It is officially the first week of the
2025 fall season. And the weather has been volatile in Knoxville, rain in the
morning and sunshine in the evening, and a natural car wash in the afternoon. Unexpectedly,
I found out my rain jacket is longer rain proof, so, I spent most of my Thursday
wet and repeatedly drying off. But through my surprising misfortune, I found some
golly in the day. There was a cancellation at the dentist, and I was fortunate
to take that late afternoon slot. You might ask, why is this golly? Let me
remind you of the foremost reason for my leave of absence from graduate school:
oral surgery. I attended my appointment, and as expected I received that vital referral
to see an oral maxillofacial surgeon. I am now one step closer to getting an
extraction on tooth three and possibly twelve, thirteen, and fourteen if the CT
scan displays fractures which I hope they do not because I am an intensive case
manager and graduate student limited on funds that enjoys chewing his food. Nevertheless,
the dentist and I agreed, priority is being given to tooth three because of the
active infection that has been looming on the upper right side of my mouth for
the past year. Yes! For the past year. I do not know if I should feel gratified
or mortified that my body has been battling this infection for that long. So, the
rest of 2025 looks to be filled with appointments, procedures, and possibility cases
of Ensures (Meal replacement Drinks, Protein Shakes). Fun!
What else have I done during my
leave of absence? So far, I have read James by Percival Everett, The Road by Cormac
McCarthy, The Stranger by Albert Camus, and The Nickel Boys by Colson
Whitehead. Next? Uncertainly, I have been reading pages from Cat’s Cradle by
Kurt Vonnegut, Consider This by Chuck Palahniuk, and The Will to Meaning by
Viktor E. Frankl, so the simple answer is more reading is next. I also bought
an Asahi Pentax 1000k Film Camera on eBay that I have no idea how to use. Why
did I buy this film camera? I was inspired by the protagonist taking pictures
of the sky on his lunch break in Perfect Days, which is something I want to
mimic because I already stare out yonder when I eat and have always been mesmerize
by the sky. But as soon as my camera arrived in the mail, I quickly learned that
there is more to taking pictures than point and shoot, So I am definitely planning
on reading some camera and lens’ manuals when I find them.
Thus far, my first fall season in
over two years free from graduate classes has been filled with reading, working,
and medical appointments. So, for now, I can shun the stresses of classes,
assignments, and practicum hours from my MSSW Program and enjoy the fall foliage,
drink some pumpkin spice flavored caffeinated drinks in my cardigan sweater, attend
my upcoming medicals appointments, and keep fighting the good fight.
