Dragon Express
Life has been bit like living on an express train lately - so much happening at once there is no time to draw your breath, think about it or go pee!
There is some good news: tygrr is finally going to be paid goverment unemployment assistance so we can finally raise our standard of living to that of the poorest families in our country. Since losing her job in January, because of immigration restrictions, we have been living on half the income of the poorest families, so this will make a nice change. Hell, after being SO poor, being not as poor is going to feel like paradise!
Actually, because of structures I put in place a couple of years ago our circumstances are not too bad now. It is these structures which helped us survive such utter poverty until now - that and a bit of help from time to time from a very generous Mother-in-law!
So now we are back on our feet a little so of course that's when one goes out spending, right??? No. Well, at least, not usually.
I forgot a major lifelong rule of mine this week - never, ever go looking for something you want unless you are in a position to get it. I had thought it would be nice to find an old laptop that I could take away with me on my trip so I could write up my research notes at the end of each day, and then later in November I could use it to go to 'write-ins' during my annual writing competition. I have a perfectly good desktop pc here at home and really didn't NEED a laptop, so have resisted the urge until now.
It was the trip that did it, thinking it would be soooo much handier than writing notes up by hand. So, just out of curiosity I started looking at prices of second-hand laptops. I was disappointed to find many were still as expensive as $500 - 600, and so many had so many more features than what I wanted. I don't need a dvd player on it, or webcam or even internet. I just wanted a laptop that would run a word doc and accept the usb flash drive I had to transfer data from one pc to another.
I did a fair bit of phoning around and laptops any cheaper than the prices mentioned were as scarce as hen's teeth. I heard lots of 'can I call you if I get something in' and 'there might be something coming in soon, but not at the moment'.
Then I checked the local classified. It turns out an old scots chap was selling his laptop because he has bought himself a new one:
Toshiba Satellite 4360
zdvd 700mhz - 12gb. -
15.10" screen. 10/100 lan card,
carry case, modem.win xp pro
op sys. 128mb ram. pent 111.
dvd rom
He had advertised it for $250 but was prepared to drop the price down to $200 and include a mouse and a multiple usb hub as the laptop only has one usb outlet.
So today troll and I toddled down there after our jaunt to the orthodontist (which I shall tell you about shortly) and went and inspected it. It works fine. A little slow compared to what I am used to but it has Nortons antivirus on it which is notorious for slowing down systems. It's seems ideal for what I want so after thoroughly testing it I paid the nice gentleman a deposit and shall return next Wednesday to pay the balance and collect it.
I had googled online, both the web and in groups to see if there were any adverse comments about it, or people tearing their hair out over problems with this model and brand but could find nothing. Oh, it has a brand new battery too, bought in March this year, with receipt thank you very much.
So, here's keeping fingers crossed I am not buying a lemon, but somehow I doubt it. The timing of the purchase is really bad, as it means spending the extra income as soon as we have it, but sometimes with a bargain one simply has to do that.
Now, all being well on wednesday I shall have a new toy!
Now, the news about troll and the orthodontist. Today was the day we had to go back to have her plate fitted. It has a tiny spring on it to push her single front tooth forward and help correct a rather pronounced underbite. This is the first step and she will hae to wear the plate for about six months most likely.
She was VERY nervous today going in as kids have been teasing her about how awful it was going to be, with one child even telling her they would have to 'bust your jaw' to get the plate in. Instead it's a thin, lightweight, pale pink with glitter coloured device that pops in and out easily enough and we were out of there five minutes after walking in. She had been soooo nervous and wound up about it that after we had lunch she fell asleep in the car as we drove down to McLaren Vale to see the laptop.
The wires from it are barely visible and the plate itself cannot be seen when it is in. She speaks with a slight lisp at the moment but the orthodontist said this will disappear as she gets used to having the plate in her mouth. Other than when eating, cleaning her teeth and during sports she has to wear it at all times at the moment. In a few months it may be dropped back to nighttime only.
The step after this is the removal of one of her top teeth and the building up of another to match her current central tooth. The remaining teeth shall then be moved around and rearranged with braces until she has an even, uncrowded smile. For those who aren't up to speed on her dental situation, troll has a single central incisor (where most people have two) and a crowded upper jaw. Because of the crowding at least one of the upper teeth that will remain is pearshaped, so it is sharp looking like an eyetooth rather than flat on the bottom (due to being squished in the upper jaw while forming), so this will be given a crown to appear more normal.
I don't look forward to the day they have to take the upper tooth out. She's not going to handle that well. We may discuss the option of general anaesthetic if necessary. I imagine a young permanant tooth is pretty securely attached, and in the front of the mouth it is VERY sensitive, so yes, something other than the usual local may be in order for her.
But for now, we simply have the plate to manage and that will be easy enough.
Next week we have to take tygrr down to a hospital in the city to have a stress test done on her heart because of some mysterious chest pains she has been getting. They do not expect to find any problem but are just being ubber careful, just in case. I don't mind ubber careful.
Then on Wednesday I get to see my shrink for the first time in months. She has been off having abdominal surgery and I am pleased she has recovered enough to come back to work at last. While not exactly ready for the loony bin at the moment, nonetheless it never hurts to be checked out by someone who knows now and then!
Somewhere in amongst all of this we hope to get the new floor covering in the hallway laid and find time to sleep!
