The Mildest of Posts.

I guess it’s just you and me, bird.

It’s been a weekend of solitude. This is not a bad thing, especially after being away from my trove of crafting supplies for two weeks. I’ve made solid progress on the Halloween costume, and I have another small project in the works, which shall be revealed at a future date.

The bird, though, was a part of my visit to the periodontist on Tuesday. My initial impression was less than stellar: the receptionist froze up when I gestured that I was deaf and needed them to communicate in an alternative way. Hearing people glitching over the slight communication barrier used to be a frequent experience, 15 years ago. Perhaps this was a side effect of working in an outdated office.

It is weird to think I’m often someone’s very first interaction with a deaf person.

Now, we return to my feelings on the waiting room decor. On the wall were these… half hulls mounted on a plaque for some reason, and subsequently mounted in a quincunx way too high on the wall. The waiting room chairs were hunter green: I’m neutral on this colour, but also recognize it as a signature colour of 90s home decor. Overall, this waiting room was uncomfortably outdated. I rate it a 3/10, with the random falcon sculpture supplementing all three points.

I got some okay news regarding the implant. The specialist doesn’t believe it’s infected, so I may be taking two weeks’ worth of antibiotics that make everything taste bitter for no reason. There is a 50/50 chance the implant will firm up in a month. Sometime in mid-October, I’ll find out whether that last crown can be added. This has lifted quite a bit of my anxiety.

My employer unnecessarily, but mercifully, gave me the entire day off. Since I couldn’t get my teeth un-fucked, I treated myself to a manicure refresh. I had to go to the mall as Lana, who was doing my nail art, cancelled my last appointment due to illness and is now travelling for the next three weeks.

The ladies at the mall nail salon worked as a team to communicate with me. In their defense, I don’t think English was their first language. I appreciated the teamwork.

Rather than getting another manicure inspired by the paint job on one of my bikes, I opted for a solid coating of “Angel Numbers.” I’ll save the more inspirational ideas for when Lana is back.

Without a single person relying on me being readily available throughout daylight hours, I have been doing incredibly well ignoring my phone. My productivity has jumped. In the past, it was too easy to drop whatever I was doing and get caught up in a conversation with a friend. Not being bound to my phone makes these distractions fewer, and I can jump on all these crafting ideas I’ve been sitting on.

I am more accustomed to solitude than most. My siblings were too old to play with me, and I didn’t have friends in the neighbourhood until I was 12. I spent week nights and weekends reading, drawing, crafting, and watching a lot of tv. (At least I was definitely watching just one screen at a time.) I don’t plan on fully reverting to that version of Laura, as I was also spying on the neighbours with binoculars and sledding down the stairs in a box. I still need people in my life. I’ll find a happy medium eventually.