The Adventures of Chuck and Sid

My wisdom teeth are gone now. It's hard for me to believe that I was sedated while a man literally cut the flesh of my mouth in order to extract some husks of bone from my jaw. But it's true. My teeth are really gone. Is there such a thing as postpartum depression for teeth?

So, the first thing I remember is waking up with a nurse helping me out of a chair and walking me to a recovery room where Amy was sitting. I don't remember much about what was said in there, but the surgeon and one of the nurses came in to give some instructions about what to do when I got home. While the nurse was there, I think I mumbled something about playing Resident Evil 4 which induced one of those awkward silences like you might hear at a party when someone mentions the deforestation of Brazil.

Honestly, the pain hasn't been as bad as I expected it to be. I was imagining a scenario in which I was bed-ridden for days, a cloth wrapped around my head while the moans and wails of 1000 bastard children formed a fleshy beast of caccophany... no wait, that was Freddy Krueger's birth. Seriously, I thought it would be more painful that it was. The worst part about the whole procedure was only that I spent my first 24 hours after the surgery ingesting my own blood, which produced a kind of burning nausea that I hope I don't feel again for quite some time.

And I did get to play video games. I finished F.E.A.R. and made some huge strides in Resident Evil 4. I even took the opportunity to download and sample Fate, a very colorful Diablo clone. If it weren't for the fact that I'm already playing about four games at once, I'd drop the $20 for Fate in a heartbeat. It's a fantastic little game that is easy on the eyes and the wallet. It makes no pretenses about what it is or is not. I would say if you're really in the mood for Diablo but don't want all the over-the-top uber-serious rigamarole about angels and demons and the end of the world then this could be the game for you. It also has 3D-modelled characters and environments with lots of fun lighting effects which is a vast visual improvement over the 800x600 resolution pixellated sprites you'll see in Diablo 2.

Perhaps my interest in Fate wasn't so much in the game itself, but rather a personal investment. Instead of participating in my usual practice of creating some third-person avatar, I put myself in the game. My character is essentially me, named Chuck, but unlike me, Game Chuck can do things like cast spells and fight large globs of jelly in dungeons. The other great thing about Fate is that your main character can take along an animal companion, either a cat or a dog, to fight at his or her side. The dog was an obvious choice perhaps due to a stereotypical human reliance on dogs for protection, but I was delighted when I saw the cat: a ball of purring, orange fur that runs along beside me, helping me thwart evil at every turn. Of course I chose the cat, and yes, his name is Sid. So, Chuck traverses the dungeon searching for fame and coin while his fierce but friendly kitty companion named Sid runs purring along beside him. Putting myself and my cat in the game as characters gives it a childhood fantasy quality that I find quite charming. It gives me a warm fuzzy.

Wise Beyond Years

The date of the surgery to remove all four of my wisdom teeth has been set for January 31st. I had my consultation yesterday morning and the surgeon pointed to multiple facts that led to his decision. All four teeth have erupted (pushed through the gums), the two lower teeth have cysts growing behind them which weaken my jawbone, and all four of the teeth are pushing against their nearest molar neighbors meaning that I can never floss in those spaces. All of these points, while not inherently threatening in their current state, will most certainly cause more problems in the future and his recommendation is for extraction of all four teeth simultaneously.

My consolation prize is the general anasthetic I will receive due to my age becuase the roots are now fully formed therefore much digging will be done in sensitive areas. My only real comfort outside of unconsciousness during the procedure is knowing that I'll be staying home from work and I'm hoping that getting the opportunity to play video games all day will help pyschologically numb the pain or at least distract me from it. I have the fortitude to play for upwards of eight solid hours and in that future state of discomfort I have also been told that I will lack the will to eat anything, furthering enabling my resolve to engage in unending animated distractions.

Speaking of distractions, here are some interesting ones that I have tried in the recent past. In Nanaca Crash!!, you will hit a man while riding your bicycle and the object of the game is to get him to fly the farthest distance. The game's instructions are in Japanese so part of the fun is figuring out just what is going on. I'll give you one hint, then you're on your own: Click, HOLD, Release. I really like the theme song. It makes me want to play Sonic the Hedgehog, Marble Zone again. Another less fun game is Zombie Grinder 60000. If nothing else, it's good for a laugh. An appreciation for Grindcore, even an ironic one, is almost essential.