jackshoegazer | I'm letting go of pain and decay in both the literal and metaphysical sense.

I am home from my wisdom teeth extraction. Teeth, as in plural. I had the two on the right side removed because they were the troublemakers. We'll see later if the other two need to go. I kind of hope they do, if just for the sake of balance.

It was actually a fairly easy procedure, though the lower tooth gave the dentist a rough time. Apparently the x-rays lied and said the roots were pretty straight, no curvature. It wasn't a mere curve, it was an almost-90 degree hook at the end. That puppy did not want to come out.

But it did and I'm home and my face is still numb from the anesthesia. Soon I'll probably take some pain pills and space out to a movie. Or maybe work on an

iconomicon post. Both require about the same amount of conscious enthusiasm.

I wrote my personality essay yesterday at Panera on University. Almost interrupted the Iron Man a few times while biking there and back. Picked up a pair of Rocket Dogs because they were extra super double amazingly on sale. Like $17. Loaded up the iPod full of new music last night and promptly forgot to bring it with me to my appointment.

You may find this interesting; it's a series of illustrations from France in 1910 as they imagined life in the year 2000 would be.

The dentist couldn't get the tooth out. It was the bad one that had been causing me so much pain the past few months. It was chipped and decayed down to the raw nerve and it wouldn't let go. I could feel myself clenching against the pain, as if I was purposely holding it in. Then it struck me, that this was like anything dead or rotten, be it a tooth or an attitude or belief, that I should relax, let the pain come, let the tooth go.

So I did. I unclenched my muscles, slowed my breathing and relaxed. With a suddenness remarked upon by the dentist, the tooth slipped right out, as if something inside had been holding it tightly and just let go.