Lots of good news, some bad.
Yesterday I went to the dentist – this time to get Stuff done, not just cleaning and checkups. Their recommendation was to replace every filling in my mouth with gold or ceramic inlays. I think they’re either being unnecessarily cautious or hoping for big fat fees. However, they showed me pictures and X-rays so I had enough info to make my own decision; I could see that the amalgam fillings in some of my back upper molars were blackened around the edges, and I think those are pretty old (I also think I have my dental records from the US, so will check those). I’m getting them replaced with composite fillings, though. Inlays cost about $600-700 US. The place here only takes cash and I have no dental insurance; the composite fillings are supposed to last 5-10 years and I figure by then I’ll be back in the US with insurance. Besides, who knows what dental wonders they’ll have invented by then? They also want to put composite fillings in the sides of my upper front teeth, where there are stains they say have turned to decay. I’m a bit leery about this, never having heard of such a thing, but they showed me the shadows on the X-rays so I’ll probably go ahead.
The boat can be stored!!! And that will cost a whopping NT$100/day, so if I store it for a month it’s NT$3000, or under $100 US. Totally worth it – now I can deal with getting it when I have time and Rudder to help. Whew. The colleague who’s been helping on ths rocks – maybe I’ll bring her back Dutch chocolates *and* make her a wire tree.
On the taxi ride to the dentist yesterday I noticed a luggage store, so after my appointment I went and bought a bigger suitcase. The one I had is nice, because it’s got 4 wheels instead of two and so is easier to move, but it’s only 24″. On that two-month trip I ended up sending some things home with Rudder (books I’d read and yarn I’d bought), postng a box, and leaving a few things there. This trip starting Saturday is for three weeks, and I find you need about as much clothing for that period as for any longer trip, really. The advantage is that while I do need some warmer things, given the vagaries of Dutch weather, I don’t need any real winter clothing. However, I just listed [what I can remember of] what I’ve packed so far, and I have one pair of jeans, one pair of capris, one pair of slacks, and three skirts, not to mention some shorts in case of warm weather outside work hours – in other words, 6 bottoms suitable for office wear. Add in 11 tops, and I think I need to take some out. 5 bottoms and 10 tops seems reasonable for 20 days, though it’s more than a Dutch person would wear. Plus I have jammies and workout gear, not including workout gear already in the bag I’ve left there. At the very least, I’ll wear some of that instead of wearing a whole additional outfit. I haven’t decided what if anything to take in the way of a jacket; I have a light fleece there and a rowing jacket that I ordered a while ago and Rudder picked up on his last trip. (Just checked the the Weather Underground for Eindhoven: oh, yes, I believe I will be bringing a jacket. It’s 50F / 10C there right now.)
I called my brother this morning; he’d been to the hospital with Mom to visit Dad and he’s a bit better at the medical terminology than she is. That’s where the bad news is. He said that what they’re doing will definitely fix the clogged arteries (and he established that Dad’s been having chest pain for months but just didn’t bother telling anyone because it wasn’t that bad, stupid stoic menfolk!) but may not help the brain issues or the recent kidney function issues. He says they’re more or less doing triage, treating one thing at a time, worst ones first. Sigh. I’m glad he’s there, at least.
I’m also glad, if I haven’t mentioned it before, that I found out I don’t after all have a limit to how long I can be in the US before I have to pay tax on all my earnings. (I do pay taxes, but I pay them here where I live rather than in the US.) so now if I have a two-week trip for work I don’t have to be worried about not being able to go in case of family emergencies. That’s a relief, anyway.
You make me feel smart: when I thing Celsius, I think 10C = need a jacket. (We won’t be able to change until we learn *not to convert first.*)
Difficult news about your father. My husband never complained about chest pains but had an abnormal EKG. The clogging is fairly simple to fix (because they’ve done so many over the last thirty years), and some of the other problems may be alleviated when he’s feeling better.
But it’s still rough, especially when you’re so far away.
I dunno about the stains-decay thing… I have had some aggressive dentistry (read: probably unnecessary) done on me, so I’m very leery, and am now the Queen of the Second Dental Opinion.
And I hope all goes well with your dad.
Yowch, poor Dad. Glad Alex is there to sort and explain. Must be terribly difficult for you to be so far away. Hope clearing the arteries helps him feel better quickly.
Good news about the boat storage! That rocks! ~LA