I’ve now completed another first here in the Philippines with a visit to the dentist. It was pretty consistent with what I’ve experienced in the two other countries where I’ve had someone looking down in my mouth. My first impression was generally positive because they had me complete a medical history questionnaire, including inquiries about drug allergies. Thankfully, I don’t have any but it has always been disconcerting when I’ve seen a doctor here who gives me shots and meds and doesn’t think (or care enough) to ask if I might have a fatal reaction to the drugs.

The dentist (sorry, I’ve already forgotten his name) had a small facility but it appeared relatively up to date. He didn’t take any x-rays which was a little surprising. Not sure if he even had that capability. I told him I’d lost a filling and that was his examination focus, not even a cursory check for cavities or other potential problems in my other teeth. After digging around in the problem tooth a bit he told me it was fractured and that with a filling I’d likely still experience pain. He recommended extracting the tooth and I asked about a root canal and crown instead. According to him, the fracture precluded that course of action, but I could get an implant after the extraction if I wanted.

Hmm. I know in the USA extracting a tooth is always the last option. Judging by the smiles of many of the Filipinos I meet pulling teeth seems to be the preferred way to deal with dental issues here. Well, I hadn’t been experiencing any pain in the fractured tooth even without a filling, so I told him to just fill it and see what happens. And so he did. Took about 30 minutes all told and cost me a mere P2,200 ($44.). So far I’m still pain-free and I have one less hole in my head. I’d call that a win!

I came home and decided to celebrate by firing up my seldom used grill.

After my meal, I headed back into town to participate in the dart tourney at Alley Cats. Along the way, I encountered one of those uniquely Philippines moments.

They’ve recently built an extra lane on the National Highway going through town. People are still parking in what used to be the shoulder of the road, negating whatever benefit the extra lane provided in easing traffic congestion. So, the local barangay officials took action by setting up “no parking” signs up and down the highway. Of course, they placed them in the middle of the lane so people still can’t use the roadway as intended. I actually laughed out loud when I saw this.

Finished second in the dart tourney. Steve, the Englishman who doesn’t drink, drew Alan, one of the other top players as a partner, so it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that they would be unstoppable. And they were. I wasn’t playing my best game but my partner Anabel (one of the bargirls at Alley Cats) was throwing surprisingly good darts, making second place all the more satisfying.

I’m not sure what it is about the litter that captures my attention, but I’ll offer up this trashy shot from my morning walk for today’s “interesting” photo feature:

Another adventure on tap for this afternoon. The Manila Hashers are in Barretto for their annual out-of-town events. They started last night with a bar crawl, but I was otherwise occupied. I’m going to do their Hash run this afternoon and see how that goes. Leech My Nuggets helped the Manila Hare (Nancy Boy) set the trail. I expect it will be a tough one. I know we are going to start in Subic-town and finish at Hot Zone in Barretto. I’m guessing that will involve climbing two different mountains. Unless I shortcut. We’ll see how it goes. Oh, and interestingly, the Manila Hash doesn’t allow females to participate. I think that sucks, to be honest. I appreciate the view more with a sexy Filipina on the trail.

And there you have another glimpse into my so-called life.