Vie's Snack Shack & Hansen Bay Beach

It is a beautiful view from our little deck. So quiet and serene. This morning, I saw three lizards, two cats, and a chicken on our deck. Beyond the sloping hills filled with vegetation, the bay was dotted with small boats not yet filled with life. Then there are islands breaking the continuity of the water. A quietness that is so unusual is broken by the gentle wind rustling the green vegetation.

We drove all the way to the end of Hwy 10 E. We were looking for beaches along the way. The road was even trickier than last night. Some of the inclines were so steep that the road seemed to disappear at the crest of a hill. Then we realized, now the decline is upon us. Slow down, the next turn may be another steeper incline. I then appreciated the beauty of the terrain. As in life, I was so concerned with the possible danger in driving I did not notice the majestic beauty.

As we were driving, we saw a sign for a trail that led to a beach. So we started the trail with anticipation of a beautiful walk on the sand. As we climbed a rather rough and narrow trail, it kept on going up and up.

After about 20 minutes we thought we must have missed a turn. There cannot be a beach this high up. We back tracked. Shortly afterward, a couple came out from the same trail we had been following. They told us that we did not go far enough. At one point we would have descended to a beach, which we would have had to ourselves. An adventure for another day, I guess.


We decided on an easier adventure for today. On to a small snack shop called Vie's. We were told that when you eat there you have access to their private beach in Hansen's Bay.

So we ordered two different local dishes that we would share. It indeed was good. While we were eating, the rain started. Just then a young Asian woman and her parents stopped to order a dish and asked if they could join us at our table. We spent next two hours getting to know each other while waiting for the rain to stop so we could visit Vie's beach. They were from mainland China. The young woman, Yaqiong, studied in the US and is currently on the faculty of a US university.

When we walked down to the beach, I was not ready for how pristine and clear the water was, the beautiful color aqua green so soft and delicate, the softness of the white sand, and the warmness of water...it all seemed unreal, too good to be true.

Our drive home was a bit more scary. The road was slippery from the rain. A few times as we were going up some of those especially steep inclines, especially on a curve, our "little car that could" just spun its tires while the engine was still revving. Tom had to backup some distance to get up some momentum. My heart was in my throat as I looked back and hoped that no other car was behind us. Now I realize why on this island, the only car they rent is 4WD, mostly Jeep.

St. John

Our adventure began by coming up to Chicago to spend time with Mateo and Helena. These two grandkids of ours are so incredibly clever, cute, and every other high commendation one can give. Helena is just eight weeks old.

At 2:15 AM we were woken up by both Tom and my alarms. We ate a quick breakfast, then requested a ride through the Uber service. This new technology made me see our future where we may not need to own cars: competing companies with fleets of hundreds or thousands of cars coming within minutes at your beckon at a very reasonable price and driving away once you are at your destination.

I pressed a button on my iPhone to request a ride at 2:45 AM. Immediately I saw a photo of a driver, name, ID info. At the same time, I could see his little car on the map turning around toward our location and a timer going: 6 minutes to arrival. I watched as that little car turned to our direction and then onto our street. Just as the timer went to 0, a car stopped in front of our house, the driver came out and loaded our luggage, and off we went into the empty and dark streets of Chicago and on to O'Hare International Airport.

Our plane departed at 5:45 AM. We flew into Fort Lauderdale at 9:20 AM. When did I come here before? The name and place seemed so familiar, though Tom told me we've never been here before. Time to begin unlayering my many layers of clothing. By 12:30 PM, we were on another plane, and we finally arrived at St. Thomas at 4:45 PM.

The cars here are huge! For such a little island, it should be all little cars, especially since there are not many roads, and the roads are narrow. At the car rental, they recommended that we rent either a Jeep (4WD)  or SUV (4WD), but we went the cheaper route and rented a Ford Fiesta. I could not imagine renting a huge car at twice the expense. As the day unwound, I started to think maybe the terrain requires 4WD! The hills are steep, and there are so many blind turns where you cannot see the oncoming cars until you are passing them. They drive American cars (steering wheel on the left) but drive on the left side of the road (English style), which can totally throw off your sense of what's what. When Tom was driving in England, they drove on the left side but the steering wheels were on the right side, so eventually Tom got used to mirror-image driving. The unusual arrangement of British driving with American cars feels strange.

