Updates: Job Prospect, Dentist, Grandma Birthday Weekend

Right, where to begin? How about with this: I almost didn't answer the phone.

When my phone rang last night, I wasn't thinking about the job, because it was 6:30, long after I'd given up on news for the day. When I looked at the display and saw not just an unfamiliar number, but an unfamiliar area code, I figured it would be one of those annoying, I'm-on-the-do-not-call-list-why-are-you-calling-me calls that I still get. Perhaps my fairy godmother goosed me, though, because I did pick up and say hello. Then I almost hung up when no one spoke right away, but fortunately I held on long enough to realize that it wasn't someone calling from "your credit card company" or to offer rug cleaning, but was actually a different recruiter, calling from the parent company (which is in California, explaining both the time and the area code), to update me about my candidacy. That I'm a "very, very strong candidate" and "possibly a finalist"! He said that they want me to come back in to meet with Ms. Smith* early next week, which, since the company is the Smith** Group, means something, eh? But in the meantime, if I could sign the release form they can get started on the background check, since that takes a few days. Well, okay then! I guess I could do that.
*Not her real name
**Not its real name

And now I wait to hear from the "scheduler" and wonder, is that a full-time job? Probably not.

The dentist update is that the whole in-the-chair experience was miserable; I spent the entire time tensed up, struggling against a fight-or-flight impulse, which is exhausting. (If you're squeamish about dental stuff, and I don't blame you if you are, I am myself but this happened to me and I want to whine about it, you may wish to skip over this section; I'll throw some asterisks at the end of it.) Lots of drilling, more drilling, oh-god-more-drilling, trying to breathe through my nose but the smell, six interminable minutes for the goop to set for the impression (I know, breathe through your nose and try to think of something else, I pondered whether the Red Wings will win another game in the series, I think probably they will), and oh-by-the-way, I also had a cavity in the next tooth, shall we fix that while we're here? It would add about another ten minutes, she told me, and I told her that it wasn't the time I was worried about, but in the end I had her do it. Get it over with. The whole thing is now mercifully blurring into one general cloud of awful, instead of specifics. Though the frustration of being told to "bite down normally" on a mouth that feels the very opposite of normal remains with me, and I have a slight lisp and a sore tongue today that are both bugging me.

Ironically, now that the temporary crown is on, I am better able to appreciate how little trouble the actual broken tooth was, since this is far more obtrusive and makes chewing much more awkward. The treatment's worse than the problem, what else is new. And since I don't get the permanent crown for two weeks, I can only hope that I'll get used to it. Or to eating foods that require little chewing; unlike my poor aunt, who had a dental problem this weekend that made chewing actively painful, I am currently only at chew-with-caution, causes-discomfort levels, but things that slide down easily (soup, scrambled eggs, pudding) are a much better idea. You know you're having tooth discomfort when merely hearing someone eat carrots makes you wince.

Perhaps in part because the experience was so bad, I find myself considering going to another dentist in future (perhaps one of those with "gentle" in the name). The people at this practice are all very nice, and it's not like they were mocking me when I explained that I have trouble with gagging easily and so on, but I didn't feel as though they made a lot of accommodations for it. Perhaps this was the best they could do, but when the dentist was pushing down on the temporary crown, trying to get it on (and it took quite a few tries), I found myself wondering, is that much shoving really necessary? Also, it feels as though something rough dried down the side of my gum, and if I bite down on that side much, it has a rubbery give to it that is disconcerting (as well as uncomfortable). I don't know. I'm turning into one of those characters in a Looney Tunes cartoon that chomps down on something hard and all their teeth disintegrate and crumble out of their mouth. No fun. Let's move on.

***** Safe again!
The weekend/trip/Grandma's birthday event all went well. Surprisingly smoothly, all things considered! The weather was decent to good, none of the family misbehaved at the party, about 20 people showed up, and overall it was very good.

More specifically, I picked my mother up after work on Friday, and we had dinner at her favorite local restaurant. After that, the evening consisted of watching the Bruins being underwhelming (it was the first game of the playoffs, and they lost), and me trying to get my packing organized. I finished that in the morning, and we loaded the car and drove to NY. After catching up with my aunt and relaxing a bit at the house (it's not a bad trip, but it isn't a short drive), she drove us to the home where Grandma is, so we could see her and vice versa. We did cut it short, though (by which I mean under an hour, not 5 minutes), in order to go get ourselves some dinner. Which was delicious, and also featured an amusing menu.

"Some decent wines"? "Incomplete beer list"? Amuses me, and I don't even drink.

On Sunday, my aunt went back to the home to pick Grandma up, and my mother and I got ready and went to church to hold seats. It didn't fill up early, but by the time they arrived*, it was getting there. Everyone was so pleased to see Grandma, and she seemed pleased to be there, though in fact she slept through much of the service. We took her back to the home for her to have lunch, since we knew there was nowhere we could take her on Easter Sunday that wouldn't require a wait, which she isn't up to. She was happy to take it easy after the morning's excitement.
*When my aunt got there to pick her up, Grandma was still eating breakfast, so there was a slight delay.

After that, we went to have lunch ourselves, then back to the house, so I was able to watch the Bruins game, in which they played much better and beat Detroit handily. In the evening, my cousin and her boys came in from Pennsylvania and we had pizza and hung out for a while before they went off to the motel for the night (not enough room in the inn, so to speak). They came back Monday in time for lunch, and my cousin's mother, my beloved aunt*, came too, and after lunch we convoyed to the home for the party.
*Not my only beloved aunt, but I hadn't seen her in a while, so it was really nice to get the chance

100 tulips for the birthday girl.

Flowers shaped like a cake.

More flowers, flowers, flowers!

There was cake and cheesecake and she got cards and presents, and everyone behaved well, and the people at the home were wonderful, and it really was just all so nice. If somehow exhausting, and I'm not halfway to 100!

We drove back Tuesday morning, in light rain when we started that cleared before we got home. Unfortunately for me, I had a slight headache that got more bothersome later, but it never got awful, and I was able to get us home, out to dinner, and back to watch the Bruins game (they won again) while propitiating Carlos.

Wednesday morning I was available to work from home (though there actually wasn't anything for me to do), then dropped Mum off before going to the dentist, about which I have already whined enough, I suppose. That gets us current, and now I can go watch tonight's Bruins game. Go Bruins!