Bliss and the Dentist

This morning as usual I walked my beloved 17 year old dog, Alexandra. I was listening to my Japanese Language CD's. The section I had been working on was how to say where you came from, and what city were you born. When people ask me (in English) where I'm from, I usually say that I was born in San Francisco, but that I've lived in "California, Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Washington". As, I was trying to figure out how to say that, I realized that I soon will have a new place to add to my list. And not just another lousy state! I'll get to add a new country! This thought was so wonderful I began to cry. Really. A moment of pure delight.
As we came in through the gate we were greeted by a turtle. She took a long look at us, smiled and walked away. I took it as a terrific omen...what exactly I don't know, but it was my omen so back off.
Then I came inside, grabbed my valium in preparation for my trip to the dentist and went to work. I took the valium 30 minutes before my appointment, but during the whole visit I was still pretty uptight. The greatest part of the whole "Dental Experience" is that from the minute he first opened my mouth to the last rinse out took about 20 minutes. "Fastest cavity filler in the South" should be his motto. I'm still hoping the valium will kick in sometime soon, just for fun. But if not, it was a wonderful placebo, and made me much less nervous about the whole encounter.