The new cat and the tuxedo cat are getting along famously now. They are quite a pair, and the new kitty has much to learn about being a proper house cat from the older and much wiser tuxedo cat. Example: Tuxedo cat has transformed grooming into an art form. He is perfect, and I seriously doubt there is any other cat that can out groom the tuxedo. He goes about his grooming in a very deliberate and dignified fashion, starting always with the paws, then the face, then the paws again and so on…. He never falls or rolls accidentally. He sets every hair in its exact place. New cat, on the other hand, looks like a complete clown when it comes to grooming himself. He rushes and is clumsy. Everything to him is a game, and that includes grooming. When he is done with his bath, he leaves his hair wet with spit and sticking out randomly in any which direction. He is only seven months old though, and barely out of kittendom. Tuxedo cat will surely teach him the secrets of this art form, as well as many others.

Don’t even get me started on drug reps. I absolutely cannot stand the Boniva lady and her coupons. Maybe if I was a guy she would be nicer to me. That’s the point right? The pretty drug reps seduce the docs into prescribing their new drug? My best friend’s husband is a doctor, and it seems to be the same deal at the doctor’s offices….only they get way cooler stuff than pharmacies do. We get pens and sticky pads….they get lunches, coffee mugs, wall clocks, etc.

First customer of the day was waiting in the drive-thru….today was the day we could FINALLY fill her hydrocodone and she sure as heck was going to sit there and wait for it. Then in walks Mr Boomba, who apparently threatened to sue the pharmacy last night because we closed 15 minutes before he arrived. Of course his insurance is not working….there was a change after the first of the year that he STILL has not fixed with his employer. All it takes is one phone call from him to his benefits coordinator to get it straightened out. That’s it. One phone call. No need to sue anybody. He proceeded to cuss the “student” out because of his insurance malady. I snickered inside….just a foretaste of what’s to come for this poor girl.

Why, oh why are people so idiotic? When you get mail from your insurance company, READ IT. It is probably important.

It’s also been brought to my attention that in my state there are MANY over the counter drugs that are covered on Medicaid. WHY? This is not necessary. Flintstone’s vitamins for children. Acetaminophen, Iron Drops, etc…. WHY? And why is it that the ones on Medicaid are driving the pimped out Lincoln Navigator and have gold teeth? If you can afford rims for your gas guzzling SUV, you can buy your dang Flintstone’s vitamins yourself, instead of using MY HARD EARNED CASH to pay for them.

On another note: We’ve settled on a name for New Cat. He’s named after a hobbit, but probably not the one you’re thinking of. Yay!

by T.S. Eliot

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn’t just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I’m as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there’s the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, or George or Bill Bailey -
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter -
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that’s particular,
A name that’s peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum -
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there’s still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover -
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

End of poem.

I am still scrutinizing over a name for our new friend. The Litter Box Wars seem to have ended, and New Cat is roaming around the apartment freely….merely being tolerated at this point by Tuxedo Cat. I think they will eventually become friends. Hopefully….

I can’t help it…is EVERYBODY sad, in pain, obese and sleepless??

U.S. Consumers Spend Billions for Drugs
Source: United Press International
Publication date: 2008-02-18

U.S. adults spent $127 billion in 2005 on anti-depressants and anti-psychotic drugs, as well as drugs to reduce cardiovascular risk and treat pain and insomnia.A report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, said consumers spent some $36 billion for prescription drugs to lower blood sugar, reduce cholesterol, or treat other metabolic problems.

The report said consumers spent $33 billion for drugs to reduce high blood pressure and treat heart conditions.

Central nervous system drugs — which include pain killers, sleep aid medications and medications for attention-deficit disorder — cost $26 billion, the AHRQ report said.

Anti-depressants and anti-psychotic drugs cost $17 billion, while gastrointestinal drugs, including antacids and laxatives, cost consumers $15 billion.

Spending on those drugs, $127 billion, accounted for nearly two-thirds of the total $199 billion spent on all outpatient prescription medicines, the report said.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

Publication date: 2008-02-18