Life stories 1..

Most of my writing is based on my life, unrelated to my blog, which is of course about my life.  Like in college, when I was taking creative writing classes, all my stories were very unoriginal in that they were in some way, always, based on my life.  Stories about yourself are always the easiest to tell.  I started doing this well before college though.

It probably started in elementary school when we had writing tests, omg 5 paragraphs?  intro, 3 topic paragraphs, and a closing paragraph?!?!  I'm going to faint.  The writing subject was always something cheesy like, what is your favorite dessert and why (we had a kid definitely write about his favorite desert for that one), narrate how you spent your first day of school, what does it mean to be a good neighbor.. but it was always related to YOU, the writer.

My college application essay was about the flooring in my life.  No jk.  I described the floors in my childhood home, busting my ass on the tile floor trying to mop it, squeezing a Hi-C fruit punch puddle in the corner of all the rooms to see if it would change the color of the brown carpet.  I describe the floors in the house we moved into with Teh Mom after my parents separated, the cold tile, but there was navy blue carpet in the dining room only, how we called the house "The Box".  The house Teh Mom moved to after The Box, which we called The Mold Bin, that only had carpet in the living room, tile in the kitchen and bathroom, and hardwood in all the bedrooms.  How often I missed the drab, brown carpet of the house I grew up in because I hated waking up in the morning and putting my feet down on cold floor.

I was accepted to the only college that I applied to, but it was probably more about my grades and all the college credits I was already going to NCSU with rather than my essay.

So today, we're going to talk about toothpaste.  It's kind of a big deal.  Most people (at least in America, /crossing fingers) use toothpaste every day.  I've used LOTS of toothpastes in my life.

The first one I remembering is: Crest.

(image)

Its what Teh Parents used.  I may have used some random kids toothpaste here and there, but I definitely remember that white tube for a very long time.

At some point, I probably had some: Aquafresh Kids

(image)

I quickly learned that bubble gum flavor really wasn't for me.

A few times, I got to pick the toothpaste when we went to the store.  So, to be different, I chose: Colgate

(image)

This wasn't really anything extreme, it was pretty boring actually.  So then I went with: Colgate Total, since I was totally enamored with how sparkly/shiny the box was.

(image)

I then decided that I wanted my own toothpaste, so I asked Teh Mom for: Mentadent.  I desired this crazy lack of tube design for my own toothpaste.

(image)

I used this stuff for a while, but then I got tired of always running out of one color before the other.  Apparently, it takes a lot of skill to press this sucker evenly on both sides to get even amounts of blue and white.

After using "adult" toothpaste for so long, I decided to experiment.  I went with: Crest Whitening Expressions, citrus flavor, because if you're gonna go out on a limb, you gotta do it right

(image)

I learned quickly that mint was the way to go with toothpaste.  I tried my friend's cinnamon, because she was toothpaste experimenting at the same time, and it was NOT for me... ever.

Then I moved on to: Aquafresh.

(image)

Got tired of the non-tube theme in my life and went back to basics.

(image)

For many years I went back and forth between Colgate Total and regular Aquafresh.  Total had that flavor I liked, but Aquafresh had those 3 colors, and it was always a feat to get the same amount of each color on the toothbrush.

Then at some point during high school, came: Aquafresh Extreme Clean........

(image)

This was the most delightful toothpaste I've ever put on a toothbrush.  It had a great minty flavor and it had the Aquafresh stripes, but this time, it had quirky orange and white stripes...  And the best part ever.. So many tiny bubbles in my mouth.  I actually felt like my mouth was cleaner.  I might have also looked like a rabid dog because of all the foamy toothpaste, but it was amazing!

I have been using this stuff since high school and, now, that was a very long time ago.  People have complimented how white my teeth are and I always tell them I've been using the same toothpaste for years.  A toothpaste hand crafted with love from God himself.

But recently, I was feeling like it was time for a change, so I picked up: Crest 3D Whitening

(image)

I'd been using the Aquafresh for so long, I felt like it was time we took a break.  About 3/4 of the way through the tube of the 3D white, my teeth started to hurt.  I didn't like it.  It made me miss my Aquafresh.  I decided this was a good lesson.

So I picked up some: Aquafresh Advanced

(image)

NOT THE SAME as my Extreme Clean.  The day that I went to the NEX to buy toothpaste (since I was running out of the Crest), I couldn't find My Precious.  So, I took a risk.  And I failed and learned a lesson.

Not all Aquafresh is the same.  This stuff lacked the bubbles that made my mouth so happy.  It was that boring green, white, and red stripe pattern.  I only used it once, I didn't like it so much I even put it back in the box (anyone want some free toothpaste?).  That day I brought My Precious back home: Aquafresh Extreme Clean..  and it was a good day for all as the world was right again.


Note: this was an image I found while getting the photos for this blog.

(interesting experiment)

This person had a bunch of expired toothpaste laying around, put them all into a bowl, mixed them together, then brushed their teeth with the concoction.  Can I haz science experiment?