Oct 11, 2013 3 min read

It was a pretty crappy week.

Sunday night, I was at the Pittsburgh New Works Festival’s Gala. It was a great event, but while I was watching the awards ceremony, I picked up a chocolate with nuts, bit into it, and my crown came out.

Nothing makes you feel more like a hillbilly than when your front tooth is missing. I was surrounded by beautiful people in beautiful clothes (actors all dressed up), and I was sitting there without a front tooth. I had to leave.

I dashed home, but I didn’t want my evening to end. I decided to glue my crown back in with Superglue. It was a redneck repair job. And yes, there was a danger of using too much and gluing my mouth shut (that would have pleased a lot of people). But the glue held, and I went back to the ball and danced. I saved my Sunday night with Superglue.

The next day, I was sitting in a coffee shop and sneezed. The crown came flying out. I ran to Rite Aid and bought Dentek, which I assume is a more hygienic way to glue your own crown back in. It comes in a tiny bucket and has a plastic applicator for pasting the tooth in. It’s like a baby bucket of putty and matching putty knife. It looks and tastes like caulk. I spackled the thing back in there and went to work.

I called the dentist and set up an appointment. The appointment wasn’t until Thursday. It was Monday, and I didn’t think I could walk around with a loose front tooth that long.

The entire fiasco put me in a bad mood.

I know. Hashtag FirstWorldProblems.

The next morning, I was walking to the coffee shop (as I do every morning) when I passed a sign that said “Happy Hour.”

It was only 7:58 in the morning, and Happy Hour wasn’t for another 11 hours, but I got to thinking. I had one hour before I went to work. I was going to be happy for the whole hour.

I knew I wasn’t going to be able to sustain the attitude at work. Sometimes I have to do math there, and that always puts me in a bad mood.

I got to the aptly named Crazy Mocha, and a group of college kids were camped out in my favorite spot. I had to sit by the door, where the cold air blew in every time someone entered. I had 58 minutes to be happy, and I wasn’t off to a good start.

The kids got up and decided to leave. I went back and grabbed my favorite comfy chair in the back, far from the coldness. I sat there sipping tea (and trying not to swallow my tooth in case it came out again).

Eventually, I warmed up. Soon, I was feeling happy, just hanging out.

It was comforting to realize that I can make my own happiness.

I just have to put in a little effort. Maybe with a bit more effort I can transform my happy hour into a happy day; or, at the very least, go two to three hours, like most happy hours do.