A little less wise

I'd been feeling slightly out of sorts lately. And that's bad - I need all the sorts I can get. Until yesterday it had been sort of an indeterminate out of sorts. Yesterday it crystallized. I had teeth problems. Or, more specifically, I was pretty sure I had a tooth problem. Wisdom, that is.

I've never had a cavity. Not one. Zip. Nada. Zero. So in general dentist visits don't bother me. However, specifically I hate pain. So that was Problem One. Problem Two was that I figured out that this was a tooth issue on Friday. Late. And by then I was in fairly significant pain. My regular dentist isn't open at all on Friday, and not too many are open after 6 pm. So my wife and I did the reasonable thing: we started calling random dentists from the phone book.

Wonder of wonders, we found one who performed emergency services. They mentioned they don't take checks, only cash or credit cards. And they weren't on any insurance plans. However, we were pretty desperate at that point (did I mention the hating pain thing?) so we set up an appointment for 7:45.

When we got there they had me fill out the requisite forms, I handed them my medication list, which I had the foresight to print out (it reads like a short novel, what with the medical mess I am), then they took an x-ray. Impacted Wisdom tooth. "Surrounded by a bony mass." Hmmmm.

They used a local anesthetic, and said they could do it with or without nitrous oxide. You guess which route the coward took. (Did I mention the pain, and the hating?) Originally the doc said this would be a quick and easy procedure. However, our good friend Mr. Bony Mass proved to be quite the obstacle. 90 minutes and many implements later (I'll have nightmares about some of those...) it finally came out - in pieces. I'll admit the procedure didn't hurt at the time, even though they pried my jaws open wider than anything I've seen since a National Geographic special where a python swallowed a rabbit, and used tools that, I'm sure, were developed to extract information from enemy agents rather than teeth.

Once the anesthetic wore off things got interesting, and not in a good way (you know, the pain, and the hate?). Even the hydrocodone they prescibed didn't dent it much.

Things are much better today. They stitched most of the hole closed, so there is little chance of a dry socket. The pain is significantly diminished, and I still have my good friend hydrocodone, along with some steroidal anti-inflammatories, to help.

Now I just need to find the rest of my sorts.

Now there's an idea

I really need to start a notebook. I get spectacular ideas (well, in my estimation...) and then either don't write them down or write them down on a napkin and lose the napkin.

I know what the first entry in my notebook would be. I have a line I've wanted to work into a routine for a long time but have never found the right spot. Some day I'll forget the line. Here's that brilliant line I'm afraid of losing:

"How do I accomplish my miracles? Through a rare combination of Eastern mysticism and Western store-bought magic props."

OK, now that you're done rolling in the aisles... I know it may not be comedic gold to you, but it's a line that I think could really work for me - in the right routine, delivered the right way. And if I forget the damn thing it'll never happen.

If I just start that silly notebook, I'll have at least one entry, and my line will be safe.

At least until I lose the notebook...

Andy Mckee - Drifting - Acoustic Guitar - www.candyrat.com

Andy Mckee - Drifting - Acoustic Guitar - www.candyrat.com

Something I thought you'd enjoy.