The Blog about Dentists.

Today is looking pretty gloomy outside.

I have a dentist appointment today. I thought that it was at 2, but then I got a reminder call (which I missed) and the lady said that she would see me at 3pm. Okay… just called and she said three, so that means I get to leave work a little early, but not early enough, sigh. Double Sigh. I dislike the whole drilling and novocain thing… Blah. I don’t have any fear of it, even though I have been subject to some terrible dentists before. I went to the same wonderful dentist from when my first tooth came in until my parents moved me to Colville. He was, by far, the best dentist I have ever met. Then Came the Terrible Time. I tried several dentists… and all of them were awful. The first one had the fattest fingers I have ever seen… and he stuffed them all in my mouth at the same time. I seriously could not breath, plus he caused my lips to split from all the stretching. He also had this whole, “my last name is Hawk so I have to decorate everything possible in my office with hawks” issue, and honestly people, that freaked me out alot. He went a little overboard. Pretty sure the toilet paper even had little hawks on it. And I don’t want to get to know birds that well, thank you. Oh, and he told me that my teeth were spaced to far away, so I needed to get fillings in every single tooth to keep them healthy. I saw a reflection of his new yacht in his glasses when he told me that and I ran.
The second dentist I saw was in Colville. Don’t get me wrong, he was nice. But I can’t drive an hour and a half to see a dentist. So the commute time ended that long distance relationship. It’s not like he was sending me Christmas cards or anything. I just didn’t feel it… you know.
The third was a conglomeration of dentists. (Holy Crap, I just spelled conglomeration without spell check, I am awesome!! Take that! Who... ya!) I was impressed at first (and you should be too, with my spelling skills); they had a super high tech office, a sweet fountain pond thing in the parking lot, fancy smancy computers and x-ray machines. But I soon discovered that under no circumstances was I going to be able to see the same dentist ever time. This makes it difficult, because I can’t remember who is who and what is going on. Plus, they told me that I needed to replace all my current silver fillings with porcelain filings because they were coming loose and I had cavities around them. And I believed. And I went. And I paid mucho bucks because the insurance companies don’t cover porcelain fillings. And then I found that I couldn’t eat anything cold, hot, crunchy, or spicy. Because my teeth were SUPER sensitive. Ya. So I went back. Apparently in their haste to fleece me, they had missed a little spot, and the x-rays showed it. So they replaced the filling they had replaced. And then they charged me for it again. I told them, you should have gotten it the first time you were in there… you missed it and I don’t think that I should have to pay it. So they agreed that I shouldn’t have to pay and then sent me to collections. Merry friggin Christmas to you.
And now, it seems that I may have finally found a fairly good dentist. We will see. I may not be singing his praises this afternoon. Nothing like a drill in the hand of a crazy man to make you cry and beg for death.
I have been avoiding the inevitable. The need for sleep is causing me to become a wee bit grouchy and slightly irritable. Fortunately I have managed to keep the sarcastic remarks in my head versus spitting them out at my helpless victims/co-workers. It does help that the office is practically empty today. It was semi-occupied this morning, but I think the message got out and people fled quickly. Ok, not really. I wish that I had that kind of fear over people. Everyone else has fun meetings and out of office errands to run. I have phone duty and paperwork… and blogging.
Wait, this blog was supposed to be about dentists. Honestly, there really isn’t that much to say about them. Hee…hee…
And the saga continues…

In Honor of Yesterday's Post....

You Are a Caramel Crunch Donut

You're a complex creature, and you're guilty of complicating things for fun. You've been known to sit around pondering the meaning of life... Or at times, pondering the meaning of your doughnut. To frost or not to frost? To fill or not to fill? These are your eternal questions.

What Donut Are You?

