The Vanilla Gorilla

The Vanilla Gorilla is a movie too!

2009-12-14T11:10:00.002-06:00

I hope I don't get sued or have to change the name.....

Wow

2009-12-14T11:09:00.001-06:00

Long time no post. Can't believe I even remember the password.

Dad

2006-07-04T21:19:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Shell for reminding me that I have not updated my blog. I really haven't felt up to it for an understandable reason...

My father lost his battle with cancer on June 2. Now, a little over a month later I am still bitter and sad about it. I always knew I would be upset when/if either of my parents died but this has been a real bitch. The raw finality of it all is still....a bit overwhelming. I can feel the progress of healing but it is much too slow for me! I'm 37 years old, so it has been years since I have relied on dad for anything more than advice and stuff, but I am only able to think about why I miss him and not why he is better off given the painful cancer he had..... Ok this still affects me a little too much so thats all for today. Stupid emotions.

This proves blogging is just for ME

2006-05-23T23:24:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted for months and I am surprised I feel like doing this now. Not too long ago a good friend lost her father and shared some of her feelings out here in blogger-space. Brave of her I thought. I understand a little better how using this space can help sort shit out. I have not lost my father yet, but we have been given some very bad news.

Adenocarcinoma of unknown origin with metastasis.

Cancer. We don't know where it started. Spread throughout his body.

After years of health problems related to obesity my dad made a bold move. He researched various types of bariatric surgery, found a doctor, a procedure he was comfortable with and went for it. He had to lose 100 pounds before being allowed to have the surgery but he did it. His stomach was cut completely out and small intestine re-routed to allow for some serious weight loss. One year later he's lost 300 pounds and was looking forward to a new lease on life. Now this.

He went to the doctor about 3 weeks ago with the complaint of "not feeling right". After some abnormal blood tests they decided to admit him for more tests. Several CT scans, PET scans and bone scans later here we are. Cancer. It has been extremely aggressive. It has spread to bone marrow, bone and 2 lymph nodes undetected until now. In addition to all of that it is producing a protein that is causing his own immune system to attack his red blood cells. It is so severe that he would have been dead 2 weeks ago if untreated. As it is we are being told that they will not be able to cure him. He was given a choice and has decided to fight for whatever time they can buy him. They can't even tell us if he will leave the hospital alive, but our goal is to get him camping just one more time!

Doesn't seem fair, but I guess it never is.

Medicare part D...when will the bleeding stop?

2006-01-12T01:37:00.000-06:00

If you don't work in a pharmacy you may only have a peripheral knowledge of the HELL that is Medicare part D. I just don't have enough time to properly bitch about this! Let's just say VANILLA GORILLA NOT FREAKIN HAPPY!!!

Apprentice winner refuses to share title

2005-12-16T09:48:00.000-06:00

Apprentice winner refuses to share title - MSNBC.com

Apparently others agree that Randal came off as a selfish ass. I know it's just a stupid show but I am still steaming over this one! I feel the same about that chick on Survivor who could have given up a car she just won to give everyone else a car and she said no. Bitch!

Randal wins Apprentice - And looks like an ass doing it

2005-12-16T02:19:00.000-06:00

I loved both final candidates thru the entire season. I thought they were both very deserving and had no idea how Trump could possibly choose a winner. He ultimately chooses Randal and then asks if he should also hire Rebecca...And he says NO. Was all that shit about respecting her and saying she was a great talent all bullshit? Why the hell not advise Trump to hire her too? His reason?

"It's the Appren-tice Mr Trump, not the Appren-ti. "

What a tool.

Anyone else see Starship Troopers II?

2005-12-14T23:31:00.000-06:00

It's strange that it took me so long to see it because I believe Starship Troopers was the finest movie ever made. EVER. Maybe I was afraid II wouldn't live up to the original. I was not disappointed. The movie pretty much bit the whole way through. I hated every second of it. The question is, why can't I stop replaying it in my head? Almost like remembering the one asshole at work today and not the 200 nice little old ladies I guess. But I'm kinda liking the remembering. Does that make me sick in the head? Oooh, I have a better analogy. It's like remembering an ex fondly after it's all over even though your life would have been a living fucking HELL if you had stayed with her so thank God she dumped you otherwise your life would be utterly, utterly over. Yeah that's gooood.

FINALLY!!

2005-12-07T18:13:00.000-06:00

Air marshal guns down man at Miami airport - MSNBC.com

Someone finally got shot by an Air Marshall. You act crazy on a plane and you get shot. That's the rule.

