A sad day as I bid farewell to one of my favorite teeth. It has been with me a long time... almost 60 years...but today we parted ways. Apparently, back around Christmas time, I chomped down on something and broke off part of the root. That means that it couldn't be repaired and then, eventually, a toothache set in and the visit to my Dentist told the tale.
Dentistry is an odd thing. My Dentist can't - or won't - pull teeth so I have to go to the special dentist office where that's what they do all day. The tooth didn't want to go so it turned into a big deal and I am waiting for the onslaught of excruciating pain. A tiny part of the root was so twisted and embedded that it was left behind and will eventually become part of the bone...so they say. I don't like the sound of that but they would have had to blast or do something radical to get it out.
This is yet another nasty experience in my adventures in dentistry. Mayne writing about it will serve as therapy.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
Goodbye 2011 -- Uh-oh, here comes 2012
We have had worse years than 2011. Everyone seems to be really glad it is over, but, although it wasn't great, it was OK. Cardinals won the World Series. Two evil guys - Osama and Muammar - went off to their great reward. We got our troops out of Iraq. There were a few good things that happened.
There were a few really bad things, too. Earthquakes, tornados, floods...we had a record number of official disasters. The government seems to be dysfunctional at the top levels while the lower levels stagger on as usual.
Our family fared pretty well...in balance. Jill totalled her car but got a new one. She had to say goodbye to her cat, Iris, but got a new one...Beatrix. She also finished her Masters and got a "real" job.
2011 was the year I decided to say "Yes" instead of "No". That's a little hard to explain except to say that I made a conscious effort to look at things more positively and be willing to try new things. As a result I have about a dozen new friends and have some weekly activities that get me out of the house. I hope to keep that same attitude in 2012.
The new year has started out with mixed reviews and this is just the first week of January. Our warm weather seems to have fled. Monday's bocce was very cold and windy...but we won all three games. My effort to join the HealthPlex finally worked out and my health assessment went pretty good. On the down side (really down) I got a traffic ticket for bumping into another car at an intersection...probably going to be expensive in several ways...but I was at fault. We have our trip to Peru to look forward to and leave in just over a week.
I hope that 2012 is better than 2011 -- this is an election year so things will be very crazy. We may look back at 2011 and think that it wasn't so bad after all.
-- Late update (Jan. 4th) Had to visit the dentist because my tooth started giving my trouble a few days ago. I broke off a root and now I ned to have the tooth pulled. This is 1 week before the Peru trip. Might have to wait.
There were a few really bad things, too. Earthquakes, tornados, floods...we had a record number of official disasters. The government seems to be dysfunctional at the top levels while the lower levels stagger on as usual.
Our family fared pretty well...in balance. Jill totalled her car but got a new one. She had to say goodbye to her cat, Iris, but got a new one...Beatrix. She also finished her Masters and got a "real" job.
2011 was the year I decided to say "Yes" instead of "No". That's a little hard to explain except to say that I made a conscious effort to look at things more positively and be willing to try new things. As a result I have about a dozen new friends and have some weekly activities that get me out of the house. I hope to keep that same attitude in 2012.
The new year has started out with mixed reviews and this is just the first week of January. Our warm weather seems to have fled. Monday's bocce was very cold and windy...but we won all three games. My effort to join the HealthPlex finally worked out and my health assessment went pretty good. On the down side (really down) I got a traffic ticket for bumping into another car at an intersection...probably going to be expensive in several ways...but I was at fault. We have our trip to Peru to look forward to and leave in just over a week.
I hope that 2012 is better than 2011 -- this is an election year so things will be very crazy. We may look back at 2011 and think that it wasn't so bad after all.
-- Late update (Jan. 4th) Had to visit the dentist because my tooth started giving my trouble a few days ago. I broke off a root and now I ned to have the tooth pulled. This is 1 week before the Peru trip. Might have to wait.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Congratulations Graduate!!
The end is near.
The end has come.
Graduation Day - December 17, 2011. It's been a long trip...two schools, two states, lots of experiences and lots of friends.
Where is everybody?
Okay...I'm ready. What's the hold up?
Where's Dad?
Here they come
Endless introductions
Doctoral folks.....Ca-ching, Ca-ching...Lot's of student loans...
Jibber-Jabber....
Oh....That was the Commencement Address?
Finally....
Oops - gotta stop for the photograph
Yep -- it's a blur. Walking across the stage....
smiling faces....
handshake....DONE!
The end has come.
Graduation Day - December 17, 2011. It's been a long trip...two schools, two states, lots of experiences and lots of friends.
