The dentist said he injected the anesthesia directly into the nerve which is pretty rare. Said he got lucky. We had to stop the procedure for a few minutes because the pain was pretty bad. Constant throbbing at the back of my mouth where the jaw bones connect. Like a sine wave of pain. Up, down, up, down. Oscillations of relief and terror. I sat in the chair thinking "Ow. Ow. Ow."
The reason for my visit is actually two reasons.
One: I got my first cavity. Ever. Got it filled, but I'm kinda disappointed because the dentist used this material that matches my teeth perfectly. You can't even tell. I wanted to go around with a partially metal mouth.
Two: I haven't had my teeth cleaned in ten years. The dentist needed to use anesthesia to go underneath the gums to remove all of the plaque and tartar that had built up over the ten years. He said it was pretty bad. It took nearly two hours to remove a decade's worth of accumulation.
Ten years, man.
I'm hungry, but I can't eat because I'm worried that I'll bite my tongue in two because I can't feel what my mouth is doing. Don't laugh. People have done that. So I'm sitting here reflecting. Waiting for the novocaine to wear off.
Ten years is a long time. My sister is ten. Ten years ago, she wasn't here. She was in my mother's belly.
Ten years ago, I had a Nokia cell phone that only had that snake game on it. I was pretty good at it.
Ten years ago, I was getting ready to graduate high school. I had my life planned out. College. Med school. Residency. Pediatrician. Boom. Done.
Ten years ago, I had never heard of improv. Ten years ago, I was in a relationship with a girl I was sure I was going to marry. Ten years ago, I had it all figured out. I had a plan, I knew what I wanted, I had goals, I had dreams.
Advertising and improv and Chicago. None of that was even a blip on my radar ten years ago.
I'm not reminiscing or lamenting or waxing nostalgic or anything. I'm simply observing. It's interesting to see where we were ten years ago. And it's fun to wonder where we'll be ten years from now.
Maybe I'll be a creative director at a hip agency in New York.
Maybe I'll be a stay-at-home dad, taking care of my five kids while Delma brings home the bacon.
Or maybe I'll be living in Arizona after discovering my love for pottery.
Who knows.
The numbness is wearing off. My lips still feel weird though.
I tried eating a banana, but I couldn't open my jaw that wide. It wasn't even a big banana.
You know what else happened ten years ago? "College Dropout" was released. Still one of my favorite albums.
Some things don't change after ten years. That's good.
But a lot of things do. And that's good too.
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