So, I survived my experience with the root canal. I took my "happy" pills as prescribed and felt very woozy, warm, off-balance, and generally kind of out of it. While I remained awake for all of the procedures, there was little to no pain. The worst part was the first numbing injection. After all was finished at the dentist's office, I spent the rest of the day asleep with my head on an ice pack to reduce swelling. I must say that I won't mind going to the dentist if all visits go as well as the last two. We've come a long way in making dental procedures much more patient friendly.
Now, for a personal complaint. I love the show "Scrubs" which is typically on NBC, but is not on the schedule for the fall line-up. As usual, NBC won't say exactly when we're going to have the new season start, but it will "hopefully be sometime this winter". Why is it that when one of the major networks actually puts on a funny show that people enjoy, they don't keep it on the air or keep it in a regular time spot? I guess I'm going to have to get my Scrubs fix from Comedy Central, which will be convenient since it's right before The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. But still, I find the current slate of TV programming rather abysmal, what with the racially divided Survivior, Dancing/Singing/Duets/ with the Stars, Big Brother, etc. Don't we have enough "reality" to deal with in real life without putting on stupid, non-reality shows at night? As a teacher in one of the most meth infested counties (and where apparently your neighbor has no qualms about stealing your new baby) in the U.S., I don't need any more drama. How about some good, old-fashioned entertainment?!?
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
Trips to the Dentist
Well, I have now joined my friend Bob in adventures with oral surgery/dentist work. Yesterday, I was enjoying a tasty gooey cheese burger (ala gooey cheese burgers and gooey cheese fries from Dairy Queen/Dakota's for all of the Malden folk) from a local restaurant here in Washington called "Dairy Delight" when I discovered I had broken a tooth. Obviously, I freaked out and quickly made an appointment with a local dentist here in town ASAP this morning. One dental exam, cleaning, and filling later, I am now sitting at the computer because I have been so numbed that I look I have palsey and am drooling that I am avoiding all mirrors in my apartment. However, I also have an 8:00A.M. appointment on Wednesday for a root canal on a tooth that had only had minor twinges when eating ice cream! On the plus side, my new dentist here in town, Dr. Tobben, does oral sedation. As a result, I have a lovely bottle of 3 pills (one of which I will take tomorrow evening before I go to bed and the remaining two I will take one hour before my "procedure") to quote "get me in the mood for a root canal". Like Bob, I am replaying all of the root canal horror stories in my mind as Dr. Tobben is telling me what's going to happen. Seeing the look of panic and terror on my face, he calmly asked me what I was thinking, to which I replied, "PAIN!!!!" and related a horrible dental experience with a dentist at home who told me to quit being a sissy as he drilled/filled my tooth after only 2 shots of novacaine before it was completely numb! Dr. Tobben looked at me and said the best words someone who hates dentists can hear, "There's no reason for people to suffer and be all upset by dental procedures anymore. I promise to make this as easy as possible." To prove his point, he proceeded to repair my broken tooth with very little pain and called in my prescription for my "happy, sedated, dental procedure" pills. Apparently, I'll be awake, but according to the dental hygenist, I'll be loopy and really won't care what they do to me. Sounds good to me! Give me the drugs!!
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Funny Times
Here are some funny stories from my messed up life that you will enjoy.
On Thursday, one of my students sneezed in class. While this is no big deal,
this kid has ISSUES! His issues are so large that he has an aid, Mrs. K, who must accompany him to all of his classes because you never know when he's going to toonce out. All of a
sudden I hear him holler out, "Mrs. K, I need to go to the nurse!",
(read with a mildly retarded voice and inflection) to which she replies,
"You don't need to go to the nurse, you're not sick." Then he
drops the bomb, literaly, when he yells, "But when I sneezed, I CRAPPED my
pants." Now, imagine 14 other kids and me in my special reading class with
looks of panic, disgust, and fear for what's going to happen when he
stands up all over our faces. This is the caliber of students I have in my
program this year, and I'm supposed to have them reading on grade level by
the end of the year. Right, and I'll be a thin, world-famous super model by
Christmas. Needless to say, I am going today and investing in large
quantities of Lysol wipes, sprays, cleaners, and air freshners,etc. Heck, I
may even get one of those candle warmer things and plug it in all the time!
On a more fun note, Kenny and I got to go to the Crosby, Stills, Nash, and
Young concert here at Riverport/UMB Bank pavillion on Thursday night. Just
for point of reference, this was Kenny's first rock concert. The concert
was great, they sounded just they do on their records, and they played from
7:30 until 11:00, so it was time and money well spent. Here's where it gets
amusing. First, about 50 people walked out of the concert, I guess because
they were offended by the political songs/comments/images. My thought was
what did they expect from an anti-war group from the 60's whose concert tour
is called "Freedom of Speech 06". While you may not agree with their
politics, you should know they have no problem speaking their mind and do so
freely, so why people were shocked, I'll never know. On the positive side,
they were very pro-veteran, (from all wars: Vietnam, Gulf War I, and the
current one), but were questioning some decisions that have been made in
recent years and the reasons we were given for those decisions.
