I forgot how nice it is to come back from the dentist. So many people are afraid or dislike the dentist, but I’m a pretty big fan. Nothing like coming home and running your tongue along those nice new pearly whites. Not to mention having your nightguard cleaned, I mean.. can it get any better?

It can.. all those great treats they give you. Floss, toothbrushes, toothpaste. I even got a tongue-scraper today (Miss Possible has always been an avid fan of the tongue scrapings, she’ll be so proud).

Besides trying to sell me on reconstructive jaw surgery to fix my underbite, the dentist was one of the best I’ve ever had. Using the latest technology, in-room televisions, and everyone was so incredibly pleasant. The hygenist even went to Northeastern and also just got engaged last month. Her only word of advice was to floss more (like all dentites), and went so far as to say that it’s so important to floss that I’d be better off cutting down my brushing to once a day and flossing once a day. Go figure.

The best part of it all, though, was that I have absolutely zero cavities, and the dentist himself said “You have really nice teeth.” So, now that everyone knows more about my teeth than you’ve ever wanted.. I’m gonna go have a glass of red wine.

To go along with the recent posts about phones and such, I figured I’d just throw up a quick diatribe about my feelings on voicemail. I’m not a fan. I just think that it’s easier to call someone back after receiving the missed call, than rather have to listen to a message that says “Hi, call me back.”

There’s an interesting read in today’s UK Guardian about voicemail, that I wanted to share. I have to agree with this even more.. While at work, I’d much rather prefer an e-mail detailing what needs to be done, than a phone message that says “call me back when you have a chance to discuss x,y,z.. blah blah blah” — because that just tends to turn into a game of phone tag. If you’d just left me an e-mail telling me what was what, it would’ve been done a heck of a lot sooner. My Boston.com peeps knew this well, almost too well. I’d get voicemails saying “I know you’re not going to listen to this, so I’m just going to send you an e-mail.” Well, that, too, defeats the purpose.. but at least they knew of my dislike for the medium.

I think the exception is for those numbers I don’t recognize. Let ‘em go to voicemail, and tell me why they’re ringing my line.. or I can’t be bothered. I guess there’s always some good things that come out of VM.

~ ~ Photos from Bonnaroo ~ ~

We left Shenandoah on Tuesday, late in the afternoon — to try to get a head start on some of the driving. From Shenandoah it’s about 12 hours to Manchester, TN — the annual site of Bonnaroo. We stayed overnight at a lovely Holiday Inn in Bristol, VA — that we took full advantage of all of the ammenties including the outdoor Hot Tub.

We departed bright and early on Wednesday morning to finish up our trip, and stop by Knoxville, TN for our annual Panera Lunch. It was about 5pm CST when we made it to the Best Western Hotel in McMinnville (15 minutes from Manchester). Later that evening, we heard on “Radio Bonnaroo” that the “Setup had taken less time than expected, and the gates were open early.” We had already put down my credit card at the BW, but said screw it — because the chance of getting in a full day early would be great to get everything set up. Not to mention the fact that we believed we’d be the closest ones to the venue.
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Well, it was fun while it lasted, wasn’t it? The hopes for the U.S. World Cup Soccer Team to advance to the next round ended today with the defeat to Ghana. Italy played their part well, which earned Ghana the ability to pass into the next round leaving the Czech Republic in the dust. This obviously isn’t 2002.

It’s a shame that the US had to lose, but to be honest it’s for the best. Due to the untimely nature of my vacation, I was unable to watch any of the US Games, but I was very excited for the US Team this year. I even considered buying a US Team Jersey to show my support.

If the US had won today, a few more fair-weather fans would have jumped on the soccer band wagon for a few days until the US lost to Brazil in the first game of the next round (most likely). Meanwhile, in the small African Nation of Ghana 22,409,572 people are celebrating today as their team advances.

For some reason, the World’s most popular sport is only admired by those Soccer Mom’s who cheer for their 8-year old kids as they run around the field playing their first team sport. I’ll bet even those very same soccer mom’s could have cared less about the importance of the World Cup. But for the rest of the world it means respect.

