Grind...

As in grind my tooth to prepare it to receive the cap that will go on in 3 days.  I went for my dental appt thinking it was just for a consult.  Showed up 5 minutes early, took my shoes off, which is the custom here, went upstairs and the dentist was waiting for me along with her assistant.  She was a different one than the doctor I saw last week, but she was also extremely professional, good English skills and very nice.  She took a look, read the xrays and laid out the possibilities, including prices.  I had a few questions and then we came up with a plan, at which point she said, 'We have 45 minutes, I can grind the tooth and take the impression for to make the crown'.  Uh OK... here comes the needle...

There was some pain, not much during the procedure, a little bit afterward as the novocaine wore off, but what I remember most is looking up into two pairs of black almond eyes and realizing that dentistry was never quite like this before.  They worked well together, quickly and efficiently and I was out of there within the hour, having paid half of the final bill.  $162.50 from my debit card.  Such a deal.

Came home, swam and exercised some, then went up to take a nap at 4pm or so, like usual, but I just stayed in bed until 2am, woke up a few times in there but didn't feel like leaving the room, maybe the pain and the procedure zapped me pretty good.  Read some more of the Toni Morrison book 'Beloved', then figured hell, I'm up, let's do the city walk at 4am, the quietest part of the day.  So I did.

It's about a 4 mile square hike around the old city.  my quadrant is where the lady boy street walkers hang out and try to find 'dates'.  All night long apparently.  I'm on the SE side of the city.  Around to the south, there is a big food scene going on at Chiang Mai gate, I guess it's the 'all night restaurant' of the city.  There are other places open, of course, but at Chiang Mai gate there are many vendors all set up with deep fried stuff, curries, fruits, all kinds of food.  Good to know...

I saw a few joggers, about a dozen people sleeping, bunch of rats scurrying around the moat, they call them 'Chiang Mai squirrels'.  Mostly it was a great time to get the best air possible for the jaunt.  Few cars, no busses or vans, it was blissful.  Then back to the room to sleep, but not really sleepy.  I was thinking about my song 'This one's different' and as I lay in the dark, some lyrics came to me so I'd sit up and write em down.  And now the song is done, so on to the next.

I had a thought to talk to Thaew about the songs I write.  I heard third hand that some Thais were offended at what they perceived to be insulting lyrics that made fun of them.  It's not true, of course, I wouldn't deliberately do that.   I will make fun of Farang however.  It's mostly a language barrier problem, and there's a cultural component as well.  I don't think irony is part of the palette here, but I do want to talk to Thaew (owner of CU Corner) and let her know my thoughts.  And then she'll be able to explain to any of her customers if they have a problem that no, he's not making fun of us... he's making fun of the Farang.  It's worth a try anyway, and she and I have had some good talks over the years.  Feels like a good time for the next one.   Here's the lyric to 'This one's different'  It's kind of an old timey tune with that ragtime cadence...

She's not after my money, this one's different
She swears I'm sweet as honey, yes she's different
You can say what you're gonna say
But this one's different in every way
I'll tell it til my dying day
This one's different

Don't say I'm a fool, this one's different
I want to put her kid through school, yes she's different
There's no hint of a scam
We go together like toast and jam
She loves me for who I am
This one's different

I guess love affairs are hard, this is no different
Why'd I give her my credit card? look at what she spent
Oh for heaven's sake, I'm afraid I mighta made a big mistake
Guess I got to make a break, I thought she was different

Hey fellas it's your fault, you're not innocent
Hell ya better call a halt before you're indigent
You can sing your song of woe
You can swear up and down that you didn't know
But you'll reap just what you sow when ya think 'she's different'

Boys you can take the blame
You might win the battle but lose the game
You'll see it turn out the same, Same Same but different