If you don't have anything nice to say...

I am often shocked at things that people say and post online. In my opinion there are four types of online posters.

1. The nosy neighbor - You know this person. They are the first one to say what's wrong on the vague posts about ones problems. The first one to say "message me" after someone posts asking simply for prayers. They are also the ones that want to know what every ambulance, police call or fire truck is doing and who they are doing it for. For the most part you will find them on Salina Scoop!!! on Facebook and trolling SalinaPost.

2. The conclusion jumper - Sometimes they are in the same category with the nosy neighbor. If someone is arrested or a crime committed it is automatically drug related. They say things like this when someone is killed: "Once again we find a low life drug user up to no good except this time us tax payers will not have to foot the bill to keep him in jail.". They seem to "know it all and share it all" but never really seem to know the facts. These same people are the ones who when a police car drives by a school they are certain something criminal is at work and that their child is in danger. Then they are upset when the school doesn't contact them to tell them a police car drove by.

3. The newshound - This person visits multiple news sources and reports the facts from the stories, admits when they don't know the whole story and corrects people when they are wrong. They are typically not popular people in the comments section because they bring a bit of level headedness to the conversation.

4. The could care less - These people never know what is going on in the news and could care less. You are not going to find them knowing anything going on in the news but they will probably post cute cat videos and lots of pictures of their kids. You can try to discuss news events but you aren't going to get far.

On one last note...

News is not free. It shouldn't be free. When a story breaks a newspaper sends out a photographer and a reporter to write the story. It comes back to the office and someone has to proof it and then put it into the newspaper layout or on the web. All of these people expect to be paid for what they are doing. Advertising does pay for a portion of this but not all. Subscriptions help make up the rest. When you have a "news" source that is putting content out for free like SalinaPost you must ask yourself if that person is out their putting stories up that have been slightly edited from another source or if they are actually at the ball game, city commission meeting, school board meeting or other event. If you are relying on a Facebook site like Salina Scoop!!! you need to realize that all they are doing is compiling other "news" sources onto their page for you to read or posting what they hear on the police scanner which is not always correct. Many times a report comes across a police scanner and once it has been investigated becomes something completely different.

For example: Police scanner: "We have reports of a man laying in the grass near the street either passed out or ill"
Actually: Sewer repair man laying on the ground fixing something under the water department cover in the parking area of a house.

Think about your news source...think about what you are saying in your posts. Don't spread rumors!

Pharmacy School Widow

Year two is winding down and finals week is upon us. This year I felt we were more prepared for what the year would have in store for us than we were last year. The classes I think were harder for Ben but the time he was away from our family in his office didn't feel as bad.

I am excited for Friday night. We will have Ben back with us for the summer for the most part. Last night was Gage's honors night at school and while Ben was physically with us I know mentally he was working on finals prep. (The phone with his lecture notes on it wasn't a clue at all!) After we got home he had me quiz him on some of the drugs and what they are used for and how they work. I couldn't even pronounce most of them! He has a final every day this week and Monday's went well. Tuesday and Friday are the ones we are worried most about.

So after Friday's final we will have Ben back...until Monday when he starts his two week rotation at the hospital. Then in July he will head to Omaha for two weeks for his summer session. I'm really not sure who is more excited the kids or me and I'm not sure if Ben is more excited to be done with classes for this year or to get to spend time with us.

My advice to anyone who has a significant other that is planning on Pharmacy School is to make sure you are prepared to spend nine months out of the year as a Pharmacy School Widow. Your significant other needs you to be supportive and understanding. They need you to realize that most people who go through this program are not tied down and are immersed in school 24/7. Most of all they need you to work with their schedule and what is going on in their life.

This is what happens when they have studied for hours on end...no worries an hour after finals they go back to normal!