Little Bit of This, Little Bit of That

1. Dentist appointment went all right yesterday. She tried shooting me up with the Novocaine by herself this time, but apparently, I kept trying to get away from the needle - even with my eyes shut. She ended up giving me more topical numbing stuff and then getting the assistant to come hold my hand and keep me still.

So both fillings are done, which means I'm done now except for regular cleanings, although the dentist did say that my bottom one may end up needing root canal down the road. I'm not too horrified about it; I don't like going to the dentist by any means, but she and her assistant have been so good with me that I'm not panicky about the idea like I might otherwise be.

Since both fillings were in my back right molars, top and bottom, they had to shoot me up with, like, double the Novocaine; something about the bottom ones being deep tissue and they're always harder. So I leave the place and go with hubby to bum around Target till it was time to pick up Boychild from school, and my lips are all dry and icky, right? So I pull out my lip balm and try to put it on. I got the top lip done all right, and half the bottom lip before apparently continuing to draw across the rest of my face. I couldn't feel my lip after about the middle, and of course that whole portion of my face was just as devoid of feeling. I thought hubby was going to wet himself, he was laughing so hard! Which made me laugh, too, and then I promptly forgot how to swallow properly, which was partially because my tongue - also numb - was caught on my teeth on that side and I couldn't tell.

Cue nearly-hysterical laughter in the middle of Target.

Finally regained all feeling about five hours or so later - and had to dig out the leftover Vicodin from July's root canal because WOW, Novocaine makes me sore!

Feeling all right today, but leery about eating anything really solid, still.

2. All managers and supervisors are out today; it's been lovely up here.

3. My mom's dog didn't need surgery after all; the vet said it should be cleared up with the proper medication, so Christmas is saved for them. I feel like a heel for bitching about it yesterday, but JESUS. You know?

4. I have graphics I need to make this evening, among other things - hopefully I'll remember everything!

5. How is everyone doing this week? ♥

It's 2:16 PM and I am nearly asleep here at my desk. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why.

Once the EVILCRAMPSFROMHELL morphed from "severe" into "tolerable" last night, I got plenty of sleep. Even getting up three times to go to the bathroom.

You know, of my 28 Vicodin pills, I've only taken six and a half. Since Monday. And none of them actually made me tired. Do you think they're all catching up with me now?

I wondered, because I keep catching myself doing that head-bob thing that my dad does in church - or at other various functions - when he's bored senseless. And then you nudge him and he wakes up and wipes the corner of his mouth because he's realized there's a little bit of drool there and goes, "Huh-whaaaa?" And you say, "Wake up, you were sleeping." And he retorts, "Nuh-uh, I was praying." Very seriously, like he fully believes God will buy it.

Anyway, I keep catching myself doing that at my desk. My mouth and my uterus are ganging up on me right now, but I'm afraid to take another half Vicodin (I haven't taken any at all yet today) because what if it has me sprawled across my desk, no longer head-bobbing and catching myself at it, but flat out sleeping with drool pooling beneath my cheek? Because for real, I drool when I sleep.

Oooh, news flash, Chunk just brought me a bite of his cake. Heather brought him cake while he was on lunch and told me to tell him it was from her and so I put a note on it that said "from Heather! Yummy! I want some, too." And he just brought it to me and let me have a bite. I just wanted the frosting because OMFGFROSTING, HELLO. It was good.

But seriously, now - do I avoid the half a Vicodin? Because I'm back to head-bobbing.

I am so, so cranky.

My mouth hurts, but it's an abstract kind of pain. My gums hurt, of course, but the entire area is having phantom pains from that damn wedge thing, and it's making me all weepy. I was supposed to have another tooth filled yesterday, but the dentist decided I'd had enough for the day, and I didn't argue. I can't even-. *waves hand vaguely*

I get like this after trauma. Sorry.

I want to take half a Vicodin, but 1) I'm at work now and it's supposed to make you drowsy - and with the way a single dose of Benadryl knocks me out, any kind of drowsy is not a good idea at work - and 2) I want to buy a pill cutter so I CAN take only half. Pill cutter will have to wait till after work, sadly.

I haven't actually cried today, but I feel like anything could set me off. Already came close when Problem Child had himself another ridiculous rant. *rolls eyes at self* Maybe I should've stayed home today. *if only, if only*

In other news, Mikey informed us yesterday that the best part about summer school is that since he leaves at 12:30 each day, he and the other kids who leave then get to go straight to the front of the lunch line. That's my kid, food-driven. Hee!

