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ABOUT zwarg.blog CATEGORIES MAIN ARCHIVES 1999(14) [+] 2000(3) [+] 2001(4) [+] 2002(18) [+] 2003(159) [+] 2004(108) [+] 2005(129) [+] 2006(38) [+] 2007(23) [+] 2008(8) [+] 2009(3) [+]United States vs. Iraq
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Friday, January 21 2005
Insurance Woes
Paid! Yay! Well, that's $7K that I don't have to fret about anymore. Tuesday, November 30 2004I finally got my teeth fixed. I went to the dentist, got some X-rays, and discovered that yes, indeed, I had chipped two teeth. One was not a big deal, but the other one had lost a good deal of cusp. Number 18 and 11, respectively. They numbed me up and roughed up (or filed down) the surface, then bonded a new piece in place of the old. It's like I have a new tooth now! I didn't realize this, but when they cement and glue and whatever else they put in my mouth, they have to reshape the cement stuff, so it is the same shape as your old tooth. Now, considering that my old tooth was probably sucked up by a street sweeper in San Francisco six weeks ago, I think it's remarkable that my dentist could do such a good job. Some kind of sculptor, I suppose. Why go through all those years of training? Can't someone just say, "I have natural dentistry talent." Or are the days of "outside dentists" just around the corner, waiting to be discovered by accident? Oh, the promise that the future holds. Thursday, November 25 2004So here they are. The braces I've worn for 5 weeks. I asked the nurse if she had a camera (I forgot mine at home) when I had my braces removed. I asked her to take a photograph of the braces before they were removed. She complied, and I must admit, she composed a very nice photograph of my teeth and braces.
I was pretty doped up for a while. I think I got feeling back into my face around 7 pm, five hours later than the procedure. It makes me happy to be able to run my tongue over my teeth again. Boy, I am just going to lick everything I can this weekend. Well, glad to be on the road to solid foods, even if I'm prohibited from doing so for another few weeks. Wednesday, November 24 2004The taste of freedom today is French Fries. I got my braces off, and took a fancy 'before' picture. I have to scan it, but beware, because it's on the way. They numbed up my mouth, untwisted the wires, and yanked out the wires that wrapped around my teeth. I had 18 wires, each twisted set around a pair of teeth. The doctor asked what it was like, I said, "like a really bad dentist." You know, when they try to floss you, but it feels like they're trying to sever your gums? A little worse that than. He said, "we could have given you more numbing stuff." I said, "I know, I just wanted it over with." So now, no braces. Just a fancy Titanium plate for memorandum. Still on the soft food diet, since my left side has not healed yet, and is not expected to be back to 100% before 6 months. Well, this blog just got a lot longer. Sunday, November 21 2004 Gardening. Who would have thought? I haven't been in my garden since before my busted jaw. Today I went to town. I cleaned the patio, moved a newcomer to the garden (we'll just call him 'Rubber' for now), and gave the Jasmine a trim. The garden looks so much neater. The thing I think I will miss are the tiny interlopers of Jasmine that started growing between the screen door and my back door. I actually tried to get it to grow into the house, but accidentally closed the back door on the shoot. Damn. But it looks much neater and cleaner now. The Jasmine has a habit of becoming too huge, and leaning off of the fence. This makes it look kind of like the entire garden is imploding under the force of the Jasmine. So no more imploding garden. It's a happy place. I guess it's kind of like therapy. Just like the way the cat is sleeping in my lap now. Wednesday, November 17 2004 I've heard that phrase quite a bit at the office lately. Usually it's followed up with, "I expected you to look a lot worse!" I don't know if that's a complement, but I'm taking it as one. I get my braces off in a few weeks, and I can't wait until then. I'm in a state of constant starvation lately. While I'm at work, I can't prepare foods or anything in the middle of the day, so usually I don't eat. But then I can only eat a tiny can of soup for lunch, and that takes me the good part of an hour to choke down. No wonder I lost 10 pounds already. I'm too impatient for this soft food bullshit. Thursday, November 11 2004 Between