Surgery 2

I have eaten about 10 gallons of ice cream in the last week. At least, that's what it seems like. Last Friday I had the second surgery of this long process to reinforce my mouth. Last fall was the lower right quadrant, and this time we did the lower left.

The surgery went as planned--4 hours in the dentist chair having my gums cut open and stitched back together. I won't bother you with the grisly details this time (you can check out the post from last time for that). Now that the periodontal department is on the 12th floor, the surgical room has a much better view. The chair was parallel to the window rather than facing it, but as I was looking toward the ceiling for the whole four hours, it hardly matters. There were fewer students watching the procedure this time, but the (rather good-looking) head resident did pop in toward the end when Dr. Griffin was stitching me up.

I got to listen to my iPod this time, which was a lovely distraction. The playlist started out with Jeremy Camp, the artist I always go to when what I really want is for someone to hold my hand.

The incision was larger this time, reaching past the center of the mouth to expose the bone added last time so the new graft could join it properly. Once he had exposed the graft he commented on how amazed he was at the three dimensional growth. Fatema took a picture of the comparison between the exposed root of the new site and the new, thicker bone of the previous site. It was a perfect before and after picture and could even end up in a published article someday. That would be pretty awesome.

Over the weekend my diet consisted almost entirely of ice cream, and I slept most of the day in a nest of cushions I built to keep my head elevated. Apparently it did the trick, because when I went for my one week check-up yesterday Fatema was amazed at how quickly my healing was progressing. The swelling is going down much more quickly than before, and the pain is fading as well. When the pain does flare up, usually just when it's time that I can take more pain meds, it doesn't stretch across the whole site, but centers itself around the pointed eye tooth, right in the corner. I realize that my mouth is actually round and doesn't have a corner, but mentally that's what it feels like.

I can eat any soft foods now, but ice cream is still a large part of my menu, since it requires little to no chewing and can therefore be eaten more quickly than anything more substantial or with actual nutrients. Eating is a difficult task now--it requires both hands and careful attention as I must choose only soft foods and cut everything into pieces rather than bite directly in. It takes longer than it should, and I can't do anything else. For instance, I had to stop twice while writing this post to eat some Ben & Jerry's Key Lime Pie ice cream. Oral surgery would be a great diet, except that it leaves me feeling hungry all the time, and the easiest things to eat are terribly unhealthy.

Still, it's good to know I'm making such good progress and will be back to myself again soon. And more importantly, it's good to know the first procedure was so successful, and that this whole painful process really is worthwhile.

-Kim

Harry Potter!

Last week Adrienne and I made the best possible use of having President's Day off from classes. We spent the afternoon at the Harry Potter Exhibition at the Boston Museum of Science. This is a touring exhibition that has been in town for several months and will be leaving after this coming weekend. The exhibit includes many costumes and props actually used in the filming of the Harry Potter movies and is a Potter nerd's dream come true.

The main hallway of the museum was all decked out for the occasion. Sadly, no photography was allowed inside the exhibit, but I'll do my best to paint a picture with my words and bring you into the experience!

First of all, there was a lot of waiting. In order to keep the crowd size under control, admission was timed, and a new group was let in every five minutes. Before our group could enter, three children were sorted. I should have volunteered, but I wasn't sure if they would take someone over four feet tall.

Once inside the doors, we watched a video montage and, while we were distracted, a wall rose behind us to reveal the Hogwarts Express, steam rising from it, announcing our arrival at Hogwarts. We walked past a wall of portraits, through the doorway to Gryffindor tower with the Fat Lady singing and into the main exhibit hall.

First were costumes and props belonging to Hermione, Neville and Ginny, and in a corner by themselves, Harry and Ron. I was most impressed by seeing everyone's wands. They're all so detailed, and even Neville's has a fancy twist in the handle. (I thought very hard about buying a replica of Hermione's beautiful wand, but they were ridiculously expensive.) Harry and Ron's fancy beds were there as well. After the kids was a row of professors and their associated props, prominently featuring the various Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. Snap's robes were there, as well as Lupin's (along with the mirrored boggart cabinet), Lockhart's finery and Umbridge's pink nightmare. Trelawney was sadly absent, but in Professor Sprout's corner was a row of mandrakes that visitors were encouraged to pull up out of their pots to a chorus of squealing.

