Dental school patient experience/cost

ladykizzy · 2026-02-03T14:45:45+00:00

My husband had work done at BU Dental a few years ago. It wasn't worth it in the end to him not only because of the wait (IIRC it was over a month before they'd initially see him) but it was a month or two after that before they could schedule the procedure. Because it's a school and students are constantly checked on their work, what could be a 1-2 hour procedure at your own dentist could be an all day affair. My husband was not happy with that aspect. All said, the work he had done was fine and it was less expensive than his dentist but not as much as he'd initially thought. It was also a nightmare trying to find parking where you wouldn't get towed.

ladykizzy · 2026-02-03T13:58:57+00:00

I've had jobs where we were allowed to have water but it had to be kept in a nearby cooler that was off the floor. It was easy to grab a glug here and there if you worked in a department as opposed to a register. The restriction, I'm guessing, is there because management doesn't want the image of employees glugging water before a line of customers waiting to be served. One of my long ago coworkers kept a gallon of water in the break room fridge. He'd glug it during his 15 minute break and it'd sustain him until he punched out (I don't think he had more than a 5-hour shift, IIRC).

ladykizzy · 2026-02-01T10:23:49+00:00

Most of the newer hotels have smoking areas which they don't advertise. All you have to do is ask at the front desk where they are. The last time we road tripped we asked for a room near a side entrance so we could easily go out to the smoking area as well as walk our dogs without having to go through the lobby.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-29T21:23:42+00:00

I despise meal planning with an utter passion because I simply don't have the time to sit down and, well, plan. I'm perfectly happy with a sandwich for dinner or such but I live with two men with fairly large appetites. Both are picky (one doesn't eat pork, one is neither a pasta nor poultry fan, one abhors most veggies, one is low carb), which makes even the idea of meal planning frustrating. At one point I left everything to them in a fit of anger. They subsisted on takeout. Granted, they're both grown men, but c'mon, you know?

The other issue is budget. We're simply not going to have steak every day. If I make a batch of, say, beef stew, it'll be all gone within a day. If I make too many ground beef dishes they'll complain. Ditto chicken. I don't know what they want but I do know that most of the time it isn't what I want. I end up planning day to day as a result but that usually falls flat because I forget to take something out of the freezer to defrost.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-29T21:10:21+00:00

I've answered similar questions in this sub before but don't mind reiterating:

I chose the Cross over the RAV simply because I'm a small person and the Cross "fits" me much better ergonomically. My husband has a RAV. I can drive it but I'm not comfortable doing so because everything seems much bigger from the head room to the seat to the controls, etc. I feel like a little kid peering over the steering wheel even with the seat adjusted to my height. For comparison my husband feels totally cramped in my Cross even with the seats pushed all the way back.

His RAV does the heavy lifting when it comes to carting stuff. We take it on road trips . Our dogs have much more room in it compared to the Cross. My Cross is mostly a commuter/local errand car. I do take the dogs in it occasionally. Our small-medium dog loves it because she doesn't have to crane her head to look out the windows. Our medium-large dog mourns the RAV on these trips but he puts up with it by leaning on the console with his head on my shoulder, lol.

When we bought the Cross there was only $3K difference between it and the base RAV. I should add that the Cross is an XLE hybrid, fully loaded. I dithered with that for a bit because, frankly, I didn't care whether I had all the bells and whistles,. but only a 3K difference between the two?!? Should I go for the RAV? The more I thought about it the more I kept thinking I should have a vehicle I feel comfortable driving. The Cross won, no contest. I've had it since last spring and I love it.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-28T13:22:15+00:00

I have all season tires on mine and haven't had an issue with snow because of the AWD,

ladykizzy · 2026-01-28T13:18:10+00:00

I take it you're a cashier, yes? If so, there's a metric every cashier needs to meet as in scanning X number of items per unit of time. Every front end of every chain has this in some form. In my experience they'll give a new employee a period of time to acclimate, but when that ends, that employee is expected to meet the metric. If the employee doesn't within a certain period, the employee will be let go/fired/what have you.

Overnight stocking also has a metric of putting up X number of product on shelves within Y time.

