So yes, I had surgery recently. And yes, it sucked. The only good thing about this surgery was that it was free, including the possible overnight hospital stay that I might have needed if the surgeon had accidently paralysed my face. I didn’t know this was a possibility, of course, until I woke up from the anaesthetic and the surgeon asked if I could still feel my face. Um…aren’t I supposed to?

This surgery was free because I currently live in Scotland, where they have this wonderful invention called universal health care. As a recent recipient, I am a big fan. Unfortunately, this doesn’t include prescription strength painkillers, for some reason. After days of pain, I finally returned to the hospital to request something stronger, say…Vicodin. My surgeon? Has never heard of this. Now as much as I appreciate receiving surgery for pretty much nothing, I’m starting to think not providing painkillers derived from opiates is a sign of a facist state.

Needless to say, I was off work for quite awhile with the horrible, throbbing, mind-numbing pain in my jaw (where I’d just had a cyst removed). During the two weeks I was off, I had quite a lot of down time (a.k.a., sitting on my couch watching tv with a bag of frozen peas held against my face). With all this free time, I started to seriously consider the suggestion made by my very good friend, Essaytch, who said I should start a blog. SH (sorry S, it’s just easier this way!) started hers about six months ago and I’ve loved reading what she’s written.

SH has been a great friend of mine since we met in middle school. In our early teens we spent a lot of time writing very teenage stories, mostly involving cute celebrity crushes of the moment. She remembered how much I liked to write and encouraged me to start a blog. This could keep my family up to date on how I’m doing, she said, since I’m now living so far away from home.

Don’t worry, my blog will not include stories about cute celebrity crushes. Okay, maybe only a little bit, but I’ll keep it to a minimum, promise.

So S, here I go. I realise this may not be the most exciting way to start, but hey, I’m just barely off the painkillers here. Don’t worry, many more interesting stories to follow. These will definitely include mentions of kilts, beer and other Scottish things. And since I live in Glasgow, there may be mentions of knives, drugs, crime and annoying people in the criminal justice system that I am required to interact with due to my job. I wouldn’t recommend it. Stay tuned…