As we left the St. Thomas airport in our shiny red Ford Fiesta (feeling very young), it became evident that we were not in the USA anymore. Soon we ran into flooding on one of the major roads. We wondered if our Ford Fiesta would come out OK. Then we encountered so many pot holes filled with rainwater, and the sewer drains in the streets were covered with what looked like iron grills which did not seem strong enough to hold up cars that were driving over them. Maybe another reason for an SUV or Jeep? I had to close my eyes many times in the heavy traffic of BIG cars on a little island with narrow streets as cars butted in front of us, and watching Tom trying to not lose his place in traffic.

It was getting dark when we finally got to Red Hook Bay where we would drive our car onto a barge to go to St. John, the island we want to vacation on. We are told that they do not take a credit card. Tom has to get cash (US currency). It is after 6 PM, the last barge for the night. Tom went off to get currency. Meanwhile, cars were parked in such a way that all the cars were trapped by other cars. We are not in US anymore. It is a US territory, but it does not feel like the US. So our first day began. Yes Tom did get cash. We got our car onto the barge and came to St John.

We are in St. John now up on a high, steep hill. The hill feels like we're driving at about 45 degrees. We parked on a road which is about 45 degree incline, then walked up a steeper and rougher terrain hill to our one bedroom guest home.

Two Years at My Pharmacy

It has been two full years that I have been at this pharmacy as a manager.

I took this position with the thought that I will work full time for the next four years to put Elizabeth through college. It took  some serious considerations. I have not worked full time for decades mainly because of SAD (seasonal affective disorder) which made me very weak during cold months, usually from October to April.

There were so many thoughts that rushed through my mind. I was offered a manager pharmacist position. So much of this job was not me. My personality tends to be free flowing, not detailed and focused as in keeping track of hundreds of little tasks. To fulfill this position I must be a manager and a business person; keep track of inventory, overstock, and attempt to keep staff performance at a peak, and be the best pharmacist that I can be.

On one hand I love the thought of stretching my person beyond what I am comfortable with. On the other hand I am not sure how in the world I was going to accomplish that!

Then I encountered unanticipated problems. We were missing narcotics on regular basis. I must be vigilant in keeping track of that inventory. As a pharmacist I do not have meal breaks. I have had times that I would eat breakfast at 6am, only to find that I did not have time to eat lunch till 4pm or much later, and when I get home near 11pm, I would be so famished and would gulp down dinner before trying to fall asleep after midnight. This happens often during my dreaded 13 hour shift that occurs once a week.

Inspite of all these challenges,  here are some highlights of last year:

We caught 3 perpetrators at my watch co-ordinating with my supervisor involving police and investigators:
           involved a long time employee who stole narcotics over several years
           involved a floating tech from another store working at my store
           involved a perpetrator who forged a prescription and pretended to be the patient picking up the drug- This man was caught at a gun point by police. The police was hiding in pharmacy behind a drug shelf.

I received a commendation paper for being an excelling pharmacist with excellent customer service

I learned to love my technicians

We improved our service score from barely 60% to almost 90%

Then came the situation where no pharmacists ever want to be in. One of my techs left to be at home with her family more. Now we were trying to survive with one tech to cover 80 hours. Trying to survive with one tech when we needed three was extremely demanding. Then the one tech was scheduled to go on vacation. Our arrangement of borrowing a tech from 40 miles away backfired on us. The union pulled her from us at the worst moment. Union, seemingly did not care if they destroyed the business that they are supposed to serve.  We were left helpless. Now we were down to zero tech. That week was a week from hell. Both I and my pharmacist partner experienced stress beyond anything we have ever experienced in our careers. We probably destroyed our customer service base during that one week. Inspite of all that we are still here. I am still here.

