The root of the problem

Who knew that endodontic therapy is the same as the common term "root canal?" I certainly didn't. Until now, that is. Today I had a root canal (technically that term is incorrect but that's neither here nor there, really). The procedure itself was not all that bad. The giggly dental assistant gave me apple juice, that was probably the best part. She was the same dental assistant who, yesterday, wrote her notes on a napkin while the dentist was explaining things to me. I was embarassed for her, especially when the dentist asked her what she was doing and she waved the napkin in the air and said "I'm writing down what you're saying." Apparently she's new!

Anyway, like I said, the procedure was not all that bad. They gave me several shots and numbed me all up. Then he started drilling and the sound was so loud and high-pitched (and damnit, I had my iPod but forgot to charge it!) and suddenly I felt it, enough to make me shudder. So he gave me several more shots around the tooth until it felt basically dead, which was GREAT. The weird thing was, I could hear all this terrible drilling and scraping and saw giant needles go into my mouth, but I couldn't feel a thing. It was morbidly fascinating because I know if I hadn't been anesthetized, I would have been screaming bloody murder and probably would have passed out from the pain. So the dentist removed the stuff inside my tooth, reshaped the canals, and filled it with some temporary stuff (that is the highly technical term). In a couple weeks, he will check again to see whether there is a fracture. If it's only a small crack, he will put a crown on my tooth. But if there's a fracture, my tooth will actually have to be extracted. Yeah, did you get that? EXTRACTED. REMOVED. OBLITERATED. PULLED. UPROOTED. YANKED. But I'm trying not to think about that because I am optimistic that it won't have to happen.

Here is a little visual for those of you who are really into this. 1) unhealthy tooth. The nerve tissue inside is flaring up because there was a crack in my tooth that allowed bacteria to get inside. 2) Loud, ugly drilling of giant hole in my tooth. 3) Tiny tools clean out the nerve tissues. The thought of that still gives me the chills. 4) They fill it up with this rubber-type material and put a crown on it. That didn't happen to me today (they just put a temporary seal on it) but hopefully that is what the outcome will be in a couple weeks.
The best part is, I had a fancy frozen drink tonight and swished it around on my tooth and didn't feel a thing. It was great! My jaw and tooth are pretty sore right now but otherwise it's ok. Wish me luck. I hope it's just a little tiny crack. I really like this tooth and would like to keep it.

Ice cream

Speaking of ice cream (I spoke of it in my last post), Brian & I have been on an ice cream craze lately! Watch out! I literally scream for ice cream (again, see my last post).

Here's the whole story... Brian had a conversation with people at work about how amazing ice cream can be. This conversation actually began at a restaurant with his co-workers and their spouses (I was there! I'm a spouse!). And so they decided that they were all going to make their own ice cream. And I'm pretty sure this is where Brian came in. He somehow managed to turn it into a competition. Because he's competitive like that. Especially when it comes to food. And most definitely when it comes to inventing food! So everyone got an ice cream maker. Including us--it was on our wedding registry. Our friends El & Eric bought it (thanks, guys!). It has been non-stop ice cream ever since.

Tonight I tried my hand at ice cream and I hate to admit this... but... it was not as fantastic as Brian's. Okay, I said it. Out loud. I admitted it. His was better than mine. I made Gianduia chocolate-hazelnut ice cream! Sounds fancy, right? The flavor was actually pretty incredible, but the texture was dry. I need more practice. And more people to eat this ice cream. Anyone?

Cracked tooth!

What!? I have a cracked tooth--at the root! Yuck. I have to have a root canal AND a crown. Uggh. I have been popping tylenol for the past two weeks straight with constant aching. And yesterday some ice cream touched the tooth in question and I almost died. The pain was intense, very intense. My root canal is tomorrow, and then thank goodness, I will not have any more tooth pain. Yay! That's the upside! The downside is that someday, I may actually lose the tooth... it may need to be extracted. Hopefully that won't happen, and if it does, I hope it doesn't happen for many, many years. I had a root canal once in high school after a snowboarding accident. But now I'm having one just because... I'm old? and I grind my teeth at night? it's so not fair! I've never had a crown, though. I'm telling you, it's all downhill after the age of 30...

