Getting My Wisdom Teeth Removed (And How To Avoid Having Yours Removed)

These small empty pockets in the back of my mouth are all the fault of one innocent dentists visit for my regular cleaning. So in order to avoid this hellish disaster that is now my 4less mouth, avert your life at any and all costs if you feel any of these stages seem familiar.

Stage 1: A visit to the dentists for teeth cleaning when you mention a periodic mysterious pain in the back of your mouth. This begins the pain and woe that is having your wisdom teeth removed. The hygienist will tilt her head slightly to the side like she has no idea what you're talking about, because in reality she's trying to psych you out, prevent your mind from thinking of the horrors that are to come. Then she calls the dentist over.

Stage 2: A mouth x-ray thingy that spins around your head. The dentist will tell you it's all just fine and all you have to do is bite down on this simple little bar and the machine will spin around your head and do all the work while you just stand there. Little do you know, it's just the beginning.





Stage 3: A referral to an oral surgeon. You finish with your stupid cleaning and even though your teeth are squeaky clean, you're no longer thrilled with this whole "minor procedure" ordeal that the dentists are trying to spring on you. The receptionist hands you your referral and smiles. Stupid overly perky receptionist. You go home and you glare at every driver you pass on the way because they have their stupid wisdom teeth (oh the irony) and they don't care about the pending doom of your own.

My actual x-ray

Stage 4: A phone call for an appointment with the oral surgeon. They look at the x-rays of your perfect normal teeth and then point out your embarrassing rogue escape artist teeth on the sides. You sink a little in the chair and they pry your mouth open and poke around in it. The surgeon says that they're going to give you little pills to take to make you calm, and that you won't feel anything. There will be four stitches, not necessary, but there anyway. You'll leave and wonder why the unnecessary stitches have to be put in. Then you realize they never actually described the procedure. THEY DUPED YOU!

Stage 5: A valium the night before. You take the stupid "calm" pill, and you go to bed. Since you're super tired, you fall right to sleep and in the morning you realize that you're still FREAKING THE HELL OUT!!!!


Stage 6: A small sip of water following the remaining two valium. You're not sure that they'll work because you really don't remember them working last night. But you fell asleep kind of quickly so it doesn't matter anyway right? RIGHT????

Stage 7: A very long ride to the not so far away place where they're going to take away your wisdom teeth. You're still freaking out, so you tell your mom and boyfriend that this sucks. Also, your mother feels it is appropriate to stop at Starbucks on the way. I assure you, this is not appropriate and you should feel slapped in the face.






Stage 8: A stumble out of the car. That valium? Well while your mother was stupidly getting her stupid little iced stupid coffee, your stupid valium was stupidly taking effect. And somehow it's a lot harder to walk through those stupid doors that seem to be just out of your stupid range. Stupid feet.

Poor Boy...

Stage 9: A wait in the waiting room. Now this is where blackmail may or may not take place. You may start spontaneously slipping from your chair. At which time, your boyfriend will grab you and replace you in your respective spot, and your mother will tell you to lay down. Then you will flop your head down really really really hard on your boyfriends very very very bony collarbone. But you don't care, you're on valium.



Stage 10: A section of your life that you will never remember. This will be filled in by the spectators, and may never be accurate. Take with a grain of salt.





Stage 11: A nurse calling your name. You pop up ready to walk in that direction but that stupid valium is still there... Your stupid body wants you to go in all sorts of stupid directions. People stupidly grab you and pinch at your stupid flailing arms, but somehow you make it to the room.

Stage 12: A shove into the seat of torture. The nurses begin preparing you for the dramatic removal to come. The surgeon comes in as a nurse is wiping some goo on your lips and asks if you would like to keep your teeth but answers his question with a no before you even have time to mutter a response. What if you want those teeth? What if those were the best things in your life? You are suddenly bitter over your loss of rights.

Stage 13: A stab in the arm. The nurses put your arm in a brace, which you can't see because they're so preoccupied with your face, and suddenly there's a stinging sensation. They're stabbing you. The doctor tells you that you're going to become drowsy soon and eventually become unconscious. You start to freak out because you're not drowsy. Another nurse comes and sticks two cottony boulders into your mouth. You're still not drowsy. The surgeon tells you it'll be about 45 minutes, and he'll call later that night to check on you. It would be really kind of him if he weren't just secretly out to steal all of your teeth. Oh god you're still not drowsy and it's been almost a minute!


