The Christmas Letter

Ok, we all know someone who goes and recaps the entire year for everybody when they send out Christmas cards. Well, here's my recap without the card (sorry if you feel jipped, but know that at least the people I care about are all online on Blogger and Facebook).

This year started out with plenty of room for improvement on the homefront. Still dealing over the loss of Leslie and determined to move on, I dubbed 2008 as the Year of the Phoenix for myself. Using information about the mythical creature as inspiration, I set some goals. Even though I didn't achieve everything I set out to accomplish, it was still a good year.

Early into the year, I decided I needed a change of environment. I left Holladay and moved down to Lehi with my sister. It was great having company when I was home sometimes and living with someone who completely knew about my situation. Although I'm not the greatest roommate ever, I appreciate Erin putting up with me.

Pharmacy school continued. I was able to get through the school year with the maximum of 5 weeks of summer remediation by the last test. After going to my first rotation at McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden, I returned to class and passed 4 of the 5 tests. HIV continues to be a challenge, and I'll be tackling it again at the end of March 2009 in order to graduate. The important part was that I was able to move on and start my final year of school, which just consists of seven rotations focusing on different areas of pharmacy practice.

Once this final year started, I've been on a whirlwind tour. I started in Ogden in June. After finishing up summer school, I went on a long-term care rotation that was based in Springville, but it took me literally all around Utah. After that, I had the opportunity to go to Boise to work with the Idaho State Board of Pharmacy and go not only around Idaho a little bit, but I also got to go to Oregon for the first time. Now I'm almost done with my first hospital rotation in Payson and I only have three rotations remainding in 2009.

Throughout all the craziness, I've been able to piece my life back together. And even though I'll never be able to go back to the way things were, I'm excited again to see where my life is going. Right now I don't have much of a plan for the future. I'm just taking life one day at a time.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Happy New Year to everyone.

- Rob

Update on the new dating game

One of the things I've had to face with being a widower is the fact that I have to start dating again if I want to spend the rest of my life with someone. Even though life is short and I'll be back with Leslie on the other side, it can still be lonely until then.

Lately, I've been having some success on the dating front. First and foremost, I'm able to be comfortable on a date once more. I've had two second dates in the last few months, which I definitely believe is a good sign. With each new date, I am becoming more confident.

The other thing I've been facing lately is early infatuation. I've been thinking about the young lady I just took out for the second second date a couple weeks ago. She's beautiful and smart. She teaches elementary school and happens to also be the Relief Society president in her YSA ward. The combination makes it a little difficult to get a hold of her sometimes. Of course, I do have my own things to worry about with pharmacy school. She's also originally from St. Louis, and flew back there this weekend for Thanksgiving.

I find myself going through the classic thoughts of "Does she like me?" "I left her a message yesterday, would it be pathetic to try to talk to her again tonight?" And of course, I just think about her in general.

I view this as a dual-edged sword. On the one end, part of the reason I got married was so that I didn't have to play these mind games, especially with myself, anymore. On the other end, I'm glad to know that I'm capable of having these experiences once again. I've got faith that I can find another wonderful person to share my life with. Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be any easier the second time around.

Thanksgiving List 2008

I may be jumping the gun a little bit posting the list of what I'm grateful for this year, but I don't know exactly what will happen between now and next Thursday (hopefully nothing unexpected). But seeing that I am feeling quite a bit more gratitude this year than last, I figured it would be good to write this list. Here we go.

1. Love - The love and support of family and friends has definitely been a great help this year. Even knowing that Leslie still loves me on the other side definitely helps at times as well.

2. Time - Time is needed for all wounds to heal, whether it's a few days to a few months. Or even a year.

3. School - I know I'm looking forward to being done, but school has definitely helped fill my time, allowing me to focus on rebuilding my life instead of focusing on the bad. Plus, without school, I wouldn't have had such a crazy time going all over the place the last few months.

4. Guitar Hero/Rock Band - Whoever the genius was who thought of combining video games with rock definitely came up with something good. It's a great way to relax and unwind.

5. Sisu - Finnish for guts, stubborness and determination. One of the best things I brought back from Finland.

6. Freedom - The freedom to make my life the way I want it to be. It won't be perfect by any means. It already isn't. But it can always be better.

7. Grief - Grief is one of the best teachers I've had. Not that I'm recommending that everyone sign up for his course anytime soon, but the lessons that you learn from the process are unique, as long as you are willing to accept them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Life after death

People have commented to me on a few occasions this year on how strong I've been handling Leslie's death. I've been thinking about that a bit lately (mainly the last few weeks seeing I didn't have too many distractions in Boise).