Calm DOWN people! (holiday pharmacy rant)

2005-12-07T17:32:00.000-06:00

I know the holidays are stressful for everyone, but why take it out on your friendly neighborhood pharmacy?

If I tell you the wait for a prescription is a hour, it is a fact. It is not a personal insult to you. I don't make that shit up because I enjoy watching your fat face spitting curse words at me.

It seems to me that a person who could poison you to death 50 different ways is not a good person to piss off or distract! I'm just saying....

When you pull up to a 2-lane drive-thru and there is 1 person at the window helping the other lane, why would you ring the damn bell? The person STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU HELPING SOMEONE ELSE will be right with you.

Speaking of drive-thru, no I won't run to the front register to grab you a pack of Kool filter-kings.

I don't know if there are any more queen size knee-hi's that are in the ad 4/$1.00. I promise.

You are not allowed to yell at me about how long it takes to fill your prescription for an acute problem when you waited 14 days to bring it in to me. You have been suffering for 2 damn weeks so you can wait another hour or so. (Also see above point about "accidental" poisoning)

NO, I DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH YOUR COPAY IS BEFORE I CAN ACTUALLY ENTER THE INFORMATION INTO THE COMPUTER!!!!!!!!!! There is no magic gene that pharmacy people possess that tells us everyones copay.

FOXSports.com - NFL- Eagles punish, bench Owens

2005-11-05T11:46:00.000-06:00

(I'm just playing around with the instant blogger settings.)

I know no one reads this thing but I just have to say great damn job on the Eagles in benching Terrell Owens! He is a frickin jackass!

Ok, comments are back on

2005-11-01T18:06:00.000-06:00

but lets see how well the spam-killer tools work

Thanks a lot comment spammers

2005-10-31T23:17:00.000-06:00

I guess I had to disable comments too because of comment spammers. What a bunch of tools you are.

Writers annoy me...not sure if it's their fault though...

2005-08-26T23:44:00.000-05:00

I had a call from a patient/customer yesterday who was very worried about an article she read in a magazine. It was a women's magazine like Elle or Cosmo or something like that. I don't remember for sure. ANYWAY, she said there was an article in there that said if she takes ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) she will get breast cancer. I get a fair amount of calls like this where one small study reported in the lay press causes a huge uproar. I advised her that many scientific studies have outcomes that just do not apply in the real world, but I would look into it for her and call her back by Monday.

It turns out it won't even take that long! I was able to obtain a report on the study cited in the magazine and I could not believe how frickin irresponsible the magazine was to report the findings like it did. My patient read the title to me on the phone. It read:

"Regular Ibuprofen use Associated with Breast Cancer"

Just that sentence alone is scary as hell. Especially for someone with a family history of breast cancer like my her. Yes, it is true that in this study there was a statistically significant increase in breast cancer in women who took ibuprofen. However, a blanket statement like the above title is misleading. At least according to me.

The University of Southern California researchers, who published their findings in the June 1 Journal of the National Cancer Institute, concluded that their data provides only slim evidence to support any ibuprofen-breast cancer causal effect. That means who knows if it's actually ibuprofen that added to breast cancer risk. It might be something completely unrelated to the actual medicine. The authors even put up some theories that may explain the findings. People who have conditions that require daily painkillers are more likely to be treated by physicians and thus have better chance for early discovery (hence a higher rate of reported breast cancer). They also theorized that some women took ibuprofen to relieve early symptoms of breast cancer, although this one was less likely because early breast cancer tends to be asymptomatic.
Here is another nail in the panic coffin, the study included zero data on the doses used by the study participants. They just surveyed for daily ibuprofen (and aspirin and tylenol) use. It would be harder to establish a causal relationship without the doses used. Incedently, the aspirin and tylenol group showed no increase in breast cancer incidence, but I will still recommend ibuprofen when appropriate.

Anyway, long story short, don't believe every frickin word you read in Cosmo eh? I wouldn't be HALF as annoyed if the article mentioned just those few extra facts. You know,it just occured to me that I ranted and bitched and complained, but I don't really know what the article in the woman's magazine actually says. I just had the title read to me. Hmmmm. It's possible I could have wasted a LOT of time on nothing because she didn't read the whole fucking article.

God DAMN, customers annoy me.