Stage 14: ...

Stage 15: A nudge. Tugged out of the car and pulled into the house, you're directed towards the couch. But that's not comfortable, all you want to do is sleep. What the heck do these people think they're doing. You try to say that you want to go to bed but it comes out as more of a "buh" because your mouth is stuffed with cotton and your lower lip is five times its normal size! Or... at least it feels like it. You get to bed and promptly fall asleep.


Stage 16: A cry of pain. You wake up and it hurts. They said it wouldn't hurt. You should have known... those jerks. It really doesn't hurt that bad, but you're kind of miserable anyway and everything going on right now is so foreign, it just seems right to cry out. Your mom comes in with an antibiotic, an ibuprofin, a vicodin, and some water. You put the first one on your very large lip and press it into your mouth with one finger. You figure out how to use the cup with your new found gino-lip and tip in some water to swallow the pill. But your mouth is numb. You dribble bloody water all over you bed. You whine, finish the pills, and go back to sleep.

Stage 17: A conversation with your boyfriend. He'll ask how you are. When you reply, he'll give you a look saying, "Huh?" like you just said nothing but baby garble. Finally you glare at him because clearly boyfriend is too insensitive to understand your gino-lip speak and you must write down the words on paper for him. You go back to sleep.

Stage 18: A period of lucidity. You walk around the house, but sit down because you get dizzy. You watch tv, get on the computer, drink some water, glare at the hard candy sitting on the table. Then you hear your stomach growl.









Stage 19: A makeshift meal of applesauce and pudding. You stick the spoon in your mouth but realize that gino-lip is still useless. You use your top lip to scoop the applesauce off of the spoon and let it drop into your mouth. You are content, but spectators are rather disgusted. You kind-of-smile because you are proud of yourself. You continue spooning the soft food.

 

Stage 20: A stitch loose on your tongue. Eventually the stitches will come off and you'll think you have a chunk of food on your tongue. You don't. It's a stitch. Gross or not, I assure you that you're probably eating most of them anyway. You spit the stitch out and go back to spooning your chicken bits and asparagus chunks into your mouth, much to your mother's embarrassment.


Now as I mentioned before, this horrible procedure that removes 4 separate pieces of you should be avoided at all costs. So if any of these stages are familiar to you, it's probably because your parents have sent you into the spiraling processes of hell (AKA getting your wisdom teeth removed) and you should stop this nonsense now.

Glad I could help :)

Every 15 Minutes

"Every 15 Minutes, someone dies as a result of an alcohol related collision."

Recently, Casa Roble put on a program to illustrate the dangers of getting in the car with a drunk driver, and driving drunk. Despite the charades and games that most at this school tries to play, a majority of the guises were dropped by the second rally when a guest speaker told us a story about how her daughter was killed by a drunk driver.

Day 1: The day started off with a police officer explaining the idea of the program. Every 15 minutes, someone dies from a drunk driving accident, so every 15 minutes a heartbeat would sound around the school, slow, and flatline.
Along with the flatline, a student would be removed. A grim reaper could be seen walking into a classroom, accompanied by a police officer and a piece of paper to be handed to the teacher. The teacher read to the class the story for why that student was no longer a part of their lives. Each story was an alcohol related accident.
Some students laughed at the 15 minute flatlines, joked around about the fake deaths, used other mechanisms to avoid facing the reality of the program, to cover their own emotion.
Day one was hard. The people that "died" were people important to the school: teacher, yearbook EIC, student government, cheerleader, football, etc... Every student was required to attend an assembly on the football field, a complete simulation of a drunk driving accident; wrecked cars, fire trucks, helicopter and all.
That night, there was a candle light vigil held for all the students that had been taken throughout the day. As hard as the program had been for us, it was even harder for these students' parents. Parents were asked to write a letter to their son or daughter after being told they were not coming home, and the students were asked to do the same for their parents.

