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!

Happy Halloween!

Have you ever felt like the universe is out to get you? Or that you have an Eeyore-like cloud of gloom and doom hanging over your head?  The month of October has been a bit like that for me.  Whether it was having my car totaled at the start of the month when some idiot decided to run a red light and t-bone my car (while having a suspended license, an open container in the car at 8 AM, and no insurance), or breaking my pinkie toe just in time to destroy a little indie-movie premiere night with a friend, or simply looking at a student in the parking garage and having her inexplicably drop an entire glass pan of cupcakes...shattering the glass, demolishing the cupcakes, and ruining the apparent birthday surprise for her friend, this month has seemed somehow jinxed.  And why not?  This IS October after all...the month that plays hosts to budding witches, goblins, super heroes, and everything in between.  Still, despite my less than awesome month, there HAVE been some fun things going on lately.  And so, I present to you, my month of October in pictures...beginning with the bad and ending with the fun.

Here's what happened to my beloved car as a result of said accident:

My car was declared a total loss and I was forced to find an alternative means of travel.  *sigh*

I've never been a big fan of Halloween.  I recognize that when I was younger, the main reason I liked the holiday at all was because it meant I would be acquiring a giant bag of candy for FREE!  Dressing up was definitely not my favorite part.  As I got older, my distaste for Halloween didn't diminish.  I despised being invited to parties that were costume-only parties...if I don't feel like dressing up, why should I be shunned from a night of fun???  Besides, for the most part, it seems like the holiday is simply an excuse for young girls and women alike to dress like an absolute tramp in public and have no one bat an eye.  Imagine my dismay when a co-worker decided to host a Halloween party - costume only this year.  I decided to suck it up and embrace the spirit of the holiday...and guess what?  I actually had a really great time at the party.  I opted to capture my youth with a "Sponge Babe" costume and it turned out pretty well:

I don't have any pictures of my broken toe (or the poor student's cupcake debacle), but I do have some pictures from the end of the month...

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend my first Florida/Georgia game.  My friends and I got down there at about 8:30 AM to set up our tailgate and get to the festivities.  We had a blast tailgating, meeting other random fans, etc.  There were definitely some interesting people there...I particularly enjoyed the group of jort-supporters that were going around.  Here's the band of misfits:

And here I am as a jort-misfit myself:

 Eventually it was time to trek to the stadium for the game.  Here we are...super excited to head into the stadium:

I was a little concerned that the result wouldn't be what I was hoping for since the Gators have been less than stellar this season, but I was still optimistic.  Fortunately, after an incredibly exciting game, we got the result we were looking for!  Gators win!!!

And we could simply enjoy the thrill of it all...

I think my friend's shirt said it all.  We're not snobs...we're just better than you!

And that about sums it up!  I hope my couple loyal followers (Hi, Nathan and Tim!) are doing well...and here's to an even better month in November!!!

I'm alive!

It's been over a month since I posted here...but rest assured...

Despite that picture, I am not now a guitar player (though that would be pretty awesome, I'm not sure my fingers are coordinated enough for that hobby).  Life has been gobbling me up and spitting me back out...whole, for the most part. Work is nothing less than a bear lately, but I've been utilizing my weekends to have some fun.

Last weekend saw me in Cape Coral and Ft. Myers for the wedding of one of my law school friends.  It was a great opportunity for a mini reunion of friends I don't get to see nearly as often as I'd like.  Here was the BIG group of us...

And then here's one of just the ladies (which is, of course, nicer to look at)...

I've been itching to travel lately, and while this little trip kept me in Florida, at least it got me out of Jacksonville.  I have so much time off saved up at work, but no one to go on trips with (insert self-pity here).  Hopefully that will change one of these days.  Anyone up for being a travel buddy???

...and I'm off.  Have a great day! xoxo

A Rant

So I'm technically on vacation right now...but that doesn't mean that I haven't been doing work every single day since I left the office. Actually, I had to go into the office last Friday and I'm going to have to go in this afternoon too...so you can't really call it a vacation. Why do I have to keep going into work? Well, that would be because it appears that I'm not just doing my own job anymore. Nope. I'm now doing the work of my own position plus TWO other heads of departments' jobs as well. To say that it's getting on my nerves is a serious understatement.

