For anyone reading this now, it's September on the East Coast. But here's it's not yet 10:30, and August is my favorite month of the year, so it deserves full respect. My horoscope told me August would be ringing with clashes of good and bad. That I would be up one minute and down the next. Ultimately I agree.
One thing about August on the East Coast, the third week always brought a change in the light of the sky. Suddenly the blue was paler, the yellow light of sun began to wane. As soon as this change arrived, so did a burst of brisk days with cool wind and a preview of Fall. I always got so annoyed and depressed by that. Out here, I witnessed the same change in light, three weeks ago, much earlier than I'd ever seen it back East. At first I was a bit angry and frustrated by that, but the weather has not had any abrupt change. It's been steady. It is strange to me. As I've already reported, it is the coldest summer San Diego has ever experienced, and the water temperature is the lowest on record. There has been no feel of summer, though you can still see girls in bikinis every single day, in all kinds of places other than the beach, which is absolutely fantastic. But, aside from a few days here and there, it has not been hot. I was jealous today to hear of how hot it was in New England, and to have multiple friends tell me that they re-worked their schedules to head to the beach. I salute you, wave warriors, and thank you for the pictures.
The picture here is from dusk on Pacific Beach this evening. I did take a jog this evening and then a dip. But I saw a stingray a few feet away from me, so I didn't stay in too long. The fact that I watched some of Jaws 3 (atrocious) yesterday augmented my trepidation of the water.
My report for today: West Coast dentists. I've only been to one, so take it with a grain of salt. But I think I'm on to something here. This dentist is a former partner of my dentist in Boston, who has been fantastic. I was well accepted by the staff over the phone, and not 48 hours later had a folder of forms delivered to my door that had to be completed before my visit. They were almost as extensive as a college application. I arrived today, and was blown away. There was a Japanese rock garden in the foyer, I almost took off my shoes. When I entered, everyone in the office was bright and cheery and wearing matching uniforms, bright lime green shirts with chocolate brown scrubs. It was like an episode of Nip/Tuck.
I then was subjected to another round of questions but was frustrated that the most pertinent part of my questionnaire was not addressed (Q: "Have you ever had a bad dental experience?" A: "Yes, two. One was a sadist the other was a crook."). This office had every form of advanced technology, but nobody there seemed to know how to use it. I had to sit for photographs of my jaw line, my outer jaw line. I had to sit for photographs of my teeth and gums, which I then had to look at, and I wanted all of these super high-def, multi-pixel shots destroyed. Christ, good thing I shaved today. I didn't know I was auditioning for the lead in a 100 million dollar film.
Once I had to sit through the photos and x-rays twice, before the beginning of a cleaning when an assistant had the giggles rather than recording the info, I expressed some serious frustration to the hygienist. Good thing I did. After that, it was all smiles and support. Sometimes these candyasses out here forget that some people value their time and pay attention to the behavior of others. I have to say, after I spoke up, I was treated very respectfully and I received a tremendous cleaning, as well as three estimates on various cosmetic procedures I may want to consider at some point in the future. On my way out, I was given a gift bag, as if I had just attended the Emmys or some other bullshit awards show.
Thing is, I doubt it would be different in most other places out there, and they did a great job. The Boston connection paid off because the dentist realized I knew every big-wig he mentioned from Beantown, down to knowing what they preferred to eat and drink when they go out. Fortunately, the guys he mentioned were great people, I didn't have to feign affinity for any assholes. In the end, it was an experience, and I have the t-shirt to promote it.
Happy September, everyone.
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