Uvula, Bank Fees, Internet, and Shaving.

I had the most interesting experience the other day. Have you ever seen a baby in front of a mirror when they first realize that it isn't another baby, but is in fact themselves? Did you ever notice the way the seem so genuinely intrigued and interested in their own anatomy, and like to make cooing noises as they figure out what "hands" are and how they work? If only they knew...
Anyway, I had a similar experience in front of the bathroom mirror on Tuesday. At least, I think it was Tuesday. See, my braces like to tear parts of my cheeks away, and in the freshly opened gaps, different things happen. Food gets lodged, bacteria start to grow, new cheek starts to cover over it all. The point is, I have to do some regular maintenance. Every other day or so, I go in and clean them out. Well, on Tuesday as I was cleaning out my braces cuts, I decided to depress my tongue. You know that line that goes down the back of your mouth? It isn't a solid structure! It's your Uvula! I was astonished, like you don't even know. I probably spent the next fifteen minutes playing with my uvula (not a euphemism) and making funny sounds. It was nice to be able to return to baby-land for a while and get all excited about a part of my anatomy with which I wasn't intimately familiar. I'm still kind of smiling just thinking about it. If you haven't discovered your uvula yet, I'd definitely advise it; it'll put a smile on your face.

I went to the bank today. Always a harrowing experience. I found out that nine days ago, they had hit me with about 143 USD worth of overdraft fees for charges that I had made almost a whole week before that. Heaven forbid they TELL ME! Especially since it was almost the end of the day on the date of my overdraft when I went to an ATM to check and it said that I still had a balance. The bank very kindly agreed to reverse 81 dollars worth of them, but... growl. The teller tells me, "It's not the bank's job to monitor your money." I honestly don't know why I would use a bank instead of keeping my cash in a jar under my pillow (other than the fact that that would make sleeping uncomfortable) if that's the truth. The entire POINT of the banking system is that they help you monitor your money. That's why we use banks instead of piggy banks! Growl. So, anyway, I'm back to being broke. And I still haven't started. I've given up on that job at the computer place. It doesn't take three weeks to run paper work. He shouldn't have offered if he didn't mean it. Jerk.

The internet is working again. When my parents moved, I only had internet access when I sat in just the right spot and the wind wasn't blowing so I could steal the neighbor's WiFi. The comcast man came by today. He wasn't remotely attractive, but he activated our internet access! So I can now surf for longer periods of time uninterrupted and get back to making comments; I've fallen behind.

For those of you who don't know, I was until recently blessed with the ability to go for long periods of time without shaving. I could push three weeks and only people who saw me moderately often would notice. Oh cruel world, it is no longer so! My chin hair isn't as soft as it used to be, or as blond! Do you know what that means? I actually have to shave regularly now. While a part of me is kind of excited because it's something that everybody else does and it kind of vindicates me as a man, it means that I have to get up a couple minutes earlier to make it out the door.

And I'm headed back to camp this weekend. I love camp. Really, truly, I won't ever be able to get married because I'm in love with camp. I may have already said that, but I'm too lazy to check. Less-journaly post to follow in near future.

-Stephen

Hearing is my favorite sense. Well, maybe.

So, I woke up this morning, and by this morning I mean shortly before noon because I don't have classes today. Something was wrong, but I really wasn't sure what it was at first. Until I heard a sound. Well, at least, I heard it with my left ear. And there was a problem. I couldn't hear out of my right ear. So, I started walking in the direction I figured would have a hospital, and I texted a few people. Well, one of them got back to me and told me that Bulldog and 3rd West was the place for me, so I went and checked into the emergency room.

I thought it was a pretty snazzy place, but it really wasn't. They admitted me, and I only waited about half an hour for a bed, which was what impressed me so much. The problem is that I then got to watch Who Wants to be a Millionaire until 4:10 when a physician finally saw me. And what did he say? "We don't have what we need to treat you here. Sorry." and then he said, "I think you might actually be able to help yourself if you [do this]."

So I went to Smiths and bought some Carbamide Peroxide, which I squirted into my ear. And then I had hearing back for a minute, but it went away again. I actually started writing this right after it came back the first time, but when it went away, I put that on hold. And I went and put some more stuff in my ear, and then I went to visit a friend who I hopped might have a device I needed.

Well, fortunately, she did have a bulb syringe, and I squirted water into my ear. A lot of water into my ear. After about fifteen minutes of this, my hearing came back, and it hasn't gone away yet. When I lost my hearing, I realized just how much I love my hearing. And in the even that I lose it again, it's good to know that I have good friends like you who will support me until I get it back. I'm just not looking forward to getting old and losing it forever!

-Stephen