(This is me describing some really gross dentist-y details AND doing some computations and budgeting, aka, "talking to myself". You can still turn back. You have been warned.)

So... for the past week, I've been bearing with a toothache, and finally, I was able to get to a dentist this afternoon. It was a mind-opening, wallet-burning experience.

I went to this nice little clinic in Robinson's Galleria which honors my HMO card, called The Tooth Doctor. It must have been the swankiest dentist's office I've ever been to, and all the staff and the dentists were composed of nice women. Anyway, the dentist told me that there's something up with one of my molars in the back again, and that I needed to have a panoramic X-ray taken.

Off to the x-ray technician I went, sighing and grumbling about the 800-peso fee that blindsided me for today. After getting my results (it took 10 minutes for the whole thing), I handed the negatives to the good dentist and it was then that I realized just how badly I need to get some serious dental work done.

The molar that's hurting me right now is hurting me because it is lying ON ITS SIDE. Hence, it's growing out and pushing perpendicularly against the other teeth beside it, so no wonder my whole lower jaw has been hurting all week. Next, thanks to the X-rays, we also discovered that I have a freak tooth in the front. Apparently, right below my lower front two incisors, another, fully-formed tooth is right underneath it, in the gum area. Brrr... Seriously freaky. It reminds me of those news reports of a fetus forming inside another fetus, or something like that.

I know I've got bad teeth, but this is just ridiculous.

Anyway, the dentist recommended that I get some deep cleaning done first to prep for the extractions, because apparently, yes, a lot of damage is caused when you only start seeing a dentist at the age when you begin employment and you discover the convenience of company-provided healthcare. The cleaning has to be done in quadrants, once a week, at 1500php per quadrant, so that's 6000php in total.

THEN, she can finally go all surgeon on me and get rid of the wayward molar and the freak front tooth. That's about 5000 to 6000php per tooth, since this is obviously not going to be a simple extraction, especially with the freak tooth since it has somehow managed to grow INSIDE my gums.

But no worries. I think I can handle this, for once. My cunning plan so far is as follows:

My first appointment for the deep cleaning thing is on June 20. 1500pesos, I can handle.

The next appointment is on June 27, two days after payday. That's fine, too.

I will also have to pay for my appointment on July 4... BUT! by then, I would be regularized, which makes this expense reimbursable with my company. ^_^ Same rule applies for my July 11 appointment. I just have to remember to set aside 3000pesos once I get my pay on June 25 to cover for my June 27 and July 4 appointments. Maybe make that 4500pesos to include the July appointment as well... Hmm...

Then comes the big ones. I could set aside 7k for the first tooth extraction on either the 18th or 25th of July, and then another 7k for the second extraction. If I have extra cash that day, I might ask for both teeth to be removed in the same session just to get it all done and over with. I'd be staggering or crawling out the door, but at least it's done.

So, in total, I'm expecting to have at least 20k worth of emergency (yes, I now consider this an emergency!) dental work done within the next couple of months, and have 17k of it reimbursed by my company.

Hmm... not bad, eh? ^_^v

Gonna make this as quick as possible because my head is starting to spin and I need to get home soon.

First of all... no PC at home. ^_^;; Our PC died on us, so I only get to do all my online chores and rituals when I'm at the office. Like now. Hehehehe...

Second, been watching the series Leverage. I LOVE IT.

Next, health updates (prolly more for my reference than anything else, but if it suits your entertainment, then heck, why not).

My legs started hurting last Monday, May 25. I thought it was just muscle pain at first, but I realized soon enough that it's not because the pain only starts at a certain point on my thigh halfway between my hip and my knees, then goes all the way down to my ankles. It's the type of pain that just.. FLASHES and pulsates and practically blinds you if you're caught unaware. Just imagine someone striking your thigh bone with a sledgehammer in a way that's too weak to break it, but just enough to make it really, really hurt. Yeah.

Anyway, I've gone to a clinic last Wednesday when I couldn't take the pain anymore and I was practically screaming in our room. The brilliant doctor I saw had no idea what was going on and told me to just take painkillers nonstop until we get the results from the blood tests he ordered. I did as I was told, came back on the appointed day, and was told that my blood tests were all fine and peachy. Trouble was he still doesn't know what to do and instead told me to just take a STRONGER brand of painkiller for another TWO WEEKS, and THEN he just might consider referring me to a neurologist.

