Scattered Brainings V

* It’s been a bit tedious with the internet being loopy the last three days or say. There was so much I wanted to/ could have blogged about, but I wasn’t willing to type an entire entry via my cell phone.

* Smudgy is becoming more of a loveable cat, especially, I believe, since her trip to the vet. It’s adorable when your cat comes and snuggles up next to you on or inside the bed… the only problem is, Smudgy likes sleeping right next to my face. Cat in face = problems breathing. Still, it’s so adorable when she does it, that I even consider not moving her away.

* Remember my post about my dentist, and that I mentioned that there’s a picture with birds on the ceiling right above the ‘operating’ chair? I counted them again today – there are either 53 or 54. I’m not completely sure which it is. It’s difficult watching the ceiling while the dentist is hovering over you with the drill.

* Speaking of the dentist, don’t you think that having a dead (or numb, rather) cheek, lip and tongue feels especially weird? Or how does it feel to you when a tooth is being drilled? It feels kind of ‘ticklish’, if teeth or said to be able to feel thus. Makes my mouth want to twitch, although I’m sure the dentist and his assistant won’t have the faintest idea what I am smiling about. Did I mention that I’m going back again next week? How joyous.

* My Significant Other and I watched THE MATRIX two evenings ago – and it’s still as great as ever… I must admit, however, that I am dreading the next two instalments. I nearly fell asleep in the cinema while watching the 2^nd film, and I’m not quite sure if I ever even saw the third one.

* I went for a job interview on Monday (finally). Apparently another candidate as well as myself has been shortlisted to come in for a second interview sometime next week. It’s really exciting, yet extremely ironic at the same time, as my laparoscopic surgery takes place on the 11^th of May, after which I’ll be home in bed for at least a week. And, I am sure, the company I applied at wanted to fill the position yesterday already (yes, I’m exaggerating), so employing someone who can only start at the end of May isn’t ideal on their part.

* Finalizing everything for your wedding venue isn’t easy. There are two venues I am looking at – one gave me misinformation, which causes me to feel a certain amount of doubt and scepticism towards them; the other still has to get back to me, this after I e-mailed them on Monday evening. The only catch with the first place is that, if I want to get married in April in the main hall, all the Saturdays are already booked, so it’ll have to be on a Sunday. Now ask yourself, honestly: how many people will want to attend to a Sunday wedding, and how many people will actually stay until 12PM?

* My wedding invitations are basically done (OCD at its best). My fiancé and I were playing about on the computer yesterday, and with his help – thank you, Sweetheart! – I managed to create something quite lovely.

* I think I’m falling apart. Either that, or I have too many ailments for someone my age (23). Knee pain; neck pain; shoulder pain; abdominal pain (which is excruciating, I might add, especially when it comes my ovaries); headaches/ migraines; feeling carsick (of late); claustrophobia……

* There’s a reason why certain films don’t make it to the silver screen – DONKEY XOTE (an animated film) springs to mind as I am making this statement. Go ahead and watch it, if you want to test the validity of my statement… or don’t, rather. Spare yourselves.

* I’m in the mood for a cupcake… a big, moist vanilla cupcake, decorated with delicious, colourful icing and topped off with cute little sprinkles… *sigh* There’s no hope for me, is there?

* I rarely drink at all, and if I do it’s usually a glass of light rosé, yet I must admit that cosmopolitans are exquisite. I suppose it depends, of course, on who’s serving you the cocktail – after all, not all places get it right, and you don’t need to be a barman to be able to whip up a decadent drink. My compliments, thus, to Clive, who made me the best cocktail ever last Saturday. Being friends with him could be dangerous for my levels of alcohol consumption.

* Okay, so here it is, as promised: a picture of me in my Disney Princess dress. There are two things I don’t like about the dress… or rather, about me wearing the dress: (1) my behind looks quite large in it [at least according to myself]; and (2) the pleats – or whatever they are – around the middle aren’t very flattering, as I believe they draw attention to one’s midsection, and as a result make me look a bit fatter. Still, it’s a pretty dress, and I’m sure that it isn’t the problem (which means, of course, that I am – perhaps I just don’t have the sleek, slender build for it).

The dentist down the street

I’ve always wondered: if a person can refer to a doctor’s bedside manner, does it not thus stand to reason that you can refer to a dentist’s chair-side manner? I know it sounds silly, but these are the kinds of things that are constantly floating about in what constitutes for my mind (whether sane or not is still to be determined).

I’ve had reason to be thinking about dentists. Last year, my dentist (who is conveniently situated 2 houses away from my parental home) had to do a root canal on one of my teeth. He had to do it in two sessions, which means 90 min + 90 min = 180 min (3 h) of having to keep my mouth open at its widest. Nice jaw exercise, I can tell you. In any case, this beloved root canal-ed tooth of mine decided to go AWOL, at least partially, and a part of the tooth broke off while I was eating a rusk. I suppose it goes without saying that I had to check in with my dentist to have it fixed, so that’s how I spent a part of my morning yesterday.

