Lessons Learned

Well, losing my wisdom teeth didn't make me dumber after all!

In fact, I think it made me smarter... here are just a few of the things I've learned about myself and the outside world in the past week.

Health Related Pearls of Wisdom (Teeth)   HA!

1. I'm allergic to penicillin. While this discovery is a good one, I didn't figure out that the penicillin was what was making me super nauseous and dizzy until four days after I started taking it.
2. While anorexia is a disease that I'm not advocating in any way, shape, or form... not eating (read: not being able to keep anything down, liquid or solid) for four days, thanks to the aforementioned penicillin allergy, did have it's benefits... I lost 7 pounds. It was almost as good a weight loss regimen as when I had the stomach flu before Christmas.
3. I'm finally glad I never had braces. It was painful enough when my teeth were readjusting to the new space in my mouth and moving around on their own... I can't even imagine how uncomfortable it would be to have metal bands constantly adjusting where your teeth are positioned in your mouth.
4. I swear that the loss of my wisdom teeth wrecked havoc with my sinuses. My doctor said I was crazy, but I found that taking pseudoephedrine along with my Advil helped to keep the slow aching pain in my lower left jaw and the feeling that my chin was separating from the rest of my face at bay.
5. Tights filled with ice bags and reheat-able hot/cold packs are a godsend. I kept two bags of ice tied to my face all day Thursday in my super useful Incredibles tights (see embarrassing picture, above, taken by my mother). Then for the next 5 or 6 days I kept my hot pack clamped firmly to my lower jaw to melt away the aches and pains.

Car Related Pearls

1. Squirrels are not cute. They eat cars. I no longer have a problem with my brother's crazy desires to shoot and cook them.
2. When you are having car trouble and are taking your car to the shop, DO NOT FILL THE GAS TANK BEFORE YOU DROP IT OFF. I made that silly mistake only to find out that the problem with my car could only be solved by replacing the gas tank. Losing less than 2 gallons of gas would have been a whole lot less upsetting than 12.
3. Toyota's are awesome cars... except for the fact that most of their parts are made in Japan. Thanks to the recent environmental disasters in that country, Toyota car part manufacturing there is at a virtual standstill... not a huge deal unless you NEED A NEW GAS TANK. (The parts lady said that she couldn't even fathom when my tank would be in... Awesome.)
4. It's really depressing to continue paying off a loan on a car you can't drive.
5. Good thing I still have the Buick.