The secret to that success comes from Leslie. When her family put together a little historical documentary, her father asked her what she would tell the next generation. She said, "Live life. Have fun. And that's it."

When I saw that clip again during the funeral and at other times during the past 16 months, I made the choice to follow that advice. It isn't easy all the time, but it's helped me move on and remember what this life is all about.

My final MRM

This last weekend I was busy meeting with the American Pharmacists' Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) at the Midyear Regional Meeting (MRM). I've attended these meetings since my first year in pharmacy school in Las Vegas. These meetings are always a bunch of fun, and this year was no exception.

One big change was the region in which I met in. This was USN-South Jordan's first meeting with Region 7 (Washington, Oregon, Utah, Idaho and Montana). The meeting was in Boise, which was perfect for me being already up here on rotation. Friday night there was a Halloween Casino Party along with a Guitar Hero tournament. I placed 4th in the tournament.

Saturday and Sunday there were a bunch of workshops and we were able to decide on policies we wanted to see APhA take on, which is the main reason I love this meeting. I may be a pharmacy student, but my voice matters with APhA right now and in the future when I'm a pharmacist. I got to be the delegate for the school in the voting process. It was awesome.

I'll be going through withdrawals next fall seeing I won't be a student member of APhA anymore. The MRM has been a great weekend every school year and I'll miss it.

Rise of the machines

Today I went on a road trip to Council, a small town just over 120 miles away from Boise, with one of the state pharmacy inspectors. We went to check out a small pilot project pharmacy that utilizes a remote dispensing machine (RDM) to help deliver pharmacy services to this small rural area.

This pharmacy is only manned by one pharmacy tech. She receives prescriptions and faxes them to a pharmacy in Weiser (a little over 50 miles away). There a pharmacist reviews the prescription and activates the program to allow the machine to dispense the medication. The RDM contains medications already to go in prescription bottles. The bottle drops out in the bottom of the machine (just like a candy vending machine). The tech then adds a patient-specific label to the bottle and contacts the pharmacist on a videophone to verify that the correct medication is dispensed by the machine. Patients are also able to receive counseling on the videophone as well.

In case a doctor prescribes something not stocked in the machine, the pharmacy in Weiser fills the prescription there and delivers it to the pharmacy in Council.

It's a little nuts to think about, but it makes it a little bit more convenient to patients who live there. If this program works, RDMs could pop up in other small towns in Idaho that also don't have a pharmacist.

Another state down

Seeing that Boise is just a little over 50 miles away from the Oregon border, I decided that this would be a good time to drive over and say I at least did it. I drove out to Ontario, which is just on the border, and had lunch.

I have now visited every state that covers the West Coast of the continuous 48 states and almost every state that borders Utah (I haven't been to Four Corners, so I can't say I've been to New Mexico).

I'm hoping to add another state this Spring by going to the APhA Annual Meeting in San Antonio.

50 years and still going

This weekend there was a celebration for my grandparents in Deer Valley. They are celebrating 50 years of marriage. That's an incredible accomplishment for anybody, especially these days.

I hope to reach that milestone someday. Unfortunately, right now it looks like that might be more in the next life. Who knows?

The halfway point...

I've reached the halfway point of my adventure in Boise. This last week was pretty fun with having my preceptor actually in the office. Mark has been out of town quite a bit. He just got back from Chicago and he's heading out to Florida this next week.

I helped get the packet of information ready for the board of pharmacy meeting coming up a week from Wednesday. That included finished my presentation that I'm giving to the Board. It's the quickest I've had to put together a presentation while on rotation. It's nice to have it done.

This next week I'll be attending a workshop with DEQ on proper medication disposal (DEQ is the state equivalent of the EPA). I'll also be joining one of the state inspectors on a few site visits in Meridian.

And another road trip...

This weekend was another long weekend for me. (Thank you, Christopher Columbus!) I ended up heading back to Utah to attend my brother's mission farewell. My youngest brother, Mike, is heading to the Calgary Canada mission. We were able to hang out before I had to come back to Boise. It was great. I wish him the best of luck and hope that he stays warm seeing he'll be getting to Alberta right as winter starts.

Research, research, and then a field trip. . .

The last couple weeks I've been researching the pharmacy rules and regulations in the other states. I've been looking into compounding and working on a presentation on my findings to the Board of Pharmacy in a few weeks. Seeing it's been my only task for the most part, it's been getting kinda boring.

