you should see the other guy

Summer, like everything else in life, comes with it's own list of pros and cons. For example...

Pro: no school! hooray!
Con: friends are far away. bummer.
Pro: get to make some moolah!
Con: have to work to make moolah.
Pro: an opportunity to relax and pamper yourself.
Con: doctor appointments.

Let's be real here: I didn't get in a fight. I can't even say something cool like, "I crashed while doing crazy tricks on my skateboard." No, sir... I can't say any of that.

Today something I never imagined myself doing happened; I had an appointment with a plastic surgeon. Now, don't get ahead of yourself here! It definitely was not as exciting as some might assume. The truth is, I just had a weird spot on my lip. I first noticed it last fall and, although it never hurt or anything, it was just sort of bizarre that a raised spot would randomly appear on my lip. Since my dad didn't know what it was, he referred me to Mr. Plastic Surgeon for an advanced skin care appointment. Turns out Mr. Plastic Surgeon, who has seen a lot of skin abnormalities in his day, couldn't tell me what it was either.

"the before picture"

After hearing and considering my short list of options, I decided to go ahead and have the spot removed and biopsied. This included Mr. Plastic Surgeon giving me a shot of local anesthesia in my lip, digging out the spot, and putting in a few stitches. Apart from the shot (which burned and stung for about 5-10 seconds), the procedure really didn't hurt. However, that isn't to say it was pleasant either... seeing your doctor pull his blood-covered fingers away from your face isn't the best feeling in the world.

In a couple of weeks I'll hear whether the good ol' spot was nothing to worry about or if it was actually good I had it removed. Until then, I have some healing to do. The magical numbing potion has already started to wear off, and I'm feeling the aftereffects of my decision. Ouch. Imagine someone relentlessly pinching your lip really hard... except it's not someone pinching you, it's the fact that you literally have a sewn-up hole in your lip. Extra-strength tylenol, here I come.

Countdown to take-off: 98 days