I've been thinking a lot about root canals lately, because when you are in a dentist's chair staring at that dental light and there's a dentist rooting around your mouth with a power tool, it's hard to think about sunshine or lollipops or the universality of hope or whatever.

After all the thinking about root canals, I've come to a couple conclusions about them:

1. They hurt.
2. They are very expensive.

Now generally, I'm opposed to things that are both painful and expensive. Like, concussions. Or preemptive invasions. But there's a silver lining to root canals: Sometimes, while you are getting one, you'll be reading through an issue of Publisher's Weekly, and you'll noticed that you won the Cuffy for Best Novel for Older Teens. Even if you didn't previously know what a Cuffy was (and you didn't), that's the sort of news that will make you smile. And as a result of that smile, you will drool, but your mouth will be so numb that you won't feel the drool until it gets halfway down your neck. And then you'll shudder, because neck drool is disgusting, and your shuddering will cause the dentist to misdrill for one terrible moment.

In short, it is a great honor, the Cuffy. A great and terrible honor.

p.s. Now that Katherines is finished, I cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die promise to blog more.