The lasso of truth

So I didn't write after my root canals. Yes, that was plural because the endodontist did a root canal on the wrong tooth to begin with. Fortunately, that tooth was in trouble as well so it ended up being a fortuitous mistake. I have discovered in listening to others' responses to my ordeal that I am inherently trusting of people. I have no doubt that my tooth was in need of some serious pulp removal, yet everyone responds with, "So he says." Note to the skeptics: he said the tooth looked awful before he realized it was the wrong tooth. In other news...

Isn’t it funny how forgetful our bodies are? When I am in pain, I frequently have a hard time remembering how it feels to not be in pain. Same thing with nausea or exhaustion. Especially exhaustion. When that whole-body heaviness hits in mid-afternoon and I fight to keep my eyes open, I forget so easily what it feels like to have energy to run down a football field or kill Kelly at Wii tennis. Fortunately, my body forgets the bad as well. I can’t force myself to relive the pain of a broken leg even if I tried. My mind just can’t make my body remember what it went through. If only our mental memories of pain were as transient. I can still remember insults I received (and made) 10 years ago. If the tradeoff for that is being able to remember the times of laughter and joy from 10 years ago as well, I’ll gladly find the effort to filter out the painful memories.

Onto less morbid thoughts.
Bones is amazing. I love laughing out loud and making people wonder what is so hysterical. I'll tell you. Wonder Woman being scared of snakes and recognizing that it's irrational (like me and spiders), but still not being able to help herself. Wonder Woman again spinning around in the lab and using her Amazon metal bracelets, or whatever they're supposed to be, as shields. Zach as the back end of a cow...as Hodgins says, so many jokes, so little time. And it was so adorable to have Brennan arguing that they weren't Clark Kent and Wonder Woman and that they weren't on a date, and then to have Brennan apologize to Booth that he had to kill someone. They're so cute when they aren't together, and I love that the writers don't feel the need to put them together.

I find I have to live vicariously through squints and shields because of my pathetic lack of a life. It's either that or through the sappy Nicholas Sparks characters, or the murder mystery cops from the book of the week. And just in case you were wondering, I love ice cream. And I love being in a city that doesn't care about Husker football, and I'm sorry to all you Husker fans out there, but the Colts are worth backing and worthy of the water cooler conversations. One more thing I love: my crazy family who spoils me rotten and tells stories about my grandparents communicating from the other side and who raise baby horses and make amazing food and remember funny stories about my crazy great-grandpa Hamm who poored black coffee on his corn flakes (said in the "crazy Uncle Erwin who fell asleep in the macaroni and cheese" voice). They're awesome and I hope and I pray that my future husband loves them to death and has a family half as fun to share with me.

The best of both worlds

It is really really pathetic how much Hannah Montana makes me laugh. I mean, the acting is about par for a 14-year old. Oh wait, they are 14-year olds. Still, it's pretty hysterical sometimes. Like when Rico fell in the cheese. I think I enjoy it because it doesn't require me to be responsible or mature or stressed out or an adult.
In other news, I have confirmed my suspicion that I am not meant for a cubicle, and I'd prefer that most of my day didn't involve a computer screen although I do recognize that tired eyes may be a part of any career I choose. I think if I end up in industry, I would like to find a position in the field (read: no cubicle) in pharmacovigilance. It sounds incredibly boring I know, but it is more clinical and problem-solving-oriented than I thought industry could be.
That's all because it's time for dinner. I know it's not much but maybe I'll have time to write a little more after my root canal tomorrow. YUCK! Although post-procedure has got to be better than I feel now.
Hasta!

Cut it in half next time

I hate my teeth, I hate being in pain, and I hate Vicodin ES. After taking one this afternoon and spending most of the rest of the day feeling sick (punctuated by about an hour of intense shakes, sweating, dizziness, and feeling like my lunch was coming back up), I have decided to tough it out with ibuprofen.
On the plus side, I made good cookies for my coworkers who really were great people, second only to those gems at KS. One final game at Morrison Stadium tonight before hitting the road tomorrow. Indy, here I come!!!

Indiana, my Indiana

I don't really have anything to say, but it's been so long since I've written that I figured I should come up with something. Lately the majority of my thoughts have been occupied by Indiana. I am so looking forward to:

• being done with this rotation (that fortuitously coincides with starting my next one so I think it is slightly related to Indiana)
• getting to see family that have been long absent from my life. Growing up in Colorado isn't an experience I'd trade for anything, but it sure would have been nice to see a little more of the relatives. I'm hoping to make up for 23 years of once/twice yearly visits with 5 weeks of non-stop Michelle time.
• Steak'n'Shake. I can have it anytime I want. Ditto with White Castle, although I'm hoping not to want sliders too often.
• COLTS!!! I have tickets to see the reigning Super Bowl champs take on the Chiefs (and who wouldn't love to root against the Chiefs?). I just don't know where those tickets will be yet. Section 302 all the way at the top of the dome behind the endline...vs. Club seats 20 rows back from the 45-yard line. We're still working out the details. Nevertheless, you can understand why it will be one of the many highlights of my trip.
• Martinsville Candy Kitchen. This should perhaps be at the top of the list. With any luck at all, I will able to hand-pull candy canes in the store that my great-grandfather opened. How cool is that?!? (said in the voice of the guy on While You Were Out whose wife built him a Korean garden in his back yard) I am thrilled to be able to visit the place responsible for my unrelenting sweet tooth and take lots and lots of pictures in the process.
• Thanksgiving. Last Thanksgiving was wonderful as it was the first true Thanksgiving spent in Indiana. Lots of great food, but more importantly, finally a celebration of the holiday giving thanks with the people I'm most thankful for. After years of soccer tournaments, subpar skiing, filet mignon in lieu of turkey, I'm excited to again have the chance to do it right.
• Soccer. Seeing Mary's games has been one of this year's highlights and I'll hopefully get to take in a few final games at the MVC tourney in Evansville. I'm banking on a strong showing from Creighton to allow the family to see some good soccer and to allow Mary to finish on a good note.

Gosh, I guess I had enough to say after all. It's disappointing that Omaha still feels so little like home, but when I have Indiana to look forward to, I don't seem to mind so much.

The stuff dreams are made of

Last night I had a dream that James Marsden, dressed as the prince from Enchanted and his princess came to my mansion (in dreams, I have a mansion, okay?). I wanted something from them but I don't remember what, so he told me to come down from my bedroom balcony. I lowered myself in this human-sized basket to the ground and he and his princess went up to my room. Then they started pilfering through my stuff, deciding what to steal. So I climb the balcony pillar and stand outside my room deciding how best to outwit them into giving my stuff back. Then James Marsden hears me and says, "but soft, what light through yonder window breaks?" I don't think he knew it was me, but this is what he said. I think this line was a result of the five minutes of Hannah Montana that I watched yesterday in which they had to memorize lines from Romeo and Juliet. So I (looking very much like Anne Hathaway at this point, not sure why) say something soothing and get the princess to step away from the window without getting suspicious. I don't remember what I said, but it worked, and then I woke up. Very bizarre. Better than my dream from the night before where we were all characters in Harry Potter and giant cardboard cutouts of the Malificent from Sleeping Beauty were chasing us around department stores and my wand wouldn't work. And you wonder why I never feel rested when I wake up in the morning.