Tag Archives: General

Random brain dump

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Some random stuff that I have been meaning to write about:

  • What is up with the weather? Tonight it is going hit -2 degrees according to weather.com and my morning commute looks like it will be in the 4 degree range. It is so cold that my stereo system in my car takes a few minutes to heat up before it will talk with my iPod (note to self: gotta get that fixed). By 3:00pm on Saturday (roughly 42 hours from now), it will be 47 degrees out and all next week we will be flirting with 50 degrees. Welcome to spring in New Hampshire.
  • It has been about 9 weeks since I started using Invisalign braces. I just started aligner set #5 (of 12 for my bottom teeth, of 24 for my top teeth), so I am almost halfway done the bottom teeth and almost a quarter done the top teeth. I switch to a new set of aligners 2 weeks on Wednesday. Usually by Friday (48 hours or so), my mouth is no longer sore from the new set and I can easily take them off. So really, it is just 2 days of being sore and having a relatively difficult time taking them off. I think that with the last set is the first time I think I started to notice something, but it is tough to tell since each set does such a small amount of change on its own. I think I will have to look at the before/after photos to really appreciate the amount of change.
  • I have a good feeling about the Red Sox this year. This is one of the deepest starting rotations around (even deeper then 2004′s) if everyone stays healthy. The offense looks pretty well rounded. Only concern is the bullpen, but those are always a crapshoot and it is the one thing Theo can’t seem to get together (outside of 2004).
  • Speaking about good feelings, how about the Patriots? They are schooling everyone in free agency. So much for being “cheap” like some members of the media (*cough* Ron Borges *cough*) think they are.
  • On the other hand, those Celtics are doing a great job working for that #1 (or #2) pick!
  • On the geek front, the DST changes are a bane to my existence. This is one of those (many) times where the government did more harm then good…why break something that was working fine? I think at work we got everything patched up on the Windows side, but I am worried about Lotus Notes…calendar systems are really weird to begin with when it comes to time zones. Nothing can be simple and easy I guess.
  • I have been reading Barack Obama’s two books and I don’t think I ever been more impressed with a politician. He is exactly the type of leader that should be President.
  • Tomorrow marks the return of me to the gym at work. Actually, technically I returned yesterday when I got fitness tested (being entered in a drawing for a new iPod had nothing to do with that, I swear). So anyways, tomorrow I going to restart working out and be very sore this weekend.

No metal in this mouth

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As of yesterday, I have braces. Well, kinda.

No no, my mouth isn’t full of enough metal to set off a metal detector. In fact, there is no metal at all.

For the next 48 weeks, I am wearing Invisalign. Think of them as an adult version of braces, but that are clear aligners that I put on my upper and lower teeth. Almost like a mouthguard.

Every two weeks, I get a new set of aligners as my teeth slowly move to where they are supposed to be. For my upper teeth, I need 24 aligners (48 weeks), while for my bottom teeth I just need 12 aligners (24 weeks).

I have to wear the aligners for about 23 hours a day, taking them off only when I eat. No more snacking (since it is just enough of a hassle to take them on and off) and I can only drink water with these on. No more soda or junk!

The real cool part about these is that no one notices that I am wearing them. I have had them for 24 hours and I already can speak like normal (I had a slight lisp yesterday). People have to get real close to even notice them on there.

While I definitely feel the aligners when they are on, I don’t feel any pain wearing them on. In fact, I am sore when I have them off. Getting my lower aligner on and off is no problem, very simple. My top one is a little harder, thanks to some crooked teeth. Sometimes it hurts when I take that one on and off, but the pain leaves in a second.

Way too early to tell if these work or not (I will probably know by the halfway point), but so far I am pleased with them. Considering the alternatives, this is so much better.

2007 Resolutions

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I don’t typically do resolutions, but I want to set some goals for 2007.

  • Read more - When I encounter a book I want to read, I absolutely tear through it. It isn’t uncommon for me to finish a novel in 2-3 days. Problem is, I didn’t do much reading in 2006. That needs to change.
  • Save more - I want to work on cutting my expenses and save money so I can start paying extra on my student loans.
  • Work out again – From July to the end of October, I was working out every day at my company’s gym and doing a fantastic job. Then I got lazy and stopped going. Starting next week, I plan on returning to the gym 3 days a week and stick with it this year.
  • Pull off this wedding – Getting married in September means the big day is getting closer. I am going to pull this off and have a great time!

For the most part, they are simple resolutions…but that is the point. I want to succeed. Let’s check again in January 2008.

Catching up time

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I know, I know…it has been awhile since I have posted on here to say the least.

What have I been up to?

  • This year was the first time I have ever bought every Christmas gift online. I was able to take care of this early thanks to free shipping deals at places like Amazon.com and Buy.com (plus a few other online stores, but I won’t name them since the gifts would be obvious right away). Made it much less stressful then risking my life finding a parking spot at the Mall of New Hampshire.
  • We had the first snow of the year yesterday in Manchester. Just a half inch or so, although it made for an interesting commute. It has been absolutely freezing the past few days, but tomorrow is going to be 50 degrees. Go figure.
  • My boss gave me a Palm LifeDrive to try out. It is the first PDA I ever used. It is interesting, although I have lots of issues with the UI. I am going to try to keep my schedule and contacts on there for work. Oh how I wish that Apple would just come out with an iPhone.
  • Speaking of phones, starting on the 27th Katie and I are eligible for practically free new cell phones from Verzion. I am shopping around for phones to check out, plus checking out the other cell phone providers to see what they are offering. I might as well look around before signing away my soul for another two years to a cell phone provider. Maybe I should wait for MacWorld to come around before buying a phone…you never know…
  • Yesterday at my work’s holiday party, I won a $100 gift certificate door prize to Dick’s Sporting Goods. Did I ever mention that my employer is awsome? I bought the Nike+iPod kit for my iPod nano, an armband for my iPod, and some comfortable fleece pants. Did I mention that Dick’s Sporting Goods is insanely expensive? Hey, it wasn’t my money!
  • I am trying out Safari again. Firefox is just too slow on Macs. We will see how long this lasts.

Until next time…take it easy.