Of course, I promptly went off to see another doctor. Second guy seems to be better, and he thinks it's nerve inflammation in my legs. I was given a prescription for better (and cheaper) painkillers, as well as a nerve anti-inflammatory drug-thing. He asked me to take it for a week, and if I'm not well by then, off to a neurologist I go to have my back and my spine checked to see if the problem is there.

I still think that ONE week of possible cure and relief ending in immediate action, is still better than TWO weeks of guaranteed pain ending in more uncertainty and guesswork.

In the meantime, I'm still on painkillers since I can't function, walk or think the moment they wear off.

No wonder House is so grumpy.

Good thing I have my babuy to take care of me. ^_^

In case you haven't heard yet, Miss Janette Toral is currently holding a contest to determine the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs for 2009, and here are my picks. ^__^

* Let's Go Sago!

* A Photographic Saga

* The LoliDudes

* Magnetic-Rose.net

* The Struggling Blogger

* Hay! Men! Ang Blog ng Tunay na Lalake

* Patay Gutom

* Be Inspired Now!

* Digital Manila

* Coffee Stains & Inks

Aaaaand because I want to join the raffle, a word from our sponsors. ^_^;;
- Absolute Traders
- My Brute Cheats
- Business Summaries

EDIT:
Hehe... had to update my list. Gomen. :p

Last May 9th, me and some friends made the trek to Marikina to visit a seamstress about some dresses. Due to some hiccups in the planning, though, we were forced to retreat for a while to plan what to do next and how to get over the said boo-boo. Hence, the first thing we did was look for the closest air-conditioned food place, which so happened to be this little, unassuming nook in front of Marikina Market with a sign that declared that they served Thai food. As it turned out, we were so very thankful for the boo-boo because we wouldn't have found this gem of a place otherwise.

Having absolutely no idea on what was good to try and what was not, we basically just started picking semi-randomly from the menu, and while waiting for our food to arrive, we had some time to take in the ambiance.

( Let the salivating begin... )
Had we known we would have a FEAST in front of us, we wouldn't have eaten breakfast that day. In the end, a group of SEVEN adults were defeated by the food, all left will popping waistlines and full bellies, and we had to concede and have the rice and the beansprouts wrapped up for take-out.

And the total bill for ALL that goodness? 1070 pesos. It IS GLORIOUS.

So, if you're ever in the Marikina area, just head for the Marikina Market, and look for the statue of the dude washing some kid's butt. Head in the direction of where the kid is facing and you're bound to run into Krung Thai. You can't miss it. Seriously.



-------------------------
PLUG: X-Men Origins review by the Lolidudes: MANCAKE MENAGERIE!!. Please do check it out! ^___^

BEHOLD! I give you the drink MOGU MOGU! I'm posting this here so that the people whom I've told about this cute little thing would finally believe me, that there IS such a drink called "mogu mogu" which exists on this planet. So, yes. Existence confirmed. Available for 28php at the 7-11 at the gound floor of Raffles Corporate Center on Emerald Avenue in Ortigas. Hehehehe... other than that, I'm afraid I have no idea where else to find it. ^_^;;;

Anyway, right. Mogu Mogu.

Basically, it's a fruit juice drink that comes with nata de coco chunks. I know it sounds weird, but it's actually quite good. Well, the orange-flavored one anyway. I've seen a lychee-flavored one in the same display cooler, but I haven't exactly been brave enough to try it out just yet.

Meanwhile, the concept of having chunky, chewy bits of goo stuck in your drink may seem a little strange, and to be honest, it DOES take a minute or two for one to get used to the drink. However, I've found that when you think about it, it's just like drinking sago gulaman, or like having Jell-o squeezed into your drink.

Also, the thought of having the taste of coconut clash with the fruit juice is also easy to get over once you get to taste it since the nata de coco isn't overpowering, and instead takes on most of the flavors of the fruit juice it's been swimming in, while adding its own bit of sweetness.

I love the stuff. :D

I guess my only qualm about this is that I find myself wishing that WE Filipinos thought about making this lovely drink first. Oh well.

It's been a while since I posted my sewing projects. There's still a whole stash I SHOULD have posted ages ago... but let's just skip that and fast forward to 2009, shall we? XDDD

Anyway, as everyone knows, I love raiding ukay-ukays to look for stuff to tear apart, cut to pieces, butcher and basically modify. It's been like that back then, it still is now. So, my latest ukay-ukay trip has yielded a good bounty, and it just so happened that I also needed something to wear to the Shizen Orchestra event days away at the time.

