June 14, 2000
Dear Everyone:
We’re getting near the end of the tunnel on The
Tooth business. Last Friday,
I spent two hours lying upside down in the dentist’s “chair” (all new
equipment!), while the dentist took an impression before
pulling off the remaining three
caps for which I
once paid $750 each. Then he
did some drilling (they can’t resist drilling, if only to try out the
new drill) and took another impression.
Finally, he created a temporary “bridge”
made from the original impression to fit over what’s left of the
existing teeth.
While this temporary plate takes the place of the
previous caps and protects my mouth from the sharp little points that
are what’s left of my original teeth, it is not functional to the extent
of using it for chewing.
Which leaves us back where we were six months ago when The Tooth was
extracted and I couldn’t bite into anything.
Not even a banana.
Once again, no Fast Food.
No burgers, sandwiches, bagels, or anything else you generally
hold in one hand and bite into with your front teeth.
On the plus side, what with all the trouble with The Tooth, I’ve
misplaced almost 15 pounds.
And I’ve started using the
treadmill again,
although a record-breaking heat wave has curtailed any exercise more
strenuous that getting more ice out of the freezer for the rest of this
week. Last weekend,
“Jeannie” and I went to look at
dishwashers and
headphones.
“Jeannie” needs a new dishwasher because she got a
recall notice
on her old one. The “recall”
consisted of a warning that the unit could start a fire unless she hired
someone to replace a fuse, or something.
She figured she’d be better off if she just replaced the whole
thing.
And I need to look at headphones so I could work
out on the treadmill while watching TV.
Problem is, the machine makes so much noise that you have to turn
the volume way up in order to hear anything, and I have neighbors on
that side. So I needed the
headphones to plug into the TV (which has the requisite
jack).
Many varieties to choose from, and I found a “wireless” set that
seemed perfect.
You plug the transmitter into the TV and set the
“channel” to A or B. Then
you figure out how to put batteries into the headset (did I mention the
instructions were only printed in French?) and adjust the channel until
you get sound instead of static.
The ear pieces are very well padded, so no sound escapes to the
surrounding area. And you
don’t have to worry about absentmindedly walking away with the
headphones still on your head.
I liked the idea so well, I decided to get a second
pair for the office. Lately,
I’ve been doing a lot of data manipulating, which lends itself well to
listening to
CD’s,
either on a CD player, or using the CD drive on the computer.
But every time I needed to get up and get a file from the drawer,
or put a piece of paper in the recycle box, I’d have to stop the music
and take off the headphones because the wire was too short.
Now I can even walk across the room to the printer
without removing the headphones or even stopping the music.
Of course, people who want to stop me with a question as I pass
their cubicle are going to have to figure out a way to get my attention,
since I won’t be able to hear them.
This could get interesting.
Only nine more days until the New Teeth are in
place.
Love, as always,
Pete
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