See that picture? Substitute me for that guy (and give him a MacBook) and that would have been what I wanted to do about 10 minutes ago. Instead, I turn to my blog to rant about how unbelievably frustrating it is to be the one forced to pick up the pieces when other people aren't doing their job correctly.

Perhaps the problem is that I care too much? Knowing that a new student is going to be in a difficult situation if I don't do someone else's job is too much for me - I can't just ignore it. So my poor mother hears me yell and complain on the phone...my dog anxiously jumps up on my leg because she can't understand why I'm literally banging my head against the table...and I'm left with a pissed off attitude that I can't shake and which will ultimately ruin my entire day.

I end my little rant with this statement: I didn't sign up for this crap and I sure as hell am not getting paid enough to compensate for the headache that my job has become.

Babies must be super itchy

So as I believe I mentioned in a previous post, I had a bit of a 4th of July mishap and absolutely destroyed my knee.  Since then, and with the help of tons of Neosporin, my little knee has been working night and day to make some brand spankin' new skin.  (I had completely forgotten what a pain in the neck [or knee] skinned knees are!)

Well, let me just say that as my knee has healed (it's about 90% okay now) I've rediscovered just how much new skin itches. I mean, seriously...it's almost unbearable at times.  And if I make the grave mistake of beginning to scratch one little part, the whole thing explodes in a deadly mixture of pleasure/itchy agony and I can barely stop scratching.

Given this little reminder, a random thought crossed my mind: newborn babies, with all that brand new skin, must be the itchiest creatures on the entire planet!!!

Why growing up isn't always a bad thing

When I was younger, I could have definitely been described as a "tomboy" most of the time...I played sports, I wasn't into "girly" things like dolls or fashion, and I wound up with plenty of skinned knees and multiple bruises.  Sure, it probably didn't help that I was a major klutz, but not all of my injuries were due to my inability to stay on my feet.  I suppose I should consider myself lucky in that my worst injuries were sprained ankles, a dislocated knee and a few trips to the doctor for stitches.

Fortunately, as I've grown up, I've gotten much more coordinated...and while I'm still a kid at heart (e.g., my weekly kickball league), I'm a bit more feminine too.  You wouldn't have known that yesterday though.  No.  Yesterday, I attended a 4th of July bash in Neptune Beach.  It was a pretty nice day - not too hot, plenty of drinks, tasty food, etc.  Later in the afternoon, a little storm rolled through...and this is where my day went downhill...fast.

A large group of us were gathered under a tent in the driveway when I decided to make a dash for the stairs and get inside and out of the rain.  Unfortunately, at the same time I was making that choice in my head, the girl next to me decided to squash over to give her friend room on the other side.  Disaster!  As I was making my dash, I tripped over her foot and went down in an unladylike heap of embarrassment and shame.  As if falling weren't enough, I also successfully removed the top couple layers of skin on my right knee, scraped the side of my left knee, gashed my right elbow, scraped my left hand, and somehow semi-demolished the big toe on my left foot.  Oh yea...and then I skidded back into one of the bbq grills...fortunately it didn't rain embers down on me (clearly the only plus side to this whole thing).

Awesome, right?  Then, while everyone stood staring at me, only ONE person made a move to help me up and ask if I was okay.  Clearly I was not.  I then became the spectacle to behold in one of the upstairs bedrooms...some sweet girl I barely knew trying to clean up my gashes, my good Samaritan gathering up the bloody towels, while many others stood gawking at me from the doorway.  (As an aside, whoever created alcohol wipes is an asshole...those things HURT!!!)  I made my exit soon thereafter...partly so I could get properly cleaned up at home and partly so everyone else could be free to make fun of "that girl" without me being there to witness it.

Not exactly a fabulous 4th...and definitely a clear illustration of why growing up and skipping the skinned knees is a good thing!