In The Pines

Pretty much as I suspected. It's not my tooth that hurts so much as it is my gums from where it's been difficult trying to keep it clean with that big broken chunk trapping everything that passes through my lips and me beating them to death with my toothbrush and floss and whatever's handy or made do in a pinch. The teeth themselves are fine, but my dentist wants to go ahead with putting the crown on the broken root canal tooth and build that bridge across the gap next to that tooth where I had it pulled a few years ago. He thinks that will not only fix the broken dead tooth but naturally protect my gums from further irritation. Meanwhile flushing my mouth regularly with peroxide/water solution helps with the pain and keeps things clean but damn if it doesn't taste like the devil doing it. And my estimation for the crown/bridge is.. whoosh. Even deducting what my insurance will cover it's still going to be a lotta loot that I do not immediately have on my person. Times like this I wish I was taking a trip to Bulgaria in the coming weeks. A few years ago my father had to have a new bridge built for his upper teeth (which were all knocked out way back when he played varsity football in high school) because they were beginning to chip and erode. They wanted, from what I remember, up to $20,000 for the job! Or something around that figure. Shortly after receiving that estimate he had to go on business in Sofia, Bulgaria and the people that he was staying with over there said that they had a cousin who is a dentist and he could look at my dad's bridge. The dentist-cousin says that he would make the bridge for my father for just $500. Naturally my father had his bridge made there in Bulgaria and it looks great and is both comfortable and incredibly durable. Now, uh, my estimate isn't anywhere close to $20,000. But it's not exactly $500 either, although I could put that amount down first before they finish with the work. Well either way I must make a decision soon because I need to use up my insurance for this year before January rolls around and starts a new year of benefits. I suppose no amount of cash is too much if it means I don't have to eat on one side of my face any longer.

So yep, other than that still sick with the Death Cold, praying on bended knee that it doesn't evolve into the annual dreaded Death Cough (actually haven't had that in a few years knockonfauxcomputerdeskwood). But other than being fairly heavily medicated I'm feeling pretty fine. Better than last night, at least. Throat is hurting less, and I had a nice scalding hot shower to clear the sinuses (being doped to the gills helps as well). I also received a very nice (read: sexy) email from Papa this morning, and in two more days I will have another actual Saturday off -- this time with Joe! Wow, we can like actually hang out and do stuff like other couples who date do for a change. Talks are already in the works to go see the new Wallace & Gromit movie and than go eat someplace ridiculously decadent. Maybe we can go see the rare new school of Fountainebleau painting that the Chrysler just acquired recently. Either way it's just a day off but it's with my significant other and those are always precious as they are extraordinarily hard to come by.

Oh, did I neglect to mention what happened at work with my goofy new employee pick? The day after I put up that Makigami Koichi CD in frustration I came in the next day and it was GONE! At first I was doubled over laughing, thinking that somebody might have actually bought it, but when I checked the inventory on it I discovered that it still says the CD is in stock so it wasn't actually sold... but damn if I know where it could be. I keep thinking that somebody took it to one of the LVS units to listen to it and then chucked it somewhere. Oh God, I will absolutely die if somebody actually stole it. That would just be the most. THE MOST.

So what did I put up now, you may ask? No, I know you are not really asking (nor really caring, probably) but I put Satan Is Real by The Louvin Brothers. Why? Because one, it is an awesome gospel album from one of country's greatest harmonizers. And two, it's got an album cover alone that should rightly be able to sell itself:


Too bad it's not any bigger. At this size it's harder to truly appreciate the beautiful cross-eyed hilarity of Cardboard Stand-Up Satan in the background. Plus have you ever seen two guys in white suits who couldn't be happier to be in Hell?