Hell in a dentist's chair

One of the things that is now on my list of things to never, ever do again in my entire life, in fact it is quite near the top, is to go to the dentist while still recovering from a cold.  That's what I did this morning.  I thought everything would be fine.  Sniffles were gone, running nose had dried up, and I hadn't sneezed in days.  I felt fine.  As he numbed me up, I reclined back in the chair, listening to the inanities of the Today Show (that's right, there are TVs in every room).  Very rarely do I watch morning television so I was truly surprised by how much was geared for a 12 year-old mindset.  And he began to drill.  Things were going so fine... until I felt the need to cough.

And there I was, with Al Roker making chicken noises on the TV, and my dentist drilling away at the back molar nestled in the rear, roof of my mouth, using a drill sounding very much like one of those drills they use to dig subway tunnels, when something unmentionable slid down the back of my throat and caught on my Adams Apple.  I said "I need to cough," but it sounded something like "rwoar cahh," and my dentist said "Yeah, that Al Roker really is a card."  At which point the air pressure from my lungs burst up, past my Adams Apple, and out my mouth.  It was not pretty.  I do suspect that Dr. Glossner will long remember the day he said to me "tilt your head a little farther back.  Good.    Open a little wider... towards me."  Believe me, you don't want to start off your morning with hell in a dentist's chair.  

Germ Warfare

Today is a rather unusual day for me.  I called off sick.  About two weeks ago I developed a mild cold, runny nose for about a day and a half, that's all.  This is how colds normally effect me - here today and gone tomorrow.  On Friday one of my associates, the one who looks like Santa Claus, came in complaining of a vicious cold - sneezing, coughing, bad post nasal drip.  I told him "if it's that bad you should have stayed home."  We constantly deal with the public.  We want to sell them stuff, not make them sick.  Anyway, yesterday morning I noticed the beginning of a sore throat.  Shit.  So about 3 AM this morning, when I woke up to find swallowing very painful, I decided to take the day off.  Around 7 I called the store manager and told him I wouldn't be in.  His comment "I don't have any problem with you taking the day off."

Here it is, about 5 hours later, and my symptoms are pretty much gone.  My glands are a teeny bit sore yet, but my nasal passages are clear; breathing is easy.  I don't take medications, one of my little quirks, unless prescribed by a physician.  Anyway, I probably could have gone into work.  Maybe spread around a little contamination.  Shared a little of my discomfort with a lot of other people.  Practiced a little germ warfare on the unknowing masses who stopped in to buy a gallon of paint.  Nah, it was much easier to make a phone call and go back to sleep until the little dog decided to jump up on the bed with squeaky toy and shove it into my face.  Isn't this why we have 'personal days?'