2.5 Months

I'm getting really close to celebrating my 3 month anniversary!

A lot has changed for me in the past month. My new bite is coming along swimmingly. I've been wearing my bands for around 15-18 hours per day, sometimes even more. I was prescribed four the first orthodontic appointment, but I went back last week and was reduced to two. My orthodontist says that I can be out of braces by February/March, so I'm really excited.

I've still got some swelling, and my smile is still a bit crooked. I read somewhere that it's due to the swelling, and that it should straighten itself as the swelling goes down, but I can't help but be a bit worried. What if I have a crooked smile forever???

The swelling is reducing V-E-R-Y slowly, and it's so tedious waiting for my chipmunk cheeks to go away. I think that there's still some swelling on my chin, too. I hate that the most right now. But my "true" face is coming out slowly. I wish my nose returned back to normal. I hate how it seems to be stretched out on my face.

I got my hair done a few weeks ago. I think that definitely helped with making my face look less swollen. The poofiness of my new curls distract from the poofiness of my face.

2 Months

In the beginning of this blog, especially during the first two weeks, I thought this day would never come. Two months seemed like an eternity, and you might as well have asked me to wait for the next 10 years. I couldn't imagine what my face would look like without ten pounds of swollen cheeks, and the thought of leaving my house was daunting. Now, sixty days later, I can barely remember the pain and discomfort. Funny how the human memory works, isn't it?

If not for the meticulous records I've kept, I would hardly believe that I had surgery. Well, that and some of the stiffness I have left in my face. I'm now trying to keep up with the task of returning to normal life, like remembering to chew before I swallow. My adjustment period seems to be longer than most people's experience, which is probably compounded by the fact that I'm trying to adjust living in Seoul at the same time. I have to constantly remind myself that personal space doesn't exist here, and that someone shoving you on the subway isn't a direct attack on your person. The latter is difficult because I am ready to kill anyone who touches my new, expensive face.

I can pretty much eat most things now, minus really crunchy and tough foods. I've had salads, sandwiches, pastas. This weekend, I attempted to eat a burrito, but was waylaid by the spiciness (two months without spice has made me a weak kitten) and the exhaustion of chewing the tortilla. I should've gotten the quesadilla instead. But what I really want is an enchilada.

Day 56

The official dates are a bit sketchy. Technically, I'm 3 days after my 7-week mark. But I'm also hitting my 2 month mark next Tuesday. I don't know how the numbers can be so off. It's past my bedtime, and I can't be bothered to perform math - however simple - after 3pm. My brain is on logical shut down.

Now that I'm wearing 4 bands ALL THE TIME except when I eat, I feel like sometimes my muscles in my chin spazz out. Good news: I ate my first sandwich today. The bread was toasted, the meat was ham, and I ate all the veggies except for the pickles. Tomatoes, lettuce, onions, they were all chewed haphazardly because I've discovered that while the bands are helping most of my back teeth meet, my molars (the teeth wayyyyyy in the back) don't meet! WHATTTTTTT!

The general consensus seems to be that this is common, but it's still making me apprehensive. Also, I discovered that there seems to be muscles or gum or something that's making my molars even harder to reach, so I'm skeptical as to how I'm going to attach rubber bands back there. (God, that's going to be fun, isn't it?)

Now I'm watching Jesse Eisenberg on the David Letterman Show, and he kinda looks like he has a really short neck. I have this image of a little person (colloquial, midget) with a short neck, sunglasses, and a cane for his slight limp. Is there really somebody like that or am I creating this out of my mind? I think he goes to NYU because his major sounds like something that came out of Gallatin. Who else is not going to watch this film?