Now, I’ve been going to the same dentist since I was yeah-high (quite young). They say familiarity breeds contempt, yet luckily I do not see my dentist often enough to feel that way… although I would wager that, if I felt differently about dentist appointments, I might feel differently. Familiarity can be quite a nice thing. You run through the usual routine: chatting to the woman at the reception desk about how your mother’s doing, telling her what you’ve been busy with since finishing university (at least temporarily), surrendering your hand to inspection after she notices your engagement ring… Then of course there’s the ‘Operating Room’ itself, where the dentist’s chair stands ready to receive you. He has two brightly coloured pictures on the roof right above the chair, covered with tons of birds, which I have a tendency to try to count as I lie there. The clock against the wall is also positioned j-u-u-u-s-t right, so as it is noticeable from my vantage point.

All these familiar things, what with the radio tuned to the same station, and pictures of the dentist’s daughter still up against a kind of white board, is not what caught my attention yesterday. Goodness, no. Yesterday, I seemed to have an epiphany, as I looked up into the dentist’s face:

My dentist looks like Stephen King.

Well, I don’t mean that he looks exactly like Stephen King, otherwise I am sure that I would have made the correlation sooner. No, I think it was just the angle at which I saw him, looking up into a face that is illuminated slightly by the light above the chair, the mouth covered with a mask, and his eyes behind his spectacles. The feeling was uncanny, and I immediately started wondering whether I could blog about the incident or not. When I got out of the chair and spoke to him afterwards, as is the custom, he looked back to normal again… mostly, at least…

If it were a scene from a Stephen King novel, I am sure that I would not have walked out of his office alive… and if I did, I might be missing a tooth or two… or possibly even a limb… Reminds me of those horror movies you get, and stories that frightens kiddies, where a dentist is seen to be a bad man who’ll hurt you while you’re strapped into that big chair, unable to escape, the drilling hovering oh-so-close to your vulnerable pink mouth, your gums watering yet your mouth and tongue feeling dry as you wait for impending doom…

I have another appointment next week Thursday. And even though I have never, ever dreaded a dentist appointment, now I am looking forward to it. I just might find the inspiration for a short story (no dental chairs or equipment included) while under the ‘influence’ of my momentary Stephen King. It’s all about mindset, after all, isn’t it?

Perhaps I should mention my ‘discovery’ to a few people who are afraid of dentists. Dentist + Stephen King = nightmares to colour your wildest dreamscapes. Or I could, actually, write a short story about a trip to the dentist, as long as I can find a new angle on it. “The dentist down the street” has a good ring to it… and so does the sound of his drill as it comes closer…

"How wide did you say I should open?"

When the going gets tough…

…the tough: get resourceful.

Now it’s no secret that I have been down-in-the-dumps (or lower, if that is possible) due to the fact that I have been at home for six – six! – months and still haven’t found a job. My coming laparoscopy doesn’t help my prospects, either, as I will be spending quite some time in bed afterwards in order to recuperate, which, of course, includes vast amounts of pain and discomfort (an average of twee weeks thereof, according to my research). Thus, in order to stay sane and keep myself occupied, I have decided to take matters into my own hands.

I am going to start advertising my talents.

My genes have blessed me (on one of their rare occasions, I’ll add) with a knack for being creative. Naturally, I know that it is easy to be creative nowadays, what with scrapbooking kits and all that sort of stuff. Still, adding that personal touch gives one a sense of pride, and also warms those to who the end product of your efforts is presented. I remember fondly how my Significant Other’s brothers and friends respond whenever I present them with a handmade birthday card. Usually, I try to find things that compliment the person’s personality, otherwise I just try to work with pictures and colours that ‘go together’. The result never disappoints.

This is a card I made for a friend for his 23rd birthday

Last year, I wrapped my younger sister's birthday gifts in sheet music. She wants to be a singer, which is why the card also relates to music.

I had my brand name figured out a long time ago: Stardust Inc. However, after the film STARDUST was released, I realized that I would have to find a new name, as many people would believe that I simply selected the name from the film. My Significant Other had a cute idea for a brand name the other day, one which he used on the 23^rd birthday card he made me: Wink-Wink Designs. It’s sort of an inside joke between us, what with the way we met and all.

I baked this cake for my Significant Other for his birthday. It didn't come out quite as I had hoped...

I’ve made collages and birthday cards; baked cookies for various occasions; dealt with activities for my older sister’s Kitchen Tea; made the table numbers and table plan for the wedding; and even made an entire scrapbook (from scratch, with photos and pictures from magazines, et cetera) for my Significant Other. I also write poems on request (usually for special occasions). Oh, and as it’s my one friend’s birthday on Friday, I have already baked a lot of bear-shaped cookies, and will be baking a cake in the shape of a bear’s head to fit the theme of her birthday party: Winnie The Pooh.

The cookies I baked for my older sister's wedding.

Kitchen Tea invitation

Table numbers for the wedding (on short notice)

That said, I want to post an ad on Gumtree to generate a bit of income – I just hope people will pay me to do what I love doing. So many people have encouraged me to use my creativity and organize events, which makes me think that it’s about time that I take their compliments and scratch my courage together to take the first step. Who knows, maybe I’ll make a success out of it, and maybe I won’t. The thing that’s really important is that I’m taking the initiative and getting resourceful. If all goes well, I could even start a website. But that is a big step that will be left until another day.

A prescription bottle filled with love quotations ❤