Oh, Dear...

There of levels of news...........the first being that my old, beloved G4 received a death notice yesterday because Apple doesn't any longer make parts. This is hard to deal with in the short term and the long term. My photos are captive on it, so I don't have any for this entry and what's an entry without images?

The bigger problems is that my programs that run Photoshop and Finalcut Pro are old and not supported by any newish computer. I've rejected the idea of a new IMAC, having been warned against the shiny screen. The mini, which seemed like a solution for a while, won't run something or other that I need. It's possible to get a refurbished MAC that will tolerate some of the programs I need. They have two possibilities, but it's still all up for grabs, though an informed, informative fellow spent an hour thinking about possibilities and looking up how compatible programs are for me at the Computer Loft in Allston. My needs are minimal, but specific. It's very, very confusing and will take quite a bit of time to figure out. My learning curve is questionable so I'm trying to minimize what I have to learn.... and what I have to buy.

This news comes on top of having had my teeth cleaned an hour earlier. The hygenist, a woman who has managed my teeth for 20 years, finally got a dentist into the room, luckily someone who isn't excessively charming and isn't condescending. This mild fellow, who looked like he might have once played football, used a phrase like nural pathways which I found comforting. But I have four teeth that need work. The only one I'd let him talk about was the worst. After his description -- place a post, periodontal work, a fake tooth, four months waiting for the bone to build around the post, all for around $5,000 -- I considered walking in front of a bus.

My father reached the point where he refused to darken the door of a dentist, but actually I don't think that's a good idea. My problem is figuring out how to pay for this now that I've cleverly given up my part-time teaching. Dental insurance is almost insulting in the amount it covers. Perhaps the problem is going to high grade Boston dentists who charge three times the amount insurance will pay for, but there you go.

At this point, I'm only dealing with the worst, most expensive tooth. By dealing with I mean, thinking about....not acting on.

But it's a cool morning. I took Tulip, AKA Turnip, to the groomer at 7 (here is the description of the picture I took before handing her over .... imagine this small thing that looks sort of like a beige tinged with darker brown, a bit of black here and there, fur throwrug with bangs that cover her eyes, a black nose and a double bottom row of tiny teeth....) and have two hours to sit here in Panera listening to a young cop talking about his potential heart problems that will ruin his career, and the level of pain that he has along with shortness of breath, sleeplessness and a lot of other plaguing symptoms.

Yesterday I mucked out a stall at the track, progress in my physical regime of rebuilding myself. The good news is that the doctor agreed that I'm 80-90% better. That is good news.