the pod bay door

.: My holidays are coming to an end. I’ve been off for two weeks, choosing to stay in Edmonton and keep a relatively low profile. Last weekend my parents visited for three days, and we had a great time. Friend joined us on Friday and Saturday for bbq’s, and on Sunday night my folks attended a band rehearsal so they could see and hear us play. My Dad took a number of photos with my Canon A630 camera, and you can see them here.

On Wednesday, I went to the dentist, ostensibly to have work done on the lower left second molar – the last tooth before the wisdom tooth. When I arrived at his office, he told me that because the lower left third molar – said wisdom tooth – was beginning to emerge from the gum and was visible, it had to be removed before he could begin the crown. I waited while his receptionist called the dental surgeon, assuming an appointment would be made for a later date. I was caught off-guard when she put the phone down and said to me, “Can you go today”? I thought for a moment and said, “I suppose so, sure.” Forty-five minutes later I was in the dental surgeon’s chair, and he was freezing me for the procedure. It didn’t take long, but it wasn’t much fun. I learned afterwards that he had to cut the gum open, and then break the tooth up in the jaw and extract it in pieces. I needed extra freezing four times. I left with a very sore jaw and a swollen face and lower gland that in total was quite uncomfortable. I was given prescriptions for two pain killers and one antibiotic. It took about 36 hours before I began to feel some relief, and the swelling started diminishing by Saturday.

I wasn’t aware the wisdom teeth are normally removed in one’s teenage years. Being considerably past that stage of my life, I can’t even begin to imagine what this experience would be like if I had to have four removed at once. Ugh.

BTW, I can report that I am really enjoying the new Buffalo Tom album, Three Easy Pieces.  It’s so good to have them making new music again.  And in this article, it is revealed that drummer Tom Maginnis works for EBSCO – good God, there’s a library connection between the band and I!  (Even weirder, Bill Janovitz sells real estate.)  I so love this band.

:: Yesterday I received acupuncture for a tendonitis problem in the area surrounding my right elbow. The practitioner is an acupuncturist and a physical therapist, and came highly recommended. Needles were placed in the area around my right elbow, the tops of my feet, outsides of my calf muscles, in and in my chest and forehead, for other reasons. None of the needles hurt, and in fact, I nearly fell asleep during the time the needles were in me. I will go for at least three more treatments.

:: I don’t know if it’s a function of age, but there are more and more moments while watching a tv show, I will not understand a line said by a character. It’s not that I didn’t hear it, it’s that the actor didn’t enunciate it well enough for me to interpret what she or he just said, or the sound editing is bad, or whatever. One solution is to turn on the closed caption function, which I’m doing more often these days. For certain shows like Deadwood, where the dialogue occasionally sounds Shakespearean, the CC function is a blessing.

:: A new, modern rock radio station is in the midst of its four-week testing period on the air at 102.9FM in Edmonton; the station officially begins broadcasting on May 5 or 6, 2005, with live djs, etc.. Sonic 102.9 Modern Rock is a welcome breath of fresh air, at least so far. The other rock stations in Edmonton collectively suck big time. My car radio is tuned permanently to this station at the moment, which is playing, and I hate to use the word, alternative rock. But in this case, my meaning is that the music being played is indeed an alternative to anything the aforementioned stations are offering at the moment. And it’s new, content from the 90s foreward. My hope is that it continues into their broadcast life, and that their djs show some respect for their audience. One of my favorite kinds of music is edgy, noisy rock, with good melody and song structure, and that’s what I’m hearing so far..

:: Filed under, “What Th-??”, a woman in Arizona ran 301 miles in just under 80 hours, without stopping to sleep or take any breaks, other than one brief stop for a leg massage.

:: Yesterday, while talking to my friend Pam in her office, I leaned against a bookshelf that was holding a glass jar of coins of all denominations. Of course, the shelf was adjustable, and therefore not one with the entire unit, and it flipped, sending the jar crashing to the floor, where it broke into a million shards. I’m always good for a few yucks, and once the laughter subsided, we spent time picking up the glass and coins, until I realized I cut my right hand in a few places – nothing major, mind you. I owe Pam a new glass jar.

Captain Klutz, at your service.

:: Last evening my right eye was hurting, feeling like a small foreign object of some sort was under the lid and wouldn’t leave. This morning at the U Health Centre, the doctor confirmed that the cornea has a small scratch right under the pupil. It is quite annoying, so I’m home to rest for the afternoon. I’ve got eye drops, and will pick up some ointment later in the day. Hopefully this will heal quickly.