This goes out to anyone who has tried to find a 2L bottle of rootbeer in Harvard Square. It's impossible. I know coz I went to CVS, C'est Bon Convenience, and even 7-eleven (I didn't try the Marketplace). But I really wanted to bring a rootbeer float to a gathering, so here is what I did:
I bought a Double Gulp at 7-eleven.
You know how 7-eleven sells drinks in cups? Well, it turns out that the largest cup they have is 64 oz, which is 1/2 gallon, which is 1.89L. Perfect. And did I mention that they have about 8 flavors at least? One of them was IBC Rootbeer. You can find rootbeer at any drink dispenser, just not in stores in Harvard Square. It seems like the most likely sodas are Coke/Diet Coke (and their Pepsi equivalents), and Sprite and Ginger Ale. No rootbeer. And being Harvard Square, you pay $1.99 for your giant bottle.
I paid $1.46 for my 64 oz, and went over to the gathering while impressed onlookers stared at me. The Double Gulp was a big hit at the party too. Sadly, no one thought that it was the biggest rootbeer float ever.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
I knew I was in the wrong place
For weeks now, I've been trying to convince myself otherwise. This morning, reality hit me in the form of a piece of paper with a teddybear design. It said "please remember to enclose $3 for shipping the teddybear to Africa".
My roommates have a weekly knitting circle where they are making teddybears to give to African children suffering from HIV/AIDS. They did not inform me about it, and I found out only accidentally. I was in shock for a while, but a friend suggested that maybe they were knitting teddybears to sell to raise funds for African children. I mean, knitting isn't cheap, nor is the weekly pizza or whatever takeout they purchase to feed themselves while knitting. How about using the money to send food or HIV retroviral drugs to those kids instead?
It's like me making fun of Spare Change all over again, except this time it's happening in my home. I can't believe they are in my PhD program. I know, on the bright side, it won't be so hard getting a good academic position if these are the people I am up against.
My roommates have a weekly knitting circle where they are making teddybears to give to African children suffering from HIV/AIDS. They did not inform me about it, and I found out only accidentally. I was in shock for a while, but a friend suggested that maybe they were knitting teddybears to sell to raise funds for African children. I mean, knitting isn't cheap, nor is the weekly pizza or whatever takeout they purchase to feed themselves while knitting. How about using the money to send food or HIV retroviral drugs to those kids instead?
It's like me making fun of Spare Change all over again, except this time it's happening in my home. I can't believe they are in my PhD program. I know, on the bright side, it won't be so hard getting a good academic position if these are the people I am up against.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
A best case scenario wisdom teeth extraction
I got my wisdom teeth out a week ago, and it was no way near the painful experience I thought it would be. It was really hard deciding to take 3 of my wisdom teeth out because of all the awful stories I heard about other people's experiences. However, I have weaker-than-average gums, and my teeth are in an awkward position for cleaning. Every so often, the gum gets painful around one of my tooth, and I know it's not because the tooth is growing out. It seemed like something I'd have to do eventually, so I finally decided to get my teeth out.
My dentist was a confident, tiny, middle-aged man who proudly declared that he almost never has to see his patients after surgery, and they all have little swelling. One could take this the wrong way, but I believed my dentist -- I saw his pride in his work. Even then, I was terrified.
Given my fear, you'd have imagined that I would get general anesthesia, but I actually got the local instead. There were 2 reasons:
1. my roommate told me a story of a guy who died of suffocation when a piece of gauze got stuck in his throat during surgery.
2. everyone else suggested local, because it had fewer side effects. These are people who have removed their wisdom teeth.
I was shaking when I sat down in the dental chair, and the dentist gave me my first dose of novocain in 3 places (this part stings a little). I told him that I was scared, and asked him if I should close my eyes, and he said "yes". Then he left while the anesthesia kicked in, which was for about 10-15 minutes. During that time, I talked to the nurse who assured me that my dentist is faster than average, so it'll be over very quickly.
When the dentist came back, he gave me another shot of novocain around one of my teeth and then I closed my eyes and he put something into my mouth, and before I knew it, he announced that one of my teeth was out. This tooth has mostly emerged and was bony (impacted and bony, according to the bill), but it was hard to clean. I'm not even sure if he stitched me up. It was all over in less than 2 minutes, and I opened my eyes.
For the next tooth, I closed my eyes and he went through the same procedure, except this time the tooth was a little more tightly lodged. I heard a little creak in my ear before he announced that the tooth was out. Again, less than 2 minutes. There was a little pressure, but it didn't hurt. This time, the thread touched the edges of my mouth so I knew he stitched me up. This tooth was impacted, but only partially erupted. I've never really had problems with it, and it surprised me when the dentist told me that it was already infected. There was pus and gunk beneath the tooth, and he had to clean things out a little.