FYI:
Journal of the National Cancer Institute

Marshall SF, et al. 2005. Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Use and Breast Cancer Risk by Stage and Hormone Receptor Status. JNCI; 97: 805-812

Work rots (as usual)

2005-08-25T18:17:00.000-05:00

Hi reader! You may have noticed a lack of posts lately. The reason is my job. Lately it has been like I would imagine a shit farm would be. No offense to shit farmers though. I only feel like blogging "mostly" when I am feeling positive. (Pharmacy Rants notwithstanding) There has not been much to feel positive about at work lately, hence the dearth of postings. (I love using the word "hence". I try to work it into every conversation, hence the "hence" above.)

Anyway, I am feeling a little better about work so I thought I would take advantage and whip out a little post for you. So this little post was better than nothing right?

Don't answer that.

On a lighter note...

2005-08-18T20:36:00.000-05:00

We are spending a few nights in Kansas City just to get away for awhile. Great news! The kids are with us! PLEEEEEASE for the love of all that is holy let me remember that I like them! When will the whining stop? WHEN?

I don't care what anyone says...firing people sucks

2005-08-17T19:51:00.000-05:00

There have been some "inequities" in the cash registers in the pharmacy and the big bosses needed to find how it was happening. The Loss Prevention man came in after hours and I helped set up some extra surveillance.

(While we were doing this I discovered a camera I didn't even know was there! Even though I had not done anything, it was pretty chilling to realize that if I was up to something they would have caught me!...No guilty conscience here...I swear)

Anyway, I assured my boss and the loss prevention supervisor that we were going to find out that it was some kind of innocent mistake. I even went so far as bet breakfast on it. My boss took me up on it right away. He thought had it all figured out. Unfortunately the new camera proved him right. The employee was fired a few days later. The shittiest part about it was this person was not let go before having one last shift. So I had the pleasure of working a whole evening with someone, a person I considered a friend as much as an employee, and I knew it would be their last night. I got through the night pretty well but it was still pretty surreal. I know this person violated my trust by stealing from the company, but it really doesn't make me feel any better at all.

My boss is never going to collect that fucking breakfast either.

Caption contest

2005-08-14T22:14:00.000-05:00

I hate to be one of those lame ass parent types who gushes about how awesome his kids are. (Actually if you knew me offline you would know I have a really hard time admitting when I like my kids.) Anyway this is one of my all time favorite pictures of "monkey 2". What exactly do you guys think he might have been thinking?

Fascist humor

2005-08-14T21:59:00.000-05:00

I gotta give credit to Maddox. What I don't understand is...why the hell do I think this is so funny? Am I a closet fascist? Do I even know what a fascist is? Ahhhh the questions the questions!

Damn, the pharmacy didn't burn down

2005-08-13T00:09:00.000-05:00

Sort of a false alarm today. The "fire" was some dudes working on the roof Air Conditioning units. They were doing some soldering and got some smoke and solder too close to a sensor and blammo! Off goes the fire alarm. Caused a little excitement but that's it. Ok, I have to admit I am glad it didn't burn down. I may bitch about my job, but I like it well enough.

There. I said it.

The roof! The roof! The roof is on fire!

2005-08-12T13:00:00.000-05:00

I just got a call from the pharmacy..apparently the roof is actually on fire! It was everything I could do not to say, "We don't need no water let the mother-fucker burn! Burn mother-fucker, BURRRRN!"

(He had already told me that everyone was out and safe by the way)

I guess I am going in a little early today.

Women can be mean too

2005-08-12T12:18:00.000-05:00

We have a 4th year pharmacy student with us this month in the pharmacy. He is doing a required clerkship with us where you basically work as slave labor 40 hours a week and you pay tuition for it. During the last week of the rotation we try to have a little potluck lunch in honor of the student as a thank you of sorts. Small compensation, but we like any excuse to bring food into the pharmacy. The pharmacists especially like this because we pretty much never get any time off for lunches. Having food nearby at least guarantees a 20-second gorging in between phone calls. One of the pharmacy techs brings a crock-pot with some kind of beef and potato stew. Here is where the fun (and meanness) happened. Apparently one of the other techs thought it was too bland. On one of her breaks she bought on of those spice envelopes with chili powder and stuff in it. She unceremoniously dumped the whole package into the crock pot, stirs it up, tastes it and declares, "That's better!". I just can't get that imagary out of my head. Holding the spice envelope over the pot, looking the other person right in the eyes, and dumping the whole thing in right in front of everyone else with a "What are YOU gonna do about it?" look on her face. It's the female equivalent of a guy doing a crossover dribble on the basketball court, dunking the ball over your head and declaring that he did it all because he just slept with your mom the night before.

