removed, getting wisdom teeth

So the worst part about this so far is that i can't really talk yet because of the local numbing stuff and the gauze. Also, i have to use an ice pack which is forcing me to type one-handed and that irritates the hell out of me. I swear i must be down to 30-40 wpm at this point.

My bottom lip feels like it's flipping 50 sizes too big. Is this what collagen feels like? Oh, speaking of, I DID get some collagen. But, it was just to act as a coagulent in the socket of the extraction because of my bleeding disorder. I think I can still say I got collagen though. :-)

One thing I realized during the extraction. It's so easy to pop teeth out of your mouth. It's really a wonder that your teeth stay in your mouth at all if you're eating something moderately chewy or sticky. Seriously. It kind of weirds me out.

Anywho, the Percocet is starting to kick in (huzzah!!) so I'm going to go chill with a movie and change my gauze.

desk, strange things on my

So yesterday I come in to work and find a green "W.W.J.D." bracelet on my desk. I'm not really sure how I should take this. It could be a joke from one of my student employees, but it could also be some sort of helpful "message." Really folks, I'm beyond the help of a W.W.J.D. bracelet.

Today I come in and find a gallon-sized ziploc bag of....pasty-looking goo on my desk. I was very confused. At first again, I thought this was a joke. Then realized it was a starter for one of those Amish Friendship Bread social experiments from hell. The instructions and recipe were underneath it. (my desk is more than a bit cluttered, so it was difficult to realize that there was a new piece of paper).

I'm curious if tomorrow will bring a new bit of something waiting on my desk. Perhaps it'll be a bloody horse head.

podcasting, topics for consideration

So I'm considering the production of a weekly podcast. Right, I know that my free time is already squished completely, but I am feeling an urge to be creative, and since I do not have regular access to a piano, I might as well make my efforts public to the entire world.

I'm thinking of doing a 15-minute talk about a topic, sort of an expert discussion through my perspective. I'll select something that seems interesting that I want to know more about, do some research, then do an ad lib informational talk about it.

Ideas? Comments? Suggestions?

personals, responding to?

Anyone else out there ever reply to a personal ad? I never had before. I'm a bit of a people-watcher so have a pretty good time also reading folks' personal ads. I finally run across one that makes me go "wow, I think I would really like to get to know this person." This alone seemed really strange. Writing to a stranger on a personal level is very intimidating. We write to strangers in a professional way often: letters of introduction, letters of reference, inquiries to technical support, admissions essays, etc. Suddenly, you are writing to a specific individual for the sole purpose of exploring the potential of a relationship. Frightening. What do I do if they don't reply? What do I do if they do reply? Why am I worried about the rejection of someone I have never met?

I had a very unusual experience, well, to me it seems unusual, it might be common when compared to others. The first few exchanges of e-mail went very well, which progressed to phonecalls and instant messaging and text messaging. This went on for several weeks. Even though I hadn't met them, I felt a connection to this person and really enjoyed interacting with them.

Then. We met. It was like meeting a complete stranger all over again. Nothing that had occurred over the last few weeks seemed to affect this interaction at all. It was immediately clear that there was no chemistry, clear for both of us. We proceeded to have a cordial time together for a few hours, but it wasn't particularly exciting for either, and mostly just a little awkward.

Such an unusual experience, I'm definitely hesitant to repeat it.

strange, things that are

Between yesterday and today I happened to see two very unusual and unrelated things. Sometimes this kind of randomness really sticks me in a philosophical sort of mood...

1) Yesterday, I was driving around, trying to find a place to park near the library where I work. There is a metered parking lot just across the street, it's quite close and I usually try and find a space there (free after 5 pm). As I'm looping around, what do I see on the ground between two parked cars? A wooden pepper mill. Yes, the really tall kind, roughly 18-20 inches. Strange? yep.

2) Today, I was walking in to work and was passing several people on their way out of the library building. Walking toward me was a younger man, somewhere between 18-22 I would guess. He was wearing a long black coat. So far, so good. Then I noticed something strange about his right hand. He had a rubber dinosaur puppet on his right hand. He wasn't doing anything at all with the puppet, he was just walking along, swinging his arms a bit like most people do when they walk. Really, why? Strange? yes!

e-mail, going out the door too?

Has anyone lately noticed that aside from work, you don't use e-mail very much? I just realized that I very rarely use e-mail for personal communications any more. I post comments on MySpace pages, or send private messages there too, or post comments on a blog, or send a text-message to a phone, or just call the person on the phone.

Is e-mail going to go the same way as the usps letter? Is it now becoming dated? I have a friend who podcasts her blogs instead of writing them out. This digital age of ours is so rapidly changing.

On the more mundane side of things. I have discovered (for me) the most wonderful pen in the world. It's a Pilot Permaball. Yep, a Pilot-brand pen that has permanent ink--that comes out of a rollerball! It's acid-free, archival safe, blah blah blah too. And, it writes like a dream. I love mine, in black, medium tip.

sun, basking in

The sun is here!!!!!! Finally! Spring? Well, it was here a few days ago, but was only in the 50s. Right now it is 72 degrees F outside!!! Luckily, I didn't have to be in to work until 4 pm so could spend a few hours enjoying the weather. The Daylight Savings Time has kicked in last night, so this means we'll get an extra hour of this fantastic weather. Lovely! I'm a sunny weather sort of person, so long and dark winters really start to get to me after awhile, conversely, the sun makes me smile stupidly from ear to ear for hours on end.

Hopefully everyone else has some sun visiting them today!!