I probably should have expected the need to take the day off when I was scheduled for some (small) dental surgery this morning. I didn’t, so I only called in sick once I got home, which was no big deal as there weren’t any urgent task to deal with today.
Teeth | I have crappy teeth unfortunately. Part might be genetics, predisposition or such. A part definitely also is not the most diligent dental hygiene, I admit. About two years ago I was already supposed to have this surgery done: a dental implant as support for a bridge. But then my mum had her stroke and needed care and passed away and the pandemic was still going on and the war in Ukraine started and so much more. Dental surgery was the last on my mind until I had the mental capacity (thanks to therapy) to actually think about stuff like that again.
So I went back to the dentist earlier this year and had it all re-scheduled. Feeling a bit ashamed for having it dragged out so long, but the staff there were so lovely about it. So this morning I had my jaw drilled open and basically had a put a screw in. And it was alright. Naive me had thought I’d be fine working from home, holding an ice-pack to my check, but I was feeling a bit dizzy after it: it is a surgery after all. So I called in sick, held an ice-pack to my cheek for a while, took some pain meds. Had a long nap, which my body obviously needed.
Zentangle | During the first round of ice and waiting for the numbness to pass I used to do a bit of “Zentangle” doodle, inspired by a TikTok account I started following recently. Besides the obvious meditative nature of this kind of drawing/doodling, the other thing it helps me with is learning to accept my “imperfections” and not give up right away, because something isn’t perfect or doesn’t work perfectly. At least that’s the lesson I’m trying to take away from it. And that’s why I share it…
Media | I’m reading several non-fiction books at the moment. With some of them I’m giving myself 15 minutes slots to do so every other day or so. I’m interested enough in all of them, but for some reason I always had difficulties to actually sit down and start reading and/or focus for a longer time period. 15 minutes is doable though and that’s something I can easily squeeze once or twice each day. At least it’s working for now.
The other non-fiction I’m reading – for longer than 15 minutes slots – these days is Hannah Gadsby’s “Ten Steps to Nanette”. I expected it to not be a funny memoir, but I admit I was surprised how depressing parts of it really are. I feel bad about even stating that, because she obviously had a hard time getting to where she is now and all the power to her for sharing her story. Her insight into her neurodivergent brain and how that affects her everyday life is very helpful to understand the wide spectrum of autism. But it’s definitely not a happy / funny experience to read about.
Despite having several shelves of unread novels I didn’t feel in the mood for any of them, which made me feel a bit pathetic in a “what is wrong with me?” kind of way. In a last-ditch attempt I downloaded a historical romance I had on my to-read-list for a while to my ebook reader. Just to be turned off by the characters and their speech and the weird plot and just… ugh!
I now made the resolution to not spend money on new books until I’ve read at least two of the ones I’ve already paid for. Lets see how that goes.
I don’t watch a lot of TV these days, basically just catching up with my shows: Outlander season 7, which remains a bit boring and at the same time rushed. And I’ve finished “Colin from Accounts” which was nice enough. No idea what I’ll turn into once Outlander has ended it’s first half of the season. Netflix has the third Hannah Gadsby Special, so I might give that a go once I’ve finished her book later this week.