In yo FACE bland-soup-maker!!

Maybe you had to be there.

Why did I choose pharmacy?

2005-08-11T22:48:00.000-05:00

After reading my pharmacy rants (part 1 of many to come), a fellow blogger asked me why I chose pharmacy as a profession. I have no quick and easy answer to that at all...but maybe I am trying to overcomplicate it. I already worked at a large chain drugstore through high school and college, and the pharmacists there were always trying to encourage me to go to pharmacy school. I never really took it seriously until I found out how much money they made. That's pretty much it. Yes the story is slightly more complicated than that, but that's pretty much it.

The longer version is not much longer.... I graduated from high school in 1987. I worked for a major drug chain for most of high school and all of college..stockboy, assistant mgr, etc. I was lucky enough to get a full ride to State U. about a year after high school but I still needed some extra money (still just a stockboy you see). I joined the Army National Guard in 1989 and took a year off school. I also figured it would help me figure out what I wanted to do with my life. It did enhance my work ethic but still didn't help me find my "career". I never really found anything that interested me enough to make it my life's work. I just went back to school and tried to learn as much as possible. I tried education (physics/chemistry and earth science..I was going to be a science teacher!) and accounting (going to be a CPA). Neither of those managed to hold my interest for various reasons. Next I tried radiography, which is basically taking x-rays, MRI's, CT scans, etc. It was interesting and challenging and I liked it except for 2 things. First, the money was less than I was looking for...around $20,000 a year 6 years ago. (I was making that as an assistant manager at the drugstore.) Second, and most important, I came upon a huge realization that I did not really like sick people very much. Mostly it was the getting bodily fluids hurled at me in various ways. I just didn't feel like I cared enough about the people I was helping. I needed to find a way I could do something mentally challenging but also had a little extra layer between me and patients. Thus I began to consider pharmacy. I spent 3 semesters kicking my own ass taking full loads of science classes and pre-req's for pharmacy. Those classes were awesome and I knew I was on to something. I liked Genetics, Biology and Microbiology so much that I made my "backup" major Biology with the idea that I would become a criminologist (THIS WAS YEARS BEFORE CSI I SWEAR!!!) or possibly work in genetics research. I was accepted into pharmacy school in 1995 however, and graduated with a Doctor of Pharmacy in 1999.

So in a nutshell, years of retail work, many changes of college major and a dash of military disclipline = me the pharmacist.

Can you get fired for blogging?

2005-08-08T18:11:00.000-05:00

(www.msn.com) How stupid is this article? Of COURSE you can get fired for blogging. What boss would want you spend all of your time sitting on your ass ignoring work stuff so you can cry about how shitty you are being treated? Can you get fired for masturbating at work? I hope so! (The counter-tops are too high in my pharmacy for me to get caught, but that's not the point!)

Pharmacy rants (Part 1 of probably too many)

2005-08-06T21:48:00.000-05:00

To my dear, dear customers:

How the fuck is it my fault that you...

have 3 or 4 last names and never give us the right one when picking up your prescription?
have changed your phone number 5 times since the last time you gave it to us and then expect us to magically have it on file?
waited 4 days before bringing me your "emergency" prescription then bitch about having to wait 20 minutes?
don't have your card or any other insurance information but still expect me to know all of the intricate details of your copays and deductibles?
have been out of refills for 4 weeks and you waited until 9 pm on a Friday night to request a refill then bitch because you have to wait 3 days due to doctors not working the weekends?
have not seen your doctor in 2 years so they deny all refills even though you "have" to have your birth control pills?
ate all of your Vicodins at lunch and they were supposed to last you 3 weeks?
pull up to the pharmacy and look at me like I'm an asshole when I tell you there is a charge and you have NO money with you? Really, how the fuck can you pull up to the pharmacy where you have had a copay for 10 years, and have NO money on you? Did you expect me to fuckin' GIVE you your herpes medicine for free???? Can you try something for me? Go to fucking McDonald's, order 25 bucks worth of shit and then look at them like they are a bunch of assholes when they want their money. If they decide that you must need to have everything for free because you don't have any fucking money then make your next trip to my pharmacy and get some fucking free herpes medicine!

Fatherhood...WTF?

