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ABOUT zwarg.blog CATEGORIES MAIN ARCHIVES 1999(14) [+] 2000(3) [+] 2001(4) [+] 2002(18) [+] 2003(159) [+] 2004(108) [+] 2005(126) [+]United States vs. Iraq
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Tuesday, November 30 2004
Dentists Are The New Artists I finally got my teeth fixed. I went to the dentist, got some X-rays, and discovered that yes, indeed, I had chipped two teeth. One was not a big deal, but the other one had lost a good deal of cusp. Number 18 and 11, respectively. They numbed me up and roughed up (or filed down) the surface, then bonded a new piece in place of the old. It's like I have a new tooth now! I didn't realize this, but when they cement and glue and whatever else they put in my mouth, they have to reshape the cement stuff, so it is the same shape as your old tooth. Now, considering that my old tooth was probably sucked up by a street sweeper in San Francisco six weeks ago, I think it's remarkable that my dentist could do such a good job. Some kind of sculptor, I suppose. Why go through all those years of training? Can't someone just say, "I have natural dentistry talent." Or are the days of "outside dentists" just around the corner, waiting to be discovered by accident? Oh, the promise that the future holds. Thursday, November 25 2004Mighty Healing Braces So here they are. The braces I've worn for 5 weeks. I asked the nurse if she had a camera (I forgot mine at home) when I had my braces removed. I asked her to take a photograph of the braces before they were removed. She complied, and I must admit, she composed a very nice photograph of my teeth and braces.
I was pretty doped up for a while. I think I got feeling back into my face around 7 pm, five hours later than the procedure. It makes me happy to be able to run my tongue over my teeth again. Boy, I am just going to lick everything I can this weekend. Well, glad to be on the road to solid foods, even if I'm prohibited from doing so for another few weeks. Wednesday, November 24 2004Taste of Freedom The taste of freedom today is French Fries. I got my braces off, and took a fancy 'before' picture. I have to scan it, but beware, because it's on the way. They numbed up my mouth, untwisted the wires, and yanked out the wires that wrapped around my teeth. I had 18 wires, each twisted set around a pair of teeth. The doctor asked what it was like, I said, "like a really bad dentist." You know, when they try to floss you, but it feels like they're trying to sever your gums? A little worse that than. He said, "we could have given you more numbing stuff." I said, "I know, I just wanted it over with." So now, no braces. Just a fancy Titanium plate for memorandum. Still on the soft food diet, since my left side has not healed yet, and is not expected to be back to 100% before 6 months. Well, this blog just got a lot longer. Tuesday, November 23 2004 Crossing The Gulf There's been a lot of talk about how Iraq is like Vietnam. We've all heard it. Questionable beginnings, deception of the American public regarding atrocities, extremely brutal military, underground insurgencies, etc. But what hasn't really been discussed in detail is this: the "great ideological gulf." Not only that it exists, but how to cross it an realize that human beings inhabit both shores.
When It Suits You I am reading this book called "The People's History of the United States," and it has some interesting information. You know, odd things like: George Washington was the wealthiest individual in the British Colonies during the revolution. Bostonians who protested the Declaration of Independence by shouting, "Tyranny is tyranny let it come from whom it may." Monday, November 22 2004 What A Great Salesman So I watch a team running these leaf blower things blow off the sidewalk of our office park about once a week. I got to thinking: what ever happened to a rake? Then I think: what a great salesman. I could not think of one benefit that these machines provide. So, I decided I'd look into the topic before I started my work for the day. Let's go:
My conclusion? Gas blowers are for lazy, rich people. Or just lazy people who don't understand basic economics. Or for people who have been suckered by marketing and advertising. Which means most of us. Sunday, November 21 2004Gardening Therapy Gardening. Who would have thought? I haven't been in my garden since before my busted jaw. Today I went to town. I cleaned the patio, moved a newcomer to the garden (we'll just call him 'Rubber' for now), and gave the Jasmine a trim. The garden looks so much neater. The thing I think I will miss are the tiny interlopers of Jasmine that started growing between the screen door and my back door. I actually tried to get it to grow into the house, but accidentally closed the back door on the shoot. Damn. But it looks much neater and cleaner now. The Jasmine has a habit of becoming too huge, and leaning off of the fence. This makes it look kind of like the entire garden is imploding under the force of the Jasmine. So no more imploding garden. It's a happy place. I guess it's kind of like therapy. Just like the way the cat is sleeping in my lap now. Thursday, November 18 2004 Blogging On The Brain
I am free from the shackles, my blogging friends. Straight from the celly. Wednesday, November 17 2004Wow, You Look Great! I've heard that phrase quite a bit at the office lately. Usually it's followed up with, "I expected you to look a lot worse!" I don't know if that's a complement, but I'm taking it as one. I get my braces off in a few weeks, and I can't wait until then. I'm in a state of constant starvation lately. While I'm at work, I can't prepare foods or anything in the middle of the day, so usually I don't eat. But then I can only eat a tiny can of soup for lunch, and that takes me the good part of an hour to choke down. No wonder I lost 10 pounds already. I'm too impatient for this soft food bullshit. Thursday, November 11 2004 Torn. Between the Devil's Food Chocolate pudding that came in a box, or the home-made whipped cream that I put on top. All soft foods are not bad. Saturday, November 06 2004Gardening. Today was Monthly Volunteer day at Buena Vista park. I walk through/around/past this park at least once a week. I have not yet participated in Montly Volunteer day. I decided that today was the end me being a bitch and not cleaning up after myself, so I went. First, we cleaned out the drains, and removed all the dead leaves and twigs and things of that nature. Then we pulled out a bunch of French Broom plants, which are a nonnative invasive species to California. Then we pulled some Himalayan Blackberry, then we pulled some Ivy. A good day of pulling things and getting dirty. We saw a red-shouldered hawk, tons of squirrels, a bluebird, and tons of bugs. It was an absolutely nature-filled morning. And I met two people who are likewise motivated. One said she was jogging by and thought she'd help out. The other said he decided to do something 'positive' in his community, after being 'bummed out' about the election. I asked, "what else are you going to do? Be depressed for four years?" I like meeting gardening buddies. Wednesday, November 03 2004Too Early To Call. But I did see this: the most biased set of electors (in any district) is from DC. According to nytimes.com at 11:24 PM PDT, there was 100% reporting of results from DC, and 89.5% of the popular vote went to Kerry. Whoah. Tuesday, November 02 2004Eat It, Suckas. 
In case you can't read it, it says, "I Voted." Eat it and like it, you non-voting wimps. In the case that you did vote, more power to you. Racoons and Videos I was working for my dad, and now I have video broadcast from my apartment! Don't worry, until I figure out some kind of fake dynamic-dns thing, this may or may not work. But it's fun in the meantime. Also, if I want some privacy, you ain't gonna see nuttin. In my glee, I heard a raccoon climb over one fence, then climb under another. I opened my garden door, stood there with a flashlight, and waited. I heard the raccoon climb over another fence...go through a bush or tree...then found the dog. The dog made a whoopla and made a bunch of noise, and the raccoon jumped back through the bush or tree, climbed over the fence again, came running under the fence, and I got a good look at him. He was panting quite heavily, all husky, like he might have been injured. I couldn't tell, though. He paused, looked at me and my flashlight, then scrambled across my garden, then up and (crack, snap, creak) over the fence. |
