Weeknotes 343: Unremarkable gobs

How can it already be August? Unrelatedly: how can it still be summer? Another sweltering week. It’s such a relief to have an air-conditioned office building to work from. Oh, except the building was unexpectedly closed all week so I had to work from home. The heat made me sweaty and grumpy at an uncomfortably busy time. I got some respite from my baking flat by going to the dentist and hygienist — both appointments conveniently located a stone’s throw from the office I wasn’t working in — for the first time since 2023. I felt embarrassed about how much time had passed but fortunately everything was fine and I don’t have to go back for another three years year. As always, I was struck by the asymmetry of normality in those situations. It’s (shamefully) rare for someone to be poking around in my mouth, but for a dentist I’m just one of the thousands of unremarkable gobs they’ll see this year. The disconnect feels weird so I try my best to imagine it’s a totally quotidian experience for…