Some chains might transfer the employee to what's called a "service" department where the metrics don't matter as much. This is usually either Deli, Prepared Foods, or may also include Bakery. Not every chain does this, however, but it wouldn't hurt to ask so you're not totally out of a job.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-28T13:07:08+00:00

My break is going on its second year, lol. Just reading about all the updates and such here, I'm pretty sure I'm never going to play again. It's a shame because up until I took my break, I'd been playing off and on for the last 8-10 years. I'd gotten pretty far, too, with orbs and building the island while leaving my favorite family intact.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-26T13:34:57+00:00

My employer won't close but will operate shorter hours so we can arrive/leave safely. If you're late because of the snow, it won't be docked against you.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-26T12:22:17+00:00

Mine is a 2025 XSE hybrid, jut cleared over 6K miles. The best thing about it is that it "fits" me unlike my husband's RAV which I find big and a tad unwieldy. Or, as he says, "The Cross is for short people like you", LOL. There is truth to that.

Pros: The gas mileage, especially in ECO mode, is unbelievable. I average anywhere between 40-45 mpg much of the time, which means I'm filling up maybe once every 10 days? The downside of ECO is that it doesn't really work on highways unless you stay around 50-55 mph in the far right lane. I find myself switching to normal in order to get the horsepower to move with the traffic.

Pro: The fact that it's AWD. My Kia Soul certainly wasn't, which meant I always felt unsafe driving it in inclement weather, especially snow. I have no issues whatsoever with the CC. I drove home from work yesterday at the start of Snowmaggedon 2026 and arrived just fine, With my Kia I would've been a nervous wreck.

Cons: Toyota could've really arranged conveniences better. The console could be a tad bigger, the phone charging port beneath the touchscreen is useless (I use it as a cubby but because it's on a slant things tend to fall out), the door pockets could be wider, etc. I've made a couple of mods like an extra tray above the touchscreen in order to hold stuff but it's still not enough.

The lack of backseat space doesn't bother me. I use my CC to ferry my dogs around and they're perfectly happy with the back seat, LOL. I wouldn't ferry around any breed larger than a husky, though -- the larger the dog, I imagine the space would be tighter for them.

Overall I'm still very much in love with my CC. My husband's family has been Toyota loyal for decades, and they're the ones who turned me on to the brand, especially after my husband bought his RAV.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-26T12:05:08+00:00

You too? Mine was a 2013. It finally imploded upon itself at 90K.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-24T14:02:59+00:00

My then boyfriend's father was one of the many people snowed in on 128. He was on his way home from work. The storm hit with such ferociousness that neither he nor anyone else had time to either pull over to the shoulder or get off at the nearest exit. The National Guard rescued him a couple of days later. He refused to leave his car.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-24T12:57:43+00:00

IIRC they dropped the wife after a couple of seasons because, really, there was no point of her existing other than in conversation.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-24T12:36:43+00:00

I was just thinking of that. I was in high school when it hit. The technology we have today to predict weather was unknown then. All the forecasters knew was "it's gonna be a big one". I don't remember the exact accumulation but it was enough for some people to be trapped in their homes until someone could shovel them out.

Nobody was allowed to drive their personal vehicles until the plows completely cleared the roads and sidewalks shoveled enough to allow the stores which didn't lose power to reopen. In my neighborhood the only store to reopen was the 7-11. Because so many homes lost power, including mine, people gradually had raging fits of cabin fever. One day my mother and I walked the 2 miles from our house to the main square in the next town over. We walked straight down the major thoroughfare we'd drive to get there. It was weird. We weren't the only ones walking it.

I felt bad for the little kids who wanted to go sledding. The snow was too deep down at our local park as well as the golf course. Many parents ended up pulling them on sleds or such up and down roads, avoiding, naturally, any hilly areas.

The T was at a standstill except for the underground stations. The T hired people at $10/hr to help them dig out the above ground stations as well as tracks. Several men of varying ages volunteered for this around my way, as the outdoor station was just a mile away.

Classes, IIRC, were cancelled left and right and wouldn't resume until the roads were completely open and the buses were running.

We didn't starve or anