Dear Log,
I went to the doctor's the other day for a visit, to follow-up on her having prescribed me Paxil. I am so thrilled with how calm the Paxil allows me to be now, and thankful to them for having put me on it, that I brought a calming gift: three copies of Eno's Music for Airports (one for the doctor, one for her RN, and one for her secretary). And they were as dazzled by my gift as if I had brought them each a dozen roses; I guess they're too used to the way that most people take medical folk for granted -- which is understandable, as we are not terribly thoughtful of others when we're either ill (and therefore bleary and/or cranky) or nervous (as many people get about going to the doctor).
The doctor (now my new best friend because I brought her a gift and actually showed interest in her as a human being beyond just a make-me-better machine), hearing that I was paying for my Paxil out of pocket, said "well, let's do something about that!", and changed my prescription from one 20mg tablet a day (costing me about $88 each month) to half a 40mg tablet a day (costing me $46 each month). Same dosage, totally different cost.
I said, "wait, that pricing doesn't make sense!". She said, "Guess what: 40mg pills aren't twice as much as the 20mg pills -- you'd think they would be, but they're only slightly more! It's weird, I know!"
(I'm sure some great thinker could explain to me how the "laws" of supply and demand mean that every price is definitionally (tautologically?) the right price, even in cases like this. But it seems daffy to me. Anyhow, now I'm saving $42 a month. And with that kinda money, I'll be rich -- rich as astronauts!)
Moral of the story: every now and then, bring gifts to your doctors, and donuts to your programmers. Or RAM. Or blank CDRs or CDRWs. Or fancy peach jam. Or soothing massages. Mmmmm, massages with jam.
It's the same way with Sysadmins. The users who bring offerings at 10pm of beer or food while you work on their problems generally get remembered and tend to get more favourable results the next time they have a problem
...and having grown up around medical people in the family it's nice to see someone appreciate their doctors and nurses
