O happy day

I loved today. I got to sit in Panera Bread all day long, listening to new music I love (I spent some time updating my iTunes over the holidays) and writing more than half of a big story I've procrastinated way too long and at one point turning off the music (but keeping the headphones) to eavesdrop on a job interview taking place at the table beside me.

At 3 I had to leave to get a cavity filled, which I was dreading. I consider myself to have high pain tolerance but not when it comes to my teeth -- they're just so sensitive. But this appointment had already been rescheduled once (it was originally supposed to be done the day I found out I was pregnant, and they told me to postpone it until the second trimester), so I was just ready to get it over with, because I have no interest in root canals. Isn't that what happens when a cavity's too bad? Maybe not.

Anyway, I went to the dentist and gave them a form letter from my doctor telling them which medicines are and aren't OK for me to have during pregnancy. Apparently the letter wasn't detailed enough so they called the doctor's office with some specific questions, and the person they needed to talk to hadn't called them back before it was too late to fit in my filling. I got to go home! This is kind of the opposite of delayed gratification, but I welcomed it today. And getting home early meant I got to fit in a great long run outside.

My headaches have been much better the past two days. I think it's been good to start to get back in a normal routine and on some semblance of a normal sleep schedule. I also am making a concerted effort to drink more water and to eat more, which isn't that easy because a lot of foods don't sound appealing to me. It's not like I'm queasy, I just don't have much of an appetite. I thought over what I'd eaten a few days recently and realized it didn't add up to much, so maybe that did contribute to the headaches.

This book I'm reading about Wal-Mart is really making me think about boycotting Wal-Mart. I already despise the entire experience of shopping there -- from parking to the crowded aisles to the checkout lanes to running into half the town. Reading about the massive, global negative effects of their "everyday low prices" (specifically, what is sacrificed to keep those prices low) helps put the few dollars I might save there in perspective. I won't go off on it now, and I haven't even finished the book yet, but I won't be surprised if I join Kate in cutting Wal-Mart out of my life soon.