RRRRRR!!!

i couldn't fall asleep last night. my mind raced back and forth between wedding planning to-dos and horrible things i had read earlier in the day. the horrible things i read were two-fold:

first, in class, an acquaintance of mine, a guy i'm on friendly terms with, sat on g-chat during an entire discussion on gender inequality making misogynistic and sexually violent comments about certain women in our class and women in general. this is someone who adopts the "the more offensive the better" attitude toward humor. i know i'm not supposed to take that stuff seriously, at least that's what people of his ilk would (and did) tell me. but it was horribly offensive, distracting and off-putting. second, later in the day i was reading through the news when i came across an update on a sensationalistic murder of a girl last summer. one click lead to another, and next thing i knew i was reading one of the affidavits submitted by the defense. suffice it to say, it was a mistake to read.

but the real reason i was tossing and turning last night had nothing to do with stress or anxiety surrounding these disturbing events. no. the reason i slept like a princess with a pea under her mattress is because i flossed before going to bed.

about once every six to twelve months, i get it into my head that i should floss. is that disgusting? well, occasionally, i'm moved to be proactive about my dental health and i spend a good 10-15 minutes plucking tartar off the sides of my molars and watching the blood seep from my gums. for some reason, despite the pain (and it's always painful), i really enjoy this part. why? because i get to run around the house growling "RRRRRR!!!" and baring a mouth full of bloodly teeth. i'm like a little kid with a cape on. i think i'm bad ass.

then i go to bed, and wake up in the middle of the night feeling like i was punched in the mouth. repeatedly. and don't fall back asleep.

but no matter. it's worth it. after all, for at least a day or two, my mouth is so fresh and so clean. and that's more than i can say for the rest of me, which is wilting under the laptop permanently attached to my thighs until i finish my international law outline.