Phunny Pharm Customers

To the customers at the Phunny Pharm,
To all the customers who know what drugs they're taking by name, and why they're taking them. To the customers who pick up their prescriptions when they say they will. To the customers who call their own doctors and insurance companies. To the customers who bring in their insurance cards, and their prescriptions before they expire.
To you good people who spell your names and don't give us nicknames, and who tell us when a name has been changed. To you people who don't act like copayments are our fault, and don't ask other people to pay them for you. To you who say those sweet words "I'll pick it up tomorrow."
To everyone who always takes their medications as directed. To everyone who doesn't loose or "break" bottles. To everyone who has never pharmacy shopped to get early controlled substances.
To everyone who chooses not to use the drive thru, and to you who don't smoke, eat, talk on the phone, or yell at your children in the drive thru or at the counter.
To all the men who don't flirt with us, or act like we're attracted to you.
To the people who don't curse at us, the people who don't defecate on the floor, don't steal, and wash regularly.

You're allowed to come in more often!

Thinking Back

Taking Engagement photos with the Captain the other day made me think back about our relationship. When I thought he was stuck up and didn't like me while secretly hoping he'd like me. Or when we were finally friends and I was terrified that my having a crush on him would drive him away. Going to proms together, playing Stratego over Skype, watching what felt like every other girl flirting with him, and Aisling trying to console me without giving anything away while we were living in the dorm together.

The more I think about it the more extraordinary our story seems to me. The Captain is the only boy who ever gave me flowers, and I still have the first one he ever gave me pressed in my old journal. He's also the only one who ever told me I was beautiful. Other than my dad the Captain was my first dance partner, and neither of us has ever been in another relationship.

Looking over the pictures the Mouse took of us it's ... I don't really know how to describe it. They make me think of heros from my childhood. Wesley from the Princess Bride, the prince from Sleeping Beauty, Morgan from Magic Island, Caspian from the Narnia books, Jim from Treasure Island, Ivanhoe, Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. The Captain is like all of them, or twice of all of them. They seem so... halfhearted now. I don't know how else to explain it.

We took some pictures out on the bridge the Captain built over the creek. When we started courting he took me out to show me the cables they had just recently finished stringing across. When we were walking to the bridge I commented that we were standing somewhere nearby when he asked to court me. He took me a few steps closer to the bank and said that we were standing there exactly looking at a recently fallen tree which is still there. I'm blown away that he remembers so well. All I remember are the flowers and him smiling, but knowing that he remembers it makes it twice as sweet.

Writing

Working on my book. Gonna work on my book... book, book, book... I just thought the word book over and over instead of actually working on my book.

Ok, Character names! I'll work on Character names. I need lots of Character names! Character names will bring the whole book to life and make everything seem so real! But if I have too many character names will I confuse my audience? Does giving a character a name mean they have to be more than a background character? Nah, it'll be fine, besides I can remember at least 12 of Gandalf's names from Lord of the Rings.

Ok, Character names! What kind of character names?

Ugh! Naming Characters is so difficult! Why does it have to be this difficult! Do they need names? I can invent a culture that doesn't use names. That would be a really confusing culture. 

Frederick... that sounds cool. Wait, that's just a fancy way of saying Fred. Come up with some original character names! Elden. That's just like Eldon from that other story you just wrote! Oh yeah... Uh... Serlin! Sweet that sounds awesome! Wait... it's Merlin with an S...

No one will notice right? Sure, keep going.

Geoffrey, I like Geoffrey. It sounds regal and it looks cool. My main characters should name their son that. Or should I save it and name a kid Geoffrey someday? Can I wait that long to use that cool of a name? Geoffrey deserves to at least be the main character in his own story, even if I don't name a kid that.

What was I doing? Right, names.

Bored with names, back to the plot! Oh right... I was introducing a ton of characters who all need names...

Maybe I'll number them. Guy 1, Guy 2. No, I'll just put 1 and 2.

This is really dumb I'll just give them names. Names bring the whole book to life and make everything seem so real!

Naming characters is so difficult!

*A real inner monologue. Yes this is what I count as "working on my book." It's also why I've been trying to write the same book for eleven years.  =(