Dynamic day. A rollercoaster of a day. Probably is to be expected, yet it's certainly not one I want to experience. That's what's staying inside and playing around on the Internet's for.
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Started with going to the dentist's to get my cavities filled. Of course, since this is a teaching dental clinic, where I'm operated on by students who need to be constantly checked by their supervisors/teachers, they took so much time that I only got one of them filled. Worse yet, because the cavity was in the extreme back of my mouth, there was a lot of work in order to reach back there. The teacher was called in a couple extra times, and another student was brought in to help with keeping the site clean and dry.
This next person ... man, she rubbed me the wrong way (in a figurative sense). Didn't say hi even though she was reaching into my mouth. And when she asked me if my teeth clenched normally after the cavity was filled (they may have put in too much, so they "carve" it out), I didn't know how to answer that because my mouth's been open for over two fuckin' hours and I don't know how normal felt before the operation. Leaving I saw her on the phone, and I got this image of the lazy secretary who doesn't give a shit about being productive at work and only wants to shoot the shit with friends. I have a feeling that, as a dentist, she'll be known for not having a good bedside manner.
Better was Lindsay, the girl who actually did put in my silver filling (and not a composite/plastic one, as I thought -- too hard to keep clean during filling, I think she said). Unlike the girl who did my cleaning last time, she actually spoke to me like a grown-up. Thank you! A better contrast: She and her supervisor said, both to me and to each other, that the cavity is probably the result of the wisdom teeth that used to be behind them leaving hard-to-reach pockets after their removal. They understood that it's hard to brush back there. Lindsay even said she's not one to scold her patients, unlike the other one. Thank you!! Now I have evidence to go around thinking it really isn't my fault!!! (Even though it is because I could've gone to them a lot sooner.)
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However, the positivity I felt I didn't express, mostly because I was getting kind of tired of being operated on for two-plus hours. Moreover, there was a line to wait to schedule the appointment for the other cavity. And then I was told I needed to wait to talk to their insurance guy. I only wore my sunglasses when I walked the mile from my (free) parking spot to the clinic 'cause my shirt didn't have any pockets and I didn't have any room in my pants, so while we waited, I kept my glasses on, Anna Wintour-style. And since I was so damn bored and tired from my fill, I slumped on the couch.
We did get in and Lindsay and this really cool guy named Brad squared me away. Great news -- my health insurance covers me 100%! Even better, I inquired about this bill I got for my previous cleaning. Brad looked me up and told me that the clinic cleared it up and I can disregard the bill! I was so happy I clapped my hands and said "Yes!"
The only thing I wished I did was take off my hat and glasses when I was in there. If I knew the news was good, I would've minded my manners and took them both off. I hope he doesn't think me an asshole. He isn't regardless of what news he gave me, but because it was good, I should've been a gentleman about it. Oh, and I should've addressed him by his name when I left. Good news does deserve at least that, and I feel bad about it.
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Had my phone turned off the whole time I was at the dentist's. Like I dreaded, there was a voicemail when I turned it on when I finally got back to my car. But, it wasn't my parents who left a message, it was my Grandmother. She wanted me to come back home and take her grocery shopping. Man, I wanted to relax after that arduous afternoon flat on my back. I realized today that every day, I have to do something just for me or else I will be a very cranky boy. But I have to do what my Grandmother says, no?
It was a quarter past 4, about 75 minutes before the 'Rents do, and even though she usually doesn't, she made me take her to a grocery store. I should've questioned her when, as I was backing down the driveway, she muttered something about "buying the same thing we bought when we went there the last time."
I've never been to Sam's Club with Grandmother, even though I know where it is. When we got to the left turn lane to get there, she asked, "Where are we going?"
"Sam's Club."
"Not Sun Foods?"
Fuck. You.
"No. You said Sam's Club."
"The place where you need a card to get in?"
"Yeah!"
"Well, I don't have a card."
"Then why did you say you wanted to go to Sam's Club???"
"I meant Sun Foods. Oh, well, just take me home."