Strawberry Jam and Denial

Somehow I hurt my shoulder. I think perhaps too many left handed high fives in my sleep last night. I don’t remember what I was dreaming about, but it must have been good if I was giving out high fives like spare change. Who knows. Maybe I just slept on it wrong. I did go to bed early (as in 10pm), and I slept really hard. I’ve been tired and in denial about it. As in, I’m sure that five hours of sleep is totally the same as eight, so it doesn’t matter and I can stay up and get things done, denial.
Today is doughnut day at work. Pretty awesome, I know. I already had one and now I'm going to grab number two. Probably. Okay, yes. Terrible, huh? But I love ‘em, what can I say? Plus, they are free. And everyone knows that I packed another semi sucky lunch. Dude. What does a girl have to do around here to get a good lunch? Oh, probably go to the grocery store, huh? I have a wide selection of tuna, mac and cheese, and more tuna. And the only thing I can bring to work to eat is….I’ll give you a hint… Something that doesn’t require cooking… tuna!
The cats went away yesterday. It was heart breaking. Pet Saver’s couldn’t take them, so The Roomie took them to the pound. So sad… so very, very sad. I cried…a lot. And that is why I think that I slept so hard last night. I just wish that going to the pound didn’t mean a death sentence for them. It’s so hard for me to see animals headed towards death like that. I know, it’s heartbreaking. Poor cats. They didn’t do anything wrong at all. They just happen to belong to the wrong person., someone who couldn’t take care of them. Sigh. A subject change is needed badly here.
I think that I need another doughnut. All this emotional crap is stressing me out big time. Mmmphhee... Strawberry Jam filling. Red is the color of love and that terrible holiday coming up. And now I feel the need shoot myself. Why? Because I have already eaten three doughnuts and it's not even 8:30 and I can't reason away why it was okay to let the cats go… to the pound. Damn it. No more doughnuts. What am I going to do now? Poor cats. I do believe that cats go to heaven. But I just feel terrible that these are going sooner then they should be. And I don’t feel like they deserved it. It’s not like they are mean and grumpy. They just needed some hugs and a chance. Sheesh. What if I had just kept them a couple more days? Or a week or so? Could I have found a home for them then? It’s to late and it wasn’t my decision to make anyway. Sigh…

No good deed goes unpunished.

The Roomie’s cousin has two cats that she can’t care for anymore, so the Roomie, being the nice person that Roomie’s try to be to cousins, offered to take care of them until they could be placed in homes. One of the cats is a sweet older gray cat named Kitty. The second is a beautiful calico, mostly black and orange, named Precious. Kitty is super outgoing, loves people, and wanders around waiting for you to pick him up. Precious… well, Precious is extremely shy. So shy that she managed to climb back behind my electrical panel in my basement, find her way under the bathroom and into the cold air return that goes under the living room.
Oh… coffee break. Hold on just one minute. Okay, I’m back.
So last night, I came home from work, bundled up, and went outside to shovel some snow. Now, I have quite a lot to say about that, but I’m not going to at this point because this is about the cats.
So, the Roomie discovers that Precious is in the venting system of the house, all Mission Impossible style, and the Roomie gets this fear that she will die under there and we won’t be able to get her out. So the Roomie crawls into the little itty bitty crawlspace under the bathroom and tries to reach the cat. This in itself was extremely entertaining to me, because the Roomie is not a small guy. He is about 6 and a half feet tall, and not the skinny as a rail tall. The Roomie almost got stuck halfway in, and of course, I was laughing to hard to help. So then Precious sees the Roomie and heads back as far as she can into the vent. So I run upstairs, move the couch, rip the vent cover out of the floor, and reach for the cat. Precious then sees me and freaks out. I start laughing, because I can hear the Roomie cursing through the entire venting system. Then a terrible smell comes from the vent… ala The Roomie style. He starts laughing, and I hear this echo-y, “Take that cat. I’m attempting to subdue her by gassing her.” Sigh. Boys and farts. Always the same story. It didn’t work though, and we eventually had to scare her out with a tape measure. She then ran for my room to hide under the bed. Unfortunately, Carrot James was already under the bed and extremely offended that another cat was there. So then Carrot comes running out of my room, hissing and screaming, into the living room where Kitty is watching all the commotion. Carrot freaks out even more when she sees Kitty, and jumps for the top of the entertainment center, growling and snorting. I haven’t ever heard a cat snort before… kinda strange. Anyway, so I pick Carrot up, and she is so upset that she pees all over me and the blanket on the couch. Needless to say, The Roomie and I ended up at the Laundromat last night for about an hour and a half. Waiting for my blanket to be cleaned. Sigh.
Anyone looking for a cat with Mission Impossible Vent Climbing Skills and the ability to with stand terrible smells?
In other news, I have no desire to work today. I don’t know why. It happens a lot for some reason. Oh, also, I did get my hair cut. Not super short like someone (Rene, this is directly referring to you) was trying to talk me into, but shoulder length. It’s funny, every time I get it cut, I am reminded how much I like it this length and I can’t seem to understand why I let it get so long. Seriously. I don’t know why. I don’t really think that I look better with longer hair. Strange.

