Dents and Vets

I am still recovering from a roughly 10 hour cumulative time spent on a dentist chair. This was actually spread over three sessions in two consecutive days. It sounds that bad huh? Well, it was not intended to be that way really. I finally managed to find a professional who actually cares for me.

I have this molar at the upper right corner of my mouth where food kept getting stuck. Pain. Excruciating pain every time a piece of meat or vegetable gets lodged in it and every single chewing motion I made pushed it further until it bled. It would not be exaggerating to say that I've been to five different clinics, some covered by insurance, some I paid in cash, but nonetheless, the "work" only lasted for about a week to a maximum of three months. At one point in time, either the filling would simply fall off while I am eating or more often, I tug upon it while flossing and there goes my money down the drain.

It came to me, just how impossible is it to fix the damn tooth? Or why don't I simply get rid of the damn thing so I don't have to keep spending on it? Why can't any of these dentists be honest enough to tell me what would be the best thing to do instead of bleeding me all this money? 

Jargon. I'm not entirely oblivious to medical terminology given that I have a Nursing degree. I just hope that long before, I should've kept my own little notebook to keep as a record of what was done, who did it, the contact info, so I don't have to keep recalling the procedure and I really don't have much of a clue what was done by the last guy anyway? DMD one meet DMD two. Your work sucks, fight! Damn I miss Tekken.

So I finally meet this old lady, not entirely a stranger to me, she's Munchkin's mom :) What I thought would be yet another palliative filling, ended up with a full cavity overhaul. It wasn't new to me that the past dentist's even if they hide behind masks I could see the squirm in their eyes when they see something unpleasant. Well, I happen to be someone with cash to spend and time is not a problem. Do what needs to be done. A couple of thousands after, I am spending time on the damn chair once more despite my own efforts to maintain whatever good is left of my smile. What was the difference this time? She didn't charge me a cent. I stayed on their house, fed me, kept me comfortable, and she blessed our relationship. What more can I ask for?

There were no fancy products, no expensive drugs, no freebies either. She just told me to  brush after drinking tea because it does stain the teeth and stop eating hard foods. Take hot and cold foods with caution and gargle with salt water solution.

I have faith that maybe this time, her work and my efforts put together, I might not need to spend that much time on a chair in the future.

We'll see.

Veterinarians seem to be no different, or perhaps I am yet again at the wrong place. I've never really thought of the need to see one since I had this concept that Donut, a mongrel, was actually more resilient towards diseases that her pure bred kin. After two puppies, I made it a point to try to abide by the vaccination schedule. Oh I was in for yet another set of hurdles.

Porky, on his third month passed out noodle like worms and became lethargic. So we went to the Vet, they gave him anti-helminthics and in two days he was as energetic as ever. After a week, he showed signs of lethargy again and I was very much worried if I had to deal with Parvo once more. 

The vet inserted a cotton tip at the anus and found blood. She was considering two diagnoses: Parvo or worms.

Me: ok, so how do we differentiate between the two?
Vet: we have to perform a Parvo screening test, it would cost you 500 pesos.
Me: ok, let's do it then. Porky needs to be treated

The Parvo test looked similar to an HIV screening kit. They took a swab from the anus, dipped it on a reagent, placed a couple of drops on the kit and waited for the lines to appear.

Me: so how do we read the results?
Vet: one line means negative, two or three means positive.

(15 mins after)

Vet: only one red line appeared so this means negative, however, I am seeing a very faint line so there may still be a possibility that he does have Parvo or may get it in the future.
Me: (confused and irritated)

Me: okaaaay... I am not seeing a second red line at all. There is proper lighting in this room and I don't need a magnifying lens to tell there is only a single red line on the indicator.

Vet: what I am saying is that there is only a possibility...

Me: what possibility?! I thought this was a screening test? Do we need to perform a confirmatory test? Did we test too early? Are these results not conclusive at all?

Vet: conclusive naman po, so ang chances are meron pa rin siyang worms.

Me: (murmuring to myself) fuck. I feel like I am being ripped off here. No need to test for worms since there has been a positive history in the first place.

At the end of the day, the dog was prescribed antibiotics and was well in two days.

We followed the schedule for the rest of the vaccines, until one day:

Vet: sir, i think it is time we also check for heartworms

Me: (looked at the energetic and noisy puppy) mukha namang wala.

