Loss of Wisdom

I have heard some horror stories about wisdom teeth extractions over the years. But by His grace, my experience was... really, really, really positive. I feel very blessed.

Special thanks to my wife for commemorating this experience with the design of a Staples Easy Button.

Through the years of my childhood, I had upwards of 10 teeth pulled. But that was over 20 years ago. Today, it was time to do it again.

I opted not to go with nitrous nor get an anesthesiologist. How often in life do we get to go through a controlled environment of short-term pain that we know will be short-term? Maybe it would build my pain tolerance, and so I didn't want to waste it.

After the shots took effect and I was numb, the good dentist began working on the first tooth. About 15 seconds later, she said,

"Ok. That was the first one."

I responded (with mouth open and lips and tongue all numb),

"Eh? Wha do yul meein?"

"I mean... I just took out the first of your 4 wisdom teeth."

"Wowl. Wilwe? Sol fasth!"

In and out of the office in 45 minutes. I came home, switched out the bloody gauze every half an hour for about 3 hours. Took my ibuprofen and my antibiotics. And then ate a bowl of juk. And then a bowl of homemade applesauce (again, thank you, Bethany!). And then another bowl of juk. And then... a cracker. Then a jelly belly. Then a few more crackers. Then a really really small piece of beef jerky. And now, two poached eggs. I guess I'm just hungry and don't like the taste of my own blood.

Feeling a little pain in the back now, kinda like how it feels if I were to have a sore jaw. Besides that... just really thankful that it has turned out as well as it has.

For the not-so-faint-of-heart, if you want to see pictures, click at your own risk...

My extracted teeth, shot with my cell phone in the office.

My bloody mouth, shot earlier this evening.

Feeling Under the Weather

The past week, when Alvin was feeling sick, we were just commenting how it has been awhile since I have been sick. I told a friend that during Christmas break, and he said that makes sense since I was running a lot, never lacked sleep, wasn't stressed from school and work, and my daily routine usually consists of just interacting with Alvin.

Well, today I woke up with a sore throat. In the afternoon, everything felt like a sick sore and I had a low fever. Alvin and I had this long discussion on what is a low fever and what is a high fever. I then suddenly remembered the last time I was sick. It was in May flying back from Seattle and having a layover in the airport. Man, being sick at the airport is no fun.

So I ended up sleeping all the afternoon, got up and ate (surprising I had a great appetite for jouk even though I was feeling under the weather), took a pain reliever, slept again, and now I feel awesome and full of energy.

Where's the party? I'm ready.

The End of the World

On Thursday, as I was walking out of a SBUX to my car, I passed a familiar scene. Splattered on the concrete was a small drink - probably a hot chocolate. Standing next to the mess was a sobbing 3-year-old boy, with his face buried into his dad's thigh. His dad was saying things like, "It's ok! Mommy is getting another one. Don't cry... don't cry..."

If you're old enough to read this blog (so, like, ages 6 and up), then you have a good perspective on this situation. For the 3-year-old boy, of course, this dropped hot chocolate is the end of the world. It is the absolute biggest thing going on his life, and he's not so sure that he'll make it through. So you want to tell the boy, "Hey, it's going to be ok. Best case scenario... mom comes back in 3 minutes with another one! Worse case scenario... we head home, and in about 30 minutes, you'll be eating a yummy grilled cheese sandwich for lunch and you'll have forgotten all about your hot chocolate."

It takes being older than 3, and seeing other 3-year-olds go through and get through spilled drinks, or dropped ice cream cones, or broken crayons... to know that it really will be ok for them, and it's not the end of the world. Isn't perspective great?

But then you hit middle school, and 3 of the kids in the cool crowd say nasty things about you to everyone in your class. Your reputation (for this week) is ruined. It's the absolute biggest thing going on in your life. It's the end of the world. But you got through it.

High school comes along and you have nobody to goto the prom with, or nobody will accept your friend request on Facebook, or everybody else is getting into good colleges but you're still waiting to hear.

Once you get a little bit older, you look back at those experiences and realize that, even though at the time it was the biggest thing going on in your life, and it was the end of the world... in the end, it really was going to be ok. Others have gone before. And not being able to goto the prom is nothing compared to losing your job in a recession.

But then again, losing your job in a recession... is nothing compared to losing your friend in a car accident.

Our pain is valid. The things we go through, and what we feel as we go through them... certainly these things are not to be minimized. But too many times I've gone through a difficult experience thinking, This is the absolute biggest thing going on for me. I don't know how I'll get through this. This is the end of the world. And then, a week later, or 3 months later, or a few years down the road... I go through something bigger or more difficult, and the last thing really didn't seem quite as bad as I had thought at the time.

So, for today, this is my reminder to myself. I need to step back and get perspective. Big things... yes, they're big... but it's going to be ok. Best case scenario... a miraculous change of events turns everything for the better by noon today. Worse case scenario... I suffer a little bit longer, and maybe even die. But I think it's going to be ok.

Jury Duty

So yesterday I was selected to go to jury duty. I had mixed feelings going. First of all, I didn't have anything planned during the day so I was fine with going. But I knew that jury duty day means just a lot of waiting.

