Sunday, January 06, 2008

"What a Difference...

a day makes"!

Somehow I can hear Etta James singing that in the back of my empty head...

Yesterday I awoke with thoughts of pulling my teeth with Channel-lock pliers to get rid of the pain the sinus pressure was causing in them. After a latte and a shower, I went to the clinic (yes, I have health care, but my office visits are over $100, unpaid, and I can go see a nurse practioner at Walgreens for $59) and got an antibiotic prescription. I got it filled, took my first dose, and got home just before Dottie got off work. I had been using Afrin nasal spray for 3 days to try and "dry things up" enough to survive work and relieve the pressure some, and rotating doses of Tylenol, ibuprofen and aspirin, 4 at a time, to try and kill the pain.

I quit using the nasal spray last night, and after it wore off switched to a Mucinex with a sinus med in it. Today I awoke stuffy, and with a mild headache, but the pressure is gone, and though my teeth feel "loose" the pain is gone.

Through the years people have asked "Where would you go it you had a time machine"? Since I got all these crowns and this porcelain bridge, my answer without hestitation is "No where without taking antibiotics with me"!

Last night when I got home John called; his dishwasher, part of their Christmas from last year, had quit. It didn't seem to be getting water. When he tried to use the shutoff valve we had put in, he found a small leak in it's base (there was a concoction of soft copper and fittings I didn't really like at the time, but it was the quickest way to do it, and I had hoped they'd be moved before it came back to haunt me). So I saved the video game I started over the holidays (Xenosaga 2, one of last years presents) and dosed up the Afrin again, then figured out Dottie would be home in a minute or two. I called her, she was a block away, so I waited for her and we both went to John's.

A survey of things; a trip home for tools and PVC pipe, a trip to Lowe's for fittings, back to John's so we could make a first attempt; back to my house for Dad's pipe cutter when John blew mine up; finally at 9 we had water to the dishwasher again with no leaks.

When we put it in, the only supply line we could get had a check valve in it in case the line should ever rupture. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Hooked it up, and didn't have water. Popped the dishwasher end off, no water. Took it off, turned it around and I could blow through it. Put it on backwards and squirted water in the sink. Hooked it up and it worked fine!

That was a year and a couple of weeks ago. When John took the same line off the dishwasher this time, he couldn't get water through it. He took it off and could blow through it both ways. He turned it around, still no water. That was when he discovered the leak and called me...

So we replaced it with a line with no check valve, but sadly, the dishwasher still won't fill. When we gave up and came home at 10 last night, he was digging for the book and Noel was digging for the receipt as we bought it with a warranty.

Sadly, I hadn't eaten before I went to the clinic. When I got home at 5 I ate a half a peanut butter sandwich because I was planning on feeding Dottie and I after she got out of the shower.

I hadn't counted on her not getting her shower until 10:15!

Dinner was at 10:40. She still had to wash her uniform...

When the movie "Waitress" ran at my local "arthouse" I really wanted to see it. I was working a lot of overtime and Saturdays at the time and didn't get a chance to.

There have been arthouse movies I wanted to see that Dottie didn't, and Noel and I have gone. She wanted to go to this one as well; when it came out on DVD she bought it and lent it to me during the holidays.

So I popped it in the DVD player, and was very glad I did!

Adrienne Shelly wrote and directed this wonderful piece of filmwork, starring Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion and others you will recognize. A brilliant piece of casting is someone I hadn't seen in a long while, Andy Griffith, who proves he "still has chops".

You might have caught a story in the news about Adrienne Shelly, as she was murdered as she was completing work on this lovely film.

My poor wife went to bed at 1:30 and had to be up at 7 to get ready for work...last week she did the same thing refusing to go to bed until we finished all 6 hours of "Tin Man".

This has already gotten too long; my next post I will venture into "cinemaphilia"...

It's 60 outside, I have a truck covered in road salt and scum; if the garden hose isn't frozen still, I'm going to try and clean it up before dark...

May the Monday and the rest of the week be kind to each of you!

alan

BTW, since I was a bit vague below, the lovely mantle is at my sister's house in Lawrence, where most of the "family" parties are since it's about 4 times the size of my little house, and has more than one bathroom, lol! The parties that aren't there are at John and Noel's because it's larger as well. The only one we have here is Independence Day, because fireworks are still legal here...

9 comments:

fineartist said...

Our dishwasher needs a wash to rinse solenoid (sp?)that can't be found, and wont fill water either. I'm going to get a new one soon.

And I had a tooth in the upper part of my head that used to give me fits every time I had a sinus infection, the piece of *bleep*. I finally had it removed and don't miss it one darned bit. I feel for ya.

Monday IS tomorrow isn't it? Wait, I'm not ready. Oh well.

Have a good week Alan. xx

Jennifer said...

I am loving this trend of inexpensive clinics cropping up at local discount stores & pharms, and those $4 Rx drugs must be a godsend for those who aren't covered. It just makes sense when all you need is "authorization" to treat what any patient could self-diagnose.

You amaze me.

You're the Energizer Bunny, even when the going gets tough! Unlike you, I'm about to go to bed early with a list of mild and vague symptoms ... I think the holidays have caught up with us!

KellyNerd said...

Thanks for the heads up about the movie Waitress... I have picked it up a few times but havent rented it ... now I will!

Glad you are feeling better. =)

Heidi said...

Hi Alan,

Just stopping by to say hello...I've been MIA for a few weeks.

Sorry about your sinus problems..I have my first cold of the NewYear and I've been using those nose strips to releive congestion..They would pretty good.

Have a good week, and feel better~

robin andrea said...

I had no idea that sinus problems could produce pain in the teeth until I had it happen. What a surprise that was. Hope your sinus problem resolves. I'm hoping for single-payer health care, but I'm not holding my breath.

Thank you for the email and music, alan. You made my mother very happy!

ryssee said...

I gotta say, ever since the Doctor-in-a-Box in Framingham was put out of business for fraud, I've been sad about not getting quick and easy and cheap care! Can't wait to get sinus infections and strep fixed quick and cheap and after-hours in MA!
Did your head explode, trying to fix the dishwasher? Sure hope you feel better soon.
Thanks for all the off-line tire advice. I'm even at 32-psi today which is where it should be.
Oh and tell Dottie to get some sleep! :-)

Angeline Rose Larimer said...

Sounds like your feeling better?

The weirdest thing. All those dishwashers backing up this Christmas. Ours was holding water, too.
First, the motor burnt out on our garbage disposal, so Tom replaced the unit. He didn't realize there was a plug in the new disposal, which is what caused the dishwasher back-up.
Nothing like reading those manuals! So glad the previous owners of this house saved them all for us. All he had to do was pop out the plug, and we've been good to go ever since. I imagine a repair guy would have taken all day and several hundred dollars.

Of course, my role in all of it was to say, "You think the dishwasher has anything to do with the disposal?" I'm sure Tom would have come to that conclusion, but there's that preconceived notion of things breaking in threes.

*It's raining here today. Weirdest weather. Over the holidays, everything was frozen solid, and now I'm getting conflicting urges to go outside and plant.
Sometimes I feel nature is a horrible tease.

I hope you keep feeling better.

Dr. Deb said...

I could never live in a time without antibiotics either. I get so many sinus infections and ear infections!!

Will see Waitress this weekend. It is available and I will snag it for me and my hubby to watch.

Hope you are feeling better soon!

Kranki said...

Poor you! I hope things are better now. Owie!

What a coincidence. Somebody just recommended 'Waitress' to me recently. Said it was a little gem. It is on my list and I hope to get it soon.