2

The first two weeks of PY2 have been a stressful test of the year to come. There have been lots of lecture, lots of organization responsibilities, and our first exam is already tomorrow!

But in the midst of all the work, there has been a lot of good times with great friends.

On the last day of summer was PY1 Orientation, where I was one of the many representing CAPS and all of its wonder. It was so nice seeing the new class, and introducing them to all of the organizations at the School.

That night was also the first Dose of Franklin! It was so much fun seeing everyone again after all summer apart; at the same time, it felt like there was never a break! It seems just like yesterday was my very first Dose.

Classes have been great so far; our therapy course right now is dermatology (which is what our test is tomorrow). It's exciting to go to work and waiting for someone to ask the pharmacist how to help treat their poison ivy symptoms (nerdy, I know). Next up! Diabetes. 

Phi Delta Chi rush has also been going on, and there are so many great potential pledges! I can't wait for bids to go out and the pinning ceremony this Friday! 

Until next time...

How-To: Make a Towel Bunny

If you've ever been on a cruise (and even if you haven't, now you know), each time you enter your room, you will find a towel animal hanging out on your bed. This summer, one of the classes on the ship was how to make some! So I thought I would share with you all how to make one! I'm not as good as the staff on board, but I tried my best. It's hard to explain in words how to make these, but hopefully the pictures help. Please leave a comment if you have any questions! 

Things you'll need:

1 large towel

1 medium-sized towel

Step 1: Place your large towel in a landscape position and roll the left and right ends to the center.

Step 2: Fold towel in half so that the crease is on the outside

Step 3: Twist the ends out a little bit (this will be the feet of your bunny). 

Step 4: Take 2 legs into each hand and pull outward (this part is hard to explain, try to follow the picture!).

Step 5: Put large towel aside. Now take your medium-sized towel and fold in half, landscape-wise, and have the folded side facing away from you. 

Step 6: Put your finger in the center of the top of your towel, take the bottom right corner of the towel, and pull straight down. Do not fold, just pull. 

Step 7: Repeat on the right side, and you will have something that looks like a bat. 

Step 8: Fold the top corner underneath, a couple of inches. 

Step 9: Fold the sides of the "bat" towards the center, like you did with the large towel. 

Step 10: Flip over the towel, and it will look like this! 

Step 11: Pull the ears down a little bit, and you have your bunny head! Place it on top of the large towel. 

Step 12: Accessorize! 

The class was provided as part of a campaign to sell their how-to book, Towel Creations. The campaign is part of a larger effort for Carnival Cruiselines to raise $1,000,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital! I ended up buying it on the ship for $14.95, and 100% of the proceeds were donated.

Cook-venture: Jalepeno Poppers

My pharmacist gave me her extra jalepenos from her garden, so I made a classic with them. Poppers! I've made them a couple of times before, and adjusted the filling a little bit each time. This time, I added feta cheese and used chives instead of green onions. Adaptation at its finest. 

Half the jalepenos and scoop out the seeds and white membrane.
*Tip: Wear gloves or create a Saran wrap barrier.  The spice WILL stay in your fingers if you don't*

Cream cheese, feta cheese, extra sharp cheddar cheese, Frank's buffalo wing sauce,
and chives (you can use green onions if you have them)

Spoon the filling into each jalepeno, and top with chopped bacon bits. 

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes. 

I'm sorry the final picture isn't very pretty, but some of the bacon slipped off too because the jalepenos were so small (only about an inch and a half long!).

There are lots of variations you can do with these poppers, but I would definitely always have at least the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and buffalo wing sauce.

What have you tried?

Summer Travels: The Final Vacation - Wizarding World of Harry Potter (tips and pics)

As previously mentioned, I have been to Harry Potter World 3 times now. Each time, I have learned something new about taking advantage of all your time there. 

Tip #1: Get to the park right when it opens. It officially opens at 8AM, but you can park starting at 7:30AM. That way you can be some of the first to go to Harry Potter World. It's all the way at the back of the park, so it's quite a walk, but it's best to go from the back to the front of any park. Errol and I arrived at 8AM, not knowing about the 7:30AM trick yet. We went straight to the Hogwarts ride, and there was already a 30 minute line at 8:10AM! 

Tip #2: Enter Hogwarts line through the store connected to it. The real line begins outside of the ride, and it is a line to get to the locker rooms to temporarily store your bags before getting into the line for the ride. You can enter the locker room through the store, and it is so crowded no one would ever know that you came in that way. Bypassing the first part, you have now skipped half of the line! 

Tip #3: Take a separate tour of Hogwarts castle. There is a lot to see inside Hogwarts, but you may not be able to truly absorb it all while in line. You can walk through a separate aisle through the castle, with your bags (and thus, your camera), and at your own pace. 

