reflections on my work family

I haven't written about work for awhile, and thought I could tell some stories about the colorful people who have become my work family. It's definitely broadened my horizons to get outside of the Mennonite culture and see how other people live their lives. All names will be changed to protect privacy, and I'm afraid this will be a lengthy post. Consider yourself warned!

Pharmacists are paid salary, but most work 8.5 hour days like we techs. However, we have four pharmacists who work seven 12 hour days on, then seven days off. Two of them, whom I'll call Josh and Isaiah, rotate working night shift, so I'm not with them as much but our shifts do overlap some. The other two, Greg and Reuben, rotate working approximately 10 am to 10 pm, called evening shift. So one week we have Reuben/Josh, and the next is Greg/Isaiah. Reuben is a gentle yet strict Nigerian man who loves to tease and laugh, although that definitely wasn't the first impression I got. He can be rather demanding and questioning with the techs and at first seemed kind of scary. He has also been designated pharmacy "pot stirrer" for several years. To digress, every year during pharmacy week we have special activities. One of them is voting on superlatives - assigning awards to different categories like "most helpful", "cool as a cucumber", "fashionista", "most improved", and more. Last year pharmacy week was soon after I joined the team and didn't know everyone as well. Even before I found out Reuben carried that title for several years, I knew he was the one I would select for pot stirrer! He's not loud, but insistent and likes to challenge people, including the manager and pharmacy director. Then later he will talk and laugh about how he got them riled up. He has several trademark phrases that come up during discussions. When someone wants him to do something a little questionable or shady, he refuses to budge and says, "They are wanting me to bend the rules, but I am not a liar. I can't even tell a white lie, because I am a black man!" Then he will laugh his silent, wheezy chuckle. Another comment when he's offered something sweet is "I'm sweet enough." He is a man of habit, eating and warming his coffee at nearly the same time every day. Every afternoon he goes outside to move his car. When the parking lot empties out later in the day he tries to park as close to the steps as possible, because "I am a black man and if someone sees me out in the field (parked way out by the cornfield) at night, they will call security!" I've come to look forward to working with Reuben, especially in the evenings or on weekends when there aren't as many people around and he "cuts loose."

Greg, an older man married to a male partner, is the party type, socializing and talking a lot. He loves eating, cooking, and discussing food. When he works on the weekend, food is usually ordered or brought in. Josh is a tall, silent man who is hard to get to know. What I've heard from other employees is his wife walked out years ago and left him with 3 or 4 young kids. He's raised them on his own, working nights. I was a little intimidated by him at first, but have come to appreciate his quiet good sense. The other night shift pharmacist, Isaiah, is another African (Ghanaian?) man who seemingly has never climatized to our non-tropical weather. I have never seen him without a beanie, and he's known to crank up the heat at night.

Now for a description of Julie. It will be hard to convey her personality in words. I have never met or known anyone quite like her! She only works 3 evenings a week from 5:00 - 9:30, but leaves an unforgettable impression. At 5:00, here she comes, bouncing in with a hearty "hELLLo! hELLLo! hELLLo!" Everyone knows there are certain things Julie will always do (it's generally assumed she has OCD). She always does the TPN's (total parenteral nutrition, providing nutrition through IV) if there are any. She checks all the printers and adds paper. She rolls a chair that usually is set up kind of in the middle of nowhere for anyone working on a mobile computer, across the pharmacy to another desk. She closes drawers that are left partly open. During her shift, discarded labels and papers pile up beside her. There's probably other things I'm not thinking of that are part of her routine. She's a loud, exuberant woman who I'd compare to Tigger. The part that blows everyone away is that she's married to our medication safety pharmacist, who is serious, sober, stern, and COMPLETELY her opposite! Yes, I know opposites attract, but they are an exceptional contrast!

It's time to give some space to a technician. Our lead tech, Carmen, keeps everyone in line, including pharmacists! I'm not sure how long she's worked there, but she can answer almost any question, even those that only pertain to a pharmacist's role. She's not afraid to yell at someone who she thinks is out of line, and is the glue that holds it together.

Darren is probably the coworker I talk about most often. When he's around, he demands your attention. Talking is one of his major talents, and favorite subjects are football, winning the lottery (more on that later), how his daughter is doing in school, "going to the chapel", which is the bathroom near the hospital chapel, and losing weight for his high school reunion in June. Currently he's doing the low carb diet and has lost at least 25 pounds, but we've been hearing about this before he even started dieting. He'd tell people he had a one-pack and needed to get a six-pack. Darren is often the pharmacist you work with when you're in the clean room. Everyone who trains in the clean room is "sworn in" by Darren. You put your right hand on a pack of alcohol wipes, raise your left, and repeat after him a creed about maintaining sterility and so on, ending with "what happens in the clean room stays in the clean room." 😂 Once you're back there, he'll ask all kinds of questions about your personal life. Several times he's asked me if my marriage was arranged and wanted to know all the details about how we got together.🙄 Yesterday one of the questions he asked me was "If, God forbid, your husband would die, would you get remarried?" He's not afraid to get in your space and take over so you have to be straightforward and tell him to back off if he gets to be too much. It can be rather distracting when you're trying to concentrate and he's going on about something. Several times he's told me what he'd do if he won the powerball lottery. He's got it all figured out - where he would give donations, what kind of vacation home he wants, and says he'll pay off the debts of everyone in the pharmacy - mortgages, student loans, etc. Then he asks me what I'd do if I had 200 million dollars. I haven't told him I don't believe in playing the lottery because I'm sure he'd have to know all the reasons why and I'm not prepared for that kind of interrogation, so I just play along with him. Yesterday he asked if I won the lottery, would I go to college? If I could study anything I wanted, what would it be? Never a dull moment with him! He's the "drama king" of the pharmacy, getting excited and blowing things out of proportion and sometimes his intensity can put everyone on edge. However, I think we all like Darren because he gives us things to laugh at.

That's only seven of my coworkers! There's at least twenty more I could say something about, but the ones I've described are probably the most outstanding. We have a fairly diverse team that includes Asians, African-Americans, Latinos, gay, straight, old, young, and one Mennonite girl! It keeps work interesting and colorful!