Today is doomsday, I cannot believe the Dow fell almost 800 points. That is ridiculous! Brian's theory is that it's an ideal time to invest in the stock market. Buy low and watch the value rise. Is that totally crazy? I can't decide.

More fascinating tales of my root canal to follow...

Making readers everywhere happy, one at a time

My goal is to make my readers happy. And if they're not happy, then I'm not happy. One of them expressed his/her disappointment yesterday, and I take those comments very seriously. I am here to please.

I regret to report that the mocha yesterday was…. inexistent. I was a responsible worker and did not leave my desk to go get one. But I'll make sure to tell you in excruciating detail about the next mocha that I drink! Beginning from the walk over to the coffee shop, to the first glorious scent, right down to the last drop of chocolately coffee goodness. Stay tuned, my friends, it's going to be a great story.

I did leave my desk to show off my shiny new flats, though. I think you (especially Trevor) will appreciate the picture I'm attaching so you can see exactly what I'm talking about.


Speaking of great stories, we were fortunate to have some fabulous speakers at our wedding… those would include the esteemed Mr. Mad Trevor, Ms. Sardine, and my fabulous dad. Only one of these speeches was recorded for the rest of the world to enjoy, however. Go here to check it out now.

Working

I had a 6:30am conference call this morning that lasted almost three hours. Now I'm just tired and struggling to focus on what I'm supposed to do today. Looking at all of my arbitrary deadlines or other tasks that don't really have deadlines, spanning at least 5 different projects. Which one do I start first? Should I call the woman in North Carolina about those brochures? Or sort through and archive my closed project files? Or think about how to reorganize our program content online? Or maybe I'll read that concept paper one more time to make sure we're not missing anything? No, I think I'll just go get a mocha instead. And then I'll show off my shiny new flats to my coworker. After getting up at 5:30 this morning for a call, I think I deserve at least that much. Then I'll get to work.

Married!

Hello everyone (is anyone out there?)! I have been so bad about writing regularly on this blog. So much has been happening lately, I do not even know where to begin. First things first, I’m married!! Let me tell you, it’s been fantastic so far! Granted, it has only been less than two weeks but nonetheless I highly recommend it. I am married to the infamous Concord Grape blogger, also known as Brian, B-Phat, Grape-Boy, or Dough-Nut, depending on who you are and how you like to refer to him. I won’t even begin to share the dozens of nicknames I have for him. It’s too embarrassing. Anyway, the wedding went beautifully, I could not have asked for a more perfect day. The weather was spectacular and sunny, which was very lucky given the fact that it rained almost every day before and after that day.

So many of our close friends and family were there, which made the whole thing very special. All of my aunts and uncles came, as well as two of my cousins, which was awesome. I met Brian’s dad for the first time, finally, which was great. And lots of friends from DC and elsewhere flew out for the event, which meant a lot to us. And of course our friends from Seattle were there, too. One of my favorite things was seeing all of my various friends and family members converging in one place and meeting each other. It was so cool seeing my college friends meet my friend from high school, and my coworker swapping travel stories with Brian’s mom (my new mother-in-law).

We had so much fun. The ceremony was mostly a blur, actually. I don’t remember even seeing anyone in the audience except when I occasionally stole a glance and it felt really surreal to see everyone out there, because it kind of felt like we were alone up there in our own little world. Both Brian and I were spacing out a bit, but luckily we didn’t mess up or forget anything, or light anything on fire with our unity candle. At the end of the ceremony we kissed, of course, and then walked back down the aisle as everyone was throwing lavender! Here is a picture of that happy moment:

We felt so lucky and thankful and had so much fun that day. We felt like it was an opportunity to announce to our friends and family publicly how we feel about each other and to make our commitment to each other solid and official. I did not used to think I cared much about symbolic ceremonies (i.e., graduations, weddings, holidays, etc.), but more and more they are becoming really important to me. For me, the wedding day marked an historic occasion in our lives, celebrating our commitment to each other. We’ve marked our commitment to each other symbolically and legally, and it feels even more solid now than before. I’m also taking Brian’s last name, which makes it feel even more concrete as we now share a family name.

Next post: Honeymoon!