We hired seven techs to date. Five of them have quit in the midst of training without warning us. Soon after hiring a tech, he/she may have realized that the responsibility and demand was beyond the wage we were offering. Each time he/she went on to their next employer and quit with out letting us know. Then we have to pick up the pieces and try to hold a business together without breaking. The last two of the seven is showing some interest in the job, that they want to stay. With much hope, life goes on.

I post this on 7/18/2015

Jaeson Ma

Peace

I just discovered this young man who was once in a gang, stealing, selling drugs, and destroying himself. His life was powerfully changed at age of 16 by discovering God. Since then he has impacted innumerable number of young people with a message. Life of hope, life of passion, and life worth living for! (please click onto Peace above for one of his works)

As I am looking at my life, I too have experienced in a small way the experiences of God, yet so much of the times, all that is choked by maze of life. Maze of good doings, being ever so busy, always endeavoring to accomplish more until I am just a shadow of a real life.

I want to live a life with PASSION! 

A day in pharmacy

Last Three hours

It has been a very busy day. Stephanie leaves at 6pm and there is still so much to catch up. I don't have enough tech hours to schedule help. I am working alone. There are lots of prescriptions to fill. A couple of people come in with new prescriptions. I promise them that it may take 15 to 20 minutes to fill if there is no interruption. Patient A and B. I tell them that I am working prescriptions in order.

As I start to fill, I see a person at the other end ready to pick up his prescription (patient C). I leave data entry (new scripts) and I go to the other end to ring out the cash register. Pt gives me his new insurance card. This can be a smooth process or it can be very drawn out. I need to take care of this. 

Phone starts to ring. I put that line on hold saying that I’ll be back as quickly as possible (patient D) . Another phone rings (person E). This is from a hospital. I put this on hold giving my self a mental note that this may be more urgent.

As I am finishing up the new insurance for pt C. Another 2 persons line up to pick up their medicine (person F and G). Patient C is now taken care of. And I am also releasing prescriptions for F. He after ringing up, he decides he does not have enough money so he leaves. I undo all the steps that requires and place the prescription bag back where it belongs. Pt G is taken care of without any problems. Now one of the phone person hung up. Another phone rings. I put this person on hold (person H).

Just as I am about to return to data entry, another two persons (person I and J) line up to pick up the prescriptions. I apologize to them. I need to take care of new prescriptions. They are annoyed. I could read on their face “it only takes a couple of minutes to release medications”

I finish up 2 prescriptions for patient A. and ask them to line up at the register. He is 3rd in line. I take care of them. Then I go back to work on pt B’s prescription. 

Another phone line is ringing (person K) and caller ID says Amthem Insurance. I put that person on hold. Then I finish next person’s 2 prescription. I tell this person to line up at the pick up line after a couple of people that came in. Pick up person gives me a new prescription card which is not paying for the script. I apologize and tell him that I must call the insurance.

A person walks up to reception end and asks 2 prescriptions to be filled. I tell her that right now I am working on several persons ahead of her so it may take a while. She says OK (person L).

Where was I. What was I working on. Oh, call the insurance. After some time, it gets resolved and I release that prescription.  I pick up the  waiting phone call from the hospital and answer a few questions about a patient who got admitted and does not know what medicine he is taking and what he is being treated for. This takes some time. By now other waiting phone line has given up. Fresh phone is ringing. Probably the old waiting person. One call resolved. I pick up next call. Did my doctor call in for my pain medicine? I search and respond, No he has not. On to next waiting call and take care of that need.

Preverification needs to be emptied and I start filling product dispensing. Oh no, the first med is 240 tablets from a bottle of 1000. I continue down the line as I am eating my lunch at 8pm (my last meal was at 10am at home).

