jenniferbrola.com

Ok, so I finally got around to writing something, and my machine froze up and ate the whole thing before I had a chance to save it. UGH! Anyway, I know it's been a long, long time since I last posted...what can I say, the pace of life picked up. Right now, I'm taking four classes through Pace University and one distance learning class through the University of Illinois in addition to working fulltime. Of course, when it rains it pours. I don't usually post about work here, for obvious reasons, but this definitely adds to the crazy - my supervisor at work quit. In addition to being our communications hub and management liaison, he was a full server administrator, software architect, and programmer. His last day was right before Thanksgiving, but no one has (or probably will be) named as his replacement. It's been a challenge, but I think the whole team has really stepped things up. Nothing like ambiguity and high expectations, though, to make you sweat.

The Monday before my supervisor left, I summed up enough courage to make a dentist's appointment. It'd been awhile, too long really, since I'd last seen one. Here's the story I told my coworkers when I got back:

Just got back from my dentist's appointment a little while ago. It was a surreal experience, to say the least. I fully expected scorn and condemnation - the previous dentist I went to had told me that I needed extensive drilling. In fact, I was told I needed so much that he'd only "start" with the "left side" at $1600 (payment in advance), and then we'd go from there. I picked that guy's office because it's high-tech; I really didn't have any recommendations to go on, although the dentist had lots of credentials. Since I did not know his work and have severe dentist anxiety, I pleaded to just fill "a tooth" and then book the rest later. I wanted to see how the process went, but he refused to deviate from "his plan". And so, I never went back.

I finally got up the courage to try again, this time with the dentist a coworker recommended. I was a nervous wreck; I was just hoping that she'd be nicer about the whole "you need a new mouth" thing. That was my biggest beef with the other guy...he made me feel like I was a walking dollar bill instead of a person. She poked around, said "yeah, you've got some stains" but declared that I, in fact, needed no drilling whatsoever. No drilling at all. At least, not yet. Maybe she's too much "in the other direction", but I can't think of any real motive to ignore a lucrative cavity. And that's my story...I *heart* my new dentist, my teeth are clean, and I've learned a real lesson about dentistry in the process.

Other than that, things have been pretty quiet. The husband and I had a nice little Thanksgiving dinner together, raked some leaves, and generally had a relaxing four-day weekend. Well, except that I had laryngitis and sounded like a squeaky little boy (I'm still coughing, too!). I opted out of Black Friday this year in exchange for Amazon Prime, which I'm already using as part of my Christmas shopping strategy. But we did have a setback - the company Christmas party was upgraded to Gotham Hall in Manhattan. Fancy pants. If only I had pictures of it, but I was too busy drinking my stress away. :)