Maybe it’s a good thing we don’t take it seriously. Otherwise, we might actually be embarrassed by our team’s extremely poor performance — scoring only one goal in the three matches.

Sigh. I guess it’s time to get back to America’s real pastime, and hope that four years from now more people will appreciate the excitement and thrill of World Cup soccer.

Something has happened in these last half a dozen years since cell phones became ubiquitous.  People have become freaked out, paranoid.  Actually, this all started with *69 on good old land line phones.  Remember that nifty technological advancement?  The Jerky Boys sure do.  It ruined their career.  But *69 is not needed on cell phones because virtually all cell phones have displays showing you who is calling.  Now I’m not saying that I’m not paranoid myself.  I certainly am.  I’m paranoid, cautious, safe, and mostly boring.  I didn’t used to be this way, but it’s where I ended up.

Yesterday, a young lady called me on my office phone(!) and said, “Yeah, I have a missed call from this number.”  My first instinct was to go into full-on sarcastic mode and rude this chick right off my line, but I had to remember that I am representing an entire multinational conglomerate here.  I asked her if she had a name for a person that she would like to speak to, as this is a business.  No, of course she didn’t.  She repeated the (frightening) missed call scenario and when I told her that I couldn’t help, she relinquished with, “I guess if it was important, they’ll leave a voicemail.”  To feed my soul, I gave her the sarcastic, “riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight,” and followed it up with a click, dial tone.

Remember the days not too long ago before people had cell phones, PDAs, Blackberries, and all that nonsense?  Don’t you think our home phones missed calls or received wrong number calls all the time?  Sure they did.  But we didn’t freak out about it because we didn’t know.  Now, however, people panic if they don’t recognize a phone number.  People seem to think they are being watched, followed.  Like if they pick up, they will give away the final clue and their stalker will capture them. 

I have always used my cell phone for my own convenience.  I don’t run to answer it.  In fact, those of you who know me know that I barely even use it anymore (sorry).  If I don’t recognize a number, then I rarely answer it.  Swedish Girl thinks I’m being paranoid, but it’s not that.  It’s just that I am not keeping myself technologically connected to be at anyone else’s beck and call.  And I’m certainly not going to let a little hunk of metal and plastic keep me on edge…when a stranger calls.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen.. we’ve returned from our wonderful vacation south of the Mason-Dixon Line where we camped, Bonnarooed, and had a grand ‘ole time.

Shenandoah was absolutely amazing. One of the best camping areas I’ve ever been to, in that the views were amazing from most of the places throughout the campgrounds. It’s based in the Appalachain Mountains of Virginia and overlooks the beautiful countryside, for the most part. Skyline Drive is a 50+ mile road that winds throughout the National Park and has the most breath-taking views ever.

The wildlife is incredibly accustomed to Humans, and are not afraid to approach — for the most part. There were many times hiking through the forest where we would come upon a dear no more than 10-20 yards of us, and he would mind his own business while we minded ours. We were even fortunate enough to see a Baby Bear Cub scampering out of the forest as we drive down Skyline drive one morning.

We were fortunately snake-free, as I’m well aware there were some pretty gnarly slithering beasts down there — according to the Web site, at least. I was even able to catch a few minutes here and there of a few World Cup matches, as we hit the lodge a few times for various reasons.

Overall, it was a very relaxing trip complete with Camp Fires (and Smores, of course), Horseback Riding, Hiking, and even a round of mini-golf. This was all in preparation for what was next to come… Bonnaroo!

~ ~ Photos from Shenandoah ~ ~

Just wanted to take a quick second to post from Bonnaroo. I had the pleasure of taking in a great set from Mr. Folds this afternoon, and am looking forward to a little G Love and Oysterhead in just a few.. followed by a rockin’ evening set by Tom Petty. Should be a blast.. besides, it was great to get out of the 93 degree heat to step inside the internet “tent” for a brief air-conditioned blast.