NEVER BEEN A MONDAY MORNING DENTAL EMERGENCY...UNTIL TODAY.

Appointment card for tomorrow's visit--look closely and my veneer is on right side of my name.

I will be seeing Dr. Wong (highly recommend along with Julia de Cano)

Not too shabby of a dental office.

Who would have thought that today at 8:30 am I would be getting dressed to run down the street to of all places, the dental office in Coronado!  WHAT!  I was sitting on the couch minding my own business when something felt caught in between my two bottom front teeth.  One of these teeth has a brand new, not even four month old veneer on it.  See the veneer in the picture, but a veneer is just about almost a crown.  It is a porcelain facing so to speak and usually placed to cover a tooth that has a cosmetic issue.  I had this veneer redone in my office this past spring, because my original one was almost twenty years old.  I thought I should have it spruced up before we moved to Panama, and I had other dental needs taken care of as well.  And then this morning, the veneer pops right off.  Just when we had been speaking to Clyde and Terry in the pool yesterday (which is how we spent our day by the way--the pool for a few hours, our porch for some lunch and for a few hours, eating pizza but not for a few hours, and then searching for some ice cream!) about dental care and other appointments I might be making in the next few months.  I must have jinxed myself!

Ray comes over to see why I need to have this veneer recemented and now, so off we go to the Coronado Dental clinic.  I had read enough about this office on forums, and it is also the office Clyde and Terry go to, so I felt optimistic.  I didn't have concerns about getting treatment here.  Upon arrival to the office at around 8:50, we found a non-English speaking dental assistant (I assumed) waiting outside.  I spotted her from the highway in her white scrub pants and colorful scrub top.  The office is on the second floor of a small shopping center with a large grocery store called Super 99 in it along with a food court with a Dominos, a restaurant called Locos Coronado, and a small Chinese place (and maybe one or two other places). There are also many cell phone providers in the shopping center, a casino, a small store that reminded me of a neighborhood pharmacy, a Crocs store, a dollar store and a frozen yogurt shop.  After telling the assistant in broken Spanish our needs, she opened up the door to the office.  The office hours are Mon-Fri 9-5 and Sat 8-12.  Or maybe 9.  I now can't remember the Saturday morning hour.  A few minutes later the receptionist arrived, and she asked if we had an appointment.  She speaks wonderful English.  We showed her my veneer in the ziploc bag, and after she looked at the appointment book (no computer here), she asked that we come back to the office at 9:30.  We didn't think we could hang around the office like we would have in the States (she seemed to want us to leave for those 20 minutes), so we walked the shopping center, and I lost $4 in a slot machine in the casino.  Add that $4 to whatever this dental bill will be.  Not wanting to be early, we went to the farthest steps away from the office, walked up to the second floor, and we were back in the chair waiting.  An older gentlemen walked in for his appointment.  Next to arrive (remember the sign said the office opens at 9:00) was another assistant, then the receptionist comes back in, and then the female dentist arrived (there is a buzzer they push on the outside when the women inside lock the door--we didn't have to push the buzzer) at around 9:40.  The receptionist came out to tell me something like this--"uh, the cement, for the veneer"  pause  "Dr. Chang will be here tomorrow"  pause  "Can you come back tomorrow when he is here"?   OF COURSE I CAN.  Please give me an appointment, and as long as you know what a veneer is (which I know this office knows about crowns, braces, and cosmetic dentistry from Terry and the forums), and I have an appointment, I will walk around like this for 24 more hours.  My appointment was made for 10:30 tomorrow morning.

Back to Casa 40 we went (our rental house), and Ray called Cable Onda (with permission of the landlord) to increase our internet speed from 2 to 5 mega.  We are just finding that loading things from Apple TV or Roku is a bit sluggish (many pauses and delays).  Ray did manage to sign up for USTV which gives us regular network channels from the US (such as CBS, NBC, ABC).  I told him on Saturday night that it was nice to see a familiar face on the world news.  Even for just fifteen minutes, I enjoyed watching a familiar program with an anchor that I was watching in the States.  Also, Sunday morning I woke up and he had Good Morning America (Sunday show) on the television.  Not that tv will be that important here, but in the morning to catch those first few minutes of news when I haven't learned Spanish enough yet to understand the anchors here will be a little comforting (well, is news even really comforting these days?).

After Ray contacted Cable Onda, Clyde and Terry had returned home from their walk.  We picked them up and drove to Punta Chame Resort to join the gym.  At this resort, there are condominiums for sale or for rent.  It is a very pretty, small development with the amenities of a small gym and pool.  With our membership, we will also be able to use the lovely pool there.  Another chance to invade Clyde and Terry's space and also to mingle with any guests that might be staying at the resort (according to Terry, the resort, along with all other things here, is slow now, because it is rainy season).  While there at the gym, we worked out.  Terry and Clyde showed us around to reacquaint me (I haven't used weight machines in forever) and to get Ray acquainted with the machines.  We were the only four in the room working out.  After 45 minutes or so, we headed back home to shower.  They were in need of a new coffee machine and were headed to Westland Mall.  Would we like to go?  Of course we would, but let us pick you up, so we can get familiar with the roads.  One hour later we were back at their house taking the 45 minute drive to the mall.  They pointed out many things along the way.  Restaurants here, where to buy tires there, or where to buy outdoor furniture, too.  Once at the mall, we shopped!  They found their coffee maker.  Ray and I found more hangers, a crock pot (will make beef more tender, and we won't heat up the kitchen as much), chip clips and Tupperware type containers to hold open items (the humidity here can really do in open bags of cereal and chips), more ice trays, a scale (yes, a scale), loofahs for the shower (39 cents!), and some Magnesium for me (helps me fall asleep right away at night).  Magnesium is a pharmaceutical type item, and because of our Jubilado discount, we saved 20%.

How about this GIGANTIC Christmas tree piñata?

Or choose from these piñatas at the party store in the mall.

And then we headed to Costa Verde for dinner in a new shopping center with an Italian restaurant called "Vieni Qua".  We had been to one in La Chorrerra with them once before (the pizza is amazing), and tonight the food didn't disappoint again.  We chose other dishes instead of pizza.  We used our 25% off Jubilado discount, and the day was done.  Where did the day go?  And who knew this is what we would do today.  And let's not forget I have one part of a missing tooth, and I was still out there mingling with the crowds!  Oh, but while at dinner, Jasmine (Spanish teacher many expats learn Spanish from here) returned my call to Clyde's phone.  I had left a message with her telling her Ray and I would be with them all day, and I asked her to please try Clyde's cell phone if I missed her call.  I definitely wanted to get started on lessons.  Wednesday at three pm we will start our first lesson.  I am hoping to move the time up to the morning hours, but if not, I am sure we can work around her schedule.  And while in the restaurant Ray was also informed by our insurance broker that he does in fact need a PSA blood test, since he is older than 45.  Tomorrow we will go to the medical clinic where they speak no English and request that, and then we will go to the dentist.  Tomorrow should be an interesting day.  It's a good thing we spent the last two days relaxing at the pool!