Just why am I smiling?
I had to go to the dentist AGAIN today.
Ever since the extraction last week I have had toothache - in the tooth in front of the extraction site.
I thought at first it might have been stirred up a little from all the digging around next to it and that it would settle.
It didn't.
So, with great trepidation I headed back down to the dental hospital to have it checked as it seemed to be related somehow to the extraction they had performed. Normally dental emergency fillings are done at our local public dentist, but extractions have to be done at the Dental Hospital 41 km away in Adelaide. Going on what happened last week when I went down for the 2pm clinic, one takes a book and is prepared to wait an hour or two.
So, I went prepared. I took a book. I was psyched up for further pain, be it drilling or filling or extraction and I was generally feeling pretty miserable about it. Constant pain wears you down, and the prospect of more pain even with eventual pain free as the end result really does not comfort you.
I waited ten minutes.
No drilling or filling and no extraction. Apparantly the tooth in front has a hole which was being protected by the tooth behind it. Now that tooth is missing air is getting to the hole and causing the pain. It needs filling, but the Dental Hospital only does extractions, so I need to contact my local public dentist and get in on an emergency appointment with them to get the filling done.
So, off home I toddle, driving up the freeway from the city on a day that was over 33C (over 90F) temperature. I round a corner on the freeway, accelerate to take a hill and here an odd sound. It was somewhat muffled by the loudness of my music, but definitely a sound. I take stock of the car. Gauges all read fine, it drives fine. I wonder what the sound was. Shrugging I notice another sound. I turn the music off. The sound is still there. A splash of dirty water hits my windscreen from under the bonnet (hood) and a quick glance at my gauges again shows me the temp gauge on very high, the brake and charge lights on.
I pulled to the side of the road near an emergency phone and turn the car off. There is water hissing and dribbling out from under the bonnet. The little hose that runs from the radiator overflow to the overflow container is off and steam is hissing out of there. I carefully replace the hose and restart the car. The temp gauge is down, but the brake and charge lights are still on. I turn the car off and phone my mechanic. A brief conversation reveals it is probably a broken fan belt and I need to call the Roadside Repair service.
Half an hour wait on the side of the freeway on this hot afternoon and finaly the Roadside Repair bloke turns up. He fiddles, replaces the broken fan belt with a similar one that is a little wider than it needs to be and tells me the airconditioner belt is about to go two. He said he has done a temporary fix and to get my regular mechanic to look at it pretty soon. I sign his form to register my usage of the service (Free because I am a member) and drive the 10km straight to my mechanic.
Another wait in a non-air conditioned garage while the repairs are done.
Finally, I am home.
So why am I smiling?
Because I didn't have to have a tooth out today.
Because I didn't have to wait for over two hours to be seen this time - ten minutes and I was in and out of that place!
Because I had taken a book with me in preparation for having to wait two hours, so I had something to read while I waited for the roadside repair guy.
Because I could read that book again while the mechanic fixed my car.
Because the temporary fan belt the roadside assistance guy put on my car, which wasn't the right size for my waterpump fanbelt, WAS the right size for my airconditioner, saving me the cost of replacing it. So I was only out of pocket for one fanbelt and not too.
But probably most of all I am smiling because I noticed the problem straight away. A lot of cars which break a fan belt end up with much worse and more expensive damage done because the driver does not notice the temp gauge rising, and the engine literally cooks and sometimes even siezes - costing $$$$ to repair.
Yeah, there were some crappy things about today, but it could have been much, much worse.
I have good reason to smile.
:)
Red.
Ever since the extraction last week I have had toothache - in the tooth in front of the extraction site.
I thought at first it might have been stirred up a little from all the digging around next to it and that it would settle.
It didn't.
So, with great trepidation I headed back down to the dental hospital to have it checked as it seemed to be related somehow to the extraction they had performed. Normally dental emergency fillings are done at our local public dentist, but extractions have to be done at the Dental Hospital 41 km away in Adelaide. Going on what happened last week when I went down for the 2pm clinic, one takes a book and is prepared to wait an hour or two.
So, I went prepared. I took a book. I was psyched up for further pain, be it drilling or filling or extraction and I was generally feeling pretty miserable about it. Constant pain wears you down, and the prospect of more pain even with eventual pain free as the end result really does not comfort you.
I waited ten minutes.
No drilling or filling and no extraction. Apparantly the tooth in front has a hole which was being protected by the tooth behind it. Now that tooth is missing air is getting to the hole and causing the pain. It needs filling, but the Dental Hospital only does extractions, so I need to contact my local public dentist and get in on an emergency appointment with them to get the filling done.
So, off home I toddle, driving up the freeway from the city on a day that was over 33C (over 90F) temperature. I round a corner on the freeway, accelerate to take a hill and here an odd sound. It was somewhat muffled by the loudness of my music, but definitely a sound. I take stock of the car. Gauges all read fine, it drives fine. I wonder what the sound was. Shrugging I notice another sound. I turn the music off. The sound is still there. A splash of dirty water hits my windscreen from under the bonnet (hood) and a quick glance at my gauges again shows me the temp gauge on very high, the brake and charge lights on.
I pulled to the side of the road near an emergency phone and turn the car off. There is water hissing and dribbling out from under the bonnet. The little hose that runs from the radiator overflow to the overflow container is off and steam is hissing out of there. I carefully replace the hose and restart the car. The temp gauge is down, but the brake and charge lights are still on. I turn the car off and phone my mechanic. A brief conversation reveals it is probably a broken fan belt and I need to call the Roadside Repair service.
Half an hour wait on the side of the freeway on this hot afternoon and finaly the Roadside Repair bloke turns up. He fiddles, replaces the broken fan belt with a similar one that is a little wider than it needs to be and tells me the airconditioner belt is about to go two. He said he has done a temporary fix and to get my regular mechanic to look at it pretty soon. I sign his form to register my usage of the service (Free because I am a member) and drive the 10km straight to my mechanic.
Another wait in a non-air conditioned garage while the repairs are done.
Finally, I am home.
So why am I smiling?
Because I didn't have to have a tooth out today.
Because I didn't have to wait for over two hours to be seen this time - ten minutes and I was in and out of that place!
Because I had taken a book with me in preparation for having to wait two hours, so I had something to read while I waited for the roadside repair guy.
Because I could read that book again while the mechanic fixed my car.
Because the temporary fan belt the roadside assistance guy put on my car, which wasn't the right size for my waterpump fanbelt, WAS the right size for my airconditioner, saving me the cost of replacing it. So I was only out of pocket for one fanbelt and not too.
But probably most of all I am smiling because I noticed the problem straight away. A lot of cars which break a fan belt end up with much worse and more expensive damage done because the driver does not notice the temp gauge rising, and the engine literally cooks and sometimes even siezes - costing $$$$ to repair.
Yeah, there were some crappy things about today, but it could have been much, much worse.
I have good reason to smile.
:)
Red.