Fear of the dentist

I have sensitive teeth and I hate the regular scaling. As I lay back in the examination chair today I reflected on how dental procedures greatly increase my anxiety level. I realized that a core issue may be the suddenness of the onset of tooth pain. While dentists are always willing to abruptly halt, it is not as if I know the pain is coming. Even a brief pain is bothersome if sufficiently intense.

Waiting for air travel

While waiting to move back to the US I still try to visit when I can. Airline information still suggests the usual: for international flights arrive three hours prior to departure. (I don't know what they intend for domestic connecting to international.)

( It makes sense to allow for unexpected delays. )

For my latest departure things went smoothly: I was soon airside and ( reminded of the high prices in airport stores. )

On other occasions I have arrived early as advised, plus a margin for traffic, only to find myself waiting landside for a long time. Even at larger airports a major airline may open their departure desks only a little before the flight; one often then sees the same airline staff at the departure gate. In those cases, rather than being told to arrive three hours in advance I would rather be told when their staff are going to turn up because there is no point in my preceding them. There is rarely much to do landside while I watch the empty desks, waiting to become able to hand over my luggage and get through security so that I can relax within easy reach of the gate.