Random little thoughts

What's the deal with adult braces?  I've been seeing an unprecedented number of them lately.  Unless some weird dental issue crops up unexpectedly later in life, if you've lived with crooked teeth trying to escape each other your entire life, why fix it when you get older?  Yes, I know that braces are expensive so perhaps your parents couldn't afford them...so I see that...but still!  If you're going to go the adult braces route, at least invest in Invisalign so the rest of us don't notice.  (Wow, don't I sound like the mouth police?  But really...I've always been a bit of a snob when it comes to teeth.  Whenever I go out with a new guy, one of the first 3 questions my mother asks is, "How are his teeth?"  Seriously.  And that's before my super Catholic mother even asks if HE'S Catholic.  I think that says a lot!)

I love me some 'Wordsmith Free' for my phone (it's the same thing as 'Words with Friends' if you weren't sure) but I can't stand when it takes my opponents days (literally) to make a word.  I get that we're all busy and we can't spend our days in Scrabble Heaven, but if you're going to play a game, don't take forever to take your turn.  I'm going to lose interest quickly...and I'm going to second guess that magical 58 point word you pulled out of your ass after going for 3-letter gems the entire game.  I can smell a Wordsmith cheater from a mile away!!!

What's with people running barefoot lately...or wearing those weird new toe shoe things?

Personally, unless I'm being chased by a hungry bear, I really don't see the point in running long distances - and certainly not in hideous shoes like that!  Besides, if you're ever being chased by a large, snarling carnivore, you don't need to be the fastest human ever...you just need to be faster than your slowest friend!

At any rate, speaking of running/exercise, I must retire since I plan to get up early to pick up 4 dozen donuts on my way to work.  (Evaluations for my classes are next week and I'm not above buttering up my reviewers!)

Badassery

Don't bother looking it up...that IS a word.  Today at least.  I think I mentioned my unfortunate broken toe in my last blog.  Since the initial breaking, it was definitely not in line with the other toes anymore.  In fact, it was like it had decided that it didn't want anything to do with its friends and was sort of hanging out a bit apart from the rest of his toe brethren.  To say I was a bit concerned would be an understatement.

This past Monday, I decided to go to Solantic to get some x-rays done and at least have someone look at it.  After nearly 2 hours there, it was confirmed that I'd broken my toe.  Admittedly, the x-rays were pretty cool since I'd never had a broken bone before...and seeing it completely shifted out of place was both disturbing and fascinating all at once.

I'd originally planned to just go with the "buddy tape it to the other toes and hope for the best" plan, but on Tuesday night I was in excruciating pain.  I think the toe had shifted even more and it was nearly unbearable.  So today, I went to see an orthopedic doctor to have him take a look.  After giving me three options (1. tape it and hope for the best, 2. numb it up and re-break the toe to set it in place, or 3. undergo surgery to have them put pins in it) I opted for choice #2.

Honestly, the process of injecting my foot with roughly a gallon of Novocaine was by far the worst part.  It seemed to take forever to get it all in there and I was reduced to involuntary tears as I lay back on the table waiting (begging) for the torture to stop.  I should note that given my tolerance of this painful procedure (or lack thereof), it's probably best that I never try to squeeze a baby out as that would probably kill me.

After waiting for 30 minutes or so, the doctor deemed me ready and had me lay back again so I couldn't watch.  I really should have had my mom take video so I could see it later!  Apparently, this was the point where he manipulated my toe in ways my mom said toes should never go.  Almost immediately I felt (and heard) a pop when he broke it again...and then intense pressure as he used some sort of thin metal bar between my toes for leverage as he tried to twist it back into place.  I'm not gonna lie...that bar DID cause me pain as it was pressing into my other non-numb toe, but I got through it.

And at the end of it all, my doc's comment was, "Way to be tough!"  I felt like quite a badass!

For the record, the pain pills he gave me are amazing and at this moment I barely feel anything down there!  It probably helps that new x-rays show that the bone is actually back to where it's supposed to be.

So yes...today I voluntarily had my bone broken again.  And while I don't recommend you go out and try it, it IS pretty damn cool to say that!