2005-08-05T21:38:00.000-05:00

When I was a new father I pretty much felt like an idiot all the time. I had some revelations that helped me get through the experience. No thanks to my wife though. Women know everything they need to know about kids naturally and they think it is funny to watch us men slog through it all. Here are some of my hard-fought insights, may they help someone someday!

1. Kids will still love you no matter how many times you fuck up.
Whether or not he deserves it, it's important for the new dad to know he can screw up and the kids will give him a clean slate. (Mom is a completely different story.)

2. It's ok if you don't like your kids every now and then.
This is one advantage we men have over women. We are much better at loving people we don't like at that particular moment. (From years of still being available for sex even if we have been banished to the couch for whatever reason)

3. The way to their heart is through their stomach.
Give kids chocolate cake and you will will be the Master of the Universe. (This is actually also true of men)

4. Don't forget how huge and scary you are to them.
Men are bullies by nature and it's hard to avoid that behavior with your kids. I will never forget the first time I made my little girl cry....it really sucks. (Again, mom is a different story...the being scared of me part, not the making her cry part)

5. It is not only ok for you to be goofy, but as the dad, it's REQUIRED!
This is by far the best part of being the dad! Kids don't give a rats ass if you kept your pharmacy inventory below $500,000 this month. They don't care that your "phone hold time" report sucked compared to everyone else in your district. They couldn't give less of a shit if you gave out too much overtime. All they care about is we're all sleeping in a bubble fort tonight! woo hoo!!! (You know what a bubble fort is right? You stick a bedsheet on the ground and use some books on the corners for weight. Then you stick a fan in one end and turn it on. Presto! Bubble Fort!)

What should this blog be about?

2005-08-05T19:36:00.000-05:00

I have been reading a lot of blogs lately. They come from all walks of life and fall into just about any category you can think of. It makes me wonder where I want "this" blog to fall. Some blogs are done every day by essentially professional writers and read better than your average newspaper. Then there are others that are no more than narcissistic whining about which nobody but the author (and maybe their mom) gives a rip.

I am nowhere near a professional writer. There is also no way I can post something decent every day. Most of the subjects I feel like writing about will come dangerously close to narcissistic whining of my own. So I guess my answer boils down to, "What is the point of this thing?"

The short answer is the one I am going to go with for now. It is this: BLOGGING IS BASICALLY DONE JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT!

Wow that really takes the pressure off. Blog-on you chicken fuckers!

Try to be funny Try to be funny Try to be funny

2005-07-26T01:30:00.000-05:00

It's hard to do all that when you work retail. It sucks the life right out of you. It really fucking does.

(the F word is neccesary here, for emphasis)

Into the West vs White Guilt

2005-07-23T19:13:00.000-05:00

Is anyone else watching Into the West? <---( am I even supposed to italicize TV show titles?) I thought this would be a great series to watch. Well crap. All this miniseries is doing for me is giving me a healthy case of White Guilt. How can I show my face in public when I know all the shitty things my people did to the Indians? In addition to that, too many characters die in this show! I have a hard time remembering who I like from week to week let alone having them die on me so I hafta pick another favorite! (currently my favorite is Loved-by-the-Buffalo, but that's only because I think he might live to see the end of the series)

If you listen to this show, all you would think we brought to the Indians was gunpowder and diabetes!

UH OH

2005-07-23T11:38:00.000-05:00

There's trouble in Gorilla-land. MrsGorilla has decided she wants a blog. Now I get to find out about all the things I have done wrong.... ON THE NET. Hmmm good thing our wireless internet works on the couch.

Hey wait... I may have even given her permission to post to this blog...how the heck do I revoke that without stirring up a hornets nest?....aaaaaa

Hey wait... I just insinuated that her blog will degenerate into only complaints about ME. As if there is nothing else in her life that is worth mentioning. There pretty much isn't, but hey when the truth hurts just blame the husband!....aaaaaaa

Hey wait... I don't know when to shut up! I am now in more trouble from one posting that everything I said (as far as I am aware anyway) all of last week!...aaaaaa

Am I REALLY that stupid?