Welcome to the Dragon Express!!
There is some good news: tygrr is finally going to be paid goverment unemployment assistance so we can finally raise our standard of living to that of the poorest families in our country. Since losing her job in January, because of immigration restrictions, we have been living on half the income of the poorest families, so this will make a nice change. Hell, after being SO poor, being not as poor is going to feel like paradise!
Actually, because of structures I put in place a couple of years ago our circumstances are not too bad now. It is these structures which helped us survive such utter poverty until now - that and a bit of help from time to time from a very generous Mother-in-law!
So now we are back on our feet a little so of course that's when one goes out spending, right??? No. Well, at least, not usually.
I forgot a major lifelong rule of mine this week - never, ever go looking for something you want unless you are in a position to get it. I had thought it would be nice to find an old laptop that I could take away with me on my trip so I could write up my research notes at the end of each day, and then later in November I could use it to go to 'write-ins' during my annual writing competition. I have a perfectly good desktop pc here at home and really didn't NEED a laptop, so have resisted the urge until now.
It was the trip that did it, thinking it would be soooo much handier than writing notes up by hand. So, just out of curiosity I started looking at prices of second-hand laptops. I was disappointed to find many were still as expensive as $500 - 600, and so many had so many more features than what I wanted. I don't need a dvd player on it, or webcam or even internet. I just wanted a laptop that would run a word doc and accept the usb flash drive I had to transfer data from one pc to another.
I did a fair bit of phoning around and laptops any cheaper than the prices mentioned were as scarce as hen's teeth. I heard lots of 'can I call you if I get something in' and 'there might be something coming in soon, but not at the moment'.
Then I checked the local classified. It turns out an old scots chap was selling his laptop because he has bought himself a new one:
Toshiba Satellite 4360
zdvd 700mhz - 12gb. -
15.10" screen. 10/100 lan card,
carry case, modem.win xp pro
op sys. 128mb ram. pent 111.
dvd rom
He had advertised it for $250 but was prepared to drop the price down to $200 and include a mouse and a multiple usb hub as the laptop only has one usb outlet.
So today troll and I toddled down there after our jaunt to the orthodontist (which I shall tell you about shortly) and went and inspected it. It works fine. A little slow compared to what I am used to but it has Nortons antivirus on it which is notorious for slowing down systems. It's seems ideal for what I want so after thoroughly testing it I paid the nice gentleman a deposit and shall return next Wednesday to pay the balance and collect it.
I had googled online, both the web and in groups to see if there were any adverse comments about it, or people tearing their hair out over problems with this model and brand but could find nothing. Oh, it has a brand new battery too, bought in March this year, with receipt thank you very much.
So, here's keeping fingers crossed I am not buying a lemon, but somehow I doubt it. The timing of the purchase is really bad, as it means spending the extra income as soon as we have it, but sometimes with a bargain one simply has to do that.
Now, all being well on wednesday I shall have a new toy!
Now, the news about troll and the orthodontist. Today was the day we had to go back to have her plate fitted. It has a tiny spring on it to push her single front tooth forward and help correct a rather pronounced underbite. This is the first step and she will hae to wear the plate for about six months most likely.
She was VERY nervous today going in as kids have been teasing her about how awful it was going to be, with one child even telling her they would have to 'bust your jaw' to get the plate in. Instead it's a thin, lightweight, pale pink with glitter coloured device that pops in and out easily enough and we were out of there five minutes after walking in. She had been soooo nervous and wound up about it that after we had lunch she fell asleep in the car as we drove down to McLaren Vale to see the laptop.
The wires from it are barely visible and the plate itself cannot be seen when it is in. She speaks with a slight lisp at the moment but the orthodontist said this will disappear as she gets used to having the plate in her mouth. Other than when eating, cleaning her teeth and during sports she has to wear it at all times at the moment. In a few months it may be dropped back to nighttime only.
The step after this is the removal of one of her top teeth and the building up of another to match her current central tooth. The remaining teeth shall then be moved around and rearranged with braces until she has an even, uncrowded smile. For those who aren't up to speed on her dental situation, troll has a single central incisor (where most people have two) and a crowded upper jaw. Because of the crowding at least one of the upper teeth that will remain is pearshaped, so it is sharp looking like an eyetooth rather than flat on the bottom (due to being squished in the upper jaw while forming), so this will be given a crown to appear more normal.
I don't look forward to the day they have to take the upper tooth out. She's not going to handle that well. We may discuss the option of general anaesthetic if necessary. I imagine a young permanant tooth is pretty securely attached, and in the front of the mouth it is VERY sensitive, so yes, something other than the usual local may be in order for her.
But for now, we simply have the plate to manage and that will be easy enough.
Next week we have to take tygrr down to a hospital in the city to have a stress test done on her heart because of some mysterious chest pains she has been getting. They do not expect to find any problem but are just being ubber careful, just in case. I don't mind ubber careful.
Then on Wednesday I get to see my shrink for the first time in months. She has been off having abdominal surgery and I am pleased she has recovered enough to come back to work at last. While not exactly ready for the loony bin at the moment, nonetheless it never hurts to be checked out by someone who knows now and then!
Somewhere in amongst all of this we hope to get the new floor covering in the hallway laid and find time to sleep!
Welcome to the Dragon Express!!