Day 2: The morning of the second day seemed rather still and calm, very uneventful compared to the previous day, making everyone anxious to know what was going to happen. The "living dead," as the every 15 minute students had been termed, were unable to contact anyone for the full two days of the event; why would they? They were dead.
As the entire school crowded into the large gym for the second day assembly, the majority of the room was filled with chatter. The emotion from the day before has subsided due to the uneventful morning.
The long wait to get the event going again made the crowd uneasy and slightly anxious, leaving all the pressure on the principal, who forgot his own password onto the computer. Hint: Wedding Date.
I must admit, for the assembly having so many technical difficulties, Mr. Shoemake certainly remained calm. I never would have expected to hear a principal tell the entire school that we would be there until everything was running, no matter how long it took, because the program was that important. Any other person would have skipped the video.
Never before had I seen so many people in one room wipe their masks of nonchalance away with their tears. The way the guest speaker told her story about her daughter being hit by a drunk driver while walking to a bus stop was able to capture even the most indifferent students. Across the gym wrinkled white tissues were wiping away the involuntary tears, eyes were focused on the speaker and her story, and some heads were turned away. The touching words from this woman concluded with her advice. Kids: Listen to your parents, do what they say, and make good choices. Parents: Don't be so hard on your kids all the time, you never know what the last words you say to them may be.
After the speaker, the "living dead" and their parents had a chance to share the letters they had written. I don't know about anyone else, but I know what was running through my mind through these letters. What would my parents say if this was me? What would they do? Would their letters be like this?
Needless to say, the second day, though only filled by a 2-hour long assembly, was the hardest. The reality sunk in more than it had before. The invincibility veil that most wear was torn away by both the program and the very recent death of a Casa student who had fallen while skating.
Though I'm sure some students still were only slightly shocked by the program, I know many were shaken by the events of the week. It had been one of the most emotionally exhausting and physically draining weeks ever.

I Am Against New Year's Resolutions

"The grass is greener on the other side."

The New Year means a sky rocket in sales for gym memberships and fitness equipment, and a drop for fast food and other less healthy items. I've never really been into the whole Resolution deal. It seems like I'm always setting myself up for failure. A year or two ago, I made all or my resolutions nearly impossible to not achieve. You know what I mean:

New Year's Resolutions 2011

1. Don't die.
2. Don't get hit by a train.
3. Do NOT chop off left hand.
4. Feed self.
5. Blink.
6. Breathe.
7. Pee.
8. Do not injure self again.

Simple things that can be simply accomplished nearly everyday. Except.. for maybe one or two. But out of a long list, that's not too bad. Seven out of eight cannot possibly be considered failure. Therefore, it is a reasonable list for me. Others have IMPOSSIBLE lists... like:

New Year's Resolutions 2011

1. Lose 30 pounds by eating nothing!!!
2. Eat only healthy green things that nobody else likes!!!
3. Stay out of debt and be unhappy because I can't have nice things!!!
4. Buy a dog to jog everyday with!!!
5. Drink goopy protein shakes!!!

See. In reality, you people are unrealistic. When you get to February, as we are now, you realize...
Revised New Year's Resolutions 2011

1. That pizza sure looks tasty... I didn't REALLY need to lose weight, did I?
2. Look at him... he's not eating anything green...
3. This money is so heavy in my pocket...
4. I hate this dog's poooooop! And running.
5. Do I have to drink another one? :/

When you make it a month, not even a whole year, with 0/5 - I think should be considered a failed list. Which is why everyone should stick to breathing. And feeding the cat every once in a while.

DJ: Friend or Enemy... Pt. 2

This kid drives me absolutely insane. When we're out of school, I'm left deprived of my daily Beatings of DJ. He looks so innocent and huggable, and he kind of is. But then he goes and just pisses you off and ruins all things for you and your life, and then you resort to having to hit him with something hard and sturdy like a notebook at least once a day.

I spend all second period picking on DJ. I sit semi-across the room from him and send him threatening texts or throw angry glares. Often I'll text something like "I'm going to kill you" and then I just wait and watch to see him pull his phone out, pause for a moment, slowly turn around towards me, and shake his head disapprovingly. It's a slow, but fulfilling harassment.

Everyone secretly wants to marry DJ.
DJ is a secret perv.

Basically, DJ makes my yearbook world a living hell. 

