Monday, June 15, 2015

Mouth full of play dough---not so bad!

I am glad that ordeal is partially resolved----for now! Today was 'D' Day-----dentist day. While Perdy waited patiently in the car, just outside the window---she could almost see me, I faced some decisions. Getting older (many people have this happen, a lot younger than me!) means 'wear and tare' on one's teeth and the subsequent huge bills. My aim today was to stop the pain from a tooth that seemed intent on self-destruction. It had split and upon close examination, along with the sensitively placed injection, I was given the news that it was not possible to place a crown on it and the 'degradation' was well below the gum level, so my darling dentist gently extracted most of the tooth. Then we had the 'discussion. I could 'chuck' about $10,000 at the issue with a combination of implants, bridging and crowns. I am sure I am not describing that well. I figured that, with the fact that I have just committed to a new car that such spending was silly, given that there are other options. I am grateful that I can consider these options. Many Kiwis are not in a position to do that.( I have to say that I favour a system that is State-funded, even if that means higher taxation, because dental health and access to it is important to overall health.) OK---at the other end of the scale---simply yank the bugger out, leaving an even bigger gap in my smile and my capacity to chew. Bugger that too! I have chosen a 'a partial denture,' system, one constructed from a plastic material and costing about $1000. It also serves to fill a gap already existing from previous extractions. So, for about 45 minutes I was probed, X-rayed, had my mouth filled with a tray, play dough and generally being manipulated. I was told it would be 'uncomfortable' and that I would 'gag.' (Doug---stop laughing!) I did not and it all went well. I have huge admiration for my dentist at the Rockfield Dental Centre in Penrose. I go back in just over a week to try things on, then the real extraction of the bits that are 'left' will happen. The final countdown will occur in the upcoming school holidays. Then I shall join the 'leave ya implants on the bedpost at night brigade!' Maybe I can conjure some revolting party tricks so I guess I have just undone some possible dinner party invitations. Oh well--I don't go out much these days anyway and Perdy couldn't give a stuff about what things look like. Mind you---the new implants have been carefully 'matched!' Such fun, such fun. www.authorneilcoleman.com Like · Comment · Share

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

It only happens when-------BUGGER!

Today I had the pleasure of attending a meeting that MIT was hosting to discuss-----that went well---it was after that didn't! OK I parked in the big car park outside the campus. I locked my car and headed off to my very productive meeting. I am not going to talk about that as it may sound like I am writing an advert for that prestigious institution. I am of course referring to the Manukau Institute of Technology, not some wannabe in the USA! Jump forward two hours! I heads to the car park. Where's my car. Oh shite-----where the hell did I park it. All I can see is a sea of cars, many of them grey, like my soon to be traded Hyundai Getz. Thank God I am getting a blue car in a few days, a 'pristine blue,' no less! How does one find a car in a big car park, when he has not taken note of where it was parked? Well folks, NZers say 'bugger' a lot and that is nothing to do with the old meaning of that word. It is a 'national iconic' expression; one used by the high, mighty and not the above. One says it for a myriad of reasons, but I can assure you that my inner language and some expressed, was way more explicit. I wandered up and down many rows of boring grey cars. Had someone stolen my car? How would that affect the transaction I was due to complete on Sunday? I pondered various strategies to find my car, given that it still existed in its place of rest! It was only after about 20 minutes of intimate searching amongst the cars, whereby I was starting to attract attention. I am sure that is I was dressed in a slightly less 'tidy state' (my definition probably differs from yours!)phone calls would have been made. Sometimes it is good to look a little 'old' and not portray that 'intention to commit a heinous crime,' look. If I had a hoodie or---you can fill the rest in---it wouldn't be right for me to continue in that train of thought. I remembered my key---I made it bleep the car and finally after nearly running the battery out, the car said 'hi' to me. We were reunited and I thankfully sank into the seat, thinking---you just did this because you are about to find a new owner! Upon leaving the car park, I notice some paper scrunched up under the window wipers. Two letters were emblazoned on the paper--AT---Auckland Transport. BUGGER! Yes---wouldn't you known it. I got a bloody parking infringement. OK---only $15! My thoughts were with the students at the institution. $15 is possibly the difference between eating instant noodles and having a bit of red blooded meat! I better remember to pay the ticket or it will be a lot more --yes BUGGER!

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Methamphetamine 'P" may be being 'cooked' in a place near you!

Yes, just next door, or down the road, there may be a 'P' Lab, manufacturing a product that destroys lives, families and businesses. Read about my take on this scourge on society, in ROSKILL. Click on the link at the end of the article from todays NZ Herald. The New Zealand Herald Four people accused of running a meth lab to face trial 11:01 AM Monday Jun 8, 2015 Police said searches linked to to the apartment raid netted more than a million dollars worth of drugs and cash. File photo of methamphetamine Four people accused of running a meth lab in a swanky inner-city apartment block go on trial today. Kevin Chea, Abby Cummins and Kevin Dao and Michael Debreceny were arrested after armed police raided a central Wellington apartment building last year. The apartment was just across the road from the city's main police station. As police and firefighters swarmed the area last March, stunned residents of the Chews Lane apartment block were told to leave the building, some still in their dressing gowns. Police at the time said they interrupted drugs being cooked on a stove. One person caught up in the raid tried fleeing, and allegedly tried to dump a package of meth worth $28,000 in a rubbish bin. Police caught him. Police said searches linked to to the apartment raid netted more than a million dollars worth of drugs and cash. The four accused go on trial today on charges of importing and manufacturing methamphetamine. The trial will be at the High Court in Wellington before a jury of twelve. - NZME. www.authorneilcoleman.com