Do not schedule teeth-cleaning and vehicle inspection on the same day, especially if the teeth-cleaning appointment is your dentist's first appointment of the day, 7:00 a.m., two days after you set your clocks forward, on an unseasonably cold and damp day; especially if it's the third time you've been to the inspection station in two weeks (once, successfully, with your new car, and once, abortively, with this careworn old car).

If you do schedule these appointments on the same day, take a break for sustaining nourishment between said teeth-cleaning and vehicle inspection. Bring a hot cup of coffee or tea with you in the car. You're not riding public transportation today, and it's cold and rainy outside.

Pat yourself on the back for bringing a book to vehicle inspection. Sit in the driver's seat, prop the paperback on the steering wheel, and read the first 80 pages of Plainsong.

And how about that praise from the dentist? Frankly, it's a bit embarrassing how much that pleases you, that they remember you as someone whose teeth are always clean. Don't deny it: You wanted for a moment the reward of a bright new toothbrush in a plastic wrapper, and a sticker declaring your bravery. But you'll have to settle for the tooth-shaped magnet on your refrigerator.