• I finally finished one of his sports spreads. I was absent one day. He assigned me another sport. 
• This "sports editor" likes to avoid copy blocks until the last possible second, too. So instead of saving something as ssmithcba, I save it as ssmiththisismymaincopybecausedjhasn'tgivenmecopyblocksyet.
• Each copy has it's own character count. Some random obscure number like 138. Now, say DJ doesn't tell you what your character count needs to be for main copy. So you type out this lovely 400 character copy (his suggested character count until counts are out), and he goes, "Yeah character count is 330." Then you're forced to chop the crap out of your beautiful piece of written art, all at the fault of DJ.
• On the first sports spread, I had DJ read over my main copy, making sure I had it right before turning it in to Austin. DJ said it was fine. Austin completely rejected it, saying it was the wrong concept. DJ doesn't even understand his own concept.
• After completely changing one main copy and getting it approved, DJ finally put up the flow chart in the pressroom and there are 3 main copies to mark off, not 4. My panic is greatly lowered while my anger at DJ drastically increases!
• One single complaint at DJ, his immediate response: "Get outta here!"
• DJ actually walked into Austin's room to announce that there were now hardcopy folders. I got super excited and went to relinquish all my signed off papers that I might possibly lose if given more time with them. I was very disappointed when I saw no hardcopy folders in the pressroom.
• Me: DJ, where are the folders?
• DJ: Oh.. well we don't actually have the folders apparently...
• Me: So.. you lied? Again?
• DJ: It's not my fault!
• This is where I beat DJ with whatever is handiest at the time.
• Say you're actually working on a computer, doing your work and stuff. For DJ. DJ's work. For one of his spreads. He's a big stupid jerk that will come and exert his "editor authority" over you and steal your computer.

So pretty much, Yearbook is where DJ ruins lives the most.

I've recently discovered I'm not the only life he ruins.

• DJ updated details about a play practice. The night before the practice. On facebook. At 8 p.m. To be at a church. This is greatly distressing to play members.
• Shadi was having a horrible day, and upon coming up with one happy moment, DJ immediately jumped at the opportunity to shoot it down and ruin all her happiness.

See. DJ just sucks.

Fun facts about why I hate DJ!

• DJ is taller than me.
• DJ is thinner than a twig.
• DJ is a robot.
• DJ is comparable to Einstein. 

               ... Minus the mustache.

I hope you all realize why DJ is such a horrible person. :)
And sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been busy! D8

Family

I love the families I've come to know.


The Nerds

When registering for HA back in 7th grade, I hated my mom for forcing me into it. She told me I'd thank her in the end, and I responded with typical denial and more resentment. I began, 6 years ago, a string of classes that created a family.

Since few students actually took HA classes in middle school, there were only two alternating classes. Throw these into different schedules, and one was bound to end up getting to know every HA student. For two years, these people became your friends because you had nearly every academic class with them.

Once high school started, HA turned to honors. The honors system ran the same way with alternating classes, but there were different people trickling in from different middle schools. Some HA friends had gone to another high school, some had decided honors wasn't for them. But freshman year started the friendship cycle all over again, for some - it only continued.

Now here I am in my senior year, and I'm in AP classes. Classes full of the people who have chosen to stick it out all 4 (even 6 for some) years, and work their way through AP. The friends I know now, I can't even remember whether they're the 4 year since honors friends, or the 6 year since HA friends because I feel like they're all part of my own little family. 

And in this family, we've all grown. The one I can think of off the top of my head would be my friend Shadi. I met Shadi in 7th grade in Alg. 1. She was in HA, and a bit of a spaz, but so was I. I hated sitting in my desk and I couldn't help but show off my love, well, addiction for squirrels. Shadi had her ups and downs with me. Some days she could tolerate me, some days she couldn't. And the thoughts were returned right back at her. I'm trying not to go too much into detail now, because I plan on writing blog posts about everyone at some point, but Shadi never ceases to amaze me. Be it with her brilliance and talent, or her all out stupidity (this girl locked herself in a bathroom for two hours...). 

The Yerds

The other family of mine, I've only discovered recently, but it's had one of the biggest impacts on me. My junior year I joined my school's yearbook. You can ask anyone I hang out with, I walked around before school, during passing periods, and at lunch... like a velociraptor.

Velociraptor is my freak out mode.

Needless to say, as soon as the bell rang, I rather reluctantly dragged my feet towards Austin's classroom. I suppose I should mention that Mr. Austin was my freshman Honors English 1 teacher, and though I went from C's to A's on my papers because of him, (literally, you can look at my portfolio and watch the C's turn to B's, and then to A's because this man taught me how to write... which I throw away when I work on this blog... :D) I was terrified of him. Talking to him had never gone well for me my freshman year. So two years later, I velociraptored my way through my day. Dreading reconfrontation. 

