At least I was productive...

The terror of the next morning's activities kept me awake far later than I would have liked. As I wrote and played a bit of Texas hold 'Em on Poker Stars, the hands of the clock got later and later. I tried to sleep. I tried a lot of things. Laying still in the dark. Reading the rather disappointing book I have put down dozens of times because it is just that bad. This time I read over 100 pages. Grr.

Finally I got to sleep about 6. But then I had to get up at 7. Reluctantly I got ready and headed down to the dentist.

Fortunately, they "get" me so we were able to jest a bit before the torture session. They needed me to fill out all my information again which I did without comment. One of the ladies laughed about how good I was about doing that and how much people complain about filling out the form.

"They are just embarrassed about their hand-writing," I cracked, "you should tell them it is really just so you can make fun of how sloppy they are."

Not content with one horrible joke, I kept rolling.

"You are so lucky. With Halloween around the corner, I bet you can make a lot of extra money in haunted houses. Just show up in your dental assistant gear, everyone will already be frightened out of their wits."

So in we went so they could fix the chicklet I had cracked. This is my most terrifying experience.

You see, I am not afraid of needles...I am paranoid of them. There is a difference. I KNOW my fear is not reasonable. Doesn't change it. When they go to stick a needle in me they actually keep an extra person in the room. Her SOLE JOB is to remind me to breathe and to periodically pull at my hands to loosen them from their death grip on each other. I am not making this up or telling a joke. Needles and the dentist cause that much fear and tension in me. Yes, I do actually stop breathing due to my terror. I get little to no sleep the night before.

They actually give me laughing gas when I get a mere cleaning. Otherwise I would not get through it. SO trips to the dentist are pleasant for nobody.

I even habitually do things like this; as I sat in the chair, before the gas kicked in, I said, "I would like to formally apologize for the actions I am about to perform." And I was serious.

Because I am a HORRIBLE patient. It is not something I am proud of.

On the bright side, Dr. Currey and her crew do a great job with me. They don't get on me, they "get" the way I am and my paranoia, and they work with me to make it as painless as possible. If you are ever in the Portland area and need dental work done, I strongly recommend them. They are really awesome at what they do.



Oh, well. It is over now. My tooth is fixed and they can return to their normally scheduled reasonable patients.