But here's where it gets funny. Let's just say there was a very strange smelling,
thick cloud hanging over the crowd. Kenny goes, "What's that smell and all
of that smoke?", to which I reply, "Don't worry about it, just breathe
deep!" Some of these people at the concert looked like they hadn't left the
commune since about 1968. Great for people watching if that's your thing,
even better if you enjoy watching drunk/stoned people your parents' age. At
intermission, I decided to spend an outrageous amount of money and buy a
soda which would cost me 89 cents at McDonalds. There was a lady, about 65
or so, who was walking in front of me. All of a sudded she stops and yells
out, "I smell REALLY GOOD WEED!" and takes off in the direction the cloud
which wafted over toward us. And the older generation complains about the
younger generation's drug problem.
When the concert was over, Kenny and I made it back to our car with no problem, since we had paid attention to the little parking flag in our row and we weren't stoned out of our minds.
However, many of the older concert goers were stumbling around hitting the
buttons on their keypads trying to find their cars. Horns were going off,
lights were flashing, trunks were flying up all around us. The best part
was when a guy who looked like Cheech and Chong's love child walks by our
car and says, "Dude, where's my car?" Good times, good times!
Hope all is well with you all. Enjoy the great weekend weather.
On Thursday, one of my students sneezed in class. While this is no big deal,
this kid has ISSUES! His issues are so large that he has an aid, Mrs. K, who must accompany him to all of his classes because you never know when he's going to toonce out. All of a
sudden I hear him holler out, "Mrs. K, I need to go to the nurse!",
(read with a mildly retarded voice and inflection) to which she replies,
"You don't need to go to the nurse, you're not sick." Then he
drops the bomb, literaly, when he yells, "But when I sneezed, I CRAPPED my
pants." Now, imagine 14 other kids and me in my special reading class with
looks of panic, disgust, and fear for what's going to happen when he
stands up all over our faces. This is the caliber of students I have in my
program this year, and I'm supposed to have them reading on grade level by
the end of the year. Right, and I'll be a thin, world-famous super model by
Christmas. Needless to say, I am going today and investing in large
quantities of Lysol wipes, sprays, cleaners, and air freshners,etc. Heck, I
may even get one of those candle warmer things and plug it in all the time!
On a more fun note, Kenny and I got to go to the Crosby, Stills, Nash, and
Young concert here at Riverport/UMB Bank pavillion on Thursday night. Just
for point of reference, this was Kenny's first rock concert. The concert
was great, they sounded just they do on their records, and they played from
7:30 until 11:00, so it was time and money well spent. Here's where it gets
amusing. First, about 50 people walked out of the concert, I guess because
they were offended by the political songs/comments/images. My thought was
what did they expect from an anti-war group from the 60's whose concert tour
is called "Freedom of Speech 06". While you may not agree with their
politics, you should know they have no problem speaking their mind and do so
freely, so why people were shocked, I'll never know. On the positive side,
they were very pro-veteran, (from all wars: Vietnam, Gulf War I, and the
current one), but were questioning some decisions that have been made in
recent years and the reasons we were given for those decisions.
But here's where it gets funny. Let's just say there was a very strange smelling,
thick cloud hanging over the crowd. Kenny goes, "What's that smell and all
of that smoke?", to which I reply, "Don't worry about it, just breathe
deep!" Some of these people at the concert looked like they hadn't left the
commune since about 1968. Great for people watching if that's your thing,
even better if you enjoy watching drunk/stoned people your parents' age. At
intermission, I decided to spend an outrageous amount of money and buy a
soda which would cost me 89 cents at McDonalds. There was a lady, about 65
or so, who was walking in front of me. All of a sudded she stops and yells
out, "I smell REALLY GOOD WEED!" and takes off in the direction the cloud
which wafted over toward us. And the older generation complains about the
younger generation's drug problem.
When the concert was over, Kenny and I made it back to our car with no problem, since we had paid attention to the little parking flag in our row and we weren't stoned out of our minds.
However, many of the older concert goers were stumbling around hitting the
buttons on their keypads trying to find their cars. Horns were going off,
lights were flashing, trunks were flying up all around us. The best part
was when a guy who looked like Cheech and Chong's love child walks by our
car and says, "Dude, where's my car?" Good times, good times!
Hope all is well with you all. Enjoy the great weekend weather.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)