Tip #4: Have an early lunch at Three Broomsticks. If you've followed Tip #1, you probably get hungry earlier too. Having lunch early, around 11AM, you will miss the long lunch line! 

Tip #5: Buy a Butterbeer with souvenir cup early. Turns out that if you buy a souvenir cup, you get discounts on Butterbeer refills and soda for the entire day. 

If you are an HP fan, you will love HP World. You enter the park, and you're in Hogsmeade. To your right, you'll see the Hogwarts Express. Every 30 minutes, there's a performance (Hogwarts choir, Beauxbatons danceres, Durmstrang dancers). You can have lunch at the Three Broomsticks, and Hogshead is also attached where you can get a pint. You can buy Every Flavour Beans at Honeydukes. And so much more! 

For anyone curious, Butterbeer tastes exactly how you might imagine. But no, it's not alcoholic. You can buy frozen or soda-style, and it is delicious. The best way to describe it is a butterscotch cream soda. The foam on top is the best part, and is actually added separately. 

If you're a Rockefeller, you can afford to buy all of the merchandise. But if you're a poor student, the next best thing is to take pictures with the clothing as if you did buy it all :)

Any of you who are planning to take a trip to Islands of Adventure, please let me know if you need any more tips! It's definitely worth the long lines. Next trip will hopefully be to England to see the actual sets!

Summer Travels: The Final Vacation - Islands of Adventure

After 8 days of nonstop traveling and vacationing, it was almost time to go back to North Carolina, but not without one more night in Orlando.

I had one more full day to spend with Errol, and I pictured a nice, relaxing day after averaging 5 hours of sleep over the cruise. But Errol had something else in mind... a surprise trip to Islands of Adventure! He wanted the last day to be special, and he hadn't been to Harry Potter World yet, so he wanted his first time to be with me.

Islands of Adventure is great for older kids who are tall enough to ride roller coasters. The roller coasters aren't as big as Busch Gardens, but still thrilling! There are lots of different places to walk through in the park, including...

...Seussland... 

...Jurassic Park...

...Marvel comics...

...and Toon Lagoon...

But of course, the highlight of the day was Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Being my third time there, I gathered a number of tips to make the visit there as efficient as possible. And as the most popular part of the park, these tips will benefit you to minimize the your wait times and maximize your experience. Pictures and details will be in the next post! 

Overall the trip was perfect, and everything seemed to fall into place despite being completely exhausted from my cruise. We got up so early to make it to the park as it opened, and the adrenaline helped me make it all morning. Once lunchtime came, though, I was beat. After some discussion, we decided to go to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch, take a nap, then come back. After this decision, it was like fate was being fulfilled before us. 

Fate #1: We decided to take advantage of the summer extended in the summer. It helped us feel a little better about leaving to take a nap. Also, we found out that there is free re-entry for the park and parking!

Fate #2: Not only did the nap rejuvenate us for the rest of the night, but there was a severe thunderstorm that lasted the span of the glorious nap! 

Fate #3: As we re-entered the park, a mother and daughter approached us and gave us their Express Pass tickets because they were leaving!!! At this time, it was 5:30PM, and the park closed at 9PM. The Express Pass made up for the time we spent napping! It was a glorious feeling to walk past all of the line, and only wait 10 minutes per ride. 

Fate #4: Because of the severe thunderstorm, a lot of the park emptied out, leaving the last couple of hours to spend in Harry Potter World, with minimal lines, and minimal crowds. 

So, as you can see, the day went perfectly. It made me completely forget the fact that the next morning, I would be leaving for North Carolina again, not to be reunited with Errol again until September. 

Summer Travels: The Final Vacation - Nassau, Bahamas

The next leg of the vacation was the cruise to the Bahamas. We went with a few other families, went on the 3-day cruise on Carnival Sensation!

We arrived on the ship in time for buffet lunch. My Godsister, Irene, and I laid out on the lido deck to do some tanning (more so for her than me). After a few hours, the ship was off into the Atlantic Ocean! It's crazy how you don't really feel the ship moving; however, you do feel a little bit of wobble. It's more of a constant rocking, that to me is soothing, no motion sickness at all.

There were lots of things to do on the boat, with full schedules each day. One of the things Irene and I did every night was go to the comedy club. This was my first experience seeing live comedy, and I am happy to say that I loved it! Tons of laugh-out-loud moments!

We spend the whole first day in the water, and finally docked in Port Nassau the next morning.

All the families ate lunch on the ship first, before embarking on land. The families split up into those who went shopping and sightseeing at The Atlantis Hotel, and those who went to do water adventures. We got to go jet-skiing, which was a ton of fun! We went in pairs, and shared one jet-ski for 45 minutes.