Where is everybody?
Okay...I'm ready. What's the hold up?
Where's Dad?
Here they come
Endless introductions
Doctoral folks.....Ca-ching, Ca-ching...Lot's of student loans...
Jibber-Jabber....
Oh....That was the Commencement Address?
Finally....
Oops - gotta stop for the photograph
"Jillian Rose Hartke"
Yep -- it's a blur. Walking across the stage....smiling faces....
handshake....DONE!
Master of Arts
Information Science & Learning Technologies
Library Science
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Who was that guy???
Have you ever met yourself? Not like some sort of "know thyself" touchy-feely exercise. I mean really meet someone, a complete stranger, who is essentially you at a younger age. I have and it's spooky. When it happened I was immediately struck by the parallel life choices and the coincidental events that led the two of us strangers to be at the same place at the same time. After it was over, even now, I am somewhat amazed and wonder how this happened. I perceive myself as being a little different from most guys based on my interests, life experiences, sense of humor, etc.
I was on a solo vacation trip, over 1,000 miles from home, and had spent the day visiting a few places that appeal to me but would not appeal to many other tourists. That's often the way I travel. I might be considered a little bookish and perhaps overly thorough when I plan a trip. Planning is half the fun but I am also just as likely to strike off on an unplanned tangent way off the beaten path. On this day I had spent several hours driving up a dusty canyon road to visit an old archaeological site that used to be famous but has since been pushed aside by other discoveries. Once I got back to civilization I decided to stop at a microbrewery close to my hotel. I sat at the bar and struck up a casual and sporadic conversation with the bar maid -- I brew beer and we talked about different styles and what they were brewing. What they had on tap was pretty good and the place was a beer geek's paradise. They even had a blackboard where they recorded the brew details, dates and specific gravity....really.
After a while a young guy in his mid 20s took the bar stool next to me and ordered a beer and started reading a book. The book was 'The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn' by Nathaniel Philbrick. This is not a book I've read but one I'd probably like to read and by an author I have read. I asked him how the book was and we ended up talking at length about authors and various books. We had read the same books in many instances and some others by the same authors. If you have ever met an old friend after many months or years apart and began talking like you had never been separated --- this was almost what the experience was like. It turned out that we had the same interests. He was a government researcher who had moved to this city a while back and was about to get married in the next few months. This is somewhat close to my own experience at the same age. We talked for quite a while and had several beers. We talked about our work careers and job changes and hobbies and the more we talked the more it seemed like I was talking to myself at an age almost 40 years younger than I am now. Pretty soon it was time to go find something to eat so we parted ways and said our goodbyes. I have no idea who this guy was but as I left I really wanted to tell him to hang in there and stick with his plans and that it was all going to work out OK in the end.
I was on a solo vacation trip, over 1,000 miles from home, and had spent the day visiting a few places that appeal to me but would not appeal to many other tourists. That's often the way I travel. I might be considered a little bookish and perhaps overly thorough when I plan a trip. Planning is half the fun but I am also just as likely to strike off on an unplanned tangent way off the beaten path. On this day I had spent several hours driving up a dusty canyon road to visit an old archaeological site that used to be famous but has since been pushed aside by other discoveries. Once I got back to civilization I decided to stop at a microbrewery close to my hotel. I sat at the bar and struck up a casual and sporadic conversation with the bar maid -- I brew beer and we talked about different styles and what they were brewing. What they had on tap was pretty good and the place was a beer geek's paradise. They even had a blackboard where they recorded the brew details, dates and specific gravity....really.
After a while a young guy in his mid 20s took the bar stool next to me and ordered a beer and started reading a book. The book was 'The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn' by Nathaniel Philbrick. This is not a book I've read but one I'd probably like to read and by an author I have read. I asked him how the book was and we ended up talking at length about authors and various books. We had read the same books in many instances and some others by the same authors. If you have ever met an old friend after many months or years apart and began talking like you had never been separated --- this was almost what the experience was like. It turned out that we had the same interests. He was a government researcher who had moved to this city a while back and was about to get married in the next few months. This is somewhat close to my own experience at the same age. We talked for quite a while and had several beers. We talked about our work careers and job changes and hobbies and the more we talked the more it seemed like I was talking to myself at an age almost 40 years younger than I am now. Pretty soon it was time to go find something to eat so we parted ways and said our goodbyes. I have no idea who this guy was but as I left I really wanted to tell him to hang in there and stick with his plans and that it was all going to work out OK in the end.
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