Goddamn, I am so hyped up on caffeine right now - 4 medium bookstore chais will do that to you. I have this unending feeling of acceleration, like my mind is running in two parellel thoughts, racing to figure out which one I should concentrate on first. Every little sound and body movement made by the other people in the cafe is magnified by 10: the various blond little kids running around my table; their mother, searching the menu for lemonade (yes, that's what these kids need, more sugar); the cough cough coughing of the older gentleman to my right; the piercing alarm overhead that is going off every 3 minutes. Either someone has walked out without paying, or there is a meltdown in the main reactor core; the incessant, bug-like chattering of a group of medical professionals who have just showed up for some sort of meeting.

Speaking of, earlier in the week:

Monday, 6PM: I decide "gee, I think I'll brush my teeth and go grocery shopping."

6:04PM: Lots of blood in the sink.

Maybe a little explanation is in order. I woke up in much pain on Monday morning. The back of the left side of my mouth was swollen. I'm thinking...wisdom teeth? Grinding my teeth at night? Alien trying to get out? Popped some Advil, tried to get through the morning. The pain started to fade a little bit, but the swelling remained, and throughout the day it was a wee bit hard to talk. Luckily, I work at home alone and rarely talk out loud. Unless it's to myself, and I try to keep that at a minimum. I also stayed off the phone as much as I could.

ANYWAY...the pain disappeared over the next day and night, and tonight I decided (see above) to go grocery shopping. Picture the scene: I'm happy, wondering what type of neat foodstuffs I can buy at the store, making a mental note to buy razor cartridges so I can shave the next morning, trying to remember that, yes, I have the spaghetti and sauce, but I need grated cheese as well, when...BAM! Emeril Lagasse pops out of my toilet! No, sorry, but I had to follow that BAM! with something. No, I'm rinsing my mouth out with water, and a torrent of blood comes pouring out into the sink. I look at the toothbrush: red swirls mixed in with the Crest. I mumbled something out loud (I think it was, "what the fuck..."), and rinsed my mouth some more. More blood into the sink.* I rinse my mouth a third time.

No blood at all. Completely blood free. Huh? To make a long story short: it was probably an abscess, filled with blood, and I punctured it with the toothbrush. No more bleeding, and the swelling is gone. I decide to call my sister, who is my doctor's assistant, and she agrees. But, because of my mitral valve prolapse she gives me some anti-biotics (side note: the mitral valve is a heart valve, and whenever I have any dental work done I need to take anti-biotics before and after to ward off infection and bacteria getting in the blood stream - actually a very common ailment...more people have it than you think). Take two tonight, and one for the next 4 days.

Book update: It's coming, it's coming. One of the reasons I haven't updated this web site in a month is because I've been working on the book almost every single day. Check the book link to the right for all the latest info.

OK, that's it for now. Tonight is pizza night and The X-Files. Yabba-dabba-do.

*I know, I know...you're thinking, "I didn't come here to get grossed out AND get a medical lesson." But,hey, it's a notebook, and this is what's going on with me this week, so...

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