Yesterday

Good news: Met the periodontist yesterday.

Good news/Weird news: he gave my teeth a quick look-see and said, basically, ‘yup, they gotta come out.’ Next, he asked, ‘want me to take them out today?’

TODAY?!

Mes amis, when I woke Monday morning I thought this appointment was just a meet the doc, endure a tooth/gum perusal and schedule-the-extraction visit. I was NOT emotionally prepared for getting my gums cut open and teeth removed but he'd had a cancellation. What could I do? If I said no, I’d duck the immediate pain and horror of dental surgery but only for the day. If I said yes, I’d not only get it done and over but I’d avoid having a few (or more) anticipatory anxiety riddled days. On top of this I would NOT run the risk of having my now end-of-May brain slice-up delayed any further.

Seemed like a no-brainer—it made perfect sense to take advantage of the unexpected opening in his schedule. Of course I said sure, let’s do it. Still, I was in a bit of shock. I didn’t feel at all ready. I was nervous and scared. I was gripping the exam chair armrests as though they’d save me from pain and alleviate all my anxieties going back to the dawn of my existence. 

They did not. Rotten bastids.

Having said all this, everything went as fine as two extractions can go. My essential tremors stayed amazingly calm and the doc (unlike the last one who’d removed one of my wisdom teeth), didn’t go all World Wrestling Federation on me—there were no headlocks, tombstone piledrivers or brainbusters. It was all over pretty quick and I managed to not pee my pants or have any panic attacks. Frankly, I was stunned (that it went relatively well AND that I didn't whiz my drawers).

We came home and, after popping some Tylenol, I took a loooong-ass nap. All in all, I’m wicked happy it’s done. Sometime after my bean surgery I’ll go back in so’s he can check my healing process. At that point they’ll schedule my implant insertion (which can’t happen until around six months post extraction). It’ll be wild to have a full set of choppers again. Maybe I’ll finally, once more, be able to snarf my beloved yogurt covered almonds.

In other news, I hear that, while I was in lullaby land yesterday afternoon, there was an eclipse but no motherfucking rapture. Damn. I was really hoping we’d finally be rid of all those desperately dim, banjax brained evangelicals. Seems their god doesn’t want them either. No surprise there—I mean, have you met these people?

There are some great shots of the eclipse AND the eclipse watchers here. I know eclipses happen pretty damn often but it’s still awesome and, more than that, it’s really cool to see so many different folks getting together to watch the Sun, Moon and Earth align. Celebrating wondrous phenomena together (versus our usual bickering, bullying and warring) gives me a sliver of hope.

I LOVE this shot but don't know who to credit.