familar pain...

I just recently had a root canal. I lost count after my tenth. I know when I need a root canal by the specific kind of pain and I also know hoe to combat the pain down to a science so that I can handle unforeseen delays in desired dental visits. I also have a favorite endodontist at this point, having had a few perform this routine. It's never a walk in the park, but at least I know how to reduce my suffering in such a situation- before, during, and after.
When I deal with a needing a root canal, I become unable to function as I normally would. I cannot think straight and I sleep more than usual. Obviously, you just saw a break in my blog flow and probably wondered what specifically might be wrong this time. Now you know...

birthday haiku...

I wrote a little haiku for a friend of mine because it was his birthday today. I thought I would post it here as well for posterity sake. I hope you enjoy it, too.

another year here
your friends want to see you smile
a milestone is made

valentine's day...

What other topic would I have for today? Wait, scratch that; it could have been anything, really... I was looking for some good information to talk about, but decided in the end I would simply redirect you to Wiki for the details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day They had plenty that I was not aware of as well as plenty that I already knew. My particular interest grew in the "Similar days honoring love" section, particularly Japan. If you hadn't realized by now, I enjoy learning about Japanese culture. So with that I bid everyone a happy Valentine's Day...

masterful escapees...

Some people are animal lovers and some aren't. I used to not understand this, but over the years I am slowly beginning to see some reasons why some animals would not be liked very much. My mother is an animal lover and has had various pets over the years. I also like animals, but slowly I see myself appreciating animals more which are in the wild or owned by other people. I dig my dog, but even he can get under my skin from time to time. It also doesn't help that I think I have been developing minor allergies to animals such as birds and little critters, which brings me to the subject to which my title refers.

My mother has a couple tiny hamsters. They are teeny tiny and very cute. I doubt they weigh an ounce, soaking wet. These little escape artists manage to get out of their cage and adventure the world known as our home. It's never noticed and we can't tell how they get out because there are no signs of where or how they departed from their cage. Worse yet, they can and have disappeared for days at a time until they are found quite by accident. Even more astounding is the fact that there were previous pet hamsters that escaped and were never found again- and they were bigger! How do they do it? Houdini would be in awe. I certainly am. Time will only tell what will happen to our current escapees...

get well soon...

My uncle was been ill recently with a lighter version of what my mother had. So once he was on the mend and could laugh without fear, I sent him a little email that would gratify his sense of humor (by the way, Raul is pronounced rah-ool for added effectiveness of this joke):

Hey Sparky,
This is Ralph from Raul's Hork Emporium. Your chunks came up today during our meeting and we have them on backorder. By the way, the usual brand has been discontinued so we hope that you will accept Barf brand chunks, instead. As soon as those Barf chunks come out, we will give them to you directly. As a consolation for not being able to receive the usual brand, Raul's is prepared to offer a fine porcelain product of your preference. You have a choice between porcelain pedestals and telephones. We can even program the porcelain telephone with a speed dial so you can reach Raul directly for consultation and additional services. We wish we could offer more, but our supplier has come down with dysentery after a ceremonial bathing in the Ganges River with his cow. Fortunately, the cow is fine. Thank you and we hope you will order our Barf chunks again and again.
Regards,
Ralph Yakman

P.S. Remember to keep in mind our catchy motto: if it's gonna be anything it's gonna be Raul or nothin!

sorry, friends and sorry friends...

Two things have been on my mind lately concerning friendships that I have and no longer have. The first is that maybe I am not always the best friend I can possibly be, but then again who is. We are all only human and make mistakes. The second is that some people cannot maintain a friendship and hurt someone as a result of their choices. As I go on, you will understand how one is different from the other and while one is somewhat forgivable, the other seems less so.

When I make a friend, I will be casual in my attitude because I choose to let myself be comfortable in their presence, while I can also be very polite for other people (who usually are much younger or older than I am) and I will do my best to communicate with them so long as I am not bogged down by depression or whatever. When there are long spaces of time between communication, I try to initiate a conversation whenever I feel good about things and I will apologize for not talking sooner. If someone initiates a conversation with me, then I make sure to reply as quickly as possible; I don't want someone feeling ignored or disliked.

Sometimes life gets wonky and people get even wonkier. Some folks can't handle that, which is fine, but they should say so instead of arbitrarily ignoring messages and so forth; that is rude and hurtful. Some folks may need a little space to deal with things, but they shouldn't just ignore those who try to reach them as that is also rude. When times get hard, leave a metaphorical "out to lunch" sign so that others realize you are not a supreme oxygen thief.

