Black Groaning Day

In one of my favorite books of recent years, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, the protaganist, Christopher, has autism. He describes his bad days, days when he is overstimulated, as "black days" on which he just wants to curl up in a ball and "do groaning". Though I don't have Asperger's Syndrome, after being beaten down by the effects of the last few days, I know exactly how he feels.

Last Thursday I had to have 4 (count 'em) 4 fillings put in. I had never had more than 1 before and didn't quite do the mental prep necessary so I was left whimpering with the dentist above me complaining about how small my mouth was. (That happens when there is a giant needle going in and out-go figure.) Then when checking out I was informed of my bill which caused more whimpering.

Then Friday while we were out walking the dogs we were approached by one of the maintainence men with bad news. While salting the parking lot their truck had accidently hit my car, crushing the trunk. I tried to be zen about it as he felt really bad but it would certainly mean negotiation and auto repair-two of my least favorite things.

But those were only the warmup for today.

I was the designated driver for a friend who was having some minor surgery. Though I suck at medical stuff (see dentist above) I was glad to do it as she has done so much for me. We arrived at the clinic to find that a former (with emphasis on the former part) friend was an employee there. Though it was funny in a "of all the gin joints in all the world" kind of way, it was more cruel surprise. As if my friend didn't have needles and side effects hanging over her head, this too.

But we made it through that (4 hours of waiting) only to have the muffler on my car come loose and start dragging the ground. This involved a tow truck driver with a bungee cord, a mechanic named Mike and about 3 hours of waiting. (Oh, and more whimpering from me.) Poor girl, she was doped to the gills, slumped in the waiting room at Midas. The muffler was repaired (of course they found something else wrong as is their way) and we again attempted to get her home into her own bed. But then we were locked out because I had overlocked the door. (!!!)

So we went to get supplies at Trader Joe's while the landlady came with a key (we were frankly pretty sick of my car by then). Of course, the cherry on the sundae was seeing the snake in the grass ex-husband of another friendwhile there. So our shopping trip turned into a "Mission Impossible" stealth job. But he didn't see us. (We think.)

So, Christopher "black days"? Yeah, I'm with ya on that.