Vet: he's also going to need shots for fungal and kennel cough.

Me: how much would those cost?

Vet: 500 and 300 pesos.

Me: which one is more prevalent and would kill him faster?

Vet: the kennel cough. In fact, notice he is coughing now

Me: (looked at the energetic and noisy puppy again) He's tugging on the leash. He wasn't coughing an hour ago since we got here.

Vet: (nga nga)

Soon we got another puppy named Dara, a cross between Shitzu and Mini Pin, we brought her in with Porky who was scheduled for the final booster of 5 in 1.

Me: Dara is two months old, we wish to start her vaccines asap too.

Vet: How long have you had her?

Me: less than a week, why?

Vet: we need to observe her for a week first, then start by checking her for worms, deworming then her shot of 5 in 1 a week after that

Me: okaaay... so if why do we need to check her for worms if she'd be given a deworming dose anyway? Wouldn't it cost me more?

Vet: (nga nga)


Seriously. This all feels like highway robbery. 

The Journey: Buying a TV

I already work for a tech account where one of the integrated services is TV. Ironically, I had to resolve TV issues then when I really had no interest in watching TV at home and not even keen on owning one, until recently.

No. I haven't changed my mind about the news and noontime shows and soaps. I use it primarily for watching movies, when my small laptop screen is straining my neck already.

So the journey begins in selecting the TV. LED? LCD? Smart TV? 1080P? Full HD? HD ready etc. Someone would expect of me that I should be more than aware what these things stand for, not until you're confronted with the choice of picking one, lest paying for one and bringing it home to enjoy for the years to come. What actually triggered my interest was the possibility of owning my own game console so that I can play Tekken internationally at the comfort of my own couch, cool huh?

The jargons didn't really swallow me whole. What was really upsetting was the service I was receiving while I was shopping for a TV. I've been around Ortigas and Cubao, been to several stores: Automatic, Western, Abenson, to name a few. The first thing a salesman offers would always be the largest, most expensive one. Not interested. He would try to show how awesome it is hwo much he'd memorize the brochure, but when you start asking about differences in features for certain models, that's when he starts scratching his head. Two models would have fairly different picture quality, unless you bring your own sample video to actually test it yourself. After the quick, often empty pitch, once I inform them "I only have a ceiling of 20k and I want to have the largest screen possible". Most of them would frown, or would rather walk away, perhaps to be polite.

I would be left alone to tinker with the back, getting little or no responses or assistance once they have already tagged you "cheap".

So, some stores have handsome salespeople. That's the end of it. Ask them to compare models, you might have wished you've just asked them to smile and not utter a word.

I was hesistant at first to purchase from a Department Store, especially SM, thinking it would probably cost me more compared to these stores. My experience was so much better. I started checking Sony and Samsung, however, with the budget I have I was aiming for something between 27-32 inches as much as possible. I was told that it would be ambitious with my budget but I might be willing to settle with a less premium brand but with equal quality. The salesman was awesome! He even showed me the difference between an HD ready and a Full HD model. There really is no significant difference, all relies on the input or resolution of the video itself, it will deliver the same picture quality. I chose something that can play USB and has as many ports possible. End of day, I got myself a ChangHong 27" slim border HD Ready TV with a free wall mount and a free adapter so that I could attach my 3.5mm speakers to go with it.... all for just 13k!? 

I was happy and contented with my purchase and no longer do I need to strain my neck trying to watch in a 19" laptop. I am pleased with the service I received and glad I made the right decision!

Tekken here I come!

Past Forward

It's not an oxymoron but it might as well be. For this year, I don't really know what is the main core reason, but I have been trying to bridge the gaps between the past and the present. Recently, it have been immersing myself to   impulsive hobbies and tasks I used to set aside and made excuses for long ago.

As with last year, I started the year by reading my first novel. My mother started collecting novels and series of all sorts and none of them pre loved. If she likes an author or happens to be interested, she buys the entire catalog. How i wish I had that much money. I came across Paulo Coelho when an acquaintance from a Christmas party asked for his book as an exchange gift. Funny, for of all the titles he wrote, I picked "Eleven Minutes", and with my last post I was even puzzled as to what whores and blowjobs had anything to do with me? 

