Something ... new. VIDEO!
(Video Killed the Radio Star Writer: the Buggles 1981)
“I’ve got a GoPro and I know how to use it,” I threatened.
Click on the pictures on either side. This will lead you to a video located on Youtube. They have two distinctive styles. One is just me walking around our neighborhood. The other is more narrative, so to speak. They are 12 and 6 minutes in duration respectively.
I much prefer writing to anything else, although I am acutely aware of changing times. But no need to worry. I’ll keep this blog up and running though it may be a tad shorter due to time and energy spent on a video for the month. “Video paints a story of a 1000 words” (Socrates 379 BC) but there are stories and thoughts I cannot deliver using video alone. Maybe a combination may be what is best for me.
Dental Experience
I was hoping to get my teeth cleaned this month, but I was procrastinating. Well, as a penalty, the gods of teeth spoke quite loudly. I broke a tooth eating pork belly. What is pork belly? Think of it like thick crispy bacon and usually comes with a yummy vinegar/soy dipping sauce. It was fried a little too much and the resulting delicious crunch was the bane of tooth number 25 (third from the back for you non-dental people.) Also known as tooth 14 in the USA. For the next 38 hours it kinda swung back and forth as I counted down the hours until my appointment. No pain, just weird. Is it detrimental to swallow a tooth in your sleep? Does the tooth fairy do something unspeakable during digestion in the night?
We are in the uncharted world of not having dental insurance. So, instead of admiring the professionalism and cleanliness, my first thought goes to ‘looks expensive’. If I get cancer or get hit by a car I’m covered by my health insurance. I opted for no dental, vision or outpatient because of the inexpensive nature of medical care in Thailand. This works for us. As an example, my cost to see a medical doctor last month for a small issue was $14.
I asked if I could take a pic of the ‘chair’, but the dentist, in a very polite and lengthy way, said no. So, I stole this accurate photo from their website at his suggestion.
I have disdain for bloggers who do not give accurate costs when talking about Thailand. No, you can’t live here for $1000 a month, but that does give them clicks on their webpage. I could go on Facebook and post that I just paid $6.83 for my dental x-rays today. This is accurate but that is not the entire story. In the end it was just over $600 for a new crown without dental insurance. Back in Seattle that would be closer to $1500 or more with insurance. So…. you now have info.
My adventure was ‘identical’ to my experiences with my awesome dentist back in the states. The dental assistant had a magical ability to judge when I needed ‘spraying’ with water or using the ‘saliva ejector’. (Yes, I had to google that term.) She was the best in my life.
Who are we ... now?
We shed the moniker ‘tourist’ in the first 48 hours back in November of last year. We quickly morphed into ‘travelers’ and held that rank for a few months while traveling to Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bali. Yes, 30 flights in 5 months. Officially, we carry US passports and now live in Thailand. Currently, I believe the term ‘expat’, followed by ‘resident of Chiang Mai,’ suits me just fine. It feels like an accomplishment. We had to jump through some hoops to get to where we are today.
Dogs, when the word ‘beach’ is spoken, are all aglow, slobbering, tail wagging, and ready for change. Cats are more refined and like life to remain the same as it was yesterday. Diane and I are more like cats. Sure, we still like to chase a squirrel or two, and make that weird chattering noise while watching birds, but we remain cats. We have certainly made an effort to get our ducks in a row with immigration and have signed a lease on a condo. Being here certainly makes financial sense. We like the people, the food, and everything that is the rhythm of living here in Chiang Mai. We have no future plans to return to Seattle, nor do we have plans to stay more than another year. See, we are like cats. We just want someone to hold the door open so we can come in and go out at the same time. If I were to guess, we will ‘re-up’ both our visas and our condo lease next year. Beyond that…. is too far to see. But right now, we’ve never been happier.
Thank you for reading, and now… watching. If you made it to YouTube don’t forget to click on ‘subscribe.’ It helps me.