Day 30

i am almost 1 month in. i am now a fully functioning, licensed pharmacist. i don't have much to say today other than i am feeling particularly lonely tonight. i've already watched a movie (the great new wonderful, which was not great or wonderful) and read a journal article (melatonin for treatment of sundowning in elderly persons with dementia) for my research project and i even contemplated working out.

maybe i feel listless because i had triscuits and cream cheese for dinner. i feel a dissatisfied stomach can have repercussions.

Day 28

today's adventure: the library.

i finally asked some natives where the public library was located. the described bearings seemed in close proximity to my apartment, so i innocently inquired, "so, i can walk there?".

"NO! you cannot walk there!"

slightly taken aback, i sought more information. the explanations boiled down to one thing; the library is located in a bad neighborhood. shifty characters live around there. i could sit in my car and watch drug deals from the library parking lot.

sounded a bit like westwood. home. sniff.

so i came home today, fully prepared to change, hop back in my car and cruise four blocks to the public library. the more i thought about it, the less i could justify driving such a short distance when i am perfectly capable of walking it. i reasoned that if i started to feel unsafe, i would simply turn around and walk back.

so i set out through the streets of chillicothe, which are fairly desolate at 5:30 in the afternoon. i walk past the courthouse, city hall, and all these amazing "greek revival style" houses (example). i begin wondering when the neighborhood turns bad.

i see a guy wearing a wife beater. obviously the presence of a k-fed style wife beater indicates i am treading on dangerous, corrupt lands.

suddenly, i have arrived at the library. i go in, the super sweet librarian issues me a chillicothe-ross county library card. i check out three books and a dvd and i walk home. end of story. i saw no drug dealers. i was not offered the opportunity to use sex to buy heroin. there wasn't even a cop on duty in the library. at least we've got that in westwood.

isn't all that build up disappointing? i am really curious how chillicotheans would react to cincinnati. afterall, otr is the most dangerous neighborhood in the u.s.

Day 26

as there is a cat somewhere in the alley behind my apartment who is intensely vocal about her desire to mate, sleep is not an option. so i will take this opportunity to comment on the spider situation in chillicothe.

i believe the spiders in chillicothe are inherently more diabolical than their cincinnati cousins. it seems one cannot walk anywhere without sticky spiderwebs clinging to him. i have been monitoring their activities diligently and as far as i can decipher, their stratagem is to create one giant web and ensnare one of the unsuspecting tenants of this apartment building. i will have to remain vigilant. just tonight i dropped my guard and was blatantly attacked by a trip wire strung across the top of the stairs.

below are a few surveillance photos. note the attempt to appear nonchalant as they weave webs of death.

chillicothe landmark of the week!

the building that houses the majestic theater first opened in 1853 as a masonic lodge. it was enlarged and bedecked with finery in 1876 and was named one of the finest theaters in the state. in 1918, nearby camp sherman was terrorized by the spanish influenza, resulting in the deaths of 1100 soldiers and personnel. it is said that during this time, the majestic served as a morgue. bodies were drained of blood in the alley behind the theater, earning the street the nickname "blood alley".

today, the majestic is still a cultural center in chillicothe. it is also purported to be haunted and puts in an appearance on the annual ghost tours, which occur every september and october.

Day 24

a sex offender has moved in around the corner from me. the little notification card appeared in my mailbox. i will know him by the 69, wrapped in a heart, tattooed on his calf.

Day 23

is there live theater in chillicothe besides tecumseh? the answer is: yes. tonight i attended the chillicothe civic theatre's production of URINETOWN.

that is one messed-up musical. very clever, but disturbed.

there were some very talented singers in the cast. it was too bad opening night drew less than 100 people, most of whom seemed to be kin of the actors.

maybe it's the title of the show.

i end with a quotable quote from tonight's entertainment:
“did i send you to the most expensive university in the world to teach you how to feel conflicted, or to learn how to manipulate great masses of people?”
- caldwell b. cladwell; tycoon, villian, and basic asshole

Day 22

rainy days in chillicothe are quite pleasant. the precipitation masks the noxious fumes spewing from the mead plant, the odor of which approximates old, slimy asparagus. the rain gives one's nostrils a hiatus.

i would like to never experience addiction to a prescription medication. several people came to the pharmacy today requesting early refills of their various controlled substances, including one woman whose hands were trembling so badly she had to press them into the counter to halt the quivering.

also seen around the pharmacy today was a man with a homemade tattoo, possibly self-imposed on his forearm, proclaiming "lovestinks".

are tattoos protected health information?

my fun fact for today is that animals do not consume tattooed flesh. do not ask how i became privy to this knowledge. simply accept it and move on.