Fortunately, tomorrow I get to go with one of the inspectors to a couple pharmacies. These will be my first inspections ever since starting in pharmacy. It will be interesting to be on the inspector side first instead of being the inspected.

My new favorite junk food

Today, while exploring downtown Boise, I went into the Tater store next to Tourist Information. The potato-growing geniuses up here have created a new tasty treat. They have taken potato chips and covered them in chocolate.

There may be a few skeptics out there. This intrigued me, so I bought some and tried them out. They are very good. It's like eating a chocolate-covered wafer/Kit-Kat but with a little bit of a salty taste to it, just like eating chocolate-covered pretzels.

These aren't available in regular stores, but I recommend either the next time you're in Idaho to get some, or the next time you have a chocolate fountain to include potato chips in your group of dipping stuff.

ps. To my siblings: I'll be bringing some back with me for Mike's farewell.

American Pharmacists' Month

October is American Pharmacists' Month. It's a great time to thank your local pharmacist for the work they do.

Boise, Day 3

Yesterday I got to meet with the leadership of both of the ISPA and ISHP. It was great to hear what's going on and their concerns with a proposed change to increase the pharmacist/technician ratio to 1:6. It was nice to see their cooperation and the ideas they bounced off each other.

Today I finished editing a contract between the Board and a pharmacy running a remote site in a rural area. This site utilizes a remote dispensing machine that allows the pharmacist to dispense a medication to someone miles away. A technician is their to supervise and fax the prescription to the host pharmacy. Patient counseling happens on a live video/audio system. It's crazy to think what can happen next.

Some of what I'm doing in Boise

I met up with my new preceptor this morning in Sun Valley at the end of the ISHP Fall Meeting. He gave an update on the changes that he and the Board of Pharmacy have been putting before the state legislature up here and what's coming up.

While I'm here, some of the projects I'll be helping on is working on a finalized pharmacist:technician ratio (right now it's proposed to be 6 techs to 1 pharmacist, interns are factored in with the techs), pharmacy tech training requirements, and setting up the framework for statute changes dealing with compounding. I'll be doing quite a bit of research.

Also while I'm here, I'll be able to attend both a Board of Pharmacy meeting and a meeting of the Idaho Pharmacy Leadership Council (comprised of the leadership of the Board, Idaho Society of Healthsystem Pharmacists, Idaho State Pharmacists' Association, and Idaho State University College of Pharmacy). In fact, the latter meeting is tomorrow night. Talk about a great way to get my feet wet.

Human Pinball: Rx Edition

The last couple days I've been thinking about my past and how I seem to bounce around at times. During the last few weeks, I've been all over the state of Utah on my long-term care rotation. Now, I'm in Boise for the next six weeks working with the board of pharmacy up here. It's an incredible opportunity and I'm glad to be up here.

I have the feeling, though, that this is the beginning of bouncing in the near future. Pharmacy has many options, and I want to see as many as I can before I graduate.

Crazy rotation schedule

My rotations so far have taken me all over the state of Utah. The only other time I've been moving this fast was when I was on my mission in Finland. Of course, the moving around isn't about to stop. Next week I'll be in Boise working with the Idaho State Board of Pharmacy.

Time has flown over the last few months. I only have a feeling that it's going to get faster.

Tribute to My Wife, Leslie

I've been wanting to post this video for over a year now, but was unable to on MySpace. This video is a tribute to my late wife, Leslie Parker Morris. Produced by her brother, Patrick, this video sums up Leslie's brief and remarkable life here on Earth. For those of you who didn't get a chance to meet her, hopefully this video will give you some insight into why I fell in love with her.

Finally coming to Blogspot...

Hello everyone,

Since everyone else I know has jumped on board to blogspot.com, I figured it's about time for me to join along. I have been blogging on MySpace, but this is more accessible to those who don't have access to that (like my parents).

For my first blog entry, I just want to note that it has been a busy week. I've been on a long-term care consulting rotation for pharmacy school that has taken me all over the state of Utah. In the last few weeks, I've been to St. George, Bountiful, Parawan, Sandy, Roosevelt, Springville, Provo, Orem, Salt Lake and Draper. This week I'll be heading out to Tooele and West Valley to finish up the circuit.

It's been a great rotation so far. I've definitely learned a lot so far and I'm interested in possibly pursuing a career in consulting when I'm done with pharmacy school.