I had my regularly scheduled dentist appointment yesterday. I go twice a year. I’m glad they schedule appointments six months in advance. I’d never remember to call.
It was a simple cleaning yesterday. With past dentists, a cleaning consisted of the spinny rubbery thing with the sandy tooth polish on it. Before my current dentist uses that, he first goes at tartar buildup with a drill-like device. It makes the usual freaky drill noise as he scrapes away at my gumline. Unfortunately, this device is not very gum friendly. As the assistant continued to use the suction device on my mouth, I saw blood being sucked up. And there was some spatter. I saw it on the dentist’s face shield, and I saw it on my shirt:
Is a dental cleaning supposed to look so much like a murder scene?
Yesterday morning I didn’t turn on the big light in my bedroom while I was dressing. Because my dresser was in shadow, I didn’t notice that the socks I was putting on weren’t black. I normally only wear black socks. I have read that your socks should match your clothing, not your shoes, but since I wear different color pants, that sounds like a lot of work. So I wear black.
When I got to school I noticed that my socks were brownish/greenish. As it turned out, they matched my pants very nicely. But I was self-conscious all day long because I kept thinking it made me look like I was too worried about my appearance. Would people think I was vain?
I’ll just stick with black socks from now on.
I have been seeing Jordan Almonds a lot lately. Some people must consider them an Easter candy or something. I always just thought of them as candy my dad ate when I was a kid. I didn’t like them then because they seemed too hard. Are kids’ teeth softer than adults’ teeth? Or maybe by the time we’re adults, more nerve endings in our gums have died? Whatever the case, I just bought some.
I really like them. The candy coating is sweet. And the almonds seem almost juicy or meaty. Mmm… candy-coated meat…
I’ve been snacking on a few each night. Last night I had them early because of handbell practice. They were delicious. Then I fell asleep on the couch.
WARNING: Long, ranting post follows.
I left school especially early yesterday so I could get to the dump and empty my truck. It’s been full of garden clippings since Saturday, when I was once again turned away because the containers were all full. I was still bothered enough that I even wrote an email to the Director of the Baltimore City Department of Public Works yesterday. I was friendly and pleasant in my email, but I wanted to at least let him know what was happening on a regular basis.
Anyway, I rushed out of school quickly enough to get to the dump by 3:45. I figured I’d be in good shape. The dump doesn’t close until 5pm. …or does it? When I got there, there were traffic cones across the entrance. After I sat in confusion for a while, a man came out to talk to me. He said all the drivers had gone home, the containers were full, and they were closed for the day. I bit back angry words, but didn’t mask my body language. I told him I had been turned away already on Saturday. He laughed and said that was how Baltimore City government worked.
Now, I fear the government as much as anybody. Probably more. But I was mad. If a regular person left their job two hours early, they would be reprimanded. They certainly wouldn’t be paid. And they wouldn’t tell the customer to just deal with it. So I called the Solid Waste division of the Department of Public works. I asked when the Bowleys Lane dropoff site closed. The woman said 5pm. I said I had just been there and it was closed. She put me on hold for a while and tried to find out what was going on. She came back on to ask me some more questions. I told her about being turned away on Saturday and I told her the reason the man gave for turning me away yesterday. The director of the Solid Waste division was in the background.
At first they were going to take my name. That made me a little nervous, but I was ready to do it. But then the woman I was talking with gave me their names instead. When I go back today, if there is a problem I am to ask for the site manager by name. Then I am to tell him that the director (by name) has said he must find a way to take my yard clippings. And if I don’t get satisfaction, I have two phone numbers to call.
I’m really nervous about a confrontation, but I’m also sick of the idea that these dump workers can do whatever the heck they feel like. Is there really no accountability? Unacceptable! The line must be drawn here!
I’ve had my bedroom window open at night for the last several nights. It can get quite stuffy upstairs during the day when it’s warm outside. In the past, when I’ve opened the window at night I’ve had a stuffy nose or sore throat in the morning. I always guessed it was allergies. I’ve even turned to running my air conditioner on cold nights to keep window closed. But lately that hasn’t been a problem. Maybe it’s too early for allergens? Whatever the case, I’ve had great sleep because of the wonderful cool air at night. ahhh…