The last tooth was much larger than the other 2. The dentist gave me a shot of novocain as usual, but I didn't feel my lips numbing, so he gave me another shot. Still, I didn't feel my lips numbing. I even used my fingers to poke around my mouth area to report the degree of numbness to the dentist. By this time, I was an engaged participant and no longer shaking, even though I closed my eyes when the dentist was working. He decided that it was still okay to proceed. He tried once but it didn't work -- I heard the creaking, and my head was following along. I said that it might have hurt slightly when he was pulling at my tooth, and he said that he was actually pushing ("I only push, never pull"). I still don't know if it was hurting, or if it was just pressure that I was feeling. He told me to keep my head still and gave a 2nd push, and for about 5 seconds I felt the pressure/slight pain again and then the tooth was free. Again he stitched me up, and it probably took less than 5 minutes really.
Let's recap: 50 minutes, 3 teeth. 5-10 min of waiting time before the dentist arrived, another 10-15 min of waiting for the anesthesia to kick in, and then an actual 2 min for each tooth, not counting the time in between each tooth (especially the 3rd which needed more anesthesia).
My care instructions were to ice the day of, take 3 ibuprofens instead of vicodin immediately, and also take penicillin for my infected tooth. (Vicodin only if ibuprofen doesn't work.) I should put gauze in my mouth when I'm oozing. I noticed that I was drooling a lot because of the gauze (I stopped drooling when I took the gauze out). I was in a chirpy mood, and I managed to drop by my lab to say hi to everyone and talk about my experience before I headed home to rest. At home, I noticed that the bleeding was slow, and 4 hours post surgery, I decided that I didn't need gauze. I managed to drink, eat yogurt and mashed sweet potato, and swallow my pills okay. I didn't notice any swelling. That night, I slept with a towel over my pillow in case of bloody drool. There was a drop of pink drool when I woke up.
Day 2: No swelling, but it's supposed to peak at 48 hours post surgery. I decided to lower my dose of ibuprofen because I was feeling pretty good, so I tried eating 2. That lasted me 5.5 hours, which is nearly regular dose (caveat: I'm 105lbs, so it might be a pretty high dose for a small person.) Again, I was on mashed sweet potatoes and yogurt, but I was back at work. I started my salt water rinses and it did not hurt my wound (to be continued for 5-7 days, 6-8 times a day). I completely stopped bleeding by the afternoon (24 hours post surgery). I took 3 ibuprofens before going to bed just in case, and I brushed my front teeth.
Day 3: Still no swelling. I started the day with 2 ibuprofens because my jaw was throbbing slightly on the infected side. I took out 2 healthy teeth on the other side, but I didn't feel any pain there. I decided that I could probably go 1 ibuprofen every 4 hours, so I lowered my dose of painkillers. I ate mushroom soup and bread (just the white part) fine. Just in case, I took 2 ibuprofens to bed.
Day 4: I'm down to 1 ibuprofen every 6 hours. For dinner, I started taking nibbles of softer food (there was a free buffet that night, so I tried everything that looked edible). I realized that I could chew on the uninfected side.
Day 5: I took my last ibuprofen after brunch. My brunch was pancakes and scrambled eggs. My dinner was salmon and bread.
Day 6 was much like day 5.
On day 7, I had a real dinner. I took a piece of fried chicken, and ate a spicy korean stirfy.
I think it was mostly fear that kept me from eating real food earlier, although I think it is a good idea to stay on soft and bland foods for a week. I feel mostly fine now, just a little scared when I yawn and open my mouth too wide.
Of course, I've had plenty of friends who had bleeding for 3 days, or had to take their teeth out in pieces, and who really needed general anesthesia. I feel like I got lucky with my teeth, and perhaps my choice of dentist. If you happen to be in Boston and need your wisdom teeth out, I have an excellent dentist to recommend.
My dentist was a confident, tiny, middle-aged man who proudly declared that he almost never has to see his patients after surgery, and they all have little swelling. One could take this the wrong way, but I believed my dentist -- I saw his pride in his work. Even then, I was terrified.
Given my fear, you'd have imagined that I would get general anesthesia, but I actually got the local instead. There were 2 reasons:
1. my roommate told me a story of a guy who died of suffocation when a piece of gauze got stuck in his throat during surgery.
2. everyone else suggested local, because it had fewer side effects. These are people who have removed their wisdom teeth.
I was shaking when I sat down in the dental chair, and the dentist gave me my first dose of novocain in 3 places (this part stings a little). I told him that I was scared, and asked him if I should close my eyes, and he said "yes". Then he left while the anesthesia kicked in, which was for about 10-15 minutes. During that time, I talked to the nurse who assured me that my dentist is faster than average, so it'll be over very quickly.