the Devil's Food Chocolate pudding that came in a box, or the home-made whipped cream that I put on top. All soft foods are not bad. Saturday, November 06 2004Today was Monthly Volunteer day at Buena Vista park. I walk through/around/past this park at least once a week. I have not yet participated in Montly Volunteer day. I decided that today was the end me being a bitch and not cleaning up after myself, so I went. First, we cleaned out the drains, and removed all the dead leaves and twigs and things of that nature. Then we pulled out a bunch of French Broom plants, which are a nonnative invasive species to California. Then we pulled some Himalayan Blackberry, then we pulled some Ivy. A good day of pulling things and getting dirty. We saw a red-shouldered hawk, tons of squirrels, a bluebird, and tons of bugs. It was an absolutely nature-filled morning. And I met two people who are likewise motivated. One said she was jogging by and thought she'd help out. The other said he decided to do something 'positive' in his community, after being 'bummed out' about the election. I asked, "what else are you going to do? Be depressed for four years?" I like meeting gardening buddies. Tuesday, November 02 2004I was working for my dad, and now I have video broadcast from my apartment! Don't worry, until I figure out some kind of fake dynamic-dns thing, this may or may not work. But it's fun in the meantime. Also, if I want some privacy, you ain't gonna see nuttin. In my glee, I heard a raccoon climb over one fence, then climb under another. I opened my garden door, stood there with a flashlight, and waited. I heard the raccoon climb over another fence...go through a bush or tree...then found the dog. The dog made a whoopla and made a bunch of noise, and the raccoon jumped back through the bush or tree, climbed over the fence again, came running under the fence, and I got a good look at him. He was panting quite heavily, all husky, like he might have been injured. I couldn't tell, though. He paused, looked at me and my flashlight, then scrambled across my garden, then up and (crack, snap, creak) over the fence. Thursday, October 28 2004Today is a feel-good day. I slept through the night with no pain killers, and watched Amelie. That movie just makes me feel all happy and squishy inside. So I decided I should go out to the store, buy myself some new shoes (I found a shop where I can resole them for less than a pair of new shoes!), buy some new clothes (1 new long-sleeve shirt), and get some good music (some Wheezer and Cake). Although I don't know how good the music will be, I am anticipating a good return on investment. Wednesday, October 27 2004This first one, perhaps taken illegally:
Two X-Rays of my jaw. I tried to illuminate where, precisely my jaw was broken. These X-Rays are called "Panorex", which is kind of like an inverted panoramic picture. The first picture is the break on my chin, and the second is the break near my cheek. Sorry for the poor quality, it's the best I could do.
So, all in all, I've been keeping myself entertained. Today was some more video games and fewer movies. I started scanning pictures today (that I've been wanting to do for a long while). I also rented Max Payne for the PS2. Neat, I like the wanna-be Matrix mode you can go into while dodging bullets and such. It makes for good entertainment, even if the Satan-summoning bad guys are really corny. Tuesday, October 26 2004A sad day for the local video store, whose copy of Bottle Rocket was damaged. A good day for Blockbuster, who just made some more money off of me. Because I ALSO rented a video game. Bad, corporate citizen. Taking advantage of a poor soul like myself, who must endure hours of solitude in a weakened condition. Pooh on you. Monday, October 25 2004I have got a huge hankering to go get Bottle Rocket and watch it. Must. Comply. Immediately. Friday, October 22 2004The pain cometh. Last night, the throbbing began around 8 or 9, and didn't stop until sometime this morning. The pain started on the right side of my chin, driving into my skull with the pulse of my heart. I also ran out of pain medication last night as well. I laid down, to concentrate on what this pain was like. Where was it originating from, where was it going, and was there anything I could do to make it slow, change, or disappear. I first felt the tension in my jawline, the reinforcements inside my mouth, holding my teeth together, and my jaw clenched. I felt the muscles and the resistance inside my