Following the academic area was a quidditch pitch, with uniforms from the World Cup, Harry's Firebolt and the chest of quidditch balls. Also, there was another interactive exhibit where we could play quidditch! Well, sort of. We got to throw quaffles through hoops as if we were chasers in a game, and I got mine through the farthest hoop on the first try!

Next was Hagrid's hut, with various magical creatures surrounding it, including Buckbeak the Hippogrif, who I have always wanted to ride and was sorely tempted to touch. The last thing we were allowed to touch was Hagrid's chair. The thing is absolutely enormous! I could curl up in it quite comfortably and take a nap. It even puts to shame the armchairs in the basement of Mears Library back at USF, and that's saying something!

After the magical creatures of the Dark Forest was a display of evil characters. I hadn't realized before that the dementors have no legs but only a disturbingly long spine that becomes a creep-tastic tail. There was fog in the air, and a bit of wind making Voldemort and his Death Eaters' robes flutter menacingly.

From there we passed through a hall full of Umbridge's notices into the Great Hall itself. The hall was decorated for the Yule Ball, and everyone's party attire was on display. Hermione's dress is actually prettier in person (I think Adrienne should get one just like it!), and Ron's really isn't so bad. Up close I could tell it was actually very well made, and the lace seemed less offensive. Dumbledore and McGonnogal's robes and wands were there, as well as Sirius' nicer clothes from Order of the Pheonix and Fawkes, who is larger than I had originally thought.

And of course, the last place we were sent was the gift shop, full of all things Harry Potter. In the end, I bought myself a plastic time-turner (the nice gold one was far too expensive), and Adrienne got a Dumbledore's Army t-shirt. And on the way out we took pictures by the only items we could--a poster advertising the exhibit and the chess piece Ron sat on in the Sorcerer's Stone, which has been on display in the museum lobby for several months.


Look, I finally got my Hogwart's letter! I'm ditching library school to go learn magic!


And Adrienne is still too giddy to do anything but grin!

I feel that this summary is sorely lacking, and I wish I could just go back and take you all with me to experience it for yourselves. If the exhibit travels anywhere near you, definitely go check it out!

-Kim

The Suburb Beyond the Stars

The Suburb Beyond the Stars (due for publication June 2010) by M.T. Anderson is the sequel to The Game of Sunken Places. I never read the first book, and it's a credit to Anderson that I was still able to enjoy the story without having read the first book. Granted, I would probably have enjoyed it even more with the previous story as background, but this really is a new adventure, and the recurring characters are given enough of an introduction for things to make sense without completely boring those who already know what's going on.

The story begins in Boston, with Brian being chased through the T system by otherworldly beings on his way home from a cello lesson. That opening is full of win and extra nerdy bonus points. Brian and his friend Gregory found themselves in the middle of a conflict between two groups of powerful beings, the Thusser and the Norumbegans, in the previous book. With the Game finished, the Thusser should have left them alone, but the attack on Brian is just the beginning. Gregory's cousin Prudence, who was also involved in the Game, has disappeared, and time itself is being bent in the new development that sprang up around her house in the woods, directly over the caverns where the Norumbegans once lived and the Game took place. Brian and Gregory (and an ax-wielding robotic troll) have to find Prudence and save the world from the Thusser!

This story was an exciting ride and a joy to read. The friendship dynamic between Gregory, the cool and funny one, and Brian, the smart one, is believable and entertaining, and I found myself really caring about them. I may have to go back and read the first book now to build up my knowledge base on the Norumbegan/Thusser conflict to prepare myself for the next installment of this fascinating story. That's right folks--it's still not over! And from the way this one ends, the next chapter portends to be even more fantastic, in every sense of the word!

