PharmCountry

Ok, I’ve been a little absent from the blog for the past few days. I’ve been getting back into the swing of things at work after the trip last week. I took about 100 pictures, but they’re still stuck on my cell phone. I’ll probably get around to bluetoothing them to my pc this weekend.

Yesterday was pretty hectic at the pharmacy. There were a lot of scripts on order from the weekend, and the people just kept coming relentlessly. Plus, there were a ton of problem scripts (you know, like the doctor couldn’t write.)

It was all worth it though, for today, we got…shredder service! No more standing in front of the shredder. Now it just goes in to a locked bin, which means we don’t have to worry about accidentally shredding scripts anymore. (Why do these things entertain me so much?)

In other news, I’m applying to the University of Sciences in Philadelphia Pharmacy program, which means, I’m only 6 years away from being a pharmacist (if I get in). Keep your fingers crossed!

Well, here I am, back in 30th street station. My train back to DC leaves in about 50 minutes. I scored about 100 pictures, only about 20 from today. Yesterday, I took a lot of pictures just walking around the Franklin Institute. I got a lot of them within the King Tut exhibit.

After I checked out of the hotel this morning, I went down to Independence Hall, officially called the Pennsylvania State House. (Well, first, I got breakfast at a restaurant in the Bourse.) I’m kind of an American history aficionado, so it was very humbling to know that I was walking the same halls as the men that created this country. It’s the same feeling I get when I go to the National Archives in DC to read the declaration and the constitution.

After Independence Hall, I crossed the street to see the Liberty Bell, which is a lot smaller than I thought it would be (as these kinds of things always are). There was a group of middle or high schoolers going through being guided by someone in period clothing.

I also visited something called Lights of Liberty, which, starting in April, gives night tours of the area using lasers to color the historic buildings. I walked from there to the local branch of the National Archives, which mostly houses genealogy records. It is definitely nothing like our National Archives, but it was somewhat interesting.

From there I walked up to Market Street, where I got my required Philly cheesesteak from a street vendor. It was really good, but then again, I think the last one I had was from a high school cafeteria.

Finally, I walked to the subway station, and after some confusion as to where to go, I caught the train here to 30th Street Station where I’m waiting for train 171 to Washington.

It’s been a really fun trip. I wish I had more time to see everything. I missed the US Mint, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Chinatown, but all in all I think I saw a lot for a two-day trip. I can’t wait to get back home in my own bed, and my own town, Washington, the District of Columbia.

I spent all day walking around town, visiting historic buildings, eating at restaurants, and walking along the waterfront. A good portion of the day was spent at the Franklin Institute of Science, which was my main reason for coming to the “City of Brotherly Love.”

I won’t go into the details of everywhere I went today — I’ll wait until I get the pictures off my phone when I’m back in DC. (I’ve already taken over 80, though the phone keeps resizing some of them to 160×120, so they might not come out well.)

The big attraction at FI was, of course, the King Tut exhibit. I was kind of disappointed that the pharaoh himself wasn’t there, but there were a lot of 3,000-plus-year-old artifacts that were discovered in his tomb. I learned a lot about ancient Egypt that I hadn’t known before (and that’s saying something for someone who grew up wanting to be an Egyptologist.)

One word to the wise, be prepared for a lot of walking. Not because there isn’t transportation, but because there is so much to see, you won’t want to take a bus. If you don’t want to (or can’t) walk everywhere, come here after May 25th; there’s a tourist bus that’s only $1 ($4 for all day) called the Phlash that operates from Penn’s Landing (the waterfront area), down Market Street (the shopping area), to the main museums, including the Franklin Institute, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

By the way, if you think (DC) Metro has issues with escalators, don’t come to Philly. I’ve only seen one escalator, and that one was under repair. Philadelphia seems to love stairs. The subway stations are full of them, as is the Franklin Institute; practically every exhibit has stairs in it, or requires stairs to get to it.

What made it all worse was the fact that my left knee is stiff from when I twisted it the other day running for the bus in DC. I’ve been hobbling around, barely being able to bend my knee; and you should have seen me trying to get up stairs (or worse, down stairs.)

Walking around today, I think I’ve gained a little insight into what it’s like to be disabled; having to use elevators, having people take pity on you and holding open doors for you (which I gratefully, if not gracefully, accepted). Before anyone worries too much, my knee doesn’t really hurt, it’s just very stiff; right now, my feet hurt more.

Anyway, I’m getting tired, and I have a lot I want to do before my train leaves tomorrow. Right now, I’m gonna head down to the vending machines for a soda, then come back and pop in a dvd.

Since I finally have a few days off in a row, I decided to take a side trip to Philadelphia to go see King Tutankhamen at the Franklin Institute Science Museum. I’ve wanted to go since I first heard the exhibit was coming to the U.S.

I had wanted to go with someone else, but both of our schedules were so busy that we couldn’t make the time. So, when this opportunity came up, I couldn’t pass it by. Though I’m sorry to have to go alone, it will probably be easier logistically.

I’m leaving tonight on the Acela Express train from Union station, and I’ll be back Thursday afternoon. I’m staying at a hotel near (not in) downtown Philadelphia, but thankfully all of the important things to see are within a square mile of each other. Of course, I’ll have to have a cheese steak while I’m there. Anyone know any good restaurants in downtown?