I have not always been the most communicative or stable friend around and I apologize to all my friends for being that way. Hopefully they are the forgiving sort. Some have not, which has in the long run made some good friendships and/or relationships go sour. I do my best when I can and apologize when I haven't. I think it's the fair thing to do. When people don't do that, it is frustrating and annoying. This is a main reason why I employ the three strikes policy. After the third screw-up or failed attempt to make things right, I walk away. I cannot perpetually spend my life subjecting myself to those who ignore or hurt me (and never seek forgiveness). I have to have at least an ounce of pride and protect myself from such behaviors when and where I see fit. Hopefully I have made that choice correctly when I have done as such...

i am packrat...

Yes, I admit it. I am a packrat and come from a line of packrats (among other things). I save sentimental stuff as well as the useful stuff that everyone else should also be saving, but among this sentimental stuff is a lot of garbage and every so many years I need to go and sift through it all and see what still holds any interest to me and throw away (gasp!) what doesn't.
Some people collect stamps or wine labels, while others have fascinations in other fields. Mine is probably music, but that's not what I am about to get into today. I was inspired from wine label collecting to keep some of my favorite limited edition bottles and cans. Some of you may recall that in 2006, Coca-Cola released a limited edition beverage called Blak, which was essentially a fusion of Coke and coffee. I happened to love this drink and yet I only ever obtained a single 4-pack due to availability problems. I thought it was great and I thought it would be great if I fused it further with Kahlua (yes, drooling is permitted). Unfortunately, this product was never resumed and I wish it had been. Recently I was scouring through my, uhm, keepsakes (I'm really trying not to sound like Golem referring to his Precious) and found that I had kept the only 4-pack I ever had, complete with paperboard holder. Curious to see if I could find any news about a resurgence of this drink, I started Googling and discovered that it was still gone and that only individuals were selling anything related. I saw some official Coke Blak glass tumblers, an empty sleeve, empty bottles, and full bottles that were still sealed. Yuck, someone is probably going to get ill if they try to drink that because drinks expire after time and when they get even older they start to separate. I've seen a lot of beverages go bad and I wonder if these sellers even know the potential harm in what they are doing. Yes, I would love some, but not a single five-year-old 8 fluid oz. bottle for $15 or more. That's insane...

no gaijin allowed...

I got this t-shirt a while back. Why? Why else? It's funny yet somewhat accurate in its sentimental expression. A place that prevent a race -- any race -- from patronizing an establishment has got some screwy racist policies which are outdated, regardless of reason. It's worse than segregation when you won't even allow someone's presence because of their physical cultural heritage. The sad thing is it's all borne out of hate and fear. I really don't want to be hated and/or feared so to any physical characteristic and yet I know it has happened to me before. I love the t-shirt. My only regret is that the printed design is not larger...

forgotten artifacts...

In the summer before twelfth grade, my grandmother gave to me the remainder of a small bottle of cologne called Canoe by Dana. It had a nice smell and it wasn't getting used anymore so she let me have it. That summer I had to go to Lynchburg College to attend a yearbook seminar hosted by Jostens. It was a rather bad experience for many reasons which I won't bother getting into for now since it is a moot point to my story. The only relevant point being that my lighter ran out of fluid while I was there and I had not brought along more so I used a little of the Canoe to extend my lighter use during the trip. I knew since it had an alcohol content it would basically turn my lighter into an alcohol lamp, which worked well for me. It also smelled very good.
I still wasn't really shaving much and I wasn't dating at all so I otherwise had no use for it so like many things of mine, I put it away for safe keeping and forgot about it. Recently, I was going through a box of things and found the bottle of Canoe I had stowed away years ago. I decided to mix the small remainder with my aftershave, that way I could extend its use for even longer. I can now remember something nice when I use it, which is nice because not all my memories were good.
I like being able to find things like that. I'm sure I have more waiting to be uncovered. Some of them will be bad, but others will be good and I look forward to those.

it's just one of those things, baby...

I saw this used for a travel article and was quite taken with it. Sometimes you would like to get lost or tell someone else to get lost. Well there it was, right in my face telling me to get lost. So I did- lost in creative thought, that is. Sometimes I like to use various phrases, stickers, and whatnot for collage art when doing posters or album cover art so this seemed really appealing to me. Even if I don't use it, it still tickles my funny bone...