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So I am home from Las Vegas. I didn't use the internet there because I didn't feel like paying $13 a day for that.

So on Sunday I flew or shall I say jetted to Las Vegas. I watched Family Matters and looked to see how fast we were going and what altitude we were at during the commercials. I didn't get to the Golden Nugget until after 10 Las Vegas time. Though I met two other people who were attending Rxpo on the shuttle to the hotel which was nice. I was in the South Tower on the 21st floor (22 floors) and in room 91. It was pretty cool. I took some pictures of the view from my window on my phone however I am not going to find the cord to hook up my phone to the computer so I can post the pictures yet. I also took pictures of the room.

On Monday I got up at 6 am and showered and then around 7 am headed downstairs using the elevator to go to the Rxpo. I went and checked in and got my Rxpo 2008 tote bag and then I went and had some breakfast that they provided. I had a bagel and apple juice. Then I went to my first class at 8:00 "Can't Get No Satisfaction". It was a good class that gave us pointers and how to better enjoy our jobs. Then I headed over to the showroom where we had our first keynote session where Kelly Jerry came and talked about what happened to her daughter Emily. Emily was two years old and was killed because of a medication error.



That session definitely has motivated me to be more careful with what I do at work. I don't mix IV's or anything like that but I would hate to have something awful happen to somebody because of an error I made. While it is true that the pharmacist checks everything we do. Unfortunately that can't be 100% foolproof. So I know I need to do my best and gain as much knowledge as I can about the medications. While I am not allowed to counsel it would still be good to know what a medication is used for and what it looks like. It is also good to be familiar with look alike and sound alike drug names. Especially with how hard it can be to read prescriptions written by doctors I need to be sure if I can't tell what a prescription says the drug is to check with another technician or only check with a pharmacist.

We had lunch which was awesome and then there were booths there from companies and I got pens, markers, highlighters, information, free samples, and lots of stuff it was fun. Then I went up to my room and got rid of that stuff before heading back down for the next class.

The next class I went to was AD/HD Part 1. I really liked the teacher for this course and I learned a lot about AD/HD. Since I have siblings who have been diagnosed with this it was nice to hear from somebody who is diagnosed with Adult AD/HD. The most important thing I learned was how important it is to be positive and patient with them.

My last class on Monday I went to was AD/HD Part 2. This class we learned some about disorders that can occur in addition to AD/HD. This was interesting but I didn't enjoy it as much as the first part. They both had different instructors and for this second part the instructor had never done this before and was obviously nervous. I liked how she had experience with dealing with these disorders with her children and was able to give some specific examples of what these disorders are like. Lisa (the instructor for Part 1) also included her 2 cents as well. Which was nice those 2 things made the presentation better.

I then went to my hotel room and got some ice and watched a bit of tv and then went to sleep I was pretty tired because I had trouble getting to sleep the night before.

Tuesday morning I got up at 6 am and showered and headed down to the continental breakfast. Then I went to "Communication with patients and medical personnel". I was hoping for some good insight and tips on how to speak with them. However many of the activities and learning was based on classroom setting communication and listening. Comparatively very little time was spent on the actual topic perhaps 10 minutes if that and the class was 1.5 hours.

We then had another keynote session. This one was not at all what I was expecting. We were all given papers to ask questions to some pharmacy organizations that were there. I couldn't think of anything to ask so I didn't submit a question. However the session seemed to be mostly about how to get certified as a technician and the future plans for certification of technicians. Which seemed irrelevant to me as I am already certified and have every intention of doing the continuing education to keep me certified even if I end up working somewhere that doesn't require certification. I am so glad I am certified especially after the keynote session on Monday.

We then had the luncheon and the person was at the booth that I was most interested in that was for a program called Hands on Spanish. I bought a book and cd's and an online 6 credit continuing education course online for $40 instead of the typical $100 or something that it would be. That was awesome. We don't have many spanish speakers that visit our pharmacy but it would be nice to be able to speak to them and really help them. She gave me an extra disc 3. I wondered at first why she had given me 4 discs when I thought I remembered her saying there was only 3. I figured I had misheard her or something. I then went up to my room and left things in my room. That was when I discovered I had 2 disc 3's so then I brought one of them back down to her. She was glad cuz she was trying to figure out why she was short a disc.

After that I went to the class Medication Errors. I really wanted to go to this class especially after the keynote session on Monday. Apparently many others wanted to as well considering that not everybody got a seat or an outline. It was good.

The last class of the whole thing I went to was Special considerations for Spanish Speaking Customers. The person who was at the Hands on Spanish booth was the instructor. We learned about their names and some of their cultural differences. We also learned or shall I say wrote down some phrases we could say to help us get information we need in a pharmacy. She showed us some of the online program and we played a game and we divided into two teams and we tied so everyone in the class got to purchase the Hands on Spanish Pharmacy course with all the stuff I mentioned for $40 instead of $50. I was glad I went to that class because it was good and I got an additional $10 off the course supplies etc.

I was glad when the class was over because I had the whole next day to do whatever I wanted. I bought a sandwich from a store in the Golden Nugget and then I went up to my room and ate it. I watched television, read Eclipse and I think I did some Family History.

On Wednesday I slept till 8 and then I went and got some ice and had Fiber One bars and fruit leather and water and an apple I got from the continental breakfast. I had the same thing minus the apple for lunch. I worked on Family History majority of the day. I went downstairs to get some dinner and decided to wonder a bit and went outside. It was really out there I walked maybe halfway around the Golden Nugget and then went back in and without realizing it I entered the casino. Someone that works there asked me if I was staying there for a bit. He asked where I was from and I told him Utah and he said he really wants to go to Utah. He is from Costa Rica and met some mormons there. It almost seems like he told me he was a member but I'm not sure. He also told me I was beautiful and had a pretty smile. I think he said his name was Luis. He told me but I think I remember seeing it spelled that way on his badge. That was the most interaction I had with anybody there except one person that I met on the shuttle on the way to the airport who was female.

I went to the store and bought a sandwich a 20 oz Diet Dr. Pepper ($2.50), and a king size 3 musketeers and spent $10 on that. It was crazy. The vending machine upstairs said the drinks were $2.50 but I thought they might be cheaper downstairs in the store. I was wrong obviously.

I stayed up till roughly 3 am (LV time) working on Family History. I showered, watched tv, and drank lots of water. I checked out of my room just before noon and then read Eclipse down in the lobby until after 1 where I went and sat by the door where the airport shuttle was suppose to come and pick me up at 1:35 pm. I went and waited outside and waited for the shuttle. It was an awkward drive there as I was the only one on the bus not including the driver. There were so many cars and I had decided to sit where I could see where I was going and I wish I wouldn't have because. I though some Utah drivers are daring. People change lanes like crazy and I swear the bus driver could have hit like 10 or more car on the way to airport. It was not fun to watch. I was so glad when we got to the airport.

I went in and checked in for my flight and checked my suitcase because I decided it would be much easier to not have to keep track of it and take it as a carry on this time around. I was also at the airport much longer then I was in Utah. When I got to the D Gates I went and got some food and then went and sat by D16 and read Eclipse. We didn't have a flight delay this time around like we did on the way to Las Vegas which was nice.

It was a good trip. I am glad I had the experience of going by myself. Though I didn't really want to leave I am glad to be home. Right now I am really thirsty and tired. I work all day tomorrow and the next day.

I was looking at the TV Guide and found out there was a Buffy Animated on the internet so here it is. Enjoy!