My secret super power is that I can stand almost anywhere doing absolutely nothing, and someone will come up and start talking to me. In 5 minutes, I can walk away with their life story.
Last time it happened I decided to play with my superpower, and talked a woman into going to the dentist for me (based on the Steven Wright & Roberto Begnini skit in āCoffee and Cigarettesā.).
She was ready to go get a tooth pulled for me. 
Stands silently next to coworker
āSo in Vietnam I was a tunnel ratā
Why would you avoid going to the dentist? What if you have a cavity or meet a root canal?
My cousin doesnāt brush her teeth (or wash her clothes or showerā¦ and somehow found a boyfriend and I was like eewwwwww)
See that! Iām giving you a story and you didnāt even ask!!! You DO have a superpower!!!
She refused to go to the dentist for ages while living here with me and eventually it was a scenario where my folks were like āokā¦ we will pay for thisā¦ just fucking get your teeth checkedā
And she goes to the dentist only to be surprised she needs eight cavities and multiple root canalsā¦ the dentist was absolutely shocked as to how a nineteen year old woman could have such fucked up teeth. Youād think she was neglected or smoking meth but nopeā¦ she did that to herselfā¦
We sent her because she was having awful headaches andā¦ get thisā¦ KNEW she needed her wisdom teeth out (found out 6-12 months ago) yet decided to take a one year holiday anywayā¦ it was urgent now, those wisdom teeth in addition to the other shit wrong with her needed out and she was like āI canāt afford the ticket back home and back to Aus again!ā
So she āborrowedā (I use that term loosely) like 2000$ from her boyfriend (my friends) father.
So, SO gross. Iāve never had a cavity in my life and I think my father has MAYBE had two in his life.
She is also autistic and COMPLETELY inept socially. She is radically left wing ultra feminist subtype who constantly criticizes men (given her father is a womanizing sociopathic prick I can see where that comes from and as much as I disagree I donāt challenge these views because she has reason to harbor them and will hopefully grow out of it eventually)
But I canāt help but think the only reason she gets away with all of this is BECAUSE she is an attractive young womanā¦ if she were a guy with that hygiene good look finding decent guys to go out with. She found my close friend who is a PROFESSIONAL musician.
And the money? If I were in that situation Iād certainly be chased up for itā¦ Iāve been chased up over like 20$ā¦
The dental issuesā¦ if I came to Europe to stay with her family knowing I needed surgery (and hers couldnāt be done in chair eitherā¦ so badly impacted) Iād have been sent home and presumably not allowed back for willfully withholding thst information in hopes someone sorts it out for me overseasā¦
And the views towards menā¦ if I had equitable views towards women Iād be called a radical incel and thereād be a significant push from peers and family to iron out those views whereas with her itās ājust a phaseā/āshe will grow upā though her views are considered radical even by European standards
Her laptop is filled with stickers and slogans echoing every far left talking point ātax the richā, āfight the powerā, āfree Palestine (she is half Jewish)ā, ārainbow flagā, ātrans women are women too!ā
She is actually a really wonderful personā¦ just totally cluelessā¦
I donāt like anything strongly acidic or basic in my mouth. I use baking soda instrad of toothpast because its milder.
Iāve had a pretty severe injury (drano) and a number of procedures that put me off to having tools and procedures and the like in my mouth. Iāll go to a dentist if needed, but it has to be like really necessary.
Im pretty fortunate to have really strong enamel & teeth.
Also, this:
But read about my cousin
She needed eight fillings and two root canals
What if you are in a similar situation and you get an infection or something?
Is opting for conscious sedation an option?
Iāve heard people with severe dental anxiety can opt for this.
What if you have tooth decay or gum recession?
I had an abscess and zinc gummies cleared it right up. Like within 24 hours. Gone.
Also, see edit on my previous post.
What if you turn into a far left 5th wave ultrafeminist and then find out you are my cousin because you didnāt go to the dentist?
What then?
I bet youād wish you went to the dentist!
This is a very real possibility
Then that would mean that the anesthesia was actually lsd.
Iām difficult to sedate. Iāve woken up during angioplasty getting stents. Tried to high five the cardiologist for doing a great job.
I think that society tends to confuse being an introvert with lacking social confidence or ability. The two are probably related, but not inseparably so. I am an introvert and will always be an introvert. However, I am still able to learn social skills and confidence that make me more effective in social situations. Being an introvert is not an excuse for being bad at social interaction.
You should get pharmacogenetic testing.
Often people who wake up have genetic mutations affecting enzymes/metabolic pathways that process and clear pharmaceuticals
Itās very possible your doc could switch up what is used to put you out (or perhaps they just have to use more).
Iāve found out that itās often quite easy to point out why someone you know have a certain values and political worldview.