I am about to read his next book, the Alchemist, but I also promised myself to catch up with the Classics. I have yet to muster the patience to actually digest To Kill a Mockingbird. I managed to finish the Hunger Games trilogy through audiobook listening on my daily commute but even the audio version of the classic, not even the Southern accent of the narrator could hold my attention far too long.

My laptop is running on Windows Vista and after seeing the app improvements  on the W8 interface, mine feels frickkin' ancient already? In addition, the 150GB memory it used to boast then didn't seem enough to catch up with all the upgrades that drain it to a real time low. I barely have 10GB to work with. I still love my "entertainment system".Oh yeah,I bought a new TV too! Yey! I still don't watch local shows.I pretty much use it for movies, which further aggravates my memory problems.

I was very much surprised as to what I could find in Torrents! HD copies of almost any movie I want! In as much as I would like to catch u with literature,I kinda felt deprived of during the days I really didn't get to watch on the big screen or I had to wait until it is available on tape or there's a somewhat decent copy from a video taken inside a theater.

I started to look for titles such as: 

Little Nemo, all I recall was "pajama pajama!" and a scepter and a flying bed but couldn't recall the plot.

The Last Unicorn, I remember the scene when she was charging the Red Bull to retreat to the sea,but I also had no recollection of the story.

Pipi Longstocking, I can recall the first line from the chorus and a scene where she used two brooms and flew off like a chopper but again,never the plot. I'm sure I enjoyed it but how come I don't know why?

One more thing that is also eating up my memory would be, language. I'm trying to squeeze in any free time during my waking hours to study French. I am glad to find a material that I am finally comfortable and motivated to work with!

Lastly, if I added and tried to do so many things with my computer, I decided to take hiatus from Facebook. I vowed never to log in or update my profile for 30 days. One of the main reasons I liked FB was due to phototagging, liking, and comments. But recently I have been far too overwhelmed that people already had no censorship or discretion as to what they wish to share. Scandals, violence, and other disturbing thoughts and images shared impulsively. Before, photos of food can only be seen on magazines, but people nowadays take photos of almost every meal and drink they take? Where they checked in, who they are dating, the plans for the weekend, who they are with, etc etc etc. I am witnessing their lives unfold, but I feel like I failed to take part of it? Sometimes I feel like we are all connected, but still alone. I'm sure you might have seen this somewhere: you see a group of people gathered around a table, all quiet and tinkering with their small screens and barely interacting with each other.

I choose not to participate with that.

So, perhaps this year my theme is to catch up with my life. Recap the past, see if there was anything possibly significant that I have missed. I don't think I'd appreciate Powder (1995) then if I had seen it, but I am glad to watch it now. Maybe I'm getting all too excited about nearing my 30's? Am I crazy or what?

I have not yet made a fortune. I have not yet realized my dreams. But I feel like, compared before when I feel sluggish and procrastinating, suddenly, 24 hours doesn't seem enough and my brain is pouring and absorbing almost anything like a sponge.

And so we all missed yet another failed Doomsday prediction, but we still wouldn't really know when it will be?

I don't care anymore.

I have finally made the choice to live.

Trapik sa Cubao-Ilalim

pokpok talaga? 

anu naman kinalaman ko sa pagchupa !?

 at mga bumubukol?!

Tama na ok?

Sailor Saturn (Silence Glaive ang power na gumunaw ng planeta, bonggacious)

OK. Nakakailang Doomsday predictions na ang kung sinu sinong kemerut baka naman pwede na tumigil sa mga kung anu anong anik anik?

Nakakainis. Magbabayad pa rin pala ako ng Meralco? Char.

At least walang zombies di ba?

I'll know it when I see it

“Maybe love stays. Maybe love can’t. 

Maybe love shouldn’t. 

Maybe love arrives exactly when love is supposed to. And love leaves when love must. When love arrives, say, ‘Welcome. Make yourself comfortable’. 

If love leaves, ask her to leave the door open behind her, 

turn off the music, listen to the quiet, whisper, 

‘Thank you for stopping by.’”

The Best Greeting

 

Donut was my first puppy in my life. He was given to me as a gift for I was so eager to have someone waiting for me at home. The garden eventually withered and died. Plants seem nice but can never be affectionate. Donut died from the Parvo virus after 2 months, it was far too late when we took him to the vet. On my birthday, I received multiple greetings online and through text.  What truly left an impression was when I woke up crying because I dreamed of my puppy and we played fetch and cuddled again.

Thank you for stopping by little friend.