Forever, and minutes

2003-08-27 - 6:47 p.m.

Yesterday I finally called the company I was most interested in working for. I'd done my research. I'd read all about them on their website and brochures. They seemed to be exactly what I needed to solve my not-knowing-what-I-want-to-do-with-myself problem. Do you know what they told me? They told me they wouldn't hire me. They say I have no experience. Yeah. Guess everyone who ever told me that doing one year of residency was like doing five years of regular work was completely full of shit. My plan yesterday was to call a whole bunch of places to get the inside scoop on all of them and then compare them. I was so mad and disappointed after the first place I ended up just quitting for the day. Today I got my application all ready to go for a Washington state license. I have two hold-ups, though. The first is that they need a picture of me. I'm hoping my local mall has one of those little picture booths so I can go take care of it quickly and cheaply. The second is that they require a letter from the California State Board of Pharmacy stating that I am I license-holder in good standing. Of course, with all the wonderful things going on in this state with the budget, the board can't even hire anybody to answer the phone in their office. No, I have to write them a letter asking them to write the Washington board a letter.

I've had this other idea. I know it's one of my crazy ideas I'd probably never have the gumption (this word is brought to you courtesy of Stretch's mom who is of the opinion that I am gumptionless, guess she's about right) to actually carry out, but still. I had this idea that I might work for the army. Of course I know nothing about the army. I wonder what life is like. I guess it would depend where in the world I ended up. If I worked for them they would pay $26,000 a year (less taxes) for my school loans and at that rate I'd be debt-free in just four years. Plus I'd get to travel, which is something I'd really like to do. At least I think I would get to. I'm not sure if they move you around or they just plunk you down in one place for a while. And I don't know if you get any say about where you go. Another mark in the plus column is for guys aplenty. Only I'm not sure they're my kind of guys. But then there must be all sorts of guys there, don't you think? But, is it possible to have a family while in the army? Of course it's not like I have to stay in the army forever. There is a four-year commitment but that's all. Of course after four years I'll be 28 and if I haven't found what I'm looking for by then, well... And they also say you can retire after only 20 years. If I did that then I'd be retired at 44. Of course I don't know what kind of retirement that would be. But then at the age of 44 I could finally get that job that just told me to shove off. Not that I'd actually want to work there then. At least I hope I wouldn't. Then, of course, there's this whole war thing. As a pharmacist, I obviously wouldn't be seeing action, but I could be placed very nearby. That in itself, isn't a problem, but I really have no desire to see Iraq. In fact, in a recent article in "Time" magazine, they listed the top places where army people are deployed. They listed Iraq, Afghanistan, the Phillipines, South Korea, the Sinai Peninsula, Kosovo, and Cuba. I don't particularly want to be in any of those places. In fact, I'd really rather stay right here in this country. Ah well, anybody have any other input on the idea?

I just finished watching an episode of "Gunsmoke." In this episode there was a really good-looking guy and I was wondering who he was. I waited all the way until the end credits to find out that it was Burt Reynolds. Geez, I always think of Burt Reynolds as some old guy.

Anyway, the rest of my day was fairly uneventful. I did see Mars last night at its closest. Yup, very bright and big. I didn't run this morning, but I did mow the lawn and go to the grocery store. I finished my book last night. My official review is posted here, but I can save you the effort, if you'd like, by saying it was good. And if you'd like me to send you my copy of the book you can get it from me at Swappingtons.

I'd forgotten how much of a dork I am. I found a station that plays Star Trek: The Next Generation twice a day. I used to watch it all the time. In fact, I still have nearly every episode on tape from when I was in junior high and recorded them. Anyway, I've been sure to catch ST:TNG twice a day for the last week or so. I still laugh at the same jokes and I can still tell you the name of the episode before the name is shown on the screen. I never realized how bad these special effects were. And I never used to wonder what the heck those guys did there on the bridge when nothing exciting was going on. But really, can you go wrong with a show that deals with "highly localized distortions in the space-time continuum" like in the episode I'm watching now? Highly improbable. Ha ha, and I used to have a big crush on Commander Riker, too.