(Sunday Paper, Volume II, Issue 22)

What you're looking at there on the left (and hopefully I set correctly so you can click on it and read it so I don't have to go into the details all over again) is more than 7 years old.

Back when Facebook Notes wasn't an obscure thing that no one ever used (meaning it was something that was featured more prominently that was only super-rarely used), I used it to record the worst dental appointment I ever had.

I've thought about that day every time I've been to the dentist since.

Sometimes more than that, too.

And every time I left the dentist I thought to myself, 'I really should get a new dentist.'

And this week, I finally did just that.

As you probably well know by now, I'm not a huge fan of using the phone. Or confrontation.

So confrontation over the phone? Not my thing.

And that was really my hangup when it came to switching dentists. I knew who I wanted to switch to...I just didn't know how to handle the break-up on the 'switch from' end.

But a couple of months ago I pulled the trigger. I finally called and scheduled my new appointment with my new dentist. (Truth be told she was actually my old dentist from more than a decade ago - she worked at my former dentist's practice.) That was the easy part.

I waited and waited before I called and canceled my old appointment. And waited some more. Then, one day I woke up feeling grumpy and figured, 'Today's the day.' I was ready for a fight if I needed one.

I didn't. It was kind of sad, actually. I told them I was leaving and they were nice and helpful and they asked why, and I told them I wasn't happy and it was something I needed to do for myself more than anything. But also made sure to mention that I had bad experiences that I had trouble getting over. It was kind of therapeutic.

Then I called the new dentist and gave them the info to get my files....and they told me I had to call the old dentist myself to make sure they knew I approved of the file transfer.

Ugh.

But I did. (Not right away. It took about another week of me steeling myself for the second call.)

And this week I had my appointment with a dentist I genuinely like.

I'm intentionally not using names because I am not here to disparage someone. I don't think this dentist is a particularly bad person...or dentist....I just had a terrible experience and never particularly liked the dentist's vibe. (It was a relationship made out of convenience, really. When we moved out to Framingham Kathy picked the dentist office out because it was highly rated and quite close to home.)

I'll name names in person if you're interested. Or maybe I'll see you at my new dentist. I'll be there in six months for my next cleaning.

And also next week. I need more work done.

Writing

*Submitted a bunch of articles this week. Nothing much on the docket for next week, but we have a 3-day weekend anyway and maybe I'll be able to rest up and recharge after this crazy month, so I don't mind. (I'll mind by Wednesday if I don't do anything productive before then.)

Comedy

*Thursday night I was back at The Comedy Studio for the first time in many months. It went really well. It was a great night overall - a lot of people I enjoy watching were on the show - but personally I'm going to go ahead and say it was the best set I've had so far at a venue where I always try to have a great set.

*If you were keeping score at home, the show I was supposed to host in Framingham on Saturday night got cancelled...but I ended up getting onto a show in Maine instead and I did that last night and it was a really good show in front of a really good crowd and it was a net positive for me.

*This week I'm on a show in Somerville that I'm really looking forward to on Thursday night. Come on out - I bet it will be a good time.

What I've Been Enjoying

*No lie: The best thing that happened to me this week is some cleaning Kathy and I did. Our kitchen island has been a mess for, oh, I don't know....years. Lots of years. And last weekend we just took everything off of it and wiped it down and for the past week we've stayed organized and kept it clean. And it's the best. I've dreamed of this for years and we've now had about 7 consecutive days of a clean kitchen island and I've used it to make the girls' lunches this week and to prepare other meals and sometimes just to lean on it and ponder things. It's fantastic.

Notes

*Sometimes comedy is the best, and sometimes it's a slog. To wit: This week I said hello to another comedian at a show. He introduced himself and said, "I looked you up on Twitter since I didn't know who you were. I really liked your tweet about the potato chips." Which is all very nice until you realize: I've met this comedian on at least three occasions. And he didn't 'like' the tweet...or follow me on Twitter. Win some, lose some. (Hey! Follow me on Twitter if you don't already! The chips tweet was, indeed, a good one.)

*I feel like I am quite unmemorable. This used to happen pretty often in the TV business where I'd meet someone multiple times before I felt like they knew who I am. And I don't know where I fall on the issue - it's kind of a blow to my ego, sure, but I also have a particularly good memory about this type of thing. So I don't know that it's rude on someone else's part...maybe it's just that I'm very good at meeting people and I shouldn't hold other people to such a high standard.

*If you're up late Tuesday night - or if you feel like setting the DVR - Casey Crawford will be on Jimmy Kimmel. He's a comedian in the Boston scene. I enjoy watching him work - it's cool to see some of the people I've gotten to know over the years doing comedy getting these great opportunities.

*As for me, things get a bit slower in June and beyond, but I've still got a bunch of shows booked that I'll let you know about, and I'm going to do my best to keep getting out to open mics and seeing what else I can get involved in all summer long. So stay tuned both here and on social media - I'll keep you posted. I'll have the June dates up at the 'Comedy Shows' link by Wednesday.

*I also have some plans for the June editions of the Sunday Paper, so keep an eye out for that all month long...beginning, of course, next Sunday, which is the first Sunday in June, whether you're ready for it or not.

*I assume most of you who are reading this already like the John Sucich page on Facebook, but if you don't, please go do that. Or tell a friend. I've stalled out on growing the numbers there and would like to get back to building a following there and would love your help with that.

*It's always (pleasantly) surprising to me who reads the Sunday Paper, and how many of you are actually reading it. Sometimes someone will drop a "Oh, yeah, I read what you wrote about that" into a conversation either in person or over e-mail or something and it never stops being a nice thing to realize. (A total of about 5 people read my sports blogging for the decade-plus I spent doing that.) So thanks for the support and reading and feel free to share.

*Hope you're having a fun and restful 3-day weekend. We went into Boston on Saturday and it was really great - relaxing Sunday and Monday. Hope your days are as great as mine have been.