Say No to Cavities

i know why i hate the dentist. and it's not because of the drilling, yanking, filing, filling, tugging, stretching, pain...it's because of the incessant questioning of the workers about every detail of your life as soon as you walk in that front door. (doesn't he just look like he's full of annoying questions?)  

we've been going to the same dentist now for about 5 years. and they still don't feel like they know me. because apparently i have to tell them what my major is, what school i attend, and what i do for fun every time. the doctor doesn't do that. maybe if you get one of the silly nurses, but for the most part, i'd say the doctor is about 50% less annoying than the dentist. i'd rather sit in his waiting room for 30 minutes than to have to answer the same questions i've been asked by the same people, one question and one person at a time. i wish i could just walk in, sign the appointment sheet, and then say, "i'd like to make an announcement." then the entire office staff would gather around and i'd make one huge claim, "for the love of humanity, please take notes. i'm a psychology major at byu, yes i do ski a lot when i'm out there. yes, my family is fine. paul has a year left on his mission. any more questions can be mailed through snail mail only, or call up my parents. they would love to answer." or maybe i could skip the intro and just say, "don't dare ask me any questions. thank you." i thought today i could pretend that her instruments in my mouth could keep me from answering any dumb questions she might have for me today, but alas i was wrong again. she would take them out of my mouth so i could answer. which then meant i couldn't NOT address the fact she was waiting for me. i couldn't fake not hearing her, and i couldn't blame the utensils. man. i'm pretty sure if she hadn't taken so much time for me to answer so she could get back to business scraping my teeth, the whole cleaning session would have taken half the time. and yes, i tried one word answers. but for her, she just kept prodding. some people are really good at understanding the meaning behind one word answers, others...not so much. 

if you couldn't tell, i really can't stand the small talk. honestly, they are only applicable questions during speed dating, or a good conversation relating to a topic. otherwise, i feel like it's just meaningless chatter. it fills up the space, makes people comfortable - except me, clearly. and i actually had a discussion about this in one of my classes actually, personality 351. the point was "meaningless chatter" keeps people from connecting; truly addressing real issues. hasn't anyone else recognized why most blind dates are terrible? there was one date i went on where me and the guy actually had an amazing conversation. we talked about politics, philosophy, etc. and the little bits about where we were from, etc. came out during it. we skipped the chatter and went for the gold. i wish i could say we went on a second date, but apparently he was crushing pretty hard on another girl at the time, who he eventually became engaged to. 

so.

sometimes the chatter is necessary for social gatherings, such as parties where you don't know anyone, weddings and funerals usually, etc. that's tough. and i usually do pretty bad at these occasions. that's why i've decided i need to end up with someone who is really good at it. well, good at faking it at least, or we'll both be social outcasts.

moral of the story: don't get cavities.