I don't know about you, but I'm playing
4 Weeks Ago
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/10/sneaky_card_looks_fun.php.
http://www.digitalopen.org/projects/sneaky-card-and-other-friends.
TRiG. 
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- Latest reply: 3 Weeks Ago
Sometimes I feel a bit fed up
5 Weeks Ago
I've been getting lazy recently about cooking. (Well, I always was lazy, but I had been getting better. I've regressed.) Anyhoo, I went to Macari's for dinner today. It's one of the good quality fast food places.
And a bunch of lads came in. One was a workmate. Another two were good friends (one since very early childhood). And two I didn't know.
We ignored each other.
A little later three girls came in to join them. One was my good friend's sister. Another, the only one to acknowledge me at all*, was my friend's (ex-?)girlfriend.
There are times when being an ex-Witness is annoying.
TRiG.
* And I may have been imagining that tiny nod.
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Teething problems
Sep 21, 2009
How long is it since I've written a journal entry? Something ridiculous, I'm sure. I've not even said a word about my American trip.
Ah well.
***
My teeth have always been a bit all over the place (but not quite bad enough for me to have them fixed free as a child) so I made an appointment at the local orthodontist for Tuesay 1st September. (I used their website, a website I'd helped to build.)
That was just for a consultation, no actual work. It still cost 100 euro.
The nurse put strange shaped mirrors into my mouth and took lots of photos, then she brought me to another room and took three X-rays. Then the orthodontist laid me back in the chair and had a look. There was a sharp indrawn breath: not a good sound to hear from any expert, especially a medical one.
And then he wouldn't tell me what was wrong. He said he was waiting for the X-rays to be developed first, so he could confirm it. That was a bit of an uncomfortable wait. But it wasn't too long.
I have periodontal disease. And apparently it's quite bad for someone my age to have it as advanced as I do. He scared me a little, actually. Anyway, he told me he could do nothing with my teeth until I have my gums sorted out. A dentist can do it, he said, but in my case it was bad enough that I should go to a specialist. There's one in Naas, he said, but go to your normal dentist and he'll write you a letter of referral.
So a couple of days later I made an appointment with my dentist. He had received the photos and X-ray from the orthodontist, and didn't even bother looking for himself. He just wrote me the letter of referral, and charged me nothing. He too mentioned the specialist in Naas, but I told him I had no car, so he sent me to Galway instead. I can take a train to Galway.
So I made yet another appointment. And then I left work half-way through the morning and went to Galway. I was to arrive about an hour before my appointment, which would have given me plenty of time to find the place. The receptionist had given me directions on the phone, and I'd been following on a map. It wasn't far from the station. About five minutes' walk, she said. The previous day, though, she'd phoned me back and said there was a cancellation, and asked if I wanted to go there as soon as I arrived in town, so I'd decided to do that. In the event, the train was a little late, and it took me longer to find than I'd expected (the numbers on that street make no sense at all, and there's a dearth of street signs).
Again, this was consultation rather than cure. The periodontist measured the length of the flap of gum over each tooth, by shoving something down between the tooth and the gum. It should be about three millimetres, she told me; in my mouth it was sometimes up to six. She called out the numbers to the nurse, following many of them with "bleeding". Not good news. And it bloody hurt! I could feel it in my mouth for the rest of the day and into the night.
Then she took a couple more X-rays, even though I'd already given her the photos and X-rays taken by the orthodontist.
Treatment, she said, would be in four sessions, ideally one a week for four consecutive weeks, each session costing 350 euro. 1400 euro is a month's wages. Add the transport costs, and this is looking expensive.
She did tone down the orthodontist's horror stories, though. Yes, periodontal disease, left untreated, can lead to teeth falling out, but mine isn't quite as nastily advanced as the orthodontist had thought. Still, treatment is certainly indicated.
After that, I should visit the hygenist every so often to keep track of the problem for a while longer, and then have another checkup to see how I'm doing.
Phew.
On the way out I paid and made my four appointments with the receptionist. (Earlier today I phoned to cancel the first one: I have a cold and don't fancy sneezing with dental equipment in my mouth.)
***
After all that I decided I deserved a treat. I found a very nice cafe and had a good lunch. I don't usually like salad dressing, so they put it in a little pot on the side for me. I tried it a little, and decided I loved it. A very mild and sweet honey and mustard dressing. Delicious.
I could have gone back to Tullamore then, but I like Galway, so I checked into a hostel by the station and went for a wander around the city.
I ended up in The Stage Door, a gay bar I'd been to once before for Galway LGBT Pride in August. I am not a pub person. I never go to any type of bar, ever, except for special events (funerals and the like). Even when I was living with a friend who often went out of a night, I never went with him. And I barely ever drink. So I was a bit nervous. It would have been easier if the place was full and I could disappear into a corner, but there were only about half a dozen people there.
But I ended up sitting by the bar chatting.
So, here's the question: What do you do when you're sitting in a gay bar and a very drunk straight guy asks for your number?
TRiG.
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And catching the 5.31 train again tomorrow morning
May 18, 2009
I intended to write up a journal entry on the h2g2 meet, which I hugely enjoyed. I never got around to it.
I intended to write some more code for improving the Aviators site. I never got around to it.
I intended to pack for my two-week holiday in the States. I never got around to it.
All in all, an unproductive weekend. I've been feeling rather down recently. All my family are currently in Canada, at my brother's wedding. I wasn't invited. Long story.
Tomorrow, I'm catching the 5.31 train to Dublin Heuston, and then the bus to the airport. Flying to Las Vegas via JFK. Staying one night there on my own, then meeting my parents and granny, who'll be flying down from Ontario.
A day and a night in Vegas, then on to the Grand Canyon before heading on to Colorado Springs, where my great-uncle (granny's brother) has a holiday house.
I should be looking forward to this. I should have been eagerly doing preparation and necessary research. I should have packed.
I feel like going to bed for a week instead.
I am now going to turn off this laptop, stick it into its bag, carry it home* and pack for the States. Then set an alarm and go to bed.
This mood, in me, rarely lasts more than half an hour. I'm a cheerful soul. I've had it now for three days or more. Perhaps the Canyon will shake it out of me. Or a proper night's sleep, not that I'm likely to have that any time soon.
TRiG.
* Yes, I use my own laptop in work, which is annoying. The boss should have one for me by the time I get back.
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Catching 5.31 train tomorrow morning
May 7, 2009
I'm going to bed.
TRiG.
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- Latest reply: May 11, 2009
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