You're goddamn right I'm UNCERTAIN

[das kranke Tier]

I am unemployed!!! (see the "Goddamned Job" thread in WCP)

[auto-da-fey]

my poor lady had an abscessed tooth this week that drove her insane with pain, so she had to get it dealt with right away--the irony being that she's a medical student but doesn't have dental insurance. It was supposed to set her back $1300, but she was able to become a guinea pig for UCLA dental students for a rousing $700 instead. Then yesterday she got in an accident on the freeway and smashed up her car (no one was hurt, thankfully), so I have to chauffeur her to school/work the rest of the week. Oh man, is she ever in a foul mood right now.

[hannah]

Ah, crap. I hope she feels better soon, adf. And you too, dkt.

I got my first rejection yesterday. I'm doing okay with it, I guess, but the next three weeks will probably slay my impatient and anxious self.

[slow west vultures]

ouch, i am sorry to hear that whit.  i hope your lady's tooth and general mood improve.  although now i've got that hold steady song with the line about 'an abscessed tooth' stuck in my head: "lord, what would you recommend . . . "

[auto-da-fey]

Thanks, Joe--I'd play that for her, but she's utterly devoid of a sense of humor today and would surely not be amused.

and Hannah, for what it's worth, I've been rejected by every job I've applied to this year, including the one I flew to DC to interview for. I think you'll have better luck.

(also I have an interview next week for a job that would take me to scenic . . . New Jersey! but it's relatively-close-to-NYC New Jersey, so I'm kind of excited. Even if I'm not terribly hopeful anymore)

[hannah]

If you don't mind my asking, where in relatively-close-to-NYC New Jersey? Good luck no matter what.

And job rejections I'm way too familiar with, sadly. This word came from graduate school. If I get shafted everywhere it may in the end be for the best because it means I won't have to move, but right now I would like some awesome news, not more ambiguity.

[coldforge]

adf, wanna hang?

[auto-da-fey]

shit, this is just a phone interview. if I actually wind up there in person, then absolutely.

[Nick Ink]

My sympathies on that tooth scenario too, adf.

I went to the dentist yesterday too. I've had problems for a week or so, but the painkillers were just about keeping it at bay. It turns out I have some sort of gum infection, and I'm pretty impressed with my dentist's diagnostic powers to be honest.

She took a coupel of x-rays and straight away asked me if I'd recently had an operation. Of course I told her I had, and basically she thinks that I bit down so hard under anaesthetic that I crunched my molar right down into my gum (and maybe even cracked it, we wait and see).

I feel bad saying so really, but in light of our recent discussion on the NHS and medical insurance, I should say none of this will cost me a penny.

[elpollodiablo]

I have to go to kind of a fancy faculty dinner here in a little while, and my dress shoes look like shit. What's the best way to go about polishing leather without, you know, actual polish?

[santaclaustral]

If you have (or can find someone who has) a pot of lip balm that doesn't contain petroleum (Burts Bees or something), that might work.

Otherwise... spit'n'polish, I guess.

[elpollodiablo]

Oh snap, thanks girl! I've got some Burt's Bees in the cabinet, actually

[slow west vultures]

My sympathies on that tooth scenario too, adf.

I went to the dentist yesterday too. I've had problems for a week or so, but the painkillers were just about keeping it at bay. It turns out I have some sort of gum infection, and I'm pretty impressed with my dentist's diagnostic powers to be honest.

She took a coupel of x-rays and straight away asked me if I'd recently had an operation. Of course I told her I had, and basically she thinks that I bit down so hard under anaesthetic that I crunched my molar right down into my gum (and maybe even cracked it, we wait and see).

I feel bad saying so really, but in light of our recent discussion on the NHS and medical insurance, I should say none of this will cost me a penny.

holy crap nick that sucks.  don't they have some sort of precaution for that when they give you anaesthetic? 

[auto-da-fey]

my poor lady had an abscessed tooth this week that drove her insane with pain, so she had to get it dealt with right away--the irony being that she's a medical student but doesn't have dental insurance. It was supposed to set her back $1300, but she was able to become a guinea pig for UCLA dental students for a rousing $700 instead. Then yesterday she got in an accident on the freeway and smashed up her car (no one was hurt, thankfully), so I have to chauffeur her to school/work the rest of the week. Oh man, is she ever in a foul mood right now.

I just went to pick her up from the hospital, where she had learned from a voicemail that her grandfather in Guatemala has gone into acute renal failure. Verily, this is not her (or her grandfather's!) week. Damn.

[Augo]

Man.  Sorry to hear all that adf.  May I suggest doing something very sweet, perhaps sappy, for her tomorrow? 

[Augo]

Or today.  Or everyday.  Ya know...whatevs. 

EDIT Of course, I'm not telling you how to run your shit, guy.  I'm sure a fellow of your soundness knows how to make your special lady feel better.

[jebreject]

Holy shit.

[auto-da-fey]

. . . aaaand it continues, this time on my side. A cousin of mine shot himself in the head today, killing himself instantly. No idea why yet; he was 42, married, with 14- and 20-year old daughters. I can't claim to be all that personally affected by it--I barely knew him, as he came from my father's side of the family, a sprawling Catholic farm clan from which I was sort of shielded while growing up, presumably because the dysfunction runs very, very deep (clearly)--but I'm still saddened and upset, and because my first concern is always for the survivors, I'm really worried about his mother (my aunt), an already unbalanced woman who must be shattered by this. Plus the cousin was born while my father was in Vietnam and named after him, so I'm sure it must be taking a toll on him as well, which is extra unfortunate because my father is just beginning to make progress on his PTSD at the VA counseling facility. Plus the wife, the daughters . . . I don't even know them, but I feel so bad for them, what a terrible, traumatic event.

Well, shit. Anyway, sorry for the stream of tragedy on this thread today, it's just sort of useful to puke up posts like this as a means of articulating one's feelings to oneself sometimes. Also my parents are leaving tomorrow for a trip to California, and it sounds like they're still coming, but I think that sort of changes the spirit of the vacation.

[slow west vultures]

  whit 

i hope you guys can manage to find something positive the next couple of days (if that doesn't sound cheap)

[El_Josharino]

Goddamn. Hugs, etc. man.

[jebreject]

Fuck

[YojimboMonkey]

That is a shitty week, Whit.

For what it's worth, there's a guy in Chi-town hurtin' for you man.

[elpollodiablo]

Whit dude I'm sorry to hear all that shit, man

That is way too much for one dude, no matter how hard

And you are one hard motherfucker

[auto-da-fey]

Hey, thanks everyone, I really appreciate the show of support. Honestly, all of the shit that's been pouring down has had mostly a secondary impact on me, so I'm just gonna keep helping Gaby out however I can (mostly chauffeuring and the sappy stuff Augo mentioned) and try to have an actual meaningful conversation with my father while he's out here, it's really all there is to do. That, and continue being a hard motherfucker, of course.

[milesofsparks]

damn, adf, I can't believe all that.  I hope things get better immediately, for you and G.