I notice from the corner of my eyes, one woman has been walking back and forth then finally comes upto my window. How long do I wait for my prescriptions? I totally forgot about her. Her request is in reception and I totally forgot about her. I apologize perfusely. Her eyes roll. I have no idea how long she has waited. And my thought is “there goes my attempt to provide an excellent service”

So I finish up her products and apologize again. What she saw was that I was peacefully counting other scripts on my que but not hers. I  hoping that she will not complain about my lack of service. 

I take care of her prescriptions quickly then I look at the time. It is 8:57. Store closes in 3 minutes.

I am thinking, the company wants a prescription to be done in 17 minutes or less. Also there are breakdowns of each steps, as to how many minutes. I wonder how many of these steps I have sucessfully taken care of in timely manner. Probably none!

I wake up 3am the next morning and I am wide awake. Things are rushing through my head. What should I have done or could have done. I am not able to fall back asleep and today I am to work 13 hours. Again with only 8 hours of a tech to assist me.

Costa Rica: Coming Home

Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014

We are on our way home from Costa Rica. We must leave behind this beautiful weather and go home to below freezing temperatures.

All my adult life I have suffered from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) from October/November to April. My vibrant summer health slowly disappears and my life becomes a struggle of survival, going to work, then coming home to crash. And if I should catch a cold, life becomes more difficult. A couple of years ago a friend suggested, "How about going away to sun and warmth in the middle of winter, like January or February?" Why had I never thought of that? Possibly because when you have four children with school schedules, vacations must come when they have time off.

As my health continued to decline this winter, I caught some virus which may have eventually led to a bronchial infection, maybe even a touch of pneumonia. Tom had the virus before me, so we were both coughing much as we started our Costa Rican vacation. We were hoping this rest in the sun would restore our health. The first half of our trip was in the tropical wet forest. Although we did not see much sun, I noticed that Tom was tanning. Daily we noticed our coughing decreased until it disappeared.

As we wait in the airport, we are aware that we are fully back to our summer health. To wake up feeling well is one of the blessings in life I treasure. I hope this will carry me through the remaining winter months! We have already decided that we will spend one week every winter in some type of tropical region.

And back in the icebox...-2 °F!

Costa Rica: Beach Life

Tuesday & Wednesday, Jan. 21–22, 2014

Our hotel, El Jardin del Eden (The Garden of Eden) is in the center of Tamarindo, the beach-town we are staying in on the Pacific.

We start each day here with with a fabulous breakfast in the hotel’s open-air restaurant under a thatched roof of palm branches, next to the pool.

Breakfast includes all the fresh fruit you can eat: watermelon, pineapple, passion fruit, cantaloupe, and bananas.

We strolled along the main street in Tamarindo, the small beach town we are staying in. There are restaurants aplenty as well as little shops. I even bought a sundress to wear to the hot, sizzling beach.

We ventured out many times during the day to the beach and into town. We always had our cool room to recover from the sun and the heat!

A delicious cold smoothie break as we walk is sooo soothing in such weather!

The highlight of the day was watching the “stunning sunset” advertised in the brochure. The sun sets at 5:45pm. We were at the beach by 5:20, strolling toward the sunset. Oh my goodness, I have never seen the sun set so quickly. Within minutes, the sun sank 30 degrees and disappeared behind the rocks. The beautiful rays of sunlight swiftly gave way to darkness. By 6:20 pm, it looked like it should be 10 pm. Shops that were lively till sunset hurried to close up, and people scurried from the darkening beach. We knew we needed to get to a smoothie shop before they closed.

Yet the half hour before sunset was so romantic. There was such a large crowd at the beach, strolling, swimming, fishing, laughing, and playing. We walked holding hands, talking and watching so many activities around us. There were more people at this time than during the overly hot daytime. I think every sunset is a big event here. We will experience another full day at this town famous for its beach, surfing, and sunsets!

The walk to and from the beach and town is quite pleasant. From the hotel, we have a private access that takes us past the pool and gardens, then through a long narrow walkway lined with palms.