Musings on a Small Life

We're approaching the end of the work week, at last. It's been a bit of a crazy week: We've had five interviews for the new assistant director position for our sub-unit. I'm not on the hiring committee, just had to contact interviewees to set up the times, send them info, etc. There will be a round two from this group, but I don't know who or when. The other sub-unit within our larger department has been interviewing this week too, second time posting the position. Then, today, our sub-unit is undergoing an external review, the focus being whether we have sufficient resources to meet the data reporting needs of internal and external stakeholders. We four staff members will meet briefly with the reviewers at 10 AM EST; most of their day will be spent talking to stakeholders across campus. The possible outcomes have been causing me a bit of concern, but there's no point fussing over it. I don't have a clue what the final report will recommend,...

1. Our work insurance company is covering $925 out of the $977 I just paid for the second root canal appointment. Woohoo! Still leaves me $500+ out of pocket on the entire thing, but I welcome the reimbursement. My line of credit welcomes the reimbursement.  :-) BTW, my mouth feels fine! Knock on wood, no problems whatsoever. 2. Ikea is sending me an entire new base cabinet (the larger of the two boxes). I opened the damaged box when I got home yesterday, took pics and emailed them off, then called to follow up. I guess they can't send a replacement for the one piece, I presume because everything is pre-packaged. The down side is that I will have to dispose of the box I have now, with all its MDF pieces, at my own cost. (It'll be added to the growing mess in the garage that needs a junk removal call. I really should cosy up to someone with a pick-up truck.) 3. The Salvation Army is coming tomorrow to pick up my old dining table, chairs, bar stools and various bags of...

I had part 2 of the root canal this morning. I'm unfrozen now (mid-afternoon) and waiting for the pain to start. I found out I'm among the 18% of people who have an extra root! Aren't I lucky?  There still was a bit of infection in various canal pockets, but nothing like before, so everything is cleaned out and sealed up and I have a permanent filling in my crown. Fingers crossed I have no more problems. He did give me a prescription for another round of antibiotics if necessary, though I hope I don't have to fill it. Today's cost? $977.00, on top of the $700+ the last time (of which I was reimbursed less than $300). I'll find out in the near future how much Great West will cover. It won't be even close to all of it, not by a long shot.  So I'd better not need further treatment! BTW, I received my dining chairs yesterday, a double order actually (their mistake), but that's for another post. Just let me state once again: never ord...

Well, apparently I have a very bad infection, as I have absolutely agonizing pain from the lower jaw/throat right up into the ear and up the side of my face. (Yesterday I was merely sore/uncomfortable, as one might expect.) I popped into the endodontist's office first thing this morning to ask for pain killers and he gave me a prescription for 2 antibiotics plus Tylenol 3s. (I've been awake since 12:30 AM, unable to sleep with the pain.) I filled the prescriptions at the drugstore on our campus, rather than my regular pharmacy (not easily accessible to me today), then came home. I've taken the first (double dose) of antibiotics and now am waiting to see if I have a life-threatening reaction to them. As for the Tylenol 3s, I'm too scared to take them!  So, guys, there's a reason I heard so many horror stories from people who have had root canals! Peace . P.S. If you feel like sending some healing energy, I wouldn't object.

I'm just home from that. It wasn't as long or as horrendous as I imagined, but I do need to go back for a second appointment -- too much infection to seal the roots permanently. He cleaned everything out, injected the roots with whatever (presume some sort of antibiotic) and put a temporary filling in. He'll finish (I hope) on November 29th. I might not even need another half-Ativan the next time. The plus in this is that he did not shatter the crown, so I won't need a replacement for that. Whew. On a different note, I had a lovely Sunday walk yesterday, at Lake Ontario Park, took a slew of snapshots that I'll get to later this week. A couple of "teasers": No worries, this fellow's "mom" was at water's edge, they walk like this all the time.   Another sweetie out for a walk with his human mom. Peace .

I saw the resident-of-the-month* yesterday morning, about a few ongoing middle-aged issues. While I was there, I told him I was having root canal surgery this month and wanted some Ativan for the appointments (probably two for the root canal and another two with my regular dentist for a replacement crown). He was a bit hesitant, given it's a "controlled substance," so I didn't realize he actually had sent off the prescription to my pharmacy (along with another one I was getting) until I went to Costco today to pick up the one (plus Nicki's Flovent). Not only had he sent in the prescription for the Ativan...it was 30 pills! Just how bad does he think the root canal will be? I had expected that if he was able to prescribe it, it would be 4, maybe 6 pills maximum. That would have been more than enough, as I've only ever taken half a pill at a time (when flying to Halifax last year, and a couple of times since). What am I going to do with 30 Ativan pills?...

Not a bad day at all, just plugging away at the office, lots to keep me occupied. Mr. Grey made a nuisance of himself all weekend, in the garden. I would just settle on the couch to read and hear a great commotion outside, only to jump up and see Nicki half way up the fence after him. This happened repeatedly; the squirrel really wanted in to the garden! BTW, he was in among my plants at one point over the weekend, the boys were inside for a change, so I stepped out and down onto the grass...no reaction from Mr. Squirrel, who obviously has no concern about me whatsoever.   My insurance company got back to me about how much they'll cover for my root canal. Let's just say that I need two hands to count, in hundreds of dollars, how much I have to shell out on my own. (They're pretty good, really, cover all but $200+ of the actual procedure, but that doesn't account for the several hundred dollars in tax. I hope I can claim the balance on my income tax, though it ...

...if anything has changed in the past three months ( yes , I go every three months), do NOT mention the sore crown tooth (a bottom right molar), presumably caused by clenching your teeth together too tightly, too often (bad habit of mine). Mentioning something innocuous like this could entail x-rays (along with the regular x-rays taken every couple of years). And this could entail discovery that the crown tooth is abscessed and that you should start taking antibiotics today . Oh yeah, and that the tooth needs a root canal, and possibly a new crown too (if the porcelain chips, which it likely will). So when you go for your regular cleaning, just say all is fine and leave it at that!  :-O BTW: All the times I wondered if I'd rather have a root canal or be at the office? And I couldn't decide? I'd rather be at the office. Peace .