We also decided to institute a new video game rule. He loves them, but we think he plays far too much. So we told him that starting today, he has to earn his video game time by reading. The look on his face was PRICELESS. He HATES reading, but we made it clear that how often he plays video games is up to him. He can play for two hours if he wants, but he must read for two hours first - and he needs to be able to tell us what happened in the book. He already started reading this morning on the way to school. We arrived there to drop him off, turned around to look at him, and he was putting in a bookmark, looking at the clock on the dashboard and saying, "Huh, fourteen minutes. Not bad!" So YAY, he's taking it to heart. So far, anyway. ;)

SO GLAD THAT'S OVER WITH.

It only took 45 minutes, all told, to do this interview. It was a panel interview, with EIGHT people (ZOMG) taking turns asking questions. I have never been very good with the whole public-speaking thing, which made this really difficult.

I think they were all really impressed with the questions I had for them. The department is HUGE (about 200 people compared to my department's 60), and part of the job would be scheduling all their work hours, doing all the payroll for all 200 of them, and dealing with a continual turnover of employees. There's a lot of ongoing employee education to be worked around, and all that on top of dealing with people who can be shy, be outspoken, be demanding or accepting, etc. I was kind of amused to note that they were all as vague in their answers, too, as I was in mine.

If I failed this interview on an epic scale, that'll be the reason; I realized halfway back to my own office that each of the times I was asked for a specific "time this happened" or "thing that resulted," I ended up giving generalizations. I'm also looking back on the interview now and going, "SHIT ON A BISCUIT, WHY DID I SAY THAT?" Or "Dammit, I should have explained that better." That, and the whole doesn't-actually-know-the-programs-used thing, although I pointed out several times that I'm a very fast learner and that getting in there and playing with it is the only way to really find out what the system can and can't do.

And too, now that I have a better idea of just what this job might entail, I'm worried about it. I think that with training and an open mind, I'll be able to do it. I'm worried, though, about the fact that it's just me. I don't know what kind of mess would result if I wanted to, say, take a week off. It seems like an awful lot of balls might be dropped if I'm not there to juggle them every day, and that's kind of how I feel already.

Any adrenaline I had is draining away now, and I'm left with a massive headache. And I'm hungry, which is only contributing to the problem. I think I'm going to head home and eat, and then crash for a while; just wanted to update y'all. ♥

My mouth is KILLING me.

I ended up going to the dentist today for an evaluation because seriously? This can't go on.

I got a prescription for penicillin to combat an infection, and appointment for a root canal in one tooth and a filling in the one next to it.

There are some other cavities that need filling, but right now these two are the problem. I'm scared, but not as badly as I might otherwise be; the pain is enough.

But sad news: my appointment isn't till JULY 19. God, help me.

1. Feeling better today - definitely a good thing. :)

2. Dinner tonight at Bunny and John's, and kiddo will probably sleep over, so quiet evening! YAY!

3. Dad is out of the hospital. He was released yesterday shortly after noon. The docs have concluded that the chest pains were NOT his heart, thankfully. However, they don't know what DID cause the pains, so we're at a loss, there. Dad has a regular doc appt coming up soon, if not today (because I'm really bad with time, OK?), and hopefully he'll find out what he needs to do to be able to continue walking, as that's the more imminent threat right now.

4. My friend I mentioned earlier now has an LJ! I'm so pleased, I can't wait to show her the ropes. She may yet come to DW, too, but I'm STOOPID and messed up the web address. *rolls eyes at self* Either way, I'm glad she has an outlet available to her! Next step: teaching her how to navigate a forum. XD.

5. You guys, these shoes have HEART-SHAPED HEELS!! ♥♥♥

I AM LUSTING FOR THESE JUST A LITTLE BIT.

Found over on Fluevog.

6. Just renewed a bunch of books from the library online - handy little tool. Finally finished The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho) the other night. It was such a wonderful book; I'll need to procure my own copy of it. If you've read it, I'd like to chat with you about it.

7. Friday, I love you. Thank you for FINALLY dragging your ass here, because I am so beyond ready for the weekend!

Talked to Mom this morning. She said she talked to Dad and they're going to do the test in two parts, so they'll keep him again tonight. She wanted to know if we were going to see him later, and if so, could we pick her up and take her along so she doesn't have to ask Steve again.

Of course we can, and we decided we WILL go to visit him, so of course we'll fetch her on the way, we know how she is about driving.

But at the same time, JESUS, Mom - I don't like to drive, either, but I CAN DO IT IF I HAVE TO. *rolls eyes*

This is just making her a basket case.

Well. More of a basket case than usual, anyway.

It makes me think of everything I'll have to take on should Bad Things Happen, which makes me feel selfish, but EXHAUSTED with the sheer enormity of it. I don't even know if I can coherently explain everything that would go into that kind of disaster. Just know that it would be Huge and Not Good.

You were in my dream last night, herminia, or peripherally, anyway. Set mostly in my old garage, something about laptops and the onset of evacuation due to oncoming summer fires, angsty and tense and just...weird.