When the dentist came back, he gave me another shot of novocain around one of my teeth and then I closed my eyes and he put something into my mouth, and before I knew it, he announced that one of my teeth was out. This tooth has mostly emerged and was bony (impacted and bony, according to the bill), but it was hard to clean. I'm not even sure if he stitched me up. It was all over in less than 2 minutes, and I opened my eyes.
For the next tooth, I closed my eyes and he went through the same procedure, except this time the tooth was a little more tightly lodged. I heard a little creak in my ear before he announced that the tooth was out. Again, less than 2 minutes. There was a little pressure, but it didn't hurt. This time, the thread touched the edges of my mouth so I knew he stitched me up. This tooth was impacted, but only partially erupted. I've never really had problems with it, and it surprised me when the dentist told me that it was already infected. There was pus and gunk beneath the tooth, and he had to clean things out a little.
The last tooth was much larger than the other 2. The dentist gave me a shot of novocain as usual, but I didn't feel my lips numbing, so he gave me another shot. Still, I didn't feel my lips numbing. I even used my fingers to poke around my mouth area to report the degree of numbness to the dentist. By this time, I was an engaged participant and no longer shaking, even though I closed my eyes when the dentist was working. He decided that it was still okay to proceed. He tried once but it didn't work -- I heard the creaking, and my head was following along. I said that it might have hurt slightly when he was pulling at my tooth, and he said that he was actually pushing ("I only push, never pull"). I still don't know if it was hurting, or if it was just pressure that I was feeling. He told me to keep my head still and gave a 2nd push, and for about 5 seconds I felt the pressure/slight pain again and then the tooth was free. Again he stitched me up, and it probably took less than 5 minutes really.
Let's recap: 50 minutes, 3 teeth. 5-10 min of waiting time before the dentist arrived, another 10-15 min of waiting for the anesthesia to kick in, and then an actual 2 min for each tooth, not counting the time in between each tooth (especially the 3rd which needed more anesthesia).
My care instructions were to ice the day of, take 3 ibuprofens instead of vicodin immediately, and also take penicillin for my infected tooth. (Vicodin only if ibuprofen doesn't work.) I should put gauze in my mouth when I'm oozing. I noticed that I was drooling a lot because of the gauze (I stopped drooling when I took the gauze out). I was in a chirpy mood, and I managed to drop by my lab to say hi to everyone and talk about my experience before I headed home to rest. At home, I noticed that the bleeding was slow, and 4 hours post surgery, I decided that I didn't need gauze. I managed to drink, eat yogurt and mashed sweet potato, and swallow my pills okay. I didn't notice any swelling. That night, I slept with a towel over my pillow in case of bloody drool. There was a drop of pink drool when I woke up.
Day 2: No swelling, but it's supposed to peak at 48 hours post surgery. I decided to lower my dose of ibuprofen because I was feeling pretty good, so I tried eating 2. That lasted me 5.5 hours, which is nearly regular dose (caveat: I'm 105lbs, so it might be a pretty high dose for a small person.) Again, I was on mashed sweet potatoes and yogurt, but I was back at work. I started my salt water rinses and it did not hurt my wound (to be continued for 5-7 days, 6-8 times a day). I completely stopped bleeding by the afternoon (24 hours post surgery). I took 3 ibuprofens before going to bed just in case, and I brushed my front teeth.
Day 3: Still no swelling. I started the day with 2 ibuprofens because my jaw was throbbing slightly on the infected side. I took out 2 healthy teeth on the other side, but I didn't feel any pain there. I decided that I could probably go 1 ibuprofen every 4 hours, so I lowered my dose of painkillers. I ate mushroom soup and bread (just the white part) fine. Just in case, I took 2 ibuprofens to bed.
Day 4: I'm down to 1 ibuprofen every 6 hours. For dinner, I started taking nibbles of softer food (there was a free buffet that night, so I tried everything that looked edible). I realized that I could chew on the uninfected side.
Day 5: I took my last ibuprofen after brunch. My brunch was pancakes and scrambled eggs. My dinner was salmon and bread.
Day 6 was much like day 5.
On day 7, I had a real dinner. I took a piece of fried chicken, and ate a spicy korean stirfy.
I think it was mostly fear that kept me from eating real food earlier, although I think it is a good idea to stay on soft and bland foods for a week. I feel mostly fine now, just a little scared when I yawn and open my mouth too wide.
Of course, I've had plenty of friends who had bleeding for 3 days, or had to take their teeth out in pieces, and who really needed general anesthesia. I feel like I got lucky with my teeth, and perhaps my choice of dentist. If you happen to be in Boston and need your wisdom teeth out, I have an excellent dentist to recommend.
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