mouth, and tried to neutralize it. I have found that when I concentrate on it, the feeling of resistance seems to vary, more and less. I can get to a point where instead of increasing or decreasing, the resistance seems to slide, side to side, changing quality, but not intensity. It's a very eerie feeling, like my jaw is sliding around, or like I'm slipping across a mental plane, watching everything spin and stretch, looking like a watercolor dripping. This pain last night was different. It beat constantly inside my head, right at my jaw. I laid down, slowed my breathing, and felt my pulse move my neck, my wrists, my hips, and pound in my jaw. The pain eventually accompanied me to sleep, but woke me again around 2:30. Too early for more pain medication. I grabbed some ice from the freezer, and made a pack for my chin. I couldn't bear the cold ice on my chin, and the pain wasn't lessening. I finally started massaging my chin, feeling the bristles of days gone unshaven. I kneaded the muscles in my jaw, pinching the pain when it came, and working it out. Finally, I slept. I awoke again at 6 to take some pain medicine, and finished off the bottle. No trace of the pounding. Today, I'm slowly feeling my chin. It's pain, the slow, lingering kind. This is odd, but I welcome it. Because if I can feel pain, I can feel other things, too. Thursday, October 21 2004They knew my name this time!
My big, fat, lip has gone down some, now I just have a nice, big, round jawline. It's getting better, slowly. I notice that I have some numbness on my chin, just about right over where the plate is supposed to be. Doc said that the nerve may be stretched during the operation, and that the numbness is often normal for a few weeks. Wednesday, October 20 2004Well, I'm recovering from surgery. I went under yesterday at 12:31 PM, and came back out (regained consciousness) at around 5 PM. It took longer than expected to recover, but I guess that's nothing to worry about. I was in a crazy groggy state when they let me go. I was so wacked out, it was incredible. Well, not so incredible, because I nearly yacked twice before going to sleep for good. Took some pain meds, and thought, "Oh, I don't need a FULL dose." Well, I do. And thank god for that. Today was a day of movies, ice packs, and grumbling. I can't speak with my mouth wired shut, and I feel terrible trying to talk to all my family or relatives or friends on the phone, since I can barely utter "yeah" or "nah" out of my mouth. A long conversation is just a trip in itself. I've got another wristband to scan. I also took pictures of my 'Panorex' X-ray, which is cool-looking. Unfortunately, you punks have to wait for my analog ass to develop the film. :P By the way, I recieved a recipe for Red Lentil Soup, titled, "yummiest soup ever," and I have to say, it's damn good. And doesn't get stuck (so much) between the teeth. Sunday, October 17 2004I figured I could go on an infomercial or one of those late-night blue-screen commercials and sell my new diet technique. A rapid-speaking guy would tell you all the great things about this new diet, then say, "pioneered by nutrition guru, David Zwarg!" Then I would appear on screen, all wired up and utter some kind of uncomprehendible string of gurgles. At least I think there's humor in that. I've already noticed that I'm losing weight. I don't have a scale, though, so I can't really quantify it. I can tell, though. I'm more defined in places that weren't before (and you know it's not from working out). I figure I'm going to lose some weight real soon real fast, unless I start drinking milkshakes all the time. (checking the mail for blender ... nope) I think if I did that, I might be suffering from something besides the broken jaw... Saturday, October 16 2004Today was a slow, patient day. I played "Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick" for most of the afternoon. What a glorious and heinous game. It does kind of make you feel good, you know, lopping of heads of the undead. It was a slow, cool day. I didn't do much, didn't eat much, didn't move much. But it felt great. Knowing that I'm going to be disabled for all next week and maybe longer, I am definitely soaking up this time before hand. Many people have been asking if I will be able to talk with my jaw wired shut, to which I replied, "I don't know." I'm actually worried that I'll forget how to whistle. Friday, October 15 2004Well, they didn't know my name. So, behold:
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