Monday afternoon while sitting on the couch watching TV, I was able to pinpoint the moment I started getting sick. Around 2:30, I felt a little hoarseness in my throat. About 16 hours later I woke up for work with a painful sore throat. The next morning it was even worse. Thursday the sore throat subsided a little and the runny nose started. I used a half box of Kleenex at work. Last night, the coughing started and kept Lauren awake the whole night. But I opted to go to work anyway, mostly because I’m very secluded in a little corner of an office where very few other people ever visit. If I was out on the sales floor hacking up a lung I think I’d probably stayed home. Plus, I need to save my final remaining 8.25 hours of sick time for the wisdom tooth removal operation October 7.

Yes, as I said on my Facebook status, I opted to finally getting my wisdom teeth out. After a visit to my dentist last week, he yelled at me for ignoring his recommendations of having them removed for four years; little did he know all previous dentists had been telling me the same thing since the late 90s, but I ignored them all because the wisdom teeth caused me no discomfort, and it’s an expensive procedure. The oral surgeon yesterday spent several minutes silently examining the x-rays, shaking his head in defeat.

“Well I don’t know, what do you think we should do, Ryan?” he asked. At this point, the top ones are so ingrown that the risk greatly outweighs the benefits of having them removed as they’re already penetrating the sinuses and will likely break in half on the way out, which can lead to infections and cysts. The bottom ones must come out eventually, I was told, though even that is a risky procedure because of the way they’ve grown into the nerve line. I was told there’s a good chance I could experience permanent numbness in my lower mouth if things didn’t go smoothly. So, he didn’t even offer a suggestion and just left it up to me. I said I’d just take the bottom two out.

Damn it, I should have listened to Dr. Hajek in 1999 or whenever and got it done when those teeth were nothing but little pebble-sized balls. Plus Mom and Dad would have had to pay for it back then!

Sports Stuff
The Twins are on another second half surge this year, leading the White Sox by six games this morning. With 22 to play, the Twins are almost shoe-ins to make the playoffs and host a first-round series, but crazier things have happened, like last year when the Twins trailed the Tigers by 7 games in September and wound up winning the division. I think the general vibe around Twins Territory here is the team will need at the very least a playoff series win for this season to be considered a success. I’m certainly enjoying the ride here in the final month, watching them squeak out 1-run wins one after the other.

Lauren and I were there again Wednesday in the Twins’ 4-3 win over KC. We bought Lauren’s boss’s tickets in the 17th row behind 3rd base and eventually moved over to the swanky Metropolitan Club to check out the view. By my estimate, I’ve now seen 10 games at Target Field, and of all the places we’ve sat, I think I actually prefer getting the “standing room only” tickets. I really like walking around the stadium rather than staying in one spot, and there are some great places to just stand and watch the action.

Even me sporting my new Fran Tarkenton jersey wasn’t enough to help the Vikings to victory last night, though. I don’t have much to say about the loss to the Saints other than the Vikings seemingly never had the ball and the game went extremely fast, like a half hour quicker than the average game. The calls seemed to go against the Vikings, but in the end they just looked flat all-around. Luckily I have another favorite team—the Chargers play at KC on Monday Night Football in the opener of the Chiefs’ renovated stadium.

Random Thoughts
• Tonight, health pending, we plan to visit Red Lobster and use our $50 gift certificate and do the Endless Shrimp promo. Red Lobster execs are patiently waiting to read our review on our food blog.
• I continue to have a severely low tolerance for pain.
• I’m not sure what Liz’s last name will be after tomorrow’s wedding, but here’s wishing Liz and Curt Assmann a great wedding day! I am excited to give them what is sure to be the weirdest present they’ll receive. Lauren probably won’t want to associate herself with me.
• Also, thanks to Liz for showing me this awesome website where people advertise what services they will provide to you for $5.
• Have you seen the video with the woman from Amazing Race getting smoked in the face with the watermelon? If not, OMG you must watch now.