It was back and forth on the ship, to be able to make it in time for dinner. After dinner, we relaxed a bit then the adults went off to Senor Frogs! The go-to place wherever you dock on a cruise :). It was a lot of fun there, just hanging out. 

One of the big things on a cruise is the shopping. Throughout the trip, you are tempted by "one-day sales" and duty-free prices. One of the more fun sales was at the liquor tasting. That's right, free tastes of liquor, ranging from Grey Goose, to Patron, to Sheridan's (a coffee liquor that I tried and fell in love with! Needless to say, my parents bought me a bottle =D).

There's also beautiful jewelry on the ship. My mom bought my sister and I two bracelets each! They are sized and made right in front of you.

And what cruise isn't complete with adorable towel animals? My sister, Irene, and I took a class on the ship on how to make them (how-to blog post later). Here are some that we had in our room: 

Last, but definitely not least, the main event of a cruise ship... the FOOD! Below is a collage of all the scrumptious dishes that I ate on the ship. Some of the dishes include: veal, onion soup, sushi, ceviche, lobster tail, stuffed mushrooms, strawberry bisque, souffle, and lasagna. 

YUM

The trip was great overall. Needless to say, I won't be going out in the sun for a while... I turned about 100 shades darker from this trip, plus Puerto Rico earlier in the summer. Cruises are highly recommended. It's a trip with all-you-can-eat food, and it travels for you. You wake up and you're in a whole new place! 

Where have you cruised to? 

Summer Travels: The Final Vacation - Gainesville, FL

Next part of the trip was finally visiting the good ol' alma mater after a whole year. Gainesville will always have a large place in my heart. My first home away from home. The place where I left the shelter and comfort of living with my family, to learning to stand on my own two feet. 

I looked forward visiting Gainesville again, and it didn't disappoint. The moment we took our exit from I-75, I felt like I never left. It was like my whole life in North Carolina never existed, and I was back in school at UF spending a typical weekend hanging out with Errol. 

One of the main things we wanted to do on this trip was visit all of our favorite eating places that we missed so much. Our first stop was my absolute favorite... Rolls 'N Bowls. There are tons of sushi places in Gainesville, and I have tried all of them. But when I'm looking to scratch that sushi itch, Rolls 'N Bowls is the choice place for me. Ironically, I actually don't go there for the rolls... but for the bowls.  My usual is a spicy salmon/tuna bowl. It's a heap of raw fish over sushi rice, with avocado and spicy mayo. Simply divine. 

Another specialty of theirs is the wontons. Not only do they have the traditional crab rangoon style, but they have seasonal dessert wontons. Of those that I have had include pumpkin pie, chocolate raspberry, and the one I had that day... key lime pie. My mouth is watering at the though of those scrumptious delights. 

Later on, we met with Errol's old roommates at one of the pubs we frequented: Mother's. Lots of memories in that place, most of them impaired. I had my 21st birthday celebration there... 'nuff said. It was also where Errol and I watched an amazing US men's soccer game in the 2010 world cup. The day we went there also happened to be wing night. So, being boys, they all ate. Not because they were hungry, but because they were $0.45 each (I'll never understand this). 

After a day of driving and eating, we went to a friend's apartment where we stayed that night and changed/tried to digest for the next meal. That's right, it was dinner time and we had one more meal to squeeze in. There was a new Mexican place that we wanted to try out with our friends. Needless to say, my stomach reached capacity that day (a very common occurrence during this vacation). 

The next day, we spent it visiting more old friends and walking around campus. It was so nice seeing old friends and catching up. I loved going around campus and reminiscing about the classes we took, the experiences we had. Another big reason Gainesville and UF will always be important to me is because that is where Errol and I met, became friends, and started our wonderful relationship. Nearly every inch of the school and city holds at least one memory with Errol, and going back again with him for the first time was extremely special. 

The last meal of the trip was at Farah's. This is where Errol and his roommate would eat wings at least once a month to have hot wings, their favorite place to do so. There were many birthdays celebrated here as well. It's a mediterranean menu, and I got my usual gyro. We also shared a hookah that night with our friends, and I got my favorite drink... "Dirty Hookah Water". 

Overall, the return to Gainesville was great. One of the things that I noticed when I was there, was that I felt so comfortable. Here in North Carolina, I still feel a bit uncomfortable. My mental map isn't completely drawn, and I still frequently get lost. And now that Errol has moved away, I think the process won't be as fast. I love it here, but there's no place like home. 

It sure is great to be a Florida Gator. 

Summer Travels: The Final Vacation - Orlando and Melbourne, FL

The last vacation of the summer was a compilation of trips and experiences that are so substantial, they must be in separate posts! Within 10 days, I was in Orlando, Gainesville, and Melbourne, FL; Atlantic Ocean; and Nassau, Bahamas. 

