My saving grace.

As I alluded to in a previous blogging post, I clench my teeth at night. And possibly grind them. Most of the time I do it without even realizing it and it causes me great pain. The best way to deal with this flaw of mine is a nite guard. I have been putting this off and dealing with the pain for a couple of years now for 2 reasons:


1. Nite guards cost money.

2. How lame is it that I need a nite guard?? I mean what am I, old?


Anyways, a few weeks ago I started to experience some intense tooth pain and decided to go to the dentist convinced my sweet tooth had finally had too much and I had a cavity. But no, no cavity for me. The dentist concluded that my tooth has a really short root which could contribute to the pain, but most likely it was from my teeth clenching. Great.


So she reshaped my tooth to alter my bite so I don't put as much pressure on my pained tooth and fitted me for a nite guard. The thing I have been dreading would soon be mine and I could pick it up the next day. Yay.


Although I was against the nite guard initially, I loved it immediately the next morning. Who would have ever thought that a little piece of plastic could be so wondrous!? And it even came with a mold of my teeth so it will always hold its form and be able to hug my pearly whites perfectly! (Actually, I was a little creeped out by my very own mold of my teeth, but hey who am I to judge the ways of dentistry.)

Almost like dentures. NOT.

Moral of the story: Don't fight the inevitable.

Worth every penny.

My dreams.

I am going to blog about my dreams. Now I don't mean my goals or aspirations in life, but my unconscious thoughts that occur every night. Yes, I said every night. I think I may have the most active unconscious mind ever. I really should be studied at a sleep center somewhere.

Usually my dreams are rather enjoyable, so I guess I should be happy I don't suffer from many nightmares. If that was the case, I probably would have to be studied or at least have some therapy! But yes, I am fortunate enough to have happy dreams basically every night. I usually remember them better in the morning and if I wake up mid-dream, I can easily fall back into it and pick up where I left off. Or if I didn't like how it was going, I have altered some and then re-dreamed them more to my liking. Seriously.

In the book Drugs, Sex, and Cocoa Puffs, Chuck Klosterman has 23 questions he claims to ask everyone he meets in order to decide if he can really love them. Without getting too into that concept, here is question #6:

At long last, someone invents "the dream VCR". This machine allows you to tape an entire evening's worth of your own dreams, which you can then watch at your leisure. However, the inventor of the dream VCR will only allow you to use this device if you agree to a strange caveat: When you watch your dreams, you must do so with your family and your closest friends in the same room. They get to watch your dreams along with you. And if you don't agree to this, you can't use the dream VCR.
Would you still do this?

This is an interesting question and after very little thought, I would not do it. My dreams are sometimes very vivid and I remember the good ones pretty well anyways. Also I am fairly certain that I don't want my family and friends to know what goes on in my unconscious. I mean I don't always want to know what goes on there. So if you want to know about my dreams, just ask and maybe I will have a good one for you...

But some believe that your dreams can tell you something about yourself and your desires and needs if you analyze them. So I should probably keep a dream journal and maybe I could figure some things out about myself and my needs.

As for now, I will just keep on dreaming and who knows, this blogging experience just may end up in my dreams later tonight....

My recent escape...

I love going places and one of those places happens to be Minneapolis. What's even better is that my favorite uncle in the whole world lives there. He is just great and listens to me talk about whatever. He also has great insight about so much and therefore I end up telling him more than I tell others. So trips to Minneapolis are usually very cleansing and head-clearing for me. It's my form of therapy, if you will.

Rocket

(a part of my therapy)

But the cherry on my spoon (my try on a clever Mpls reference), was that I finally got to see my very first Umphrey's McGee show. And it was held at First Ave. which has so much history musically, it is ridiculous.


Back to Umphrey's McGee, it was amazing. They are so ridiculously talented and are mind-blowing to watch/listen to. I will definitely go to another show any chance I get. I love music and this is one love that never disappoints me. It is refreshing to have a constant of some sort in my life. I could not imagine life without music and as a record store in Boulder, CO, put it "life without music would be a mistake". I couldn't agree more.

Gotta love it.*

*Photo credit goes to Leo Silva

My love for music and traveling can sometimes take over most of my conscious thoughts (and unconscious thoughts) and this is evident in various things. For example, I really need an internship this summer, but instead of really focusing on finding the perfect one, I am more invested in music festivals that I want to attend and line-ups and trips that I want to take. I know what I need to get done, I just wish I felt more dedicated to my future career. I guess it just seems so far away, even though it isn't, and I get caught up in the immediate. Maybe that is not such a bad thing though...we are always told that we should live more in the moment and such.

I will wrap this up by saying I needed this weekend away so bad. I feel like I have been dealing with so many things lately and have been getting overwhelmed and stressed. I can feel it in my jaw. So I needed this escape from my normal reality and look forward to the next one.