Ahh…Yes. Our Favorite Day, otherwise known as Monday. It’s the day that requires me to wish that the weekend hadn’t just flown by. We received a LOT of snow on Friday night. It never ceases to amaze me how it can be snowing huge flakes, and be so bright outside.
We had girl’s night at my house on Friday, which involved some gluten-free pizza, chocolate ice cream and a bottle of wine. Oh, and two not the best ever but not the worst either movies. Anyway, the girls left sometime in between 11 and midnight (I know… I should have been paying attention) and it was snowing like crazy outside! I couldn’t believe it. The Roomie and the Not Cranky Neighbor were working on the house next door, so I went over to entrain myself by mocking them. It was snowing so hard, you couldn’t see my footprints within minutes of me making them. The Not Cranky Neighbor’s house had a pipe burst, and the basement flooded, so they were attempting to clean it out. I really think that the Roomie was just looking for some one to drink with. The Roomie gave up on drinking with me a long time ago. In the three years we have roomed, I have yet to even begin to be able to drink like the Roomie can. I don’t attempt to either. I’m just not a big drinker; the hang over isn’t worth it. But I guess, if you don’t really have any hobbies besides drinking, you get pretty good at it.
Anyway. I still don’t like snow; in fact I almost died yesterday attempting to get to church. I think that God chose to let me live because I was bringing my cousin and she definitely needs some church, if you know what I mean.
But…there is something magical about snow. At least there was on Friday night. It’s so bright and cheery to stand out on the porch and watch the sky’s pour out big white fluffy flakes. I can’t help but smile at how light and heartwarming the snow is. It’s the three-year old inside of me that wants to run and jump and make snow angels again. Then tramp inside for some hot chocolate and Christmas cookies by the warm stove. I remember those days. How could you forget them? How many times did I get in trouble for throwing snowballs at my little sister? Not very often, since my dad started most of those fights. He generally got in trouble first, and mom would look at him with her school teacher look, and poor dad would apologize to Sarah. I would just laugh and use that moment to aim at the back of his head. The best snowballs were the ones that ended up down your neck. Whooo! They made you squirm as the melted. We didn’t get snow very often in Seattle, but when we did, we treasured it. And I miss those carefree snowy days. But don’t tell anyone. : )

Can I see the Senior Menu please??

I got some interesting mail today. From the AARP. Ya. They sent me a little letter, saying (and I quote):

Dear Ms. Rebekah Lindberg,

Our records show that you haven't yet registered for the benefits of AARP membership, even though you are fully eligible..... as a member, you'll have the resources and information you need to get the most out of life over 50. You'll have access to exclusive discounts. Dependable insurance programs and investment resources. Important health related information. And much more. The 22 benefits shown are only a partial list!
I look forward to your joining us. I think that you'll agree with our other members: AARP is one of America's very best values.

Sincerely,
William D. Novelli


Ya. Thanks alot William D. Novelli. I had no idea that this year I was turning 55 instead of 26. Not that much of a difference, aye?

Nothing like a little fan mail to boost your self image. Sweet. Now if you will excuse me, my hip is acting up and I need to soak my dentures while I attempt to fill out this form and claim my benefits, all 22 (or more!!) of them.