The Wide-Awake Princess

Sometimes a "new" twist on an old fairy tale can feel forced or corny. Thankfully, that isn't the case with E. D. Baker's The Wide-Awake Princess, due for release May 2010.

Baker (who apparently also wrote the book Disney's newest movie "The Princess and the Frog" is based on) invites us to a land where every royal personage is blessed with magical gifts at birth in order to be talented, graceful, and most importantly, beautiful. Everyone, that is, except Princess Annie, the younger sister of Gwendolin, the most beautiful princess in all the land. Gwennie was cursed to prick her finger on a spinning wheel and sleep for 100 years, and in order to keep any curses from falling on Annie, she was given the gift of being untouched by magic, good or bad. So when the fateful day arrives and the whole castle falls asleep, Annie is the only one who can fetch Gwennie's true love to bring their kingdom back to life.

But finding a true love is easier said than done! Annie, joined by castle guard Liam travels through all the surrounding kingdoms, meeting one prince after another and sliding from one classic fairytale to the next--from gingerbread houses to ogres and transmogrified royalty--with quick wits learned from growing up without magic. With all the princes around, one of them has got to be Gwennie's true love, right?

This story is wildly entertaining, if at times a bit predictable. Even if the main plot follows the usual happy ending curve, the smaller details are still surprising and full of whimsy. And besides, we wouldn't want an unhappy ending for our heroine, who deserves a true love far more than her overly-magicked sister. My one real objection is that the final action sequence is not done well. It felt incomplete and needed to be either expanded and given more emphasis or left out entirely so as not to distract from the happy ending. And if I were to critique the author as a member or my writing group, I might comment that at times the characters seem to spend too much time explaining things to each other in rather contrived conversations. But with only a few awkward pages in a book that is otherwise truly magical, I'll forgive Baker and offer my compliments for a story well told.

de-cluttering

We've talked about clearing some of the "junk" out of my room, but for the sake of my soul and my sanity I've committed to more than that. I'm also cutting those things that are really just in the way out of my schedule so that I can more fully enjoy those activities that are actually necessary and life giving.

I've always had trouble with the word "no." I don't like to disappoint people, so I generally try to do whatever is asked of me. Part of that is a general sense of generosity, which is a great trait to have when going into a service profession like library/archives work. But another side is the more insidious need to live up to the expectations of those around me. But since the only expectations I should be worrying about are God's, I've learned in the last several years to not worry so much about ruffling a few feathers by not jumping on board every pet project a friend or classmate or even fellow church member wants help with. Really, I already have enough of my own.

This past week I left my new writing group. Don't panic--I know that seems out of character for me, but it will all make sense soon. I am still connected with my first group back home through email and face-to-face meetings whenever I'm in the state of south Dakota, so no worries about me getting disconnected from the craft. This past fall I had also joined a writing group at Park Street Church, in the hope that a local group might hold me more accountable for producing work and actively seeking publication. But this group never felt quite right. We don't all write in the same genre or for the same age level, and there is a definite disparity in the level of talent between several of the members. It also felt very rigid. We met twice a month and at each meeting discussed a new piece of writing. That meant that in addition to my grad school coursework and my own creative writing I was supposed to read and thoughtfully comment on up to 15K words every two weeks. I couldn't always keep up, and felt incredibly guilty when I wasn't prepared for a meeting or missed because of my surgery. So I gave them my apologies and cut myself loose to focus on grad school.

All this to say that I do appreciate what I did receive from the group. It was good to experience a different group dynamic and be exposed to some other styles of writing. And they gave me a true glimpse of how an agent or editor who has never heard of me may react when presented with only the first few chapters of my novel and not the whole story. They were decidedly unimpressed. I met with my home group over Christmas break and talked over their response, brainstorming ways to make the rather slow beginning move along faster and ways to introduce tension. I trust my home group enough to move forward with trying a new beginning, and now that I'm not trying to be creative on someone else's rigid schedule, the ideas are flowing a lot more smoothly. Now that I've gotten rid of the guilt, I can enjoy the truly life-giving experience of creating new worlds with my words.

-Kim