Sometimes, it pays to be a guinea pig

 

A week or two ago, my dentist made an offer to "the 1st 10 people to reply" to get a free CT scan of their jaw for use in a future dental implant.  Well, after 12+ years of procrastinating for financial reasons, I decided to take advantage of this offer while I'm still flush enough to afford an implant I've put off for way too long.

- - - - - -

This morning, I left RQS's place a bit earlier than usual, so that I could make it home and  change into Marian Mode before the dental visit.  It was a good thing I did so - all 3 East River bridges from Queens to the Bronx were bollixed up due to construction work on the bridges.  This was the worst I've ever seen traffic going to any of these bridges, as all were backed up for miles before even reaching the bridges.  And, even by bailing onto local streets to reach the 3rd bridge (the Triboro, aka: RFK bridge), I decided to suffer with the lesser of these evils and put up with the traffic jam until I reached the Bronx.

Once across the river, it was easy sailing, and I reached home 45 minutes later than planned.  This was enough time for me to change into Marian Mode, and take care of a problem arising from Amazon's mis-delivery of a package at 4 am.  (It's now scheduled for tomorrow at the same time - AARGH!)

At 3 pm, I went to the dental office, and everyone was addressing me with the correct pronouns, and the non-gendered version of my name was on the screen.  A rep from the CT scan company was teaching the dental staff how to use the new device, and I was the most cooperative guinea pig they could have.  Within 10 minutes of sitting down, and being moved around so that the scan could encircle my head, I was out the door.  I probably saved somewhere between $250 and $500 by being a guinea pig.  But now, I have to commit to the implant - and I'm glad I'm doing so.

Soon, I'll have a tooth that replaces a molar, and I could chew normally in the near future.