they're outta here!

i just woke up. mashed potatoes for dinner suck. cherry pie is great but way too sweet to eat. it caused my mouth to hurt for the first time today. i quit eating so it doesn't hurt anymore.

i wish that there was a contraption that could record my thoughts (most times). when i sat in the dentist chair this morning, my mind went to work. i was writing in my head already. it'd be so convenient if my thoughts just immediately appeared on paper. where's harry potter?

anyway... this is some of what i thought.

the view was magnificent. the office is located on the second floor of the medical building and overlooks the lush green mountains of kauai. at times, helicopters flutter by but the brilliant blue sky dominates the window.

i could hear only the flow of nitrous gas and crystal's southern voice, both of which kept me calm. as time passed, the nose piece got heavier and heavier causing me to be uncomfortable. my arms and hands were too heavy - and too relaxed - to adjust it.

the voices in the waiting room and in the hall eventually disappeared but i was still aware of what was going on. a few times, i almost went into panic. my mind... being what it is... was racing, thinking, 'what if you can feel it but can't move or say anything?' it could happen. only a fleeting thought, though, and it didn't happen today.

my tongue felt like a cinder block and my lip like the short bus. as the dentist worked on the right side, i felt coolness on the left. i said something to him but it came out like pig latin. i didn't worry about saying anymore and he just went back to work.

since there were nine teeth to take out... and since i didn't have anything to do... i tried to keep up with the dentist and his progress. i couldn't.

i was trying to watch to see what he was doing, to watch the tools. i wish i had a video of the procedure. i bet it'd be cool. especially one of the teeth, which cracked loudly like a pine tree being harvested... right before the lumberjack yells, 'timber!' i'm definitely a boy... it was cool.

so, here i sit. toothless. somewhat, at least. but, when the last tooth was taken out this morning, you wouldn't believe the relief i felt. it really was a great feeling. i didn't know it was the last but the moment it came out, my body relaxed on it's own. i don't know if it was my subconscience or what... but it felt nice.

i came back to the ship and got my medicine, then headed for bed. that's where i spent my day until now.

and now that's where i'm going, again.