Wednesday, August 31, 2005

An awkward day...

I have a warning for all my starving artist friends: You know how you think you're saving money by skipping those appointments with the dentist? Well, I'm here to tell you - You're wrong!

I had my first dental visit in years last week. I knew I should go, but money is always tight, and voice lessons and plane tickets are much sexier than fluoride treatments. I started to feel a little ache in my mouth, so I counted my pennies and went to the dentist. Remember how I thought I was saving money...

Today I had to go for my follow up appointment. My years of dental self-care was not as effective as one might think. My entire mouth was deadened to solve the problem of mini-cavities in my teeth. Everything hurt, and I couldn't drink water without drooling all day. And the price tag? Today plus last week was a 4-DIGIT-TOTAL! Over a thousand dollars in dental work, and that's for "nothing major". Eep!!!

Tonight, we're thankful for my awesome dentist, Dr. Tonisson, who understands the plight of the starving artist, and gave me a generous discount on my bill. Yes, "gave", as in, I didn't have to beg or cry.

The freezing lasted all day, which wouldn't have mattered if it hadn't been for my audition tonight. I tried doing vocal warm-ups, but I couldn't make an "oh" or an "oo". I felt like the Elephant Man. (My goodness, that sounds like a nasty comparison, but remember the way his mouth was shaped? It felt like that.) I took lots of painkillers and drank cold water til I could feel some movement in my face. I was really worried about having the dentist and the audition on the same day, but Gerald said, "You'll make it work". I don't really know what he meant by that, but nevertheless, I got through it.

I think the audition went well. I sang, "It's Unbelievable" by Jack Clark, and did a cold reading.
It's out of my hands now. I'll hear the results in a few days.

Yes, Lord.

1 comment:

wordhabit said...

yes dearie, take care of them there teeth! you wouldn't want to have to sing with a sheet in front of your mouth. i think i have laryngitis. why must everything happen just before a performance?