If it were either of my parents this would've gone on and on. As it is, even though she quietly just went back inside the house, I reflected upon another indication that Grandmother's losing it.
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Setting aside Me Time every day is something I fight, but after I realized it I'm starting to see the futility of it. I'm going to do it, regardless of whether or not I should.
After dropping Grandmother off on her aborted attempt to shop for groceries, I had a choice: Should I just get gas, or can I go to the bookstore, too? If I do both, in what order should I do it? The tank is nearly empty ... but will gas prices go up, or even down, tomorrow? Should I wait, or at least just fill it up a quarter of the way?
The other thing is having time for coffee. It's 4:30, and with all the running around I need to do I don't know if I should just say "fuck it" and fill up my car. Besides, I went to the dentist, and maybe I should lay off on drinking anything that could stain my new filling. Moreover, there are some files from this temp agency I need to pull; looks like I have this assignment, but I have to fill out all this paperwork first, and I just don't want my parents to know about it because they'll start asking why and shit.
Also, it'd be nice to go a second day without using any money ... well, wait a second, I need to get gas for the car, where I need to use my card. And that settles it -- I'm getting coffee. I'm getting coffee because I'm using my credit card for one thing so I might as well use it for another thing. So I drive and get it, and even though I thought I could make it a quick 10-minute pit stop, I stayed till 5:30, about 40 minutes. I was engrossed in reading the latest issue of Time. It was "time" for me -- get it?
I saw the gas station that's connected to the service station I use charge for two cents less a gallon, even though the coupon I planned to use is for somewhere else, so I decided to turn around and ask if I could. Then don't honor competitiors' coupons. Whoops.
Then I go to the nearest station to our house thinking to only fill it up part of the way and gamble that it'll go down tomorrow. Except that all the pumps there are now pre-pay or credit only. To change that they just blacked out all the other buttons on the pump -- classy. Thwarted a second time, I just decided to drive home on an empty tank.
I didn't see my parents' car when I got back home. Cool! Gives me a chance to print all the files from the new temp agency without them finding out and/or asking why. So I go down and open up the files ... when I hear a rustling just outside the door. Shit. I close my e-mail.
So not only do I not get to print out the downloads, not only do I not get any gas for my car, but neither do I get to see the start of the national nightly news. And this is all on top of taking Grandmother on a quick five-minute drive during afternoon rush hour. After going to the dentist's, I accomplished nothing.
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Father's been being quite nice to me lately, which bothers me. He's going to erupt, and I'm always on the lookout for that. So there's basically two interactions I have with Father: Getting pissed when he yells at me, and waiting for him to yell at me.
I egg things along sometimes when I'm in a bad mood ... such as when the 'Rents thwart my downloading. I open the door for them and race down to close my inbox, only to have Mother stop me and help them bring down this slow cooker(?) downstairs. When I just closed down my e-mail before she noticed, she told me I'll need to run an errand for her, even though I knew that I would have to wake up early and do that in time for me to get to my appointment downtown. So I bark at her -- "Sure!" Yes, parents don't pick their kids, either.
After Mother went through the computer room, Father did. He then bored me to death when he told me to find a Nature show he saw on the horseshoe crab Sunday night. Once he sat down and started talking to me about his childhood, I tuned out. I don't want to hear it anyway, but I really didn't want to hear it now that they've stopped me from doing what I want, again. And what he was saying was a whole bunch of who gives a shit; something about eating crabs when he was young and it having green blood and a pound of it costing $15,000 to eat or something. I didn't want to be a dick, I just was; after several minutes of looking at the computer instead of him and not responding to his soliloquy, he recommended I watch the program and left.
At least he was nice ... until after dinner. Cleaning up, he showed me the trash can. There were a lot of vegetables in it. He ordered me to not take Grandmother to buy groceries again because she buys veggies that she doesn't eat. "Too old ... smell bad!" he barked. He wasn't angry at me, but he was angry, and that's the Father I know and have grown to despise.
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By the way, turns out I did print those forms out late last night. They didn't suspect a thing. Or at least they haven't cared to ask yet.
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