A part of my world

A trustworthy source has told me that ‘people in California are flakes’, but I am loathe to believe it just yet. Although I have seen a number of expired tags in the last few days, the most egregious of which was a January 1984 sticker on a Volvo of similar age. No wonder we legal drivers have to be emissions tested. Immediately following this, I saw a license tag frame that advertised The American Council of Hypnotist Examiners and I am not kidding. The headquarters is located frighteningly close to me in Glendale. And all this after finding out that on 11 November in Toronto, the International World Championship of Rock/Paper/Scissors will take place, with 64 ‘champions’ vying for a first prize of $7,000. Canadian, that is. People will actually win money for a game of pure chance. The world is beginning to weird me out.

On Tuesday, a dentist took 65 of my hard-earned dollars to confirm what I had told him at the beginning of our consultation – that I have a small cavity in molar #19. I’ve had it for weeks now. I know a cavity when I see one. I brush, I floss, I wear my retainers 8 years after having my braces removed, but due to unfortunate genetics, the extra-deep pits in my teeth make cavities inevitable. Then this guy says to me in all seriousness ‘we’re going to take some pictures of your mouth to see what’s going on in there’. I responded that we could use the grown-up term ‘x-rays’ since I did not have a parent/legal guardian sign off on my patient information sheet. He reviewed said ‘pictures’, poked his curved, shiny weapon directly into the cavity (causing me a fair amount of oral trauma) and then said ‘you have nothing interesting happening in your mouth besides that cavity.’ This I knew, genius. I explained it to you 30 minutes ago. He scheduled me for a filling on 3 November, when I will be covered by dental insurance. Prior to the visit, the cavity had been devoid of feeling. Following the visit, every food or liquid that enters my mouth assaults molar #19. Dr. Pain made the cavity bigger! Oh, the humanity.

Last night, Hannah, Sarah and I saw Little Miss Sunshine at the Century City Mall. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed that loud in a theater, though I did laugh hard at Love Actually. See it, see them both. We then made our way to the UCLA area to test Diddy Riese ice cream sandwiches, made from your choice of homemade cookies and homemade ice cream, all for the low, low price of $1.25 (I LOVE no food tax in CA!). We decided that next time, we’d split one, as we were all in a diabetic coma 20 minutes after finishing the sweet treats. Incidentally, parking really is bad here. Last night, as I pulled into a spot delineated by white marks on the street, but labeled ‘loading only’, we all debated the likelihood that I’d be ticketed. It was 9.45. On a Wednesday night. The car we parked in order to peruse the Third Street Promenade on Saturday night was ticketed for failing to pay a meter. After 10. What in the world? The sign, we later noted, indicates meter-free time from 2 a.m until 9 a.m. Oh, the humanity.

HEMATOMA UPDATE: It's still there!! It's still very firm, I lack feeling in the area. I'm beginning to wonder if there is serious damage. Since the weather has turned more brisk, no need for shorts/skirts, but I am still a bit concerned.

Really, I’ll take photos of our recently updated apartment this evening. You’ll love it. And want to visit. Soon.