Small, strange world.

I've been getting used to weird coincidences lately. Still, today was a bit stranger than most other days.

The line at Hyde Park Produce was exceptionally long today, from the cash register all the way back to the deli counter. In line in front of me was a couple and the girl was wearing a sweater with a little label from the show "popstars". I couldn't refrain from asking whether you would actually have to be in the show to get a sweater like that or whether you could buy them. She turned bright red and kept saying how "peinlich" wearing the sweater was for her. Heheh. Anyway, she had a PhD in neuroscience and he was a post-doc in biochemistry, both from Germany naturally, with him currently working on tumor immunology with the same mouse strain I am (or used to be). He's using retroviral treatments though in contrast to my immunostimulatory molecules. There had to be a tiny difference, otherwise chances are I would have known him.

Anyway, that was the "small" part of the world - here's the strange part.

I went to the pharmacy afterwards to get water and milk, but also because I had a herpes blister on my lips (guess I may have been immunosuppressing myself lately with poor nutrition, little sleep and endogenous steroids). I quickly scanned the aisles of this huge (compared to German ones) pharmacy and then went to the "pharmacist"'s counter. Said pharmacist was apparently working in the aisles, the aids said. So they asked me whether they could help me. Sure enough, I thought, this is easy enough.

So I said
"I'm looking for some topical acyclovir for lip herpes."
- "What?"
"Acyclovir. Like in an ointment."
- "Uhhh .. do you have a prescription?"
"A prescription? No I don't. I have a herpes blister on my lip. Here. Look."
- "Uhhh .."
"I'm just looking for some acyclovir ointment to put on there."
- "Oh, you mean like a cold sore?"
"A what now?"
- "A cold sore."
"If that's what you call it."
- "Uhhh .. I think you're looking for Abreva."
"Am I. So where's that."
- "It should be there!" (Points to end of an aisle)
So I go look, there's several kinds of chap stick and finally I find a label of "Abreva" saying I should contact customer service for this. The pharmacist aids said if it wasn't there I should go up to the cash register.

So I got my milk and my two gallons of water and stepped up to the cash register, asking for Abreva. That prompted the person at the register to point to another rack of worthless chap stick among all the candy, lighters and magazines and to comment "we may be out of it".

I couldn't refrain from replying "Isn't this supposed to be a pharmacy?".

This building could house at least three full-fledged German pharmacies that carry multiple formulations of topical acyclovir which is one of the safest drugs in the world. And this 24h-open so-called pharmacy offers beans in a can, fresh milk and frozen pizza for crying out loud but nothing to take care of a friggin' blister on your lips.

That's messed up dude.