I've been going to the same dentist for about 20 years. Unlike most dentist offices I know, i never saw him unless my dental hygienist saw a problem, and she rarely did. No cavities or anything. He finally retired, in his 70s, last year, and I followed my dental hygienist (who was the real reason I stuck with this dentist...the whole staff was super friendly) to another dental office in town.

Less than a year after retiring, dentist #1 died, just 2 weeks after being diagnosed with lung cancer. He never smoked.

I knew at this visit they were going to insist i get x-rays, which i routinely skip for 3 or so years. I've never had anything show up on dental x-rays. I think they just make money off it, and i'm sure i have enough radiation, thanks very much.

So i told them i lost my job and couldn't afford to do it now, as it'd be out of pocket. So they relented, and i got away with a $91 cleaning. My dentist is really big on cleaning your teeth with these wood sticks instead of floss. They're about the size of a toothpick, but blunter at one end, and you're supposed to wedge them in at the gumline. they're supposed to be much better than floss, which only gets between the teeth, not between the teeth and the gums.

I got 2 press releases out today, billed my clients for them and interviewed a realtor for the next one.

I got a Xmas card from my future boss, which i thought was very nice.

I nearly fell off my chair when i got my Amex bill today. Almost $1400. All that xmas and clothing shopping for the new job has caught up with me. I will pay in full, of course.

I checked my oil tank, filled at summer's peak at $2.19, a real bargain by today's standards, and see i have a half tank left. This should get me through most of January, I think,, though i'm also thinking of filling up the tank shortly before i start the new job, cus that's one of the things (COD) that will be difficult to do when i'm working an hour away. Even if i do fill it up soon, i'll still be on empty probably in early March. I'm not sure how i'll deal with that, becus they expect to be paid when they come to fill up, and they only give you a window of time when they will arrive. I can't take a half day off simply to wait around for the oil delivery guy to show up. I've heard of some people who leave a blank check out, but i don't want to do that. And since i got burned already prepaying for a whole season to a company that never delivered the oil, i don't want to do that either. Hundreds of people in my town got ripped off when that happened, most for a lot more than i lost. The company went belly up. Our state's attorney general investigated it all, but 3 years later, i haven't gotten any reimbursement.