Still in Dresden T minus 5
I’m still wrapping some things up in town, so I’m glad that our ride was delayed a day or two.
Nicol’s arrived this evening, rode hard and put away wet, so to speak, and so our planned day of departure is now next Tuesday.
So here’s what’s happened as of late.
I awoke this morning with a yell
My beesting has finally subsided. I was stung last Wednesday by a honeybee. It flew in my window early one morning, apparently decided to explore under my covers, and stung me on the inside of my arm while I slept. I awoke with a scream.
As I threw back the covers and saw a bee crawling away with its ass trailing behind it on a string, I must admit I thought to myself, “well, how about that.” Then I went back to bed.
It was hard trying to clean the place up with a bee sting. I don’t know that I’m allergic, but my arm sure did swell the hell up. Julie forced me at knife point to go to the doc when she found out that I was oozing yellow, but we settled for the pharmacists, who assured her that if I was going to asphyxiate, it would have happened withing 30 minutes, not after three days. I bought some salve against itching and we all rejoiced.
And every time I told my friends about my sting, they all said, “how ironic!” No, it’s called a coincidence.
nuthin but the tooth
Before I worked out with my insurance how I could get covered in France (and now I am for a nominal amount per month) I thought it wise to get my choppers looked at.
I was feeling mighty anxious because my right incisor had gotten a tad chipped along the way, and corner of one of my molars was missing. They were a source of distraction for me over several months, and I got nervous whenever I had a sudden mystery pang in the jaw or a sharp headache.
I saw a doc that Owen had visited. She was apparently saint enough to help him for free. I didn’t assume to expect the same charity, but I had a good feeling that she would not be the typical kind of dentist we get over here who tries to fleece the shit out of you.
As it turns out, those two broken areas were nothing to worry about. A bit of polish and done. But I did have four cavites: two little ones on the top — I think I may have had them for years, and some nasty black things on the sides of my molars on the bottom.
I got amalgam for the top ones on two different occasions, and the bottom ones with epoxy on a third visit. Those were the most uncomfortable with the drill; it was never painful, but at one point you get the feeling that the dam will break and you will be in a world of hurt.
I managed to deal with that by looking at the flourescent tubes and looking at the word “PHILLIPS”, and by thinking about how the inventor of the dentist drill was the dentist of none other than George Washington.
I was a bit disappointed when I saw the extensive bill. It was a lot less than I thought. And insurance pays it all anyhoo. Man, I should have come sooner.
Plus, because Doc is a Francophile, she gave me a couple of books about France.
Whether Julie thinks it is a good idea or not (she disapproves), as soon as my sewing machine is unpacked again I’m going to sew Doc a couple of teeth.
My students are dealing with my going away with a rather disappointing acceptance save a few.
Mr. T of Libya is altogether anxious as to how the rest of his hours will go. It is a bit of a drama between him and Boss sometimes, and I find myself crushed in between as much of those problems stem from language misunderstandings and I am the one responsible for T’s language growth.
In another class, one student proffered their own Teacher Recommendation for me on the last day. I must admit, when I read it I got tears.