Sore in the Mouth

That's been my status for the past two days. It makes people giggle.

I've got a pair of wisdom teeth busting through, a cold sore, and swollen gums, in addition to what I feel pretty sure is a cavity. I spit more blood than toothpaste now. I'm eating soft things today. Making a dentist appointment soon.

I've also been extraordinarily thirsty thus far today. Weird.

*jump*

In good work news, one of the books I edited received an outstanding review in the Irish Times. Over the course of working on this book, the author and I have become really good friends. We did have a fight, where he called and said some pretty mean things, which I took, calmly. He called back later and apologized, and then took me to dinner at a fancy Indian restaurant. We've been there a couple times, and had AMAZING baby lamb chops. Which, okay, I feel a little guilty for eating. But they're so so tasty.

In addition, this particular book is also going to be reviewed in...wait for it...the New York Times Book Review! That's a big deal, man.

More later...at work, and distracted.

Motivated

Normally on Wednesdays, I figure out a reason to stay at work until around 7ish, and then I head to Lenora's Way, where Boston tends the bar. He pulls me about 3 pints, I chat with him and the general manager and the owner, along with various regulars. It's a pretty sweet ritual.

About 4 weeks back, I was drinking and reading Exiles, which is the only play that James Joyce ever published. It's solid, but sort of strange; I owe it another read. Anyway, I was talking to this guy Paul (i think paul...we drank a lot) about it. His son had just been married, and he was in a celebratory mood, buying beers and shooting the breeze.

I had swiveled back around to read further, take more cryptic notes that I hoped would come clear as the night went on, and I felt someone approach me.

"Excuse me, what are you reading?"
I showed him.
"But I'm also reading Joyce! I've just finished Portrait and I'm starting Ulysses soon."

I asked him if he'd thought of tackling Finnegans Wake when he finished, and he said he hadn't. I was a little ways into my cups for the evening, so I started telling him about Ireland and my Joyce class, and my love of the Wake. How I want a Joycean tattoo. What the Wake is really about. Why it should be read drunk and out loud. Why it isn't nonsense. It was delightful to make that connection with someone in the city.

So since then, we've brushed against each other in the bar a couple times, always discussing Joyce and drinking. It's excellent. We've been emailing this week about the opening of Ulysses, and Bloom's introduction phase. The gloriousness they incite in us, the joy. He's inspired me to re-read Ulysses. It's sort of beautiful to read that kind of a book in the city.

But since work has been slow this week, I've not really got a reason to stay in the city late enough to swing by the bar on my way home. And I have a lot of reasons to go home:

-the third roommate is moving out of my two bedroom apartment, which means things will slowly start to trend back to being organized
-the weather's started to turn, so I need to move my clothes around. Put the summer things in storage and get all my sweaters out.
-I was out last night pretty late. Was up super late Monday night as well.
-I have delicious beers in my fridge.
-I need to watch my Netflix movie. And update my queue.
-I need to spend some time on my WoW priest. My friends I'm leveling with are about 10-12 levels ahead of me.
-I need to do some work on my resume. Looking to bust out of here sooner rather than later.
-I need to make some phone calls and appointments. One for the girly doctor, one for the dentist, and one for the vet to do some altering on my kitties. Getting a little too frisky, and it was part of the adoption deal.
-Call the landlord to see if we can get a walk-through of our apartment, and sign a new lease for next year.

So maybe I'll do some of that, and then make a to-do list for real, because L'abri just called and wants to get drinks.

*wink*