This Is Jacq

Characteristics of Management

I just want to break down this apparent “definition” of the characteristics of management from the first lecture of Pharmacy Management class.  I cannot be 100% sure, but this is most likely the moment (third page, first day) that I mentally checked out of this class.  It was that or the Industrial Revolution question.  Sigh. Here’s the definition:

“Abstract collection of phrases/terms with scientific synthesis and application to human behaviors for the purpose of obtaining/achieving efficient operations.”

I feel like the Double Rainbow Guy: “What does this mean?!”  I’ll begin with the fact that whoever penned this definition felt the need to use “/” in the place of “and” or “or.”  Could this be the epitome of lazy writing?  (Who am I kidding, I’ve seen much lazier.  But still…twice?)  Okay, the part that pains me the most is the initial “Abstract collection of phrases/terms.”  Surely this could be simplified.  ”Abstract terms” perhaps?  ”Ideas?”  We could probably just axe that whole thing.

Let’s suppose that “collection” is the noun here.  ”Collection with scientific syntheses and application to human behaviors.”  Scientific synthesis is just kind of dangling there, right?  Because “scientific synthesis to human behaviors” makes no sense.  Did they mean to say “scientific synthesis of and application to human behaviors?”  That makes much more sense to me.  That must be it.  I’ve been looking at this definition for probably about half an hour, and it just now really made sense to me.

Also, I want to know if there is really a need for the “obtaining/achieving” nonsense.  When it comes to efficient operations, and seeing that they come to fruition, is there really a distinction between obtaining and achieving them?  Does “obtaining” imply that we are taking efficient operations from another organization?  Are we supposed to steal them?  If we “achieve” them instead, does that mean that we have them in our possession due to more virtuous actions?  Our hearts warm with the thought of “achieving” efficient operations, but not so much when we think of “obtaining” them.

I could go on, but I should really be studying this riveting subject matter.  Friday morning will be here before we know it.

Ruminations

This video and this article have me thinking.  As I see it, the somewhat common theme between them is a sense of bombardment from the outside and the struggle to maintain balance within.

Lots of thoughts are boiling in my head, and I will need to mull them over before expounding.  Perhaps I will follow up later…

EDIT:  Here’s another video that relates to the one previously posted.  I like how the speakers’ ideas play off one another.

Sigh.

So at work today I was telling the pharmacist, John, what I did yesterday.

Me: I saw my roommate from undergrad last night. She’s at Washington State University for pharmacy school, so it’s always nice when we can get together.

John: Oh, where’s that?

Me: Um…Pullman, Washington, I think.

John: State?

Me: Yeah Washington state.

John: Oh what is she doing out there?

Me:…pharmacy school.

John: Oh, so you know her from high school?

Me: No…we were roommates for 3 years in undergrad.

John: Where did you go to undergrad? U of I? Like Urbana Champaign?

Me: I went to UIC, John, just like you. (PS: We’ve had the undergrad convo more than once.)

John: Oh, Circle!

Me: Yeah I was trying to get into pharm school there.

John: Yeah, I knew you tried that.

Me: …

He also asked me how much my tuition is (for probably the fourth or fifth time) when I worked on Friday.  Then today he asked me how much cheaper it would have been to go to UIC.

Salt in the wound, John.  Thanks.

Run yo ass!

Today I officially signed up for my first ever 5K race.  Called “Groovin in the Grove,” it starts at my school and courses through nearby neighborhoods.

I’ve never been a runner.  The height of my physical fitness was probably during my first year of high school, when I was doing tons of conditioning for gymnastics and taking swimming/fitness in gym class.  Even though I was pretty built and used to lots of excercise, running the mile for gym class was always a pretty big challenge for me.  I hated it, and I almost always walked at some point.  Since then I’ve had my little spurts of excercise, and I’ve done most of my running on treadmills, and even then I would only run for pretty short distances.

My roommate ran her first 10K last summer, and when she told me about it I’d never thought about running that far.  Somewhere over the course of the school year, I began to warm up to the idea of being a bit of a runner, and considered doing a 10K myself.  I told my roommate, and we decided to run one August 30.  With that being so far in the future, it’s easy to procrastinate training, so when I saw the 5K opportunity pop up I decided it would be a pretty effective way of becoming more active.

I’ve been running pretty consistently now since about February.  Of course in the winter I was using the treadmill, and each time I would run I would try to marginally increase the amount of time I ran.  There were setbacks here and there; I’d be too hungry, too full, too tired, etc.  But the next time I’d get back on after once of those setbacks it would feel great to be back in my stride.  I started to love the warmth in my leg muscles after a good workout.  Now that the weather is nicer, I’ve been running outiside, which is more taxing than the treadmill.  It was a bit discouraging at first, but the adjustment wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it would be, and now I get bummed when I can’t hit the pavement.

Running gives time for introspection, and has helped me realize more deeply what it means to rise to a challenge.  If the high school version of me knew that I’d be running 6.2 miles at the age of 23, she’d be in disbelief.  I think that’s what I like about it - it’s challenging and rewarding, while helping me stay physically fit at the same time. If I can learn succeed at something that doesn’t come naturally to me, then I can apply that knowledge to anything else I do in life.

Hope that wasn’t too corny.