22 October 2002 - 9:32 a.m. I had the first appointment for my root-canal yesterday. It went well. There was no pain or discomfort, aside from the sound of the drill, but today my jaw aches from holding my mouth open for such a long period of time. Next Monday I go again for part two. I'm less apprehensive about the second appointment. I just wish my managers had not made such a big deal about it. I had an appointment scheduled about three weeks ago at 2:30 p.m., but when I asked for a half-day off to go to the dentist, they reacted like I was asking for time off to go to Foxwoods or something. What makes it worse is the Monday after I had to reschedule my dentist appointments, my manager took a whole day off to have an ingrown toenail taken care of. Could someone explain this to me? I submitted the dates and times a good two-weeks in advance, yet this was a huge problem. It seems like everyone else is out at least once a week, but they can't spare me for a half-day to have a medical procedure done. Now, I know that all jobs have there problems and inflexibilities, but this was just shitty. One of the main reasons I work so far from home, apart from the pay, is the flexibility I was afforded here. The job was based on performance and completion of assignments and not cubicle-time. I was allowed to leave early on slow days to make up a little for the 3 hours I commute each day. Now that's gone. I'm not sure what to do. Suck it up? Look for something else? Freelance? Give up on it all and try stand-up comedy? I don't know. This is so ironic because there's something on the horizon. I'm not sure what it is yet, but something's there--something exciting and new. It feels like Christmas presents or delicious food or surprises. It's a hybridized rose seedling about to bloom for the first time. I can't wait. (0) Comments?