True to my word, I bravely made myself a dentist appointment. The only time they could offer me was for 8 o'clock this morning. What a gross time to go to the dentist. Up and at 'em by 7:15, I shook off the morning grog, gulped down coffee and mouthwash, put on semi nice clothes, plus shoes without manure on them, and off I went to solve the mystery of my upset molar.
This was my first time at South Aiken Dental. Upon arrival I was given the usual forms to fill out in the gently lit waiting room. After a short wait I was summoned to enter the hallway by a squat woman in her 30's, who informed me that her name was Tina, and I was to follow her. Tina sat me down in a chair, and I began to fill her in on my dental history, which is long and detailed. I've had a significant amount of dental work, from implants, to bridges, crowns, root canals, fillings, you name it. I have two implants that are still patiently waiting for implant crowns, which Tina nicely pointed out that they could do that work for me. I felt like saying, "Great news! Do you want to front me the 3.5k that'll cost to get the work done? " First bristle of irritation.
Tina proceeded to take her tiny mirror and explore my upper and lower teeth.
"Hmmm, them two are a bridge," said Tina. "That ain't a problem."
My eyes popped wide open. Immediately, in my head I repeated "them two" "ain't"???? Seriously??? How about some attention to proper grammar to project a modicum of confidence in your professional skills??? If the lady at the convenience store uses improper grammar it's not a red flag, but the dentist office? I began to feel uncomfortable.
"Ima need to take an x-ray now, Mizz Edel," said Tina with a pinched smile on her pudgy face.
I held my cool while she wedged an x-ray plate the size of a notebook in my mouth. The first one she took was too dark so I was fortunate enough to repeat the procedure. Well, there it was in black and white. The tooth that was bothering me has already had a root canal, as well as the one in front of it. Gee, so glad I spent 1k to save that little bugger only to have it fail me now.
Tina turned to face me with her serious dental person face on.
"Do you brush and floss?" she said in a pandering tone, like she was talking to a 6 yr. old.
"Of course, I do!" I said indignantly. Who doesn't brush their teeth?? Gross!
"Do you know why your teeth have had so many problems? How's your diet?" She leaned down closer to my face for my answers.
I stared blankly at her heavily made up eyes. My mind began to whiz. Do I know why my teeth are so crummy? Uh, I think it's called genetics? Just like some people have kidney issues, or arthritis. I have bad teeth. And my diet?? I took a deep breath and fought back the urge to tell her that I sustain myself with crystal meth, cotton candy and Coca-cola. Instead, I smiled sweetly, batted my eyelashes and said:
"My teeth have had many issues, none due to lack of proper hygiene, or attention. I was born with bad teeth. {I added You Dumb Bitch, but only in my head, cuz I was raised properly} And as for my diet I stay away from junk food, I don't drink soda, or eat many sweets. It's not like I've had all of this dental work, because I find it so enjoyable."
I mean, I'm 5'8 and about 125 lbs. I do not look like an unhealthy person. I let my eyes peruse her figure to let her know that I was taking note of her fat gut and thighs which clearly indicated she visited the drive thru more than a few times per week. Gee, how's your DIET, Tina??? Can you say GLUTTONOUS?
On that note, she took her leave so I could have a private consultation with the actual dentist, Dr. Miranda. He was a baby faced, little Spanish fellow, very polite, and I appreciated the confidence in his voice while he spelled out a few options for me. Turns out an endodontist might be able to save my tooth, but if not he could extract the damn thing.
The best part of the whole experience was paying the bill. I had received a coupon in the mail from this place that offered a $1 emergency consultation. I know, right??!!! You can't use the bathroom at the dentist for less than $50. I could've complained about Tina's bedside manner, but if these people are going to pull my tooth I don't want any behind the scenes scuttlebutt about me being a whiny bitch. Better to just keep quiet and hope that Tina's Big Mac gives her heartburn this afternoon.
Have a nice day, y'all!!
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Deep thoughts from a shallow well
Have you ever met someone who annoys you just by the very sight of them? One minute you're in a good mood, thinking happy thoughts and then you spot him/her and it's like a switch is flipped. Your eyes become narrow slits, lips tighten and your mood goes dark. You begin to pray that they don't come over and talk to you, but they always do. People like this are akin to cats who sense the non cat person in the room and then proceed to rub all over them, until they are shooed away.
I have one of the above mentioned people in my life. I'm a fairly tolerant person, but I have a low capacity when it comes to listening to someone brag about themselves. It really grinds my gears. This person really, truly has no cause to brag, but they do...shamelessly, incessantly and mercilessly. When it starts up I end up clenching my teeth so tightly I fear they may crack. Because I'm a terrible actor I cannot even remotely pretend to be supportive of the brags that bubble forth from this person's maw. Usually, I mumble something like, "how nice", or "good for you" then I hurry off before I punch them in the throat. I'm trying to be positive about this person appearing in my life as an opportunity for me to grow and become more tolerant and accepting, less judgy. But it's very, very difficult. I've come close to calling them out on the brag-a-thon's more than once, but each time I hold back not wanting to come off like a giant bitch. I know myself. If I react out of hostile emotion I will say things that aren't nice, and I don't want to be that person. I never want to hurt a person's feelings. This person is a harmless soul and perhaps not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so I need to let it go. But it's very, very difficult. We all know that bragging stems from insecurity. I need to find some empathy for this person's insecurity issue. Find a deeper understanding into what the bragging does for this person, not what listening to it does to me. Can I do that? Any suggestions? Most days I'm pretty sure I can manage to pull it off. I'll just have to rearrange my schedule if PMS comes into the picture.
