The Root (Canal) of All Evil

So I've been having some pain in my molar for the past week or so, so I went to the dentist today and they gave me a referral to see an endodontist. For a root canal.

And the last time I went to the dentist, he said, you're teeth are amazing! Oh, the irony... (Sing about that Alanis).

Ugh.

I still might not need a root canal, but this is feeling like the worst thing that could happen right now. Or ever. I quickly Googled "root canal" and "how to avoid a root canal" and an article came up stating that root canals were the worst pain imaginable and should be avoided more than the plague. At least if there is a plague, you die, and the pain ends, right?

So I need to think positive thoughts. Things could be worse than needing a root canal. For example:

1. Having no dental insurance to pay for the root canal.
2. Having no arms or legs. (I'm currently reading Life Without Limits by a man who was born without arms or legs and although he does pretty well for himself, I'm glad I have arms and legs.)
3. Making my living selling flowers to commuters in DC outside the metro.
4. Crashing on an uninhabited island and having to perform my own tooth extraction with an ice skate.

Tom Hanks in Castaway

So all in all, things could be much worse for me. I guess I'll take the root canal if I need to.

Daylight Savings Resolutions

Well friends, it seems as though I have been in a funk. This blog post will not likely be funny. So if that's what you're looking for, hopefully, that will be a forthcoming post.

Now that my life seems to be pretty routine, I have been feeling purposeless. I'm sure I've blogged about this before. Now that I'm done with school and have started working full-time, I feel like I don't really know what to be working toward. I've felt a bit lost - like I need the next big thing to mark a milestone in my life. This is probably the quarter life crisis. (Also known as "adulthood").

I've been thinking a lot about my life and what would make it better. And I think strengthening the relationships that I've developed and learning how to develop new deep and meaningful relationships with those that I meet. Since it's not as easy to develop deep friendships at this stage in my life, I'm hoping to develop the qualities that I find interesting and I hope that others find interesting, too.

I didn't make new year's resolutions this year. I wasn't up for it. But maybe daylight savings' resolutions were really what I needed. So here is my list of resolutions:

1.      SHORT TERM (or ongoing)

a.      General Conference Preparation– read an Oct 2012 conference talk everyday leading up to April 2013 conference (March 11-April 6)

b.      Finish Book of Revelation by April 6, 2013

c.       Go to Cherry Blossom Festival

                                                                          i.      Send postcard to niece by 4/15/2013

d.      Read Scriptures 10 minutes daily

e.      Read chapter aloud in Libro de Mormon Daily

f.        Read 2 books/month

g.      Exercise 5x/week 

             i.   (50 sit-ups in 1 min, 56.5 sec 300 m sprint, 22 push-ups, 8:15 min mile)

h.      Write in journal biweekly

i.        Do 1 cultural/different activity in DC per month

                                                                          i.      Invite 1 different person to go to activity each time

j.        Make 1 new recipe per month

k.       Go on 1 date/month

l.        Meet 2 new people at every social gathering (that has at least 20 people)

m.    Become actively involved in a local charity - research charities by 3/31/2013

2.      MEDIUM TERM

a.      New Job by 9/30/2013

b.      Learn to knit and knit 2 scarves by 11/30/2013  

c.      Machu Picchu vacation by 6/1/2014

d.    Read Old Testament by 6/1/2014

3.      LONG TERM

a.     Management position by 3/31/2016

b.    Buy a house by 3/31/2018

c.     Loan Forgiveness or Pay OFF loans by 11/30/2022