I brought a book, water, and my Chinese flashcards. Yet, I only wait an hour and a half before I was called into a courtroom. There were 24 possible jurors called into a criminal court case. They only needed 6 jurors. Since I was sitting in the third row of benches, the lawyers told us most likely the third row would not be chosen. Yet they explained the basics of the case and asked us all to comment if we would be biased. Felicity told me the other day to speak up during the questioning and more likely I wouldn't be selected. So I objected to one of the prosecuting attorney's question to me. Well, it turns out my objection was the basis the defense attorney was going on. So he kept saying, "just like Miss Lee said, ..." Oops. So after the first round of questioning, we had to wait outside the court room.

The bailiff then came in to call some of us in for a second round of questioning. He said, "the judge would like to see all of the second row and Bethany Lee." Oops. Actually I wouldn't have cared that much if I was chosen, but I do think knowing some of the basics of the case, I'm not sure if I wanted to choose what is right and wrong.

Finally, everyone got called in again and then the 6 jurors were selected. I was relieved not to have been chosen. The funny thing is that all the people that were selected were people that spoke up during questioning.

I thought today was super informative and kind of fun. This was my first time in a courtroom. I have only been called for jury duty one other time in Los Angeles but got dismissed early.

A Song Worth Knowing

There may only be one song out there such that - every time I hear the song - I stop to listen, breathe a deep sigh, and am moved to emotion... sometimes to tears. Elijah, by the late Rich Mullins, is worth listening to and worth reflecting upon.

These days, I'm learning about perspective. Lessons about how the big things we go through in life, though they are big in our eyes and validly so, are so small compared to the core stuff of life and death and existence. That's for a later blog entry. But Elijah reminds me to hold tightly to that which is worthy, and to hold loosely... everything else.

---

The Jordan is waiting for me to cross through
My heart is aging I can tell
So Lord, I'm begging for one last favor from You
Here's my heart take it where You will

This life has shown me how we're mended and how we're torn
How it's okay to be lonely as long as you're free
Sometimes my ground was stoney
And sometimes covered up with thorns
And only You could make it what it had to be
And now that it's done

Well if they dressed me like a pauper
Or if they dined me like a prince
If they lay me with my fathers
Or if my ashes scatter on the wind I don't care

But when I leave I want to go out like Elijah
With a whirlwind to fuel my chariot of fire
And when I look back on the stars
It'll be like a candlelight in Central Park
And it won't break my heart to say goodbye

There's people been friendly, but they'd never be your friends
Sometimes this has bent me to the ground
Now that this is all ending I want to hear some music once again '
Cause it's the finest thing that I have ever found

But the Jordan is waiting
Though I ain't never seen the other side
They say you can't take in the things you have here
So on the road to salvation I stick out my thumb and He gives me a ride
And His music is already falling on my ears

There's people been talking
They say they're worried about my soul
Well, I'm here to tell you I'll keep rocking
'Til I'm sure it's my time to roll
And when I do

When I leave I want to go out like Elijah
With a whirlwind to fuel my chariot of fire
And when I look back on the stars
It'll be like a candlelight in Central Park
And it won't break my heart to say goodbye

Post Dentist Visit Confessions and Lessons

Went to the dentist today. (A shout-out to you, my dentist, if you read this blog). So I'm willing to put myself out there and be vulnerable in order to relate a lesson that I have been learning about myself. You may think less of me for this. You may think I'm a horrible person. It's ok... I've already come to grips with my own brokenness. You should too.

I do not floss everyday. In fact, there are some days when I just pass out in bed, completely bypassing the standard floss-brush-rinse routine that we all lecture each other to do (even some of us who don't actually do it ourselves).

Ok, so now you know. Go ahead, throw the stones.

But here's the lesson I'm learning. It's all about self-control. I recently asked myself the question: How in the world can I expect to have the self-control to do things like read the word, pr to the father, be careful of what I say, love difficult people, stand up in the face of difficulty or temptation... if I don't even have the self-control to floss and brush everyday? How can I expect to do well in the bigger things of life when I do so poorly in the small, 5-minute activities of daily life?

So, tonight... I will floss. I will brush. I will even rinse with ACT Restoring Mouthwash. Not because I care that much about my teeth (I'm sorry, dentist. I mean, come on, I'm moving to a part of the world where my teeth will be in the upper 5 percentile). But because doing well in this small area of life might just have some bearing on how well I might do in bigger areas of life.

SBUX Party Picture

So I know there is the phrase that a picture is worth a thousand words, so I decided to put up 6 pictures. That is 6,000 words! Can you handle it! Actually it is 6 pictures in one.

Thanks to my Photoshop class, I was able to fit all six pictures into one long picture. If you look very closely, you can see all my mistakes. Click on picture to see a larger size. I also took the pictures, which is why some of the pictures are darker than others.

*Funny thing I just noticed and verified from my original pictures. The guy ordering and the guy behind Carol are the same guy. He just moved after I shot the first picture.

Photoshop is frustrating yet so satisfying in the end. If you have any pictures you want me to work on, send them to me so I can practice.