Two exciting things happened to me today.
First, I woke up. I know. Most people don’t think that waking up is that exciting, but when you have a cold that borders on bronchial destitution with a shake of mind numbing congestion, you are glad to wake up and be alive. Oh, that kinda rhymed a little, nice.
Second, I am still at work. I know! Never have a been so glad to clock my weekly 40 hours as today, the day after I attempted to pay my bills. Nothing makes you thankful for a job and a steady paycheck like sitting in front of the computer pounding your head against the keyboard begging the bank to mysteriously triple your account balance so that you can continue to get 400 tv channels. It would be a terrible sacrifice for me to have to “gasp!” go back to DIAL UP, the internet of the stone age. I’m pretty sure that my dad had dial up. He has told me story’s of how as a child he tried to peddle his new invention “The Wheel” on the internet, but he didn’t get very far because he had …. Dial Up. To bad too, because at this point I would be independently wealthy and laughing at all of you’ll who are at work, trying to just make it by…. Oh, and P.S., I would totally have better shoes too. So there. Ha. Better shoes and no job, on purpose. And 401+ channels. So eat that for lunch. Want some ranch to cover up the taste of jealousy??
Enough of that. I don’t want to ruffle too many feathers, just in case one of my friend’s hits the big time and remembers that I made fun of rich people. That would be terrible, me buddy-ing up to them, all … “Oh, Hey, how have you been? You look great. Ten million dollars is quite flattering on a person… we should do lunch.” “No way, you hate rich people, remember? You mocked them in your blog ten years ago, and I will not forget it.” Sucky for me, I would have to buy my own lunch. And eat it by myself. Sad lonely poor me.
So… I didn’t do much this weekend, just tried to get well. Seems like I have been pretty sick lately, and I’m not too good at it. I have to two levels of sickness. Can’t leave the bed, moaning like I’m on death’s doorstep, sure that it’s almost over so I’m calling my friends to say goodbye sick, and denial that I’m sick. I’m in denial right now, since I made it through alive. Denial means that I’m still sick, but I’m pretending that I’m not, so I can get things done, hang out with my friends, and generally do that normal day to day stuff. Something about this sunshine, even though it’s negative ten hundred degree’s outside, is making me want to clean out my house, throw everything that I have away, and start all over. I have been resisting this for a while… actually I have just been letting the lazy gene win versus the psychotically clean gene, and it’s not working out so well. 400 television channels does help though. Go lazy gene go! You can do it! Put that psycho one in a headlock. Kick him in the shins! Ya!
Oh, I did eat two meals at Amber's house... She is so sweet. She made some good soup too. I was impressed. Just so you know though... if you have the choice of eating her cooking or going out, choose life and go out for food. At least until she has had a little more practice cooking. :)

About that hating snow thing....

So I went to Whistler. On vacation. And you know how I have always said that I hate snow? Well, then I went to Whistler, and I'm pretty sure that I love it more then chocolate now. Well, I don't really like chocolate that much, so let me think of something else... hmm... I love it more then... well, I'm going to have to get back to you on that. Anyway. This is a little bit about Whistler:
It is so pretty. How can you not love the Christmas lights, the snow gently falling on us as we walk the cobblestone streets. Surrounded by some of the most beautiful mountains God made, in one of the cutest towns I have been to. It's completely self sufficient, everything that you would need is within a short walk at the most. Good friends, good food, good atmosphere, I have always believed that to be an explosive combination. It's always a little concerning when you commit to spending four days and three nights with people that you don't know. But the new friends I made were pretty cool and I loved every minute of it. Something about that mountain air, I'm telling you... I ended up doing some very non-Becky things. We went Ziptreking. Oh, ya. Picture this... strapped into a harness and then attached to a cable running, oh, say, about three or four hundred feet above this beautiful snowy stream, winding slowly through a canyon. I screamed for the first few seconds, then I opened my eyes and was speechless. Man, that was fun. Good times. You know, one of my favorite things about New York was the amount of diversity in that city. Everywhere you turned, you met someone from somewhere else. Someone with an interesting story to tell. Spokane, well, to quote a waitress once, "you don't see flavor like that in Spokane to often." (Yes, Amber, that was the waitress who also named her child "something" Snowstorm. He was born during a snowstorm. It's only logical. Duh. I was a bit surprised by it though, and I have spaced the first name, sorry. I think that it might have been Noel Snowstorm. Not sure.)
Anyway.... Back to Whistler. It was fun, not only to spend time with old friends, but also to make new ones. I sometimes don't think that I appreciate my family enough. I'm pretty blessed, not many people can say that they love to spend time with their family... and you know what? I really do. I really, really do. At this time. I didn't always appreciate them. I'm so glad that I grew up and realized how awesome they are. : )
So, I'm pretty much ready to move there. Who is with me? I'm half-way packed already!!
I'll let you think about it, I'm off to meet some friends for a movie... and a healthy dinner of popcorn and soda.