2002-07-23 - 11:04 a.m.

On the internal soundtrack: "Is It Really So Strange?", The Smiths

So, the wisdom tooth thing is going okay. I am a little dismayed that I still can't open my mouth more than 3/4" -- am I ever going to eat a hoagie again?! -- but I'm eating more normal foods so I am feeling much better in that regard. It's a relief, 'cause the only soft food I could still stand to eat is cream of wheat. The chipmunk look is gone. Pain level is still essentially none, and I'm spacing the Tylenol out more (6+ hours). I'm gonna try going down to one Tylenol instead of two and see how that goes.

One thing that's really annoying, though, is that I might have one of the side effects she mentioned -- nerve damage resulting in numbness. It may only be temporary. And it may actually be due to the swelling, not nerve damage. But it's really annoying. The left side of my chin and part of my lower lip are numb, and kissing is not quite as fun as it used to be. That sucks. I really, really hope it's temporary.

On Saturday morning, Poindexter got up a little early and went to the DMV. He got a number, and then because he didn't like it there, he went to the Convention Center to read for a while.

When he went back, he'd missed his number.

So he got another number, with a 4:22 wait, at 11am. He came home, ate lunch, napped with me, and decided to get his hair cut. We got back to the DMV at 3:30, and he'd missed his number, again.

So we got another number, and the estimated wait was an hour, so Poindexter settled in with his book while I went to get the Sunday paper early edition at CVS.

I'm in line at CVS, and Poindexter comes in and says, "Don't freak out." He'd forgotten the checkbook. I did NOT want to miss his number again -- he'd already wasted half the day running back and forth between the DMV and home -- so I insisted we take a cab. Eight bucks roundtrip. Gah.

But, long story short, he finally walked out of the DMV an hour past closing with his new driver's license. Hurray. Only took all day.

Not only that, but we were treated to an impromptu vocal performance, when we were waiting for the actual license after his picture was taken. The picture-taker employee and another customer, both in wheelchairs (the DMV is full of employees and customers in wheelchairs, for some reason; ), sang "The Star-Spangled Banner". We don't know what inspired them to do it, beyond the employee telling the customer "I'm gonna make you sing for me." They were good, too. We clapped when they finished. The customer looked rather like he might be a professional singer of some kind; he had really long dreadlocks and John Lennon glasses and just looked arty.

Well, now that the wisdom tooth anticipation agony is out of the way, I can start obsessing over the house instead. I had put that out of my mind for awhile, except to fax documents where required.

When we were at my parents' house last weekend, my brother was there too, listening to us agonize over the geezer who wouldn't sell us his house. We must have looked more pathetic than I realized, based on this IM conversation with my brother:

Vito Corleone says:
We got the house, did you hear?
brother says:
oh yeah
brother says:
congrats
brother says:
you both looked so pained sat
Vito Corleone says:
LOL
Vito Corleone says:
Yeah, I really really really wanted this house.
Vito Corleone says:
The location is SO PERFECT.
brother says:
like someone had bullwhipped your ass

Since the house is empty, we're going to ask for permission (probably once the mortgage is approved) to get into the house early to refinish the hardwood, which is a mess, and install new carpets. I wouldn't have thought of it, but Kyle suggested it. We'll see.

Either way, we're researching, researching, researching. Well, I am, because I am an information junkie. Trying to find out how not to get scammed, finding balances in quality vs. cost, stuff like that.

I also got caught up in looking at stairs. The house has what we've been calling "Brady Bunch stairs", those open flat boards. I think some people call them "floating" stairs. I like them a lot, because they give it an edgy, loft-y look that will work well with our furniture and all the black.

However, the wood is painted an ugly brownish red color and is looking chipped and worn, so we'll probably want to replace the boards. The railings are also that hideous 6" tall, 2" wide Seventies handrail and will also need to be replaced. So I wondered if it would be easier to replace the stairs with prefabricated stairs like I've seen in lofts.

Thing is, though, it's a lot easier to find spiral staircases online, and man are they nifty. I wish we could get rid of the straight staircases and put in spirals instead. I got quite distracted and spent a good hour just browsing through sites that have these spiral staircases.

If we end up just replacing the boards and railings (which we probably will), we're wavering between staining them to match the hardwood floors versus painting them black. Given that our whole color scheme in the living/dining area is "walnut-stained wood and black with sage accents" we could go either way.

One problem with these stairs: They'll be slippery, and there's no riser to catch you if you slip. We're probably going to have to invest in those socks with the rubber grips on the sole, since we generally don't wear shoes in the house.

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