2005-03-10T06:35:00.000-06:00

Don't answer that. Here is the story:

I have a friend who has been in Afghanistan (with the US Army) for almost 2 years. He has a wife and 2 kids who I promised to look in on from time to time. A couple weeks ago I realized I have not talked to his wife in almost a year! Racked with guilt, I finally called her to see how things were going. My timing was actually good, as they are moving to a new house in a different part of town. Since I own a big truck and a flatbed trailer big enough to hold a car, I immediately offered to help move them. Here is where I am stupid.
I took a days vacation from work and said I would call later for the details. I called last night to find out when she wanted me over there. She said "five". I assumed that she had also taken the day off work, so "five" meant five AM. (I know you can see this coming) I thought that was a little strange so I said something intelligent like "Five? really? That's pretty early" She said I could come over whenever. So I said "How about six?". She said that was fine. I tell Mrs Gorilla that she needs to take the kids to the sitter early in the AM because I will be gone and promptly get in trouble. (She is extremely not into sleep deprivation of any kind) I picked up the trailer that we keep at my dads house so it would be ready for the morning. I get up at 5:30 am after about 4 hours of sleep, and stop at a gas station for a dose of caffeine and a nasty breakfast burrito. Check and check. I get to her house, spend 5 minutes backing the trailer perfectly into place and trudge up the stairs to the front porch where I notice...no lights! After a few moments of foggy morning-confusion it finally dawns on me that five meant five PM. So here I sit. Blogging instead of sleeping. At least Mrs Gorilla will be able sleep!

(And just to add insult to injury, I have ended up burning a vacation day for nothing as I could have easily got back from work by 6 PM!)

I Still Dont' Have Anything

2005-01-19T21:19:00.000-06:00

I suck at blogging. Man, has it been almost a month since I wrote anything? I need to go back to school so I have more time to blog. ;)

I wish I had a funny story or something

2004-12-20T23:42:00.000-06:00

My only current stories are pharmacy related. Most are only funny to other pharmacists and don't really make good blogging material. Hey, that reminds me of a screenplay I want to write...

It's going to be a network TV drama all about being a pharmacist. Since all cool shows are done only on a coast or in Chicago I guess the setting will have to be...New York City. "NY Pharmacy" or something like that.

The pilot episode will introduce "Jack", the hero pharmacist. He is driving to work when all of a sudden he witnesses a terrible car-wreck. Using the emergency medical kit that every Hollywood pharmacist carries in his car he whips out the cell phone inside and calls a paramedic. He then stands there and watches the paramedic dramatically save the injured pedestrian, the whole time laughing to himself because has absolutely no blood on him. In addition, since he is on salary, he realizes is still getting paid for this. Cut to Jack getting into his Escalade and driving to work.

More to follow...

Anyone know how to make some money?

2004-12-09T11:32:00.000-06:00

If you know a way to make lots of money without having to deal with "customers" please let me know. In addition, not having to worry about "results" or having a "work-ethic" would be nice too. Lets get them suggestions rolling!

Customers Suck

2004-12-09T10:52:00.000-06:00

To the woman in the drive through lane in my pharmacy yesterday...I have some news for you. Just because your doctor wrote a prescription for something does not mean you automatically get it for free on your "public insurance". How hard is it to pony-up $2.99 for a bottle of hand-lotion? Especially if your child has eczema and needs it? And while we are on the subject, how does screaming at the cashier (who actually has a JOB) or the pharmacist (who actually has a JOB) going to help? Maybe you should climb your fat lazy ass out of your Eddie Baur Explorer (that I paid for) and buy it yourself. Is it the fact that you are too busy planning your Vegas vacation (that I paid for) while talking on your cell phone (that I paid for)? Or maybe your $200 clothing ensemble (that I paid for) used up all of your discretionary spending money (that I gave you)?

Maybe I am exaggerating a little but come on people! How does it benefit me to not sell you something covered on your "insurance"? If its not covered, I make no money...why would I make that up?

Pearl Harbor Day

2004-12-07T10:19:00.000-06:00

I happen to know that exactly zero WWII veterans read my blog. But I remember you anyway. Even when its not an anniversary day!

VG

Teen Titans

2004-11-20T22:55:00.000-06:00

This cartoon is great! I love everything from the opening song to the end of the credits. Bonus for me: my kids like it too so I get to claim I am spending time with them. Mrs Gorilla and I are actually having fun looking for the (inevitably expensive and expanding collection of) action figures. Woohoo..we found Starfire and Raven today!

Only 437 more pieces in the "sold separately" accessory collection!

Long Time No Blog

2004-11-14T18:03:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone...I just thought I had better get something up or you might think something is wrong with me. Well, something IS wrong with me. I have rediscovered something I used to do ages ago. It has been so long that I barely remember what it is called, or if it is even called the same thing now. It's called...

