Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Dental disappointment.

Richest country on Earth - with the crappiest health care. That seems suspicious to me.


I have to go to the VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) dental clinic tonight. Yeah - tonight. Actually, at 2:00 A.M. They only take the first 10 people in line when they open at 7:00 - AND I have to have $75 in hand for the cost of x-rays only. How am I going to stand in line for 5 hours without going to the loo? Also - why should anyone have to? It just doesn't make sense. Greatest country in the world, my ass! America is like a bully who talks a lot of crap, but really has nothing behind the facade of awesomeness except self-proclaimed greatness. I have been to the E.R in 5 or 6 hospitals in 4 states, at huge expense, just to deal with dental emergencies resulting from lack of dental care for 12 years. I am simply too poor to go to a dentist in the U.S. I think I will end up going to Mexico to get my teeth fixed. Maybe I will stay, too. That's just pitiful.


Monday, January 2, 2012

Grrrrrrr!!!!!


 I had a new post almost written, and my clumsy fingers touched some button, I have no idea which one, and it all went away. I hate that. A lot. I'm not going to smash anything, as I wanted to, but I'm also not going to write the whole thing over again. I don't know if this has ever happened to you, but it is maddening. I'm going to sleep on it and write a new one tomorrow. I'm so mad, I'm literally angry with rage! I guess I should have been writing it in Notepad, as I am now, or in some other kind of office utility, which I know nothing about.



  I guess I need to learn some office skills.  Next stop: OpenOffice.org.

Oh, and, by the way- I just noticed that I opened Notepad, and still went ahead and wrote it directly in the Blog editor. Unbelievable.



Thursday, December 29, 2011

Cork-board

 My friend Billy told me when I was 20 or so that organization is the key to success. He said it at least once a day, for a few years. He also said that Little Debbie Swiss Rolls were better than Hostess Ho-Hos. I set up a double-blind test, with all 5 participants choosing Hostess- including him. That has nothing to do with organization, but it proves that I know what I'm talking about- when it comes to crap I never eat!



  He was right about organization, though. This is why I have been trying to simplify my life, and concentrate my energy on fewer things. I am very organized in my mind, but in reality, I always have WAY too much crap, and too much going on all the time, to ever give any one thing the attention it deserves. I have a whole barn full of stuff that I am trying to forget about, I just sold 18 cars and trucks, and I still have too much to deal with. I am going to try to get rid of everything I can't keep in my car with me. Well, maybe not my motorcycles. And my four-wheeler. And my leather massage chair. And my '68 Mercedes. The rest is going.



  I told Beth today that we need to get a cork-board, and put it on the wall inside the door, where we can see it every day. Then we can maybe begin to have some lists of things we have to do, and in what priority. We only have about 6 months to get ready for leaving, and it seems like we have more things to do every day. I would almost trade everything for a couple of nice horses, and some good saddlebags. That would really be a lot easier to manage.



  Anyhow, we have to make lists, and we have to put them on this cork-board. I have tried the dry-erase board, but those markers always quit working right, and I end up writing on them with a Sharpie or something. This maybe doesn't sound so bad until you consider that I have some Industrial Super-Permanent Sharpies. Now you can see why that doesn't work out so well...



  All I have to do now is actually remember that the cork-board is there.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Metronidazole


 It seems that there is only one way to treat amoebic dysentery, and that is with Metronidazole- a powerful antibiotic, amebicide, and antiprotozoal. It is also the medicine of choice for several other conditions - including certain dental infections. The kind of dental infection a person might get after drilling out his own root-canal with a non-sterile drill. Even if great care is taken with all of the other equipment, it seems that the drill is actually the one part that really should be sterile.



  So, how is it that a person who is dumb enough to drill a root-canal with a non-sterile drill would just happen to have the one thing on hand that will treat this type of infection? That's a good question. I just happen to know one possible answer.



  It could be possible, hypothetically speaking, of course, that this very same person may have, at some time in the past, become the unfortunate victim of amoebic dysentery, and that the level of suffering resulting from this experience would have motivated this wise and foolish person to obtain and possess a supply of Metronidazole from an online pharmacy in Singapore. Or Malaysia, or something. If this is indeed the case, then it would mean that there must surely be a story to explain how this person ended up with amoebic dysentery while lost in North Carolina on a mountain-climbing/Appalachian Trail-hiking trip. I will investigate, and if there is a story, I will post it some time. You know- if it's true.


 

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Sweet Potato

  Sometimes, when a person chooses to live life on the edge, it becomes necessary to adapt to less-than-optimal conditions. If one gives up the security and comfort of home to experience the adventure of life on the road, these conditions can pop up at any time. For example, when a certain person, who will remain anonymous for his protection, decides to just get in his car and drive off to some unfamiliar location, for no apparent reason (or some woman), he tends to do such irresponsible actions without serious regard for the possible difficulties that will likely arise. 



  This usually means money issues. They say money can't buy happiness, but I say that's crap! It seems to me that the only people saying that are the ones who have enough money! I know that I would be a lot happier if I didn't have to worry about it every day. Like the expensive traffic citation I got on the way to Virginia. I mean- this person got...  Anyhow, unexpected expenses, memory issues, and general irresponsibility can really make life on the road tricky.

  Once, when I lived in Wyoming, I found myself without money or food for a whole week. Since I lived in the desert, it was easy enough to find food, but I think I will be ok with never living on cactus again. Ever.



So, here I (I mean, that anonymous person) am in Virginia, 500 miles from anyone I have seen in twenty years, and we have managed to get ourselves completely broke, and we are down to where we have little more than sweet potatoes to eat. But- we are happy, rent is paid, we are both clever enough to overcome, and, most importantly- sweet potatoes are a damn sight better than cactus, ANY day.