Prior to the trip I spent 2 weeks alone in my apartment, cooking, working, and trying to stay busy. It was the first test to Errol and my long distance relationship, which actually went a lot more smoothly with the use of a webcam (no, that's not supposed to be dirty).  The webcam helped a lot with keeping the relationship exactly the same, feeling like we were still together. In fact, I find talking on the phone now to be pretty annoying. Although, hopefully that will change once Errol gets an iPhone! 

The day of my flight finally came, and luckily one of my friends dropped me off at 8AM. It was a nonstop flight and I arrived in Orlando at noon, giving Errol and I plenty of time to reunite! Straight from the airport, we went to lunch at a Thai restaurant. One of the great things about our relationship is that we love culture. Thai food is one of our favorites! 

After lunch, I met his roommate, and we hung out for a while. This was also opening weekend of Dark Knight Rises, and we bought tickets to see it in IMAX with my best friend from high school and her boyfriend. Phew, that movie was mind-blowing, right? It is just so unfortunate that it will always be remembered for the horrific shooting in Colorado.

After the movie, we all went to Taverna Opa for dinner. I would recommend EVERYONE to go there at least once in their lives. It's not just delicious food, but an experience! It is meant to have the party feel of Greece, so there are napkins thrown everywhere, waiters screaming "Opa!", belly dancers, and people dancing on the tables (yes, it is allowed, and frankly highly encouraged!) 

Another night, I met a few more of Errol's classmates and we went for a walk around Lake Eola. It's a beautiful place downtown, and the fountain in the middle resembles the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas. There is music playing with lights and fountains that correspond to the tune. 

Overall, the first few days in Orlando were great! The last task before going home was to pick up the food for my parents' 25th wedding anniversary! Shown below is the food order, and all of the delicious Filipino trays of food that would feed over 80 people! 

The party was great, and filled with lots of people I hadn't seen in a long time. It was a wonderful celebration of my parents' silver wedding anniversary. I hope someday to make it that long too!

Summer travels: Puerto Rico

Before I go on another trip, I figure I would write about the last trip I did with my family and Errol to Puerto Rico. We flew Spirit Airlines (Warning: NEVER FLY THIS!), which was quite a debacle trying to make weight with our luggage. But we made it into San Juan and met up with Dad's students. Every other summer, he teachers a coral reef ecology course, and this was his third one. 

San Juan is a beautiful, history city. It still has the cobble stone streets and colorful colonial buildings. We stayed there overnight, and Errol and I joined the students with a night on the town in San Juan. 

After San Juan, it was off to La Parguera where we would spend the majority of the trip. La Parguera is the town where Dad's course is, where my parents had their first start as a married couple, and where I was conceived. It's a small town where everywhere is walkable, making it very convenient. The university is on a small island that you take a boat to, and the place has tons of iguanas! 

We stayed at Villa Parguera, which had very basic rooms but had amazing views from the pool area. My sister and I went to the pool pretty much every day.

View of the ocean from our hotel. 

It was perfect timing when we joined my Dad in Puerto Rico, because the next day was Father's Day! We had delicious seafood at La Casita.

Errol was able to go scuba diving with Dad's class at "The Wall". It's a 100-foot dive with a wall of coral. I describe it as if I did it, but I can only live vicariously through the amazing pictures and videos that Errol took.

Errol got to dive, but my sister and I were able to go snorkeling a few times! A couple of Dad's students took us around and were finding things for us like starfish and sea pearls.

The one thing I would recommend everyone to do while in Puerto Rico is swimming in the Bio Bay. It's a bay that has phosphorescent diatoms, and when you flick the water they illuminate. It's an amazing experience, like swimming in space and touch stardust. We weren't allowed to take pictures on the boat, but you can just imagine it. Again, the timing was perfect because we were able to do this during a new moon!

We also joined Dad's students to an island to spend the day snorkeling again.  Some of his students went spear fishing, and even Errol got to try! We saw sea slugs, star fish, sea cucumbers, baby fish, and even some barracuda!

Another excursion was a trip to Cabo Rojo to show Errol and once again see the majestic cliffs over the ocean. The beach is a cape that makes you feel like it's your own personal paradise.

On the final day, we went to Aguadilla, a town near the airport that Dad's students flew in/out of. One of his students' house is there, and it is truly paradise. It's on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and has beautiful landscape in the front yard as well. We were treated to a delicious last breakfast. 

Puerto Rico is a wonderful place to visit. I would allocate a minimum of a week to explore all it has to offer. The island has mountains, plains, oceans, rain forests, caves, and so much more! AND you don't even need a passport because it is a US territory. I can't wait to visit again; Errol and I are thinking of going again next summer to stay with one of Dad's old students who are getting their PhD's at the university. They live in Rincon, which is one of the places we didn't get to explore. But apparently there are turtles off the beach! Definitely on my bucket list for next time!