Dieciséis

Two blogs in one week? What?! Madness!!!

For those of you who never read my Facebook note about toothpaste (yes, I write about fantastic and interesting things), I use Listerine brand. They make a gel toothpaste that is incredibly strong and leaves my breath feeling minty fresh for hours. I don't really like other brands because my breath doesn't feel clean when I'm done brushing. Granted, it has always been a bit more expensive to stick with the Listerine brand, but I can scrimp and save in other areas of my budget--I refuse to compromise my oral hygiene. I can shop for clothes in thrift shops, buy generic brand food, and only buy used dvds... but I am not willing to negotiate on my toothpaste preference. I spent too many years in braces, expanders, rubber bands, headgear (yes, headgear; no, there are no photos), and a retainer to allow my teeth look anything short of spectacular.

But there is a problem. I think they may have discontinued Listerine brand toothpaste. It is no longer available in grocery stores or Walgreens. (And let's face it, if Walgreens doesn't have it, what hope is there?!)

It doesn't exist for cheaper than $4 online. I am extremely disheartened by this discovery.

Quince

In 7th grade, I took a "computer" class. I felt pretty slick, because we spent most of the class learning how to type correctly. I quickly figured out that I could whiz through each of the terrific timed typing tests (I like alliteration; I'm going to try to add some more) if I only learned to reach the big, blunt, beautiful backspace button. (Ok, that was a stretch--the backspace button isn't that attractive.) I was kicking butt in my typing class... or so I thought. Soon, the sad, startling secret behind my success showed itself; I was losing points each time I hit the backspace button.

What is that supposed to teach children? Are we supposed to sit back and say that solving our somewhat serious life situations is stupid and superfluous? "I realized you've discontinued the dilemma, but it's indubitably inconsequential, because your monumental mistake must make a mark on your life. For-ev-er." (Sandlot style.)

It's no wonder so many kids have self-esteem issues.

On a somewhat related sidenote, if I'm going to sacrifice capitalization or punctuation in a text or message, it'll always be capitalization. It is much easier for me to understand that "kris" was supposed to be "Kris" than it is for me to guess that "your" means "you're". (I also rarely capitalize my name. I think it looks better in all lower-case letters.)