( And the process begins... )

Hehe... I was pretty conservative with the trims since I didn't have much material, and it was my first time making something like this, so I wasn't sure just exactly how much was too much. ^_^;;

And there we go. And yes, I wore it a few days later. ^_^;;;


(Big thanks to h_matsumoto and her Project Rockway series of posts. I got the idea from her. ^__^v)

EDIT:
here we go! Hazel's Project Rockway series! ^________^

As many of my friends know, I find joy in senseless knick-knacks and inane curiosities, especially when I can acquire them for cheap. So yes, at this point, you can start imagining me walking up to a cashier inside a 7-11 branch to pay for some chips and a bottle of flavored tea... then spotting the candy rack and giggling like an idiot before grabbing a pack of mints and tossing it at the counter to be rang up along with the rest of my purchases.

I give you... love for 25 pesos. XDDDDD





Yes, I was so excited over it that I plurked about it that day and showed it to my friends at the office. We all giggled like schoolgirls. XDDDDD

Apparently, that's the toned down version, because as I learned from the manufacturer's website, in other countries, the name stamped on the package is "SEX" instead of "LOVE". And speaking of their website, I love how they ask you to choose between ENERGY and SEX. XDDDD

Lovely. Who says laughs have to be pricey? XDDD

I remember about a year ago, during one of my many trips to Serendra with Ian, I spotted these gorgeous rain boots displayed on a rack. I was surprised, because I've never seen a pair of big, rubber boots which were obviously meant for getting wet, which didn't look like the black or yellow ones that I normally saw being worn by traffic cops or construction workers. I wanted one so badly back then, but when I learned that a pair costs about 2000++ php each, I sadly had to put it down and walk away. Since then, I never forgot about the boots in different colors and cute patterns.

Fast forward to now.

( Yep, this is me reviewing Plueys. Shoe photos under the cut. )

All in all: Plueys are <3

Yep, me and some friends are gonna be launching a webcomic. We have scripts, and now we need someone to illustrate it for us.

We'll pay by page. 5 pages per issue. Weekly or twice a month.

If you're interested, email me your rates for:

- 1 manga page - lineart only
- 1 manga page - colored
- 1 chibi drawing - lineart only
- 1 chibi drawing - colored
- 1 character illustration - lineart only
- 1 character illustration - colored
- 4-koma strip - lineart only
- 4-koma strip - colored

Also, please do send me either links or attach files of your sample art (male and female).

You can contact by sending me an email at ksolaris at gmail dot com


THANKS!!

*runs off again*

In case you're wondering what has been keeping me busy, I've been working with a bunch of friends on starting up LoliDudes.com. So, past month or so, we've been attending cons to gather material. ^_^ Anyway, here's our report for Shizen Orchestra which was held last April 25. ^_^

With a brief special featuring Ian, of course. :D

I took all the photos. ^__^

LEL. On top of the con-attendance, the past week has also been phenomenal in my book in terms of acquiring STUFF! WHEE!! A pair of Skullcandy headphones and some Lucky Star figures. YAY! ^_____^

( pikchar pikchar! )

Hehe... yes, this is my stuff-itis kicking in again. :D

Let me count the ways. XDD

( kitty photos ahoy! )

All photos taken using Cliff/Maoi's awesome Canon 10D (the manual of which I am yet to read...). No cropping. All I know how to do in Photoshop is use the Auto Levels/Auto Contrast button. XDD

We are in need of a reliable video editor for occasional projects. Just short video clips, 10 minutes long at the MOST.

We'll need his/her services probably about once or twice a month, tops. Needs to be able to work with deadlines, raw digital footage and lulz.

We're willing to pay. We'll negotiate later. :3

If you can recommend anyone, or if you want to apply for it, please send us samples of your work at thelolidudes at gmail dot com. Please have the email addressed to me, Kristine/K/ksolaris.

Thank you~~~~ ^____________^

FINALLY. I really should have figured this out earlier. Hehehe...

Well, here you go, something to look at, just so you know that yes, I am alive. :D

WHOOO!!

EDIT: Is it just me or it it showing up in a tiny iframe? T_T

... um, hi? :3

Yes, PLURK has taken my soul. Hehe. Anyway, I'm back. I think. Sorry, LJ. Don't worry, I still love you.

... seem to reaffirm what I already know. The affirmation is much-appreciated, though. :p

Got it from AstroProfile.com and I highlighted bits of it.


Here's to Capricorns everywhere~! XDD