Reading for pleasure.

I dusted off all of my old Sci-Fi and Fantasy books we have accumulated over the past 20 years. Mrs Gorilla and I are powering through them like J-Lo powers thru boyfriends.

Anyone have a reading suggestion? I will read it and you can live through me vicariously. I like stories where a farm-boy ends being a powerful king or warrior or something like that. You know, rags-to-riches stuff. Any suggestions?

The story behind my name

2004-11-02T22:03:00.000-06:00

I went to Ft. Jackson, South Carolina for Basic Training in 1989 (Army). There were people from just about everywhere in the country but for some reason there was a majority from New York. Something like 15 out of 60 guys. Anyway, they tended to dominate all of the conversations like most east-coasters try to do. I thought they were a pretty funny bunch of guys so I usually gravitated toward them when we were in the barracks. Since I was the only white guy that (I would like to think) they liked, they started calling me Vanilla. "Hey Vanilla, do yall still have problems with Indians running around out there?" etc. <--I swear one guy asked me this question and I will believe to my dying day that he was SERIOUS. One day the guy in the group with the biggest mouth notices how hairy I am (sorry ladies). He then proceded to run all around the squad bay telling everyone I was not Vanilla anymore. I was now the Vanilla Gorilla. The nickname survives.

Just in case you were wondering.

Camping

2004-10-29T13:19:00.000-05:00

I hate to brag, but I will be camping all weekend! Hopefully the weather will cool off some so the fire will that much more dramatic. Every camping trip I have ever taken has had this perfect moment of Zen where even if for just a moment, all is perfect in the world. It usually involves me being in front of a fire with some kind of beverage in my hand, listening to the wind rustle through the trees and making the fields of grass undulate like a green ocean. That's all it takes. Those small moments have become unbelievably precious to me.

If dragging 2 young kids and a "cranky" wife camping gets me just 5 minutes of Zen out of a whole weekend it is all worth it!

GTA: San Andreas

2004-10-27T22:43:00.000-05:00

OK, it's not like I blog much. It's also not like many people read it. ( Thanks to both of you! ) But I just have to say I will possibly not be doing anything else but killing random people for the next 24-48 straight hours. Yes, I have it...the newest in the Grand Theft Auto series..GTA San Andreas!! Woooo hooo!

(By the way, thank you Best Buy for not having it in stock cuz Comp USA had it AND gave me a free controller just for coming in! nyah nyah!)

Ringtones

2004-10-26T13:04:00.000-05:00

Am I the only 30-something out there who thinks using all kinds of different ringtones on their cell phone is incredibly fun? I finally got a new phone that plays mp3's as ringtones (if you do it right) and I totally get a kick out of having "Mortal Kombat" as my ringer. When I try to show it to my friends who are over 30 they are like "Yeah. Thats nice. Hey, why don't you come over and help me download some porn and make it a hidden file so my wife can't see it."

Is something wrong with me? I would rather download the theme from Halloween for my phone than Debbie does Whoever on video. Hmmm either way something IS wrong. Oh well!

dunt dunt dunt dunt duntdunt duntduntduntdunt MORTALLLL KOMBAAAAAAT!

Hey, I just figured out why I would want a "draft" mode

2004-10-26T12:49:00.000-05:00

This is incredibly "duh" , but it did not occur to me that I could write out some crap and save it without having to publish it. Since I write as I type, most of my potential postings get deleted because they turn into generic rambling and run-on sentences. It would be too much work for me to use Word or something like that. Waaay too much work. Plus the spell check would be waaay too convienent. No modern comforts here dammit...just good old fashioned blogging. The way my grandparents did. Back in the abacus days before they had paper. And pencils. And light.

(Maybe I should have left this post as draft.)

Why are so many bloggers Law students?

2004-10-24T23:36:00.000-05:00

I only follow 2 or 3 blogs regularly so my sample size is suspect, but why does it seem like most blogs are done by lawyers or law students? Is there something about Law that attracts the kind of people who want to write about everything? Just for some perspective I found some other pharmacists and checked out their blogs. Hmmmm....these are pretty boring dudes.

Good job Law people!

Am I not entertained!?

Yeah, I am.

First blog

2004-10-24T23:00:00.000-05:00

I signed up for one of these so I could post a comment on another blog. What the heck. I might as well put my own inane thoughts out there too. Might be fun. Just don't expect much eh?