I kind of slid into the empty seat next to my friends. Coming in halfway through the year and starting a new semester, seats were already assigned and I hoped that the owner of the seat I had stolen wouldn't mind because I might just cry in the fetal position in the corner if I hadn't been able to sit by people I knew.

Day one - nothing went wrong. My body relaxed itself a little, and I used my friends as a mechanism to forget my fears and velociraptorisms. Days went on and spreads were assigned. A friend partnered up with me to keep from provoking unnecessary raptor spells, and the days went on. Assignments, deadlines, side packages, stories. Eventually... the realization hit me. The people in there are kiiiinda weird. Why was I afraid again?

Coming into my senior year, I know every EIC and every editor. On a close, awkward, or tolerated basis. I work on yearbook 2 periods a day, and I love doing it. Work done on time and everything saved correctly means a little extra time for me to mess around. In all seriousness though, I don't really like the thought of where I might be without yearbook. I'm definitely more outgoing; I'm sure I've made every member feel awkward at some point in time, and I'm not quite as afraid of Austin anymore. And it's an entirely hidden life that we have. Kind of like this wonderful little secret.

Stephanie mentioned the other day, "What do you think other schools would do if they knew our amazing book came out of this ghetto little pressroom?" A few comments later, we ended up with "We love our pressroom!" We do. Blue tape, fire hazard christmas lights, funny candid shots, great shots, spreads and copy blocks that make my day, computers to fight for, chairs to steal, magazines to search in. The pressroom itself is kind of homey.Yearbook all trickles down to the weirdest, most random, hard working kids you can think of - and together, we make it happen.

*****************

I don't know what I'm going to do with myself next year... No more honors, no more AP, no more yearbook. These are hard earned friends, the kind that don't just come and go. These groups we've been sorted into, it's not just a mistake; we get along for a reason. I'm going to miss these people. I don't know what got me thinking about all of this, but I did. And this is what I came to. I love my families. Without them, I'd be nowhere; with them, I'm whole. They complete me :)

DJ: Friend or Enemy...

This is DJ. Somehow, I can trace all my problems back to DJ. In fact, I'm sure there are more reasons to hate DJ that I'm not thinking of. But for now, we'll stick to the ones I can remember. Starting with Junior year. Physics.


DJ and I had half of our first semester of our Junior year together. Pre-Calculus in second period and AP Economics fourth. But DJ and I hated being in AP Econ. It was too much for DJ! I don't really know why he didn't like it, it just gave me migraines everyday. So DJ and I sought out schedule changes. I wanted to switch my third period Physics class to fourth period, and then take Yearbook in third. DJ wanted fourth period Physics too. I stealthily ran off to my counselor and asked to make the schedule change. She told me that there was a waiting list, but I could be second on it. I was pleased. But this isn't a story about my pleasure, this is a story of my pain and woe. Due to DJ.

You see, while I had been sneaking away trying to make my own schedule magic happen, DJ had been lurking around his own counselor. The next day in 4th period I noticed the absence of DJ. I frantically tried to obtain his whereabouts out of his desk neighbors. No good. DJ was missing.

Now, I'm a nice person. I was genuinely concerned about DJ because he'd been in PreCal that same day. So the next day, I interrogated him about it.

Me: DJ. Where were you last fourth period?

DJ: I switched into Physics.

Me: .... You were the first person on the waiting list...?

DJ: Waiting list? What waiting list?

I refused to acknowledge his existence any further until I could get down to the bottom of things. If DJ could bypass the list, so could I. I made another appointment with my counselor.

Me: WHY DID DJ GET INTO PHYSICS AND I DIDN'T?!?!?!

Counselor: Was he on the list?

Me: He said he wasn't..

Counselor: Huh.. well it looks like he took the last available spot. I'm sorry.

I sulked out of the counseling office and returned to class. And this was only DJ's beginning.

MORE TO COME:
DJ being ridiculous in yearbook! 8D

Hectic Week!!!

Does anyone recognize this? This is the beauty that is the Trans Siberian Orchestra. Something I have tickets to go see on Saturday, November 20th. :) TSO is the only Christmas music I will tolerate any time of the year. Of course the yearbook staff has been harassing me by playing other Christmas music in the pressroom since the first of November...


