Update:
I went to the dentist this week. It had been about two years since my last visit, although I wrote on my form that I usually try to go in once a year. I was chided that I should really go in every six months and that some people need to go in every three months.

Then they looked at my teeth. "Oh my! You have great teeth! Hardly any build up! Your teeth are in better shape than people who come in every three months!"

Meanwhile in the room around me I kept hearing other patients get their scolding: "You really need to cut back on the soda...", "Stopping smoking will REALLY help your teeth...", "Have you ever heard of floss...?" And so on.

Yes, I do take care of my teeth - not as well as I should, I admit. Flossing occurs three or four times per week (unlike Sara who is the most emphatic flosser I have ever known). My mother had periodontal disease and she had major surgery on her gums. More recently the disease led her to need reconstructive surgery and dental implants. So, yeah, I have a motivation to be proactive in my oral health care.

Growing up my mother also gave us flouride supplements because the water in Mexico was not flourinated. There are many debates about the efficacy of flouride, but in the cases of my sister and mine it does not seem to have hurt.

Last, through some genetic twist of fate, I seem to have strong, plaque/tartar repelant teeth. I am not sure where it came from because the rest of my family seems to have had bad and crooked teeth.

So I have teeth going for me.

The same could not be said for things at the other end of the alimentary canal. I won't go into the details, but I have always seemed to have problems "down there" and this week one of those problems flared up. Yes, it is unpleasant. I hate getting to know where the phrase "pain in the ass" came from.

And then there is my brain. It started acting up again this week. I am not sure if it was a hicup or a larger issue. There has been a lot of stress and disappointment in my life recently, not to mention that I just seem to be off. I have been clumsier than usual, even falling down a couple times for no apparent reason. I seem to be pulling out of the funk today, but I am certainly not out of the woods yet.

The convenient thing about the recent episode is that I was pre-depressed (for my own convenience) when I received the rejection letter for the week. It was from a job I really did not think I had a shot at, so it is unlikely that I would have been that disappointed under "normal" circumstances. However, it barely even registered in my frame of mind.

Which brings me to the job search - as we approach the ides of March, it is growing less and less likely that I will be permanently employed in the Fall. The other day, Sara turned to me and asked, "What do you think is going to happen?" While I try not to think about these things, her question promted the two scenarios that I trully think will happen to pop into my mind.

1. By some strange serendipitous way, one of us will find a job that we never even thought of or thought we could get.
2. The worst case scenario - no jobs, mounting debt, and the ensuing existential crisis.

Option two is so frightening to me, I refuse to entertain it for too long in my mind. It seems like a distinct posibility in my mind, though.

So, as you might have been led to conclude by this post, I am looking forward to Spring Break which is one week away. On the "bad" side (bad for me, I am excited for her), Sara leaves for Japan in a week, so she won't be around. The dogs and I will just have to figure out a way to unwind on our own.

Somewhere I read that this weekend marks the beginning of the Aztec New Year. I am not sure if this is true or not.

But hey, I am ready for a change...so why not?