stuff i think

Ouch.

Well, not quite ouch, but the potential for ouch is huge. I woke up this morning with a swollen jaw and absessed tooth. Fortunately, it wasn't painful - except to look at. Neighborhood children were chanting "Elephant Man! Elephant Man!" as I left for IHOP where I had an 8 AM meeting.

By 9 AM I was back home making phone calls...we've not needed a dentist in KC, so we were starting from scratch. Would you believe the first office I called told me they were full for the day...until I told them my situation, when they said "Come in now!" In order to appreciate the rest of this, you need to understand that I have the most incredibly irrational fear of the dentist. It's been that way ever since I was a kid. Nevertheless, I made my way over to the office...which turned out to be the best decorated dentists' office I'd ever seen. It looked more like a suite of lawyers offices...funky colors, art work, 20 inch tv's at every chair. It almost calmed me down and caused me to forget where I was. The good doctor loaded me up on antibiotics and painkillers (I'm still not in pain, but he assured me I would be...) and cleared his Monday 11 AM slot for me to get the thing fixed.