December has been kind of a shite month. Jonathan's Dad had a quick, but serious bout with bronchitis that landed him in the hospital. He's doing great now, thank goodness. We had to say goodbye to lovely old Zeke, the 21 year old cat who was featured in the prior blog. He was doing well and then one day he decided he didn't want to eat. Our lovely vet friend gracefully assisted him over the Rainbow Bridge from the comfort of his window bed. No scary last vet visit for my animals if I can help it. I mean, we know he was incredibly old so his passing away wasn't a major shocker, but it still was very sad. Jonathan made the comment that if he was our child he'd be graduating from college. Cue:floods of tears.
Also in Dec, my horse received a routine vaccine which gave him a terrible reaction so he was very muscle sore for about two weeks. That sucked (more for me than him, since he got good meds and no work). Fortunately, he's fine now, but it's been raining like a SOB in Aiken for the last couple of weeks, which has made consistent training a challenge.
Two weeks ago, one of my lower molars has decided to abscess. I caught it in the nick of time with antibiotics, but that's not a perma fix. It needs to be addressed by a dentist. I decided to give myself until after Christmas to have anything drastic done to it. It's now after Christmas, and I still haven't called for an appointment. I guess it's time to be a big girl and make the call.
And last but not least, our car is having some sort of oil pressure issue. I'm waiting to hear what the report is from the fancy German car mechanic. Gulp. I've done a lot of research on the problem so I know two things. It can be an easy fix, or it will be an expensive fix. Fingers crossed here.
All in all, I'm feeling good about the arrival of 2016. We're really excited about all of the horses we're working with at the moment. Our house has two rooms that are ready for color to go on the walls, to be followed by redoing the floors, which I happen to find very satisfying and fun. It's a good time right now. Life will always have blips and hiccups. Sometimes it seems like enough is enough, but I try to look for balance. Find something good that makes me happy, like making a video of Miles while I'm having a solo dance party (which I promise I'll stop posting those vids on FB). I recently read a meme that said something like, "You don't live once, you die once". It's important to be nice, do what makes you happy and the rest of it just sorts out somehow. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Time to go call that dentist...
I have one of the above mentioned people in my life. I'm a fairly tolerant person, but I have a low capacity when it comes to listening to someone brag about themselves. It really grinds my gears. This person really, truly has no cause to brag, but they do...shamelessly, incessantly and mercilessly. When it starts up I end up clenching my teeth so tightly I fear they may crack. Because I'm a terrible actor I cannot even remotely pretend to be supportive of the brags that bubble forth from this person's maw. Usually, I mumble something like, "how nice", or "good for you" then I hurry off before I punch them in the throat. I'm trying to be positive about this person appearing in my life as an opportunity for me to grow and become more tolerant and accepting, less judgy. But it's very, very difficult. I've come close to calling them out on the brag-a-thon's more than once, but each time I hold back not wanting to come off like a giant bitch. I know myself. If I react out of hostile emotion I will say things that aren't nice, and I don't want to be that person. I never want to hurt a person's feelings. This person is a harmless soul and perhaps not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so I need to let it go. But it's very, very difficult. We all know that bragging stems from insecurity. I need to find some empathy for this person's insecurity issue. Find a deeper understanding into what the bragging does for this person, not what listening to it does to me. Can I do that? Any suggestions? Most days I'm pretty sure I can manage to pull it off. I'll just have to rearrange my schedule if PMS comes into the picture.
December has been kind of a shite month. Jonathan's Dad had a quick, but serious bout with bronchitis that landed him in the hospital. He's doing great now, thank goodness. We had to say goodbye to lovely old Zeke, the 21 year old cat who was featured in the prior blog. He was doing well and then one day he decided he didn't want to eat. Our lovely vet friend gracefully assisted him over the Rainbow Bridge from the comfort of his window bed. No scary last vet visit for my animals if I can help it. I mean, we know he was incredibly old so his passing away wasn't a major shocker, but it still was very sad. Jonathan made the comment that if he was our child he'd be graduating from college. Cue:floods of tears.
Also in Dec, my horse received a routine vaccine which gave him a terrible reaction so he was very muscle sore for about two weeks. That sucked (more for me than him, since he got good meds and no work). Fortunately, he's fine now, but it's been raining like a SOB in Aiken for the last couple of weeks, which has made consistent training a challenge.
Two weeks ago, one of my lower molars has decided to abscess. I caught it in the nick of time with antibiotics, but that's not a perma fix. It needs to be addressed by a dentist. I decided to give myself until after Christmas to have anything drastic done to it. It's now after Christmas, and I still haven't called for an appointment. I guess it's time to be a big girl and make the call.
And last but not least, our car is having some sort of oil pressure issue. I'm waiting to hear what the report is from the fancy German car mechanic. Gulp. I've done a lot of research on the problem so I know two things. It can be an easy fix, or it will be an expensive fix. Fingers crossed here.
All in all, I'm feeling good about the arrival of 2016. We're really excited about all of the horses we're working with at the moment. Our house has two rooms that are ready for color to go on the walls, to be followed by redoing the floors, which I happen to find very satisfying and fun. It's a good time right now. Life will always have blips and hiccups. Sometimes it seems like enough is enough, but I try to look for balance. Find something good that makes me happy, like making a video of Miles while I'm having a solo dance party (which I promise I'll stop posting those vids on FB). I recently read a meme that said something like, "You don't live once, you die once". It's important to be nice, do what makes you happy and the rest of it just sorts out somehow. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Time to go call that dentist...
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