My grandma was in it, too, taking a corporeal form that only I could see, and angry with/yelling at me because she thought I was being irreverent about her sister, who in the dream was in the hospital and dying.

WTF, brain?

... I suppose I should be thankful that it was a vague dream, for once; generally they're ridiculously detailed and no one detail meshes coherently with any other detail. *rolls eyes*

Easter dinner last night was AWESOME. The ham came out beautifully, and the au gratin potatoes were creamy and smooth. And my green beans? KICK ASS. Best green beans I have ever had, I am totally doing that again.

( Yummy and Simple Green Bean Recipe )

Sandwiches/leftovers for dinner tonight, and I'm SO making egg salad, too. Note to self: Ask Mom what she put in the deviled eggs she made yesterday, because even kiddo liked them!

Back to school for kiddo today, and he went cheerfully enough. He goes to the dentist tomorrow for a new impression to be taken for a new retainer. It will cost us significantly less than we thought it would; we were expecting anywhere between $700 and $1500 - turns out it'll only be $250. Which is still a lot, yes, but shockingly more reasonable than we thought, and easier on his grandparents, who insist on paying it, since it was their dog who chewed the first one to bits.

Got to work this morning, and discovered that some bastard took it upon himself to finally replace all the burnt out light bulbs over my desk. The light - it burns! Jesus, I preferred sitting in the dark, even told them each time they took a look that I liked it a little darker back here. So now I'm going to whine about it for a while before I get over it. [/cranky]

And finally, finally - I feel better. I still have a minor cough, but no stomachache at ALL. I can eat, I can sit, I can stand, I can WORK. Definitely a lovely thing.

Did you all have a good Easter?

1. ( Gross girl stuff. )

2. We're on season 3 now of The Big Bang Theory. This show is so funny, we laugh so much with every episode. I’m polymerized tree sap and you’re an inorganic adhesive, so whatever verbal projectile you launch in my direction is reflected off of me, returns on its original trajectory and adheres to you. Sheldon is hilariously single-minded and has no social skills whatsoever. I think he's my favorite, but I really love them all. Does anyone else watch this?

3. I may have more later, I just wanted to get these out. :) How is everyone?

1. Seriously. Check out the Owl City album "Ocean Eyes." The music is gorgeous, and the lyrics are wonderful, if quirky and outright dorky and full of puns at times. I love the whole album, but my favorites are Fireflies and Vanilla Twilight, and I really love the end of Hello Seattle as well.

Sarah. I think you would like Vanilla Twilight.

2. OK, so this weekend was actually pretty good, factoring out the headache. We bought our Christmas tree and some ornaments for it, as well as a tree topper (a colorful star that lights up - it reminded hubby of what he had growing up, and I caved because I didn't mind it). We also got gift cards for my parents and some decent cookie sheets for our kitchen.

I was looking for soup crocks on Saturday as well, ones that I can use in the oven, the microwave, the dishwasher. I found a set of four at Bed, Bath and Beyond, but they wanted THIRTY BUCKS for it. I said hell no and found a set of four online at Collections, Etc., lids and all, on clearance for $7.97. We found a code for free shipping, and voilá, a good set of soup crocks for under ten bucks. I'm totally ordering another set.

This, of course, means I can finally make that french onion soup recipe I've been wanting to make. We even picked up some good brandy for it; I can't wait to get my crocks so I can make my daddy his beloved french onion soup. Note to self: find out what gruyere cheese is, and see if you like it better than muenster.

3. Collections, Etc.! Oh, my gosh. Oh, oh, my gosh. I love it. I was adding things to my wish list right, left and center. It's, like, fifty-two items long. I found SO. MUCH. apple stuff (I have a thing for decorating my kitchen in apples), and can't wait to start collecting it all. There's so much great stuff there; check it out, for real.

4. Picked up these shoes at Payless on Sunday. I didn't even know they were called "Kimberly Mary Jane" pumps till I just went looking for the picture of them! Hee! Anyway, they are VERY comfortable and perfect for work, and I love them. AND breaking them in isn't as much of a pain as I was thinking it would be! YAY!

5. My headache was gone when I woke up this morning. This is a lovely thing.

6. The light rail is up and working now out by me, so my ride is trying it out this week, which means I'm reverting back to my later hours. I think she'll end up doing it from now on, so it's back to 8:30-5:00 for me. This is OK though; I love having that extra half hour in the morning, I love going to work when it's light out, and don't really mind coming home a little later. And I like it when hubby brings me in and picks me up. More in gas money, I suppose, but we've always been drivers.

I'd take the light rail, too, but I just don't do well going places on my own.

7. We're going to try getting down to Red Wing sometime before Christmas to go see Beth and Dana's new house and visit with them. XD.

8. I think that's everything for now...just wanted to give a bit more than I managed yesterday. :)