Broken phone - but things could be worse

You guys. My phone is broken. Dumb!

Actually, it still technically functions, but it's looking pretty sad. See the picture? Tragic. Poor little red phone. Before I got this particular phone, I had another phone that was exactly like it--same color, same model--but the hinge broke randomly one night when I flipped my phone open to answer a call. A little piece of plastic snapped off and *peeeeew!* went flying off into the sunset. What did I ever do to deserve this, you silly little piece of plastic? I've done nothing but care for you! (And accidentally drop you on the floor. And accidentally leave you in my frozen car overnight. And accidentally lose you literally two or three times a day. Anyway....) According to the Verizon store, this particular phone model causes hinge problems for a lot of people, so they gave me a replacement phone, since I was still under warranty.

I realize now that I should have asked for a different phone, since now the same part of the phone is broken. Actually, it broke in exactly the same way--a little scrap of plastic flew into the air when I opened the phone. And the same person who called me the last time my phone broke was the person who called me this time my phone broke! Nuts!

Anyhoodles, now I am on the hunt for a replacement phone. I don't want to pay a million bucks for a new phone when I can get a cheapo temporary one for now, then a free phone in December when my contract renews.

Wow, I am so lucky. Seriously! I'm not being sarcastic here. I really am lucky! Here I am, blogging from my own personal laptop, sitting at a desk in a comfortable room with air conditioning, whining about how my own personal cell phone has a broken hinge. If I lived in Nigeria, I might have to worry about militant attacks like this one. If I lived in Kirkuk, Iraq, I might have to worry about car bombs. If I lived in Honduras, I might have to worry about my president being kidnapped in a coup. The list could go on. In short, I am happy to have a broken cell phone!

Love... and Loss... at First Sight

Today I fell in love.

Unfortunately, it only lasted for about 7 minutes.

But still. I fell in love.... with these shoes (click here)!!!

Call me a dork, but I think those shoes are h-a-w-t hawt. They're so Americana, but with a touch of modern funk/etsy-ish craftiness. Gah. So cool. But UNFORTUNATELY, my love affair with these shoes was cut short because there are ZERO pairs of this shoe in my size in any of the stores in the valley. Dumb! How could this happen to me? I was almost willing to squeeze my feet into the shoes that were a 1/2 size too small for me, but I decided against it. Sure, I can stand in shoes that are too small, maybe even walk in them, but I'd only last about five minutes.

So, sorry for being a total dork and having a crisis over a pair of shoes, but I went shoe shopping for about... um... TWO HOURS and I didn't find anything that would satisfy me (besides these lovelies). Yeah, I'm really picky. Grr. And sorry if you think those shoes are ugly. Actually, not sorry, because I think they're kind of cool. :) And I promise that I am not shallow! It's okay to be in love with a pair of shoes. This doesn't prevent me from having a deep discussion on the themes of revenge and guilt in Shakespeare's Othello. I just can't help but think how much hotter I would look in a Shakespearean discussion if i were wearing those shoes.... Anyway, thanks for reading my rant!

Update on the dentist

So... apparently I have two options for my wisdom tooth extraction nightmare.

1. Get a needle jabbed into my gums a few times so I can be awake for the bone-crunching, gum-ripping surgery, which will last about 40 minutes, but not feel any pain.
2. Get an IV and be sedated--that is, thrown into the freaky, dark nothingness of unconsciousness--then wake up 40 minutes later acting like a goofball.

Hmm.... Is there an option #3? I really can't decide which scary, intimidating, unattractive path to choose. My fears for the local anaesthesia (option 1) are that it won't completely dull the pain and I'll be trying not to scream for the whole 40 minutes. I have a low pain tolerance. Like, kinda really low, unless I'm working out. Just ask my mom. And my roommate. And my basketball teacher from my sophomore year of high school. And the lady who rescued me in her van when I crashed my bike in March. Yeah... I think I might be okay with being awake to feel them pressing on my jaw and whatnot (as long as there is no pain!), but I'm not sure.

My fears for the IV sedation (option #2) are that I will be too freaked out by the IV needle (if they put it in my hand, that is. I'd be okay with it in my arm.) and that I'll be sick when I wake up from the surgery. People in my family have had bad experiences with being violently ill after waking up from a general anaesthesia. I also don't know if I'd like the feeling of being completely and totally unconscious of everything that is happening to me for nearly an hour. Hmm...

Anyway, I still haven't decided. I suppose that getting teeth ripped out of your gums can't really be a "good" experience no matter what happens. I'll be "out of commission" for at least two days. Ooo, I won't even be able to go to the gym. That bites... I hate it when my routine is thrown off!! (Por ejemplo, I had yogurt for breakfast instead of oatmeal this morning, and now I feel like a little piece of my universe is out of place. Bah.)

Some of you have said that your wisdom teefers experiences weren't all that bad, so I'm hoping mine will be the same way! Apparently my oral surgeon is pretty talented, so hopefully it won't be too traumatic. :)

Death by dentist

I have an appointment at the dreaded dentist's office today. It's allegedly a "consultation" in "preparation" for the "removal" of my wisdom teeth. Riiiiight. I am, and have been for quite some time now, suspicious of dentists, oral surgeons, orthodontists, and other breeds of tooth-related professionals. I wasn't always this way, nay--not before I had braces, that is. After enduring the dreaded mouth stretcher, annoying little rubber bands that break in your mouth and act like little bull-whips against your lips, tooth cement, permanent retainer (that thing will be in my mouth until I'm DEAD. And it'll still be there AFTER I'm dead.), and other such horrors, I now have a healthily flourishing fear of going to the dentist. And NO, this fear is not irrational. Braces are far too traumatic for a seventh-grader. I practically have dental PTSD.

I really don't like people touching my teeth. Seriously, how scary is it to have someone digging around inside your mouth while you stare bug-eyed into a bright examination lamp, all the while hoping that you won't gag on Dentist's fingers and up-chuck into her/his face? Meanwhile, you're feeling like a disgusting freak because a pool of spittle is slowly collecting beneath your tongue, and you are completely powerless because you can't swallow when someone's nasty rubber-gloved hands are poking at your molars. Humiliatingly enough, you have to wait for the dentist to realize that there's about to be a deluge of saliva, and then allow her/him to suck out the moisture with a vacuum-powered straw. Lovely. Just lovely.

Anyway, hopefully this "consulation" won't be too horrible. Wish me luck. Actually, save the wishing of luck for later. I'll need it a lot more when I actually have to get the blasted wisdom teeth ripped from my skull.

Top Ten Inventions

The Science Museum in London recently created a top 10 list of the most important objects invented in history. Here's their list:

• Steam engine
• V2 rocket engine
• Electric telegraph
• Stephenson's Rocket
• X-ray machine
• Model T Ford
• Penicillin
• Pilot ACE Computer
• DNA double helix
• Apollo 10 capsule

I thought I'd make a top 10 list of the inventions that are most important to me. Here's my list!

• Volkswagen (originally started by Adolf Hitler and Ferdinand Porsche!)
• acetominophen
• the personal computer
  
• the telephone (...including the cellular variety)
  
• movable type printing press (revolutionized the mass-production of books!)
  
• indoor plumbing
  
• World Wide Web
• plastic
• the Interstate highway system
• the piano
  

These are mostly off of the top of my head, and there are many more inventions for which I am very grateful, but I thought I'd stick to a short list of 10, just so I don't bore anyone. But I'm interested to know what YOU would choose for your list of 10. Go for it!

Photo Theme: Gather

Photos from the Croft family Heber trip

Enya

Madelyn

Jared

Dane