Cruz, the Cyborg

I really am like a machine. I woke up this morning at 8, so that I could make it to the courthouse by 10:30 for Day 6 of my jury duty. I had a dentist appointment, which I had made a month in advance, for 4:00pm. Since court doesn’t dismiss until 4:30, I wasn’t sure if I’d make it until one of the jurors started dozing off during counsel cross-examination.

“Juror #5, are you feeling alright?” the Judge interrupted.

“Sorry, I’m just a little tired,” he said apologetically.

And just like that, the Judge dismissed us half an hour early, which meant I could still make my appointment. I dreaded this day. In thirty years, I had never had an issue with my wisdom teeth. Strangely, I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be, sitting in that chair, watching as the doctor shoved various implements into my mouth. Before I knew it, my problematic upper right wisdom tooth was finally gone.

A few hours following my tooth extraction, I went to CrossFit at 8:30. No strenuous activity the post-care instructions read. We did a 30 minute WOD of hang squat cleans, dips, box jumps and weighted plank holds. “You’re not gonna like this,” Coach Blake said in response to discovering I had my tooth removed, “but you’re not allowed to lift heavy.” Cruz never concedes.

After a long day, I went home a sweaty mess to a much-needed reward for being the machine that I am: Chocolate cookie dough ice cream.