Adventures in Modern Dentistry...

It was time. I hadn't been to the dentist in a while (since I lived in Daejeon, and had a wisdom tooth removed), and figured it was time for a check-up. One of my co-workers recommended a place downtown. So, on a lovely Thursday afternoon, I headed off to see the dentist. I had memories of my dentist in Canada, with Escher's* prints on the ceiling for a little visual stimulation during your visit. The one at the top of this post is the one I remember most. My dentist today was a little more hi-tech. Mounted on the front of each chair assembly, there was a flatscreen TV with satellite. I was even given control of the remote! However, I only caught about 3 minutes of TV before a green cloth with a hole cut out for my mouth was placed over my face. Another nice thing about this particular dentist was the anaesthetic rinse I got to swoosh and gargle with first, so the cleaning wouldn't be so uncomfortable. It was awesome. My tongue was all numb.

After all was said and done, the dentist said I had nice, strong, healthy teeth. Hooray!! I don't have to go back for another 6 months! However, he has a fascinating book called, if I remember correctly, The Illustrated History of Dentistry. I only got to the 1st page (the downside of extreeeeeeeemly minimal wait times in Korean medical clinics), so I actually wouldn't mind popping in again just to sit in the waiting area and thumb through the book. There was a full-color photo of ancient Incan teeth with turquoise inlays - way cooler than body piercing. Speaking of which, I got a new belly-ring today. I'm off to boil it and try it on.

(ooooh, just noticed my paragraph structure above. I'd flunk any student in my writing class that started a paragraph talking about teeth, spent most of the paragraph discussing a book, and then closing the whole thing off with a belly button. Terrible form.)

* I couldn't remember Escher's name, so I just googled "famous drawings", and found the right site on my 2nd try. Amazing thing, this internet.

Adventures in Stellar Test Questions...

I came across this article on Yahoo! News. I laughed all the way through. I never had to take a driving test in China, but I remember what the traffic was like there. After reading this question from the traffic theory test, I think I know why:

"If a motor vehicle is passing through an intersection without a traffic light or traffic sign, should it give right of way to vehicles that have a green light?"

There are some other fascinating questions on the test. It's worth a peek at if you get a chance.

Adventures in Irony...

Tonight, we're going to watch a 2-hour episode of The Biggest Loser; we're going to order-in some fried chicken and a pizza to tide us over.

I just don't understand how my brain works. I can play with the cat during Survivor, I can paint my nails during CSI, I can knit during Law & Order...but I can't watch The Biggest Loser without snacks. I just. don't. get it.

Adventures in a Tad Too Much Twang...

I had oringinally planned to title the post "Adventures in Mean God...", however, being a huge fan of alliteration, and not such a big fan of promoting dubious theology, I opted for the twang thang.

Since I have yet to remember to take my own tunes down to the car, I find myself listening to AFN (American Forces Network) Radio when I'm on the road. Most of the time, they play a reasonably good mix of tunes. Sunday afternoons however, are devoted to the Country Music Countdown. This afternoon, my ear being unaccustomed to the twangs, warbles and contractions present in country songs, I misheard the lyrics of a certain ditty. I heard "There's nothin' in this world that can't be done by a Mean God... / He rules the world with His staff and rod. Mean God." I was not impressed. By mid-song though, I had discovered that Mean God, was actually Me'n'God. So the lyrics should read "There's nothin' in this world that can't be done by me and God." Even though my brain finally figured out the Me'n'God bit, my ear still refused to hear the difference. I continued to hear Mean God. I was happier when the song ended and moved on to something like: "That was Mama, in Ti-a-juaaaaaaana. She won't admit she smoked mar-i-juaaaaaaaana. That was Maaaaama, 'fore she was a MaMaaaaaaa." I'm pretty sure I didn't mis-hear those lyrics.

Mind you, for all that, I was actually happiest when I pulled into my parking spot and turned the radio off! Now though, the joy at shutting the radio off has turned into a bit of concern that I can't turn my brain off. Both song are still synapsing in my brain, and I find myself oscilating between "Meeeeeeeeen God" and "Marijuaaaaaaaana in Tiajuaaaaaaaaana." I'm going to see if I can find some Simon and Garfunkle to put an end to all this twangy mayhem.

Adventures in Turned Tables...

When I was growing up in Ontario, every year around this time, I would hear a conversation between my Dad and his mom. The conversation would always go something like this:

Dad (in Ontario): We got another (1/6/8) feet of snow last night.
Grandma (in Victoria): Three new (tulips/daffodils/crocuses) are up in the garden this morning.

And so, with my Grandma and her garden in mind, I have the following to say to all of you digging out from last week's storm: The cherry blossoms on campus are starting to bloom.