Which brings me to the fact that I haven't blogged since then either. This week has been so crazy busy it's ridiculous. Tuesday was the start of Yearbook worknights. That means school from 7:30am until 6pm. I left a little earlier, around 5pm, because I had my work done completely and had no reason to be there anymore, but regardless it was a long day. As soon as the bell rang to end school, Shelby and I booked it to my car to go pick my sister up, drop her off at my house, and then go pick up the sushi we had ordered for ourselves and about 8 other yerds. The entire order was nearly $100. After already being exhausted from the long day, I had to come home and work on homework and it was already 6pm by the time I was done with dinner and all settled. Of course somehow I wasn't tired enough to not watch Inception with ShawnSteve.


Wednesday morning was hard. I really really didn't want to wake up. But with such a full day the day before, why not just sleep a little more? Yeah well I almost slept over my alarm... It was one of those loopy days, where you're not really paying full attention to your classes because you're so tired. Somehow I'm not tired in the classes that I don't need to pay attention to, but come AP English, I'm fighting myself to keep my head up. But while I'm sitting there not absorbing anything school related, I think of other things that are only important to me RIGHT THEN. This time, it was the matter of telling Marina, my friend that sits next to me in English, this story about my 13th birthday.


At 13, the Jewish tradition says you're officially a man or woman. At 15, the Mexican tradition says you're officially a woman. For some reason I decided to participate in the 13th birthday tradition. My celebration consisted of me bursting out of my room that morning, sprinting down the hallway, and shouting, "WOO! I AM OFFICIALLY A MAN!" I didn't quite get at the time that I could have also been a woman.


As I told this story to Marina, I realized that this cursed me for 3 years later. When I got my license in the mail, I passed it to my mom. I was super proud of myself, I didn't need to look at it. My sister glanced over her shoulder says, "Why does it say you're a guy?" That was the curse fulfilling itself... I've been a man for over a year now...


When I got home from my loopy day at school, the first thing I did was turn on my computer and flop down on the bed. I noticed an email from my mom saying "Don't make plans on November 20" and I opened the email but got distracted with facebook. Eventually when I actually looked at the email, I realized that it was a copy of the tickets my mom bought for the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert on the 20th! Every time over the last few years that I've wanted to go to this, I've been out of state. I'm stoked :)


Then I went to SteveShawn's for a while, came home. And ate the most amazing invention ever. Individual sized Haagen-Dazs containers of mango sorbet. I was quite pleased.


Now, my week has already been packed full of deadline and random other things. But here was Friday. Fridays are like "OMG I'M GONNA WAKE UP BECAUSE I CAN SLEEP IN TOMORROW!" Except for when you have to wake up earlier than normal that Friday because you're being awarded for doing well in school. This is how I ended up with about 30 minutes less of sleep and actually eating breakfast food at the Renaissance breakfast.


Of course, Friday couldn't be that simple. I also had an AP Bio test last period. So I used my first period TA to study. Then I skipped the rally to study as well, and had to obtain my Academic Block later. Next was AP English which I actually researched for my research paper. But then was lunch, which I used to study. And then yearbook... also used to study. Then the test.


About 12 questions in to the 65 question test, I was tired. I've only actually fallen asleep during a test once, but I don't think this would have been a good time to do that. I finished the test with 10 minutes to spare.


After school was out, Shelby and Chris got in the car for rides home and Shelby was like "I'M ANGRY!!!!" So Chris and I listened to her be angry.

And then apologize for it.

I love Shelby :)

And today I had a massive tickle war with SteveShawn. I'm pretty sure I won. Even though I have like 50 bruises on me now.

ALSO! It's Daylight Savings Time in 1 hour. So we get to "Fall" back an hour :) I'm super excited. I like being deceived by time to think that I actually have an hour more to sleep. It's a good feeling. It's of course ripped away from me in the Spring, but it's Fall right now. I'm okay with sneaky deception.

Good night! :)

EDIT: Michaela reminded me that I scared her tonight. When I got home, I saw that her computer room light was on. I decided this was the perfect opportunity to scare her. I walked up to it and lightly with my fingertips tapped on the glass. Her cat noticed and immediately went O_O at me. I made the tapping noise louder bit by bit and eventually Michaela noticed that Stinky was looking at something, saw me, and made a strange squeak/scream noise. This made Stinky jump off the chair and run into the hallway. THEN he took the "I WILL FIGHT OFF ANYTHING IN YOUR WAY OWNER" stance. Michaela was not pleased. I was amused.

Good night for real this time :)