Unexpected dental work
I had eleven nights in hometown Kuching, not all of which was pleasant. I had fewer catch-up with friends than normal but more family get-togethers because my nephew Julian (and wife) were visiting from Los Angeles. And there’s also an early birthday dinner with family for my brother’s 60th.
The bad part of my stay was due to my teeth. My last dental visit 9 months ago showed a new decay which the dentist couldn’t fill due to time constraints; she had already done a new filling and replaced another that visit.
I was meant to have it sorted last trip here to Kuching few months ago but somehow didn’t get to it. Suddenly, few days ago, the dentist thought that tooth had died because I didn’t feel anything while she was doing the filling (without anaesthetic).
She recommended a root canal at my previous dentist because she wasn’t equipped with x-ray. As someone who takes good care of my teeth in general, I was most disappointed with myself.
So, today I had a new experience in the form of a root canal at MYR800 (USD170), to try preserve the tooth. There’s the likelihood of a crown in the coming months. The saving grace is that the same treatment in New Zealand would be about three times the price.
It was a lesson to never delay dental treatment, medical treatment, car repairs, home repairs etc.
IT repair
I bought an Acer monitor here as soon as I knew I’d be stuck here, unable to secure a border-quarantine hotel room. Well, this trip, the two year old monitor (with only intermittent use) started shutting down intermittently and wouldn’t restart usually until hours later.
The worst thing was that the first time it happened, it looked like a permanent power loss which prompted me to drive all around town to look for a 5 amp fuse (to go in the British plug) which was awfully difficult to find.
The good part was that the unit was still had a day left under warranty and was fixed within 4 days by replacing the main board. Unfortunately, I think the problem will recur once out of warranty. They had initially indicated a complete replacement but it wasn’t meant to be.