Domestic Geek

Man, I really did it this time. I have really bad teeth due to things like too much carbonated soda and not enough good dental hygiene. Lack of dental insurance and making just enough money to barely cover my other bills are other reasons. I’ve also had some bad experiences with dentists that were nothing more than respectable thieves. Anyway, I had a tooth that cracked ages ago. Like the rest of my teeth, I did my best to ignore the pain until it became absolutely necessary to have it out. Well, this time I waited too long. My face swelled up like a balloon from the absess. When my state tax refund came in yesterday, I made an appointment with the dentist. He took a look at how bad the infection was and sent me straight to the emergency room. I didn’t want to go there as I still have outstanding bills from slicing my thumb open last May. When the dentist insisted and remarked that the infection was so bad that I could die, I went.

By the time the doctor saw me, the infection was so bad that my left eye was almost closed. They put me on an IV antibiotic and some Percocet for the pain. As with most pain meds, I started hallucinating spiders. Ick. Since I hadn’t slept much in the last 36 hours, I was immediately out like a light. I woke up a couple of hours later. I guess I had tried to bend the arm that the needle was in and it woke me up. Since it was like another hour before they finally let me check out, I went ahead and drove myself home. I'm still driving on expired plates and didn't want to leave it in the hospital parking lot for fear of it being towed. Of course, the car didn't want to start in the parking lot.

Marcus took me to get the medicine when he got home from work. The antibiotic itself cost $145. The doctor explained that he could give me something cheaper, but it might not work and I'd end up spending that much to see a doctor again. I also got a generic form of Percocet ($12). The down-payment on the ER bill was $166. So, State tax refund is gone and I still have to pay to have the tooth out. Oh, and I'm going to get a yeast infection to boot, too. I always do when I take antibiotics.

The good news is that I’m not working today or tomorrow. That’s one of the reasons I’ve got time to post stuff today. I’m torn about going to class tonight, though. I should really stay home, yet we’re coming up on final project time and I really need the information that is given out today. If I do go, I can’t take the pain meds because I won’t be able to drive, so I will have to take ibuprofin and I’m not sure that will dull the pain enough to get me through. *sigh*

I really hope I get this job that I interviewed for. After three months, they offer medical benefits (not dental, though). I'll also have more money coming in, though, so hopefully I can get some kind of dental insurance on my own and get my teeth problems solved for good. I've been dealing with these problems for over 15 years (since one dentist knocked out a filling when he pulled a wisdom tooth and wouldn't replace it). I would be nice to go a day without some kind of tooth pain.

You gotta love those wacky programmers over at Google. They now have a Map Service that is way better than MapQuest or Yahoo! Maps. If you click on Local Search and put something like "scrapbook" in the "What" box and "Denver, CO" in the "Where" box, it flags all related results for you on a large map. If you click on one of the result balloons, a pop-up with the Name, Phone, Address, Website (if applicable), and links for directions are right there. The navigation of the maps is a whole lot quicker than the other map sites, as well. This thing is totally awesome. Go check it out.

Well, I now know why I didn’t get hired at that scrapbook store I applied at before Christmas. I got a “Going Out of Business Sale” postcard in the mail a couple of days ago. I should feel sad about that like I am about All My Memories closing two of its three stores in the Denver area this month, but I’m not. I swore that if I wasn’t hired, I’d never shop there again. I didn’t think it would be under these circumstances. Oh, well. I guess either scrapbooking is not as big a fad as it once was, or these stores can’t compete with the likes of Archiver’s.

I didn't watch the SuperBowl this year. Marcus and I went out, instead. For the time being, AOL Sports has a site showing this year's ads. Glad I didn't stay home. The P.Diddy Diet Pepsi commercial was kind of funny, but overall, they were kind of lame.

UPDATE: The ads are also at ifilm.

MakeStickers.com is a site that offers premade bumper sticker designs (both 3" x 10" rectangle and 4" x 6" oval) and ability to design own. Prices seem resonable, also.