Teeth Keep Falling From My Head

May 15, 2018 ~ JodiLea

Sung to the tune of “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head”

I can’t get that tune out of my head now. Warning – this post is a RANT. You can decide to read or not, but there will be ranting going on today with or without you. I hope it is with you because it is WAY more satisfying to RANT to someone or two. It’s that “Misery Loves Company” deal.

If you have been coming to my Place for any length of time, you know about my defective teeth, so I apologize for another tale of woe. I only have like 5 natural teeth left in my head. The rest are crowns, implants and some are just plain gone.

Last week I had a consult with the doc who does implants. At the beginning of this year I had the last molar on my upper right jaw break – sheared off at the gumline to be exact. There was not enough to save, so I had pre-implant surgery to remove the tooth and get a bone graft done so I could get an implant there. Here we go again…

Well, after a full 3D image of my head, doc’s suspicions were correct. There is not enough bone to support an implant there. And I really needed a molar there to keep my chewing and teeth in alignment.

Now I need two surgeries – one to lift the sinus membrane out-of-the-way, and do a second bone graft. Then, 4 months after that heals, another surgery to implant the hardware for the replacement molar.

NOT happy news. This made me grumpy. I was sad about needing one surgery, now double the painful process as well as the cost. I was being betrayed by my own jaw.

Then today’s event happened. The event my nightmares are made of. My teeth break, need root-canals, crowns pop off – this is normal life for me, so I deal. Get grumpy, feel sorry for myself. Pout.

Today, however, I realized that my rotten teeth being replaced with implants and the crowns that pop off, are molars. No one notices a missing tooth back there, so even though you are miserable with pain and rapidly going broke, I at least had my dignity.

Not anymore. During lunch I suddenly felt a rolling tooth in my mouth, not a strange occurrence for me – indicating a popped off crown. Sure enough, the same one that popped off last week and got re-cemented back in. I must talk with my dentist about the quality of glue he’s using…

Except this time, the crown kept the tooth inside of it. Another break off at the gumline – but NOT a molar. Oh no!, I screamed. It took me seven minutes before I had the guts enough to look in the mirror. I did not smile. I opened my mouth slightly.

It was not as bad as I feared. It was worse. A large hole, large gaping hole, where my left incisor used to be surrounded by swollen gums that were receding away from bone. I closed my mouth and just stared at my face. Bad idea. That is when I discovered that the left side of my upper lip looked bruised and sucked in. Like a person without upper teeth. You know, hillbillies, hockey players, and seven-year olds.

Seven-year olds really don’t count – they look cute with missing front teeth.

Thank You for listening…

WHAT DO YOU MEAN Obstructed Ocean View?!

March 20, 2014 ~ JodiLea ~ 5 Comments

Hubby has always wanted to go on an Alaskan inland passage cruise when we retired. His brother & wife also wanted to do this, so this year the guys figured out which cruise line, date of departure, airports, etc. With the help of brother’s travel agent everything got arranged…

Well… you probably already suspect that something is wrong. Because something always goes wrong when hubby and I travel. It’s a curse. Usually the wrongness presents itself during the trip. Not before we even pack for the damned thing!

In my opinion, the first thing wrong was the cruise by-passed Anchorage, it was the major place I wanted to see. I wanted to have lunch with my cousin who lives there. I stopped pouting when hubby promised we would take another trip (someday) to see my cuz.

The itinerary from the travel agent says our cabin is a category ‘OV’ (for ocean view), which we requested, and paid all that extra money for.

So, as soon as our trip was finalized (meaning we paid it off), I get on the cruise ship’s website. I wanted to find out what the ship offered. I found a cool “find your cabin” feature. I type in the cabin number, and up pop’s a deck layout and you get information about your cabin by clicking on it.

Oh. Hell. No. I admit I was shocked, but not that much. This is the kind of crap we deal with when we travel. It’s so annoying that I’m starting to stay home and give up on the whole vacation idea. Anyway, click on the photo below before reading the next paragraph. That way you will know what I was seeing at the time.

Our cabin has a window sure enough, but it is obstructed. Not just a little obstruction, like a pipe or a beam crossing in front of it. No. We are talking about Full Obstruction. The warning is in red text even. The cabin’s category is really ‘OW’. I imagine that “OW” stands for ‘Obscured Window’, but in my mind it means OW, I’ve been screwed!

I don’t know about you, but I tend to think of a fully obstructed window as a no-view situation. Ocean or otherwise. I am not happy about this.

There is no way that I’m telling hubby about this ridiculous glitch. His blood pressure does not need to be higher. That, and I do not want to hear about it.

Is that wrong? I feel I’m doing him a favor by sparing him the anxiety. Since I don’t want to rant about it with him, guess what? I thank you for listening.

I immediately sent an email to the travel agent, asking her to re-book us into a non-obstructed ocean view. You know, she should really check out the cabins before booking them, or at least double-check what the cruise line books. My opinion of her professionalism has dropped a few points. Especially since I have not heard back from her yet.

Thank Goodness I found this little hidden detail, BEFORE we boarded the ship. I shudder when I think about how this surprise would go over during check-in.

If only this stupid error will be our last ‘issue’ during our trip. Who knows – maybe we’ll get lucky and avoid hurricanes this time too.

TTFN 🙂

Death and Taxes

April 15, 2013 ~ JodiLea ~ 3 Comments

Do you know that the IRS keeps demanding your money – even after you’re dead?

This sure puts a new spin on Benjamin Franklin’s quote:

“‘In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.

Who knew he meant at the same time?

I am dealing with the nightmare that is my sister’s taxes. Personal, as well as her estate’s taxes. First of all, the word estate conjures up visions of mansions and filthy-rich old people. Sis was not wealthy or old when she passed away. She was unemployed, with a modest retirement account. Can’t the IRS just let it slide? I mean, she’s DEAD. How can they send her a refund? Duh.

As next of kin, I am responsible for filing her 2012 taxes. AND her “Estate’s” taxes, that need reporting on a totally different form. How the Hell can I fill out forms when I have no clue about what to put in them? I only have some of her files. I can guess about what her “estate” is worth. Do you think the IRS will be OK with that?

I do know that I am not going to be stuck with paying the IRS interest and penalties because of my sister’s taxes. I have paid enough already. The probate attorney doesn’t contact me about what is going on. I didn’t hire him, so I have no “rights” – apparently. Sister’s fiancé hired him as a favor to help me out. They live in a different state of course, BECAUSE NOTHING IN THIS FREAKING LIFE IS EVER EASY – IS IT?

I am my sister’s “Personal Representative”. I believe that this title only authorizes me to sign court documents. After 11 months, we still don’t have a probate hearing scheduled. How much research does the attorney have to do? My sister didn’t have anything to research. When they tell you “probate takes years”, believe it.

When things get overwhelming and I reach Threat Level 5, I get pissed that my sister is still making my life miserable.

She always was a little brat. Sorry Sis, but we both know it’s true 😉

photo credit: wallyg via photopin cc