Thursday, May 21, 2009

Adventures in Dentistry

So, we went on a mission, to have Al's 3rd molars removed as quickly and cheaply as possible. A fun objective overall. Here are the things we learned:

1. A consultation, which can cost a lot of money, consists of the dentist saying "say ahhh" and looking quickly in your mouth once.

2. Don't chew gum in the waiting room of an "affordable dentures" office. It makes you seem cocky.

3. All magazines in the dental waiting room world seem to be for men. I do not see the appeal of "Field and Stream," or "Men's Health," but we did read a good article about euthanizing horses in ESPN magazine (poor Heelbolt).

4. Batting your eyelashes and playing dumb does actually get you somewhere. Where we got was a consultation in thirty minutes (not three months) and a happy birthday serenade for Al from a rather twitchy, but clearly smitten, man receptionist. 

5. You cannot have your wisdom teeth removed in one day, and it is never cheap. 

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Adventures with an electric fence

I wish we had those pictures of us in the time-out chair, but my stupid cotton-headed ninnymuggins of a sister left her cord to connect her phone to her computer in Boston. Allow me to explain why we were in the time-out chair. We were very very bad, because everyone knows that electric fences are not to be touched. But what happens if you touch one? Don't you want to know? 

Basically, we're bored. No jobs really to speak of, no cellphone signal out in the woods, no bedtime, no alarms. Just the occasional brush with greatness. Or, an electric fence. So, we were out here at camp Yungeberg, after snack time but before crafts, and we went on a little nature walk. Found a fence we wanted to climb under. Saw that it has insulators on every post. Consequently spent the better part of an hour daring each other to touch it. "What will you give me?" "Nothing!" "You touch it!" "I will if you do..." 

So, we touched it... and do you know what happened? Nothing. And it turns out, it wasn't even turned on. Yep, we finally touched it. Nothing. You should try it sometime...