Day 20

lunchroom conversation today revolved around raising rabbits and pigs. it took me about 10 minutes to figure out what everyone was talking about. apparently there is a weigh-in coming up, i presume for some kind of fair, and everyone is eager for their respective porcine and rabbity endeavors to reach appropriate mass. one guy takes his down to the hardware store to be weighed.

it is currently 3am, and i am awake for 2 reasons. 1) my allergies are horrible. probably something to do with all the rabbit hair swirling around town. 2) i fell asleep on the couch at, oh, let's say 7:30pm and now i am wide awake.

and my psych patients think it's abnormal to be up in the middle of the night.

Day 10

grabbing and twisting certain parts of the male anatomy. breaking a pinkie finger. these are acceptable actions should i find i am unable to extract myself non-violently from assault by a patient. fixable things only. i must protect myself, but also must try to not harm the patient.

i hope i remember this should the need ever arise.

watching a room full of va employees half-heartedly practice breaking free of various holds and grabs is somewhat worrisome. because many are making jokes and stupid poses. and because it really might be necessary someday for me to use these techniques.

a bear has been sighted in and around chillicothe, disturbing trash cans and causing general ruckus. a radio warning reminded citizens to not try to approach or touch the bear.

Day 8

last night tried to study and fell completely asleep. also did not post this:which is a super nifty mural dating back to 1882. obviously this is just a small portion of a depiction that runs the length of a stained glass shop on paint street. it had been was uncovered sometime in the 80s or 90s under decades of paint, and students came out from the university (not sure which one; this is info from the shop owner) to carefully remove the layers and clean it. rumor has it that the entire shop is ringed by this mural, although only one wall is currently exposed.
it's difficult to see in the photo, but the whole surface is etched with cracks. with a dark forest and hilltop castle, it's just like a fairytale.

Day 6

snooze. today was general va training, so i learned i should not allow myself to get stuck with dirty needles and i should wash my hands 1000 times per day. additionally, i was gently "encouraged" to join the federal employees union.

the va police told us that sometimes patients climb into the back of your car and pop up to say hi when you get in to leave at the end of the day.

today i uncovered an important chillicothe landmark - the liquor store. i'm officially instituting margarita mondays.

liz and amanda were easily persuaded after a dose of blue margarita to help me haul a table and chair set up the back stairs. that was a spectacle.

Day 5

here are the random facts i have gleaned about chillicothe thusfar:
1) it has been the capital of ohio not once, but twice
2) apparently some of the best weed in the country comes from around these parts
3) they have the cameras on the redlights
4) don't go to the sack-and-save after dark.

obviously i am learning a lot about my new home.

it was difficult to come home after the long holiday weekend. my friends aren't far, but it felt like it tonight, driving through the dark to come here.

as i delve into the world of psychiatry, i have decided to back up and read some of the masters. starting with freud. one of my favorite books is the question of god, in which the worldviews of c.s. lewis and sigmund freud are put together in a head to head debate. rectifying the inconsistencies between science and religion has always been an area of interest for me. none of my grade school teachers were ever satisfactorily able to explain to me which came first, adam and eve or the dinosaurs. my sixth grade teacher actually went so far as to explain that the story of genesis was symbolic and not the literal story of creation. that is very...progressive...for a catholic school teacher. but i digress. i am starting with freud's the future of an illusion, mostly because on the back it says it's his "most emphatic psychoanalytic exploration of religion". promising. i have only gotten through the introduction. freud's fate, he felt, was to "agitate the sleep of mankind". i totally want that printed on a t-shirt; it's awesome.

i hope someday i can agitate the sleep of mankind.

Day 1

it's clear i have become a government employee. today, 4 of us (2 pharmacy residents, 2 optometry) were handed a stack of paperwork and left to our own devices for about half an hour before anyone explained what each sheet was. then we given cryptic instructions for the rest of our scavenger hunt for various government offices, each located in a different building and each fulfilling a different minute task. it was a lot for 4 doctorates to decipher.

maybe we were a case of being book smart with a lack of common sense.

this statement is further supported by the fact i got lost on my return trip from the grocery today.

i also already had to do the one thing in chilli i really was trying to avoid: go to walmart. i hate walmart. i truly believe it is evil. a wolf in sheep's clothing; the degradation and destruction of small town america cloaked in cheap prices and smiley faces. but, i needed a shower curtain liner and the nearest target is in grove city.

it is amazing how human nature makes us want what we can't have. i have only been in chilli for a day and already i "miss" all these things i take for granted at home. target, for one. skyline. indian food. thai. watching my twilight blue ray. going to the bookstore (a big one, at least). now, if i was in cincinnati i would not be thinking about any of these things. but something about the air in chillicothe makes me crave saag paneer and barnes and noble.