Short takes, with questions

[magid]

Debate: go to the spelling bee this evening (5-8), or go to the gym (and take a yoga class for the first time in too long)?
(Sub-question: why does everything happen at once?)

Huzzah, for the hallway in my building is redone. No more stained carpet; we now have wood floors and stairs.

Another huzzah, for the odd green seed I was given at work has sprouted, and the second leaf is almost as big as the first.

I'm going to England in a couple of weeks. I'm looking for suggestions of things to see or do, and recommendations for kosher food. My current vague thoughts include going to the British Museum document area, seeing at least one play, book browsing, some walks on footpaths, the National Portrait Gallery, possibly the Tate.
Also, if you want a postcard, email me your snail mail address (don't assume I have it; I probably don't) (the LJ email works).

Next year I hope SOS won't be on a holiday weekend; I wish I'd had time to get to more studios.

Any time now I'll eat something that isn't kosher for Passover....

ETA Help! I'm going to have a wisdom tooth out Thursday, my first extraction ever. If you've had one out, were you unable to work that day? More days? How bad was the pain after? How long did it take you to feel recovered/normal? (It's happening at lunch, and I'd assumed I could finish the day after...)

Also, bad news: the Paper and Provisions in Watertown is closing Friday! (Lost their lease.) Woe.

Comments

[jaq.livejournal.com]

It seems to be almost guaranteed that anything interesting happens on a Tuesday evening (it's usually my games club night).

If you went to the spelling bee would you be competing? There was a TV program on recently about the curious American phenomenon of the spelling bee :-)

[magid.livejournal.com]

It's unlikely I'd be competing; I'm one of four people who might be an alternate. It's not the usual kind of spelling bee, though, since there are teams who work together to figure out the spelling.

Spelling bees are American? I hadn't realized that. I've been in one only once (in third grade), but I've reread many times about a town-wide spelling bee in the 1800s (in one of the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder). I always thought it would be a cool thing to do.

[estherchaya.livejournal.com]

bring back Skittles! Skittles in the UK are KOSHER! (they have black currant flavor instead of grape)

Oh how I love skittles!

[coorr.livejournal.com]

Wisdom teeth vary depending on how deep they are... I believe it also matters if they are top or bottom teeth.

I have never had mine out... but alisa has had all 4 of hers out. she had the 2 taken out right when we first met... I believe she took a day off of work and then hit the weekend... she might have taken a second day if it had not been a friday. The second time was a few years later... she stayed home from work that day and so did I (to take care of her). She was pretty much fine and really didnt need me around but probably couldn't have gone to work... by the next day she was fine... not even bruised.

plan on taking the rest of the day off, at least to let the novocain wear off (if you get a general you will definitely be out for the rest of the day)... but you will probably be OK on friday.

after her last extraction the surgeon wanted her to have someone to bring her home... and that was only with novocain... do you have a way to get home?

[magid.livejournal.com]

It's a top tooth, and the bottom one is staying, so just the one is coming out.

Of course, this week I have a chapter that's supposed to go out... I just assumed I'd have the afternoon (and the next appointment wasn't until late May, which isn't useful). Guh.

I don't know if it'll be novocaine or a general; I seem to need higher doses of anaesthetics than most people.

Getting home: I'll be T'ing, not driving, so as long as I can walk, I'm good.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the scoop on Skittles... maybe I'll bring you some :-)

[coorr.livejournal.com]

well... here is some info from alisa directly:

she says to take the rest of the day off and maybe the next, mostly because you might not be able to eat for a little while and could be quite tired... but the second day will depend mostly on that.

For her the bottom where the harder teeth... she avoided percoset (sp?) for pain because you need to take it with food... she got a prescription for Tylenol with codeine. She never had a general for any of hers... only novocain so she cant comment on that...

Apparently the use of straws is right out for a while... stock up on soft foods like applesauce.

Can you bring work home with you? it might make it easer for you.... alisa was very tired after the last extraction and slept most of the day but if you can bring work home you might be able to get some done especially if you dont feel up to going in the next day.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Well, I just told my boss that I might not be up for coming back into the office after, and she's fine with that (not that she'd tell me I had to if I couldn't).

As for food, I'm planning to make a big pot of soup tonight, and I have some applesauce around somewhere (once I put everything back from Passover, which it sounds like should be tonight).

Unfortunately, the work is at a stage when it's not portable, since my home machine isn't set up to be able to get at the files on the work server. Alas.

[ichur72.livejournal.com]

And the black currant pieces are tasty! Enjoy them! (Oh, and enjoy the trip as well, of course.)

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

I've had all four of my wisdom teeth out, at once.

One of them would have been trivial...The Dr. said it was ready to "sneeze out" and wanted to take it out then-and-there during a routine checkup. Two were normal difficulty, and the fourth was growing perpendicular to how it should gone, and they needed to saw it into pieces.

You definitely won't be good for anything for the rest of the day. I had only local anesthetic and a nosepiece of nitrous, but still wasn't up to doing anything that afternoon or evening. And I felt pretty out of sorts for a day or so afterwards.

I had a few Perkoset (or was it Perkodan?) tablets for pain. They don't really eliminate the pain, but just make it so you don't care. I went from "Oh, my god, there are four bloody gaping holes in my mouth!" to "Oh, my god, there are four bloody gaping holes in my mouth. I wonder what's on TV?"

[magid.livejournal.com]

I'm hoping this one will be normal difficulty, since it's going due to a huge cavity, rather than growing in oddly (apparently I've got a large enough mouth...). (Sawing into pieces?! Ouch!)

I just want to be functional enough to hang out with people that evening.

[magid.livejournal.com]

...more bags of Skittles...

I've never had them, actually, so it'll be interesting.

And thanks, I'm looking forward to an interesting trip. I was in London over a decade ago, and I'm wondering how much I'll remember.

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

In terms of things to do in London: Theatre! Theatre!

I went with leenah for an extended weekend a couple of years ago. Every morning, we queued up at the half-price ticket booth in Leicester Square to choose the evening's entertainment. The only thing we bought in advance was tickets for Lion King the night before we left, and it was magnificent! An absolute must-see. I can also recommend the reproduction of Shakespeare's Globe theatre, close to the original site, using original construction techniques. The gigantic pillars in the front? They chose those trees in the forest decades beforehand, and groomed them as they grew.

It used to be that London ticket prices were half the price of Broadway, but now that Bush Jr. has crippled the economy and the dollar has plunged, prices may be very similar.

[spwebdesign.livejournal.com]

Is this your first trip to England? Are you going to be venturing outside of London? I really enjoyed touring the Tower of London and seeing all the names and memorials at Westminster Abbey. The view from the top of St. Paul's Cathedral is unrivaled, but it requires a lengthy walk up steep, narrow stairs. I think you would enjoy walking through Hyde Park and exploring all the wonderful gardens.

[ceo]

the Paper and Provisions in Watertown is closing Friday!

Oh, crap. Now where will I get my 50# bags of King Arthur bread flour? :-(

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

Costco?

[magid.livejournal.com]

They suggested Costco, also something called Restaurant Depot, in Needham (I haven't Googled it yet).

They're keeping the Worcester and Taunton locations open. My parents are in Worcester; this would be a nice argument for driving to visit them... (if they have evening hours).

[magid.livejournal.com]

Definitely theatre! Last time I saw 4 or 5 shows, and it was lovely (plus amazingly cheap; I, too, used the Leicester square ticket booth). I have to check the train schedule to where I'll be staying; I hope they have trains late enough not to interfere with a show.

The Globe sounds like I should go for a tour, even if I can't get to a show. That's amazing that they groomed the trees for that.

I'm trying not to think too much about the exchange rate yet, but yeah, everything's going to be pricey.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Not my first trip, but the first one was over a decade ago. I didn't go to the Tower, I think because some cousins thought it far too touristy. Neither have I been to Westminster, nor St. Paul's, nor Hyde Park (though I did go to Kew, so I didn't miss gardens completely). Thanks for the suggestions.

ps

[magid.livejournal.com]

I just ordered a bag that I'm picking up Friday. I can pick up another if you order it (apparently they're otherwise not stocking it).

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

I had my two bottom teeth taken out over a decade ago. I had a local anaesthetic applied at the time. I did not have proper use of my mouth for a few hours after until the stuff wore off. Aside from issues with drooling in public, it was most disconcerting to lightly bite into your tongue (very lightly) and feel it only because your mouth stopped moving, not feeling any pain.

The dentist told me, "Only soft foods for a week." He gave me a prescription for pain relief, and for a few hours after the stuff wore off I almost wanted some..

The next day I had to forcibly remind myself not to get the nachos at a local restaurant. The holes were there, but they weren't hurting when I woke up that morning. I frankly forgot.

[spwebdesign.livejournal.com]

The Tower is very touristy, but I thought it was neat to see the Jewels and the armaments and learn about the history of all these various things there.

Westminster was cool to me because of all the memorials. Poets' Corner was especially cool. I was surprised to see tributes to so many Americans there.

St. Paul's is worth it simply for the view of London, IMO. The London Eye also gives a great view, but I think the view from St. Paul's is better.

I didn't go to Kew, but I imagine Kew Gardens and Hyde Park are fairly similar. The English sure do know how to do Gardens, though!

[magid.livejournal.com]

OK, this sounds doable. The tooth isn't impacted or anything, so hopefully it'll come out relatively easily.

I hate drooling in public (that was part of what I hated when I tried novocaine the first time), but all in all, reasonable.

Soft = not hard and crunchy, or soft = no texture beyond applesauce level? The former I can handle, the latter would be trickier.

Mmmm.... nachos.

Re: ps

[ceo]

Cool! I just ordered one. (There's no way I'll have time to go pick one up myself anytime soon.)

Re: ps

[magid.livejournal.com]

Your name or mine?

Also, d'you want any yeast? I get the 1-lb bags.

Re: ps

[ceo]

They didn't actually ask my name. :-)

No thanks on the yeast; I'm still working on the first of a pair of bags I got at BJ's like two years ago.

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

All the advice you've been given thus far looks pretty accurate. I've had 26 teeth removed, since I only lost 4 naturally. I am like a tooth extraction expert.

I felt a little worked over when I got my wisdom teeth out, but all 4 came in sideways and had to be cut out of my jaw. I was given general, so I was completely out the entire time. I spent the rest of the day dosing and bleeding on the couch on percosets. I had them taken out in IL so that my nana could take care of me. After all of those years of being a nurse, she didn't think twice about opening up my mouth, removing all of the bloody gauze and putting in clean dry gauze. I was lucky to have her help.

You might want to think about having someone drive you home, since you might feel a bit bruised and achy. I've also bled a lot every time I got my teeth pulled, so you might want to stock up on gauze. Oh, and stock up on cold mushy food -- it sort of helped numb the area. I remember distinctly not being happy with warm food for awhile. And stay away from straws! They only pull out the blood clots and cause dry sockets. Make certain they give you something (like a syringe) to clean out the holes for awhile.

Re: ps

[magid.livejournal.com]

Weird, they asked for mine. Ah, well. Must be a bit loony over there.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the suggestions. I hadn't thought about gauze (duh). And I'll ask about syringes. Hey, does "cold mushy food" mean I have an excuse to eat lots of pudding? :-)

I'm not sure who I'd ask to drive me home, especially since I don't know who's got a car downtown. If I'm feeling like I shouldn't walk much, there's a room at work where I can lie down (a block from the dentist's). I'm hoping that since it's a normal tooth (er, except for the honking huge cavity in it), not impacted or coming in sideways or anything, it won't be as horrible.

Avoiding straws, check. I don't remember the last time I used one, anyway.

A friend suggested soaking sponges, freezing them, then using them as cold compresses.

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

I did eat a lot of pudding and ice cream.

You might be able to ask someone like bitty to pick you up from work. Or take a cab home.

If the frozen sponges fit in your mouth and absorb blood, then that's a good idea. Granted, the frozen sponges might be more useful for when the bleeding stops, too.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Mmm... pudding. Ice cream, not so appealing (yeah, I live in Boston, this is heresy) (I still have other cavities awaiting filling).

D'oh. Of course I could take a cab.

I think the sponges were for the outside, on the face.

(And to think you had to deal with this multiple times. Wow.)

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

The dentist suggested nothing beyond mashed potatoes. I believe the stated reason was specifically to keep down pain.

All I did was avoid chips that week. I felt fine.


Mmmmmmm.... nachos.....

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

If the extraction is during the afternoon after, say, 1:30 or 2, I believe your little brother might be willing to drive you. I'll go kick him to find out...

[danger-chick.livejournal.com]

Oh, outside of the face makes sense.

As for the multiplicity of getting teeth pulled, that reminds me of an AA thing. In AA they say "The first you get arrested/divorced/in a car accident that's abnormal, but after a few arrests/divorces/accidents that starts to become normal." The first two times I got teeth pulled that was unusual -- 8 teeth in two visits with a week in between. After the third or forth visit, it became obvious that none of my teeth were going to come out on their own, so it became normal to get them pulled.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Can you email me your phone number? I can call after, either way.

[magid.livejournal.com]

So here's the vital question: tooth fairy or no tooth fairy for you?

(I remember being so excited to get something for lost teeth. Also how interesting it was to wiggle them looser.)