When you get to know her/his uprising and life-experiences, you usually see where these things emerge. Often the reasons are not a result of some cold and rational thought process, but more personal and sentimental reasons.
Do people generally grow out of these views or do they become deeply engrained??
The difference between this cousin of mine and her sister (who has her own dysfunctionalā¦ to say the leastā¦ patterns of behaviour) is the cousin I speak of here has gone no contact with her father
So in theory perhaps the damage can mend itself over time through therapy/good home life etc but she continues to engrain herself within circles that are radicalā¦ particularly at university and if you guys think American college campuses are bad with the woke stuff much of Europe is on ANOTHER LEVEL!
Her sister however still believes the father is capable of āloving her in her own wayā and goes as far as to find partners that are manipulative and narcissistic just like her father (like one guy I met was VERY similar in temperament)ā¦ funnily enough just as the father was a womanizer she is the opposite of that? Uses men for emotional and physical intimacy and gets rid of them when she gets āboredā almost in an āthe abused becomes the abuserā aspect
I can see the younger sister (the far left one) growing out of it because she no longer has anything to do with the father but the older sister I think is stuck in her ways. Although she is still a wonderful person I cannot get past the way she treats decent men, then complains about men for ruining her life when she is the one seeking out toxic relationship dynamics. I do not talk to her anymoreā¦ We had a falling out over what happened when I introduced her to my male friends. Perhaps she has changed? Iād be very happily surprised if this was the case and Iād be open to reaching out to contact again but I will NEVER let her around my friends ever again. Learnt my lesson the first timeā¦
I do wonder if people truly change IF the trauma/environmental reason that led to them harbouring certain views is no longer in the picture. Can you change significantly (fundamental personality shift) past your mid 20s?
Universities are always full of young idealists. The -ism theyāre after just changes.
When I was in uni. I did met most fanatical people Iāve ever known. āwokeā- people and neoconservatives alike. Later many of them have calmed down a little.
I think itāll will be harder. Thereās probably some theories and evidence backing this up.
Iām on Australian campus and the the woke stuff we have is badā¦ although itās not QUITE as bad as what Iāve seen with my American friends (I lived in USA for seven years) universities. Iāve been told ideologues have always been omnipresent on university campuses but was it limited to splinter factions of student bodies or was it engrainedā¦ such as my brothers LAW school when a teacher stopped class for an hour to introduce members of the youth faction of the state socialist party.
Thankfully federal funding is being pulled from American universities in response to anti-american/anti west or antisemitic protests. I want Australia to actually follow suit. Unfortunately Peter Dutton is unlikely to win the federal election (I NEVER thought Iād say this, as I hated Peter Dutton) and therefore the radicals are only going to be emboldened under Anthony Albanese.
I can only speak from my experience, but when I was in uni. (+10 years ago), there werenāt any clear political front amongst teachers.
There were politically active staff members for sure, and sometimes it could be seen in their work, but I had no experience from deeply engrained and shared political agenda.
So I think thatās one major issue now
In that the staff appear to be ideologically captured. Classes for law, medicine, science etcā¦ and ESPECIALLY the arts push inappropriate political agendas
All over campus you can find flyers and students advocating for socialism, Marxism and communism.. and itās organized
Last year my Uni had Palestinian encampments and the university allowed a man on campus (leader of a group known to harbour extremist/hateful ideologyā¦ but they stood with Palestine) who had just recently been arrested and let out on bail (charged with kidnapping, assault and battery) and I couldnāt help but think āisnāt this a threat to the safety of students?ā
The entire campus is so ideologically captured today you risk being crucified if you dare say anything centre of left wing talking points
Universities have always had activists and ideologies you are correctā¦ but now it would appear even the staff are ideologically captured. I had to go over multiple modules on diversity, equity and inclusion before being granted access to the student academic portal!
My question isā¦ where does all of this come from? Surely if I follow the money Iāll find answers?
Compared to the average person my age who attends university Iām now considered āsocially radicalā because my views are āso conservativeā
Compare me to political talking points from the 90s and even 2000s and Iām centre right at a PUSHā¦ today Iām āradically right wingā to young people who attend Uni (Iām 24) which is insane
Compared to young people who do not attend university Iām centre right or even centre left depending on who you ask. The left really screwed themselves with identity politics and DEI shit. As someone with a genetic disease who actually has wound up quite disabled from it DEI should have represented me but alas I did not check the right boxes
You can learn to turn this super power off by perfecting the resting bitch face. It takes a while to perfect it but, it can be done.
Everyday on the drive home. 
Iām a guy though. If I have an RBF I also have to work on my sassy strut and triple snap in the Z formation. 
Adjacently, why do we walk on a runway but cant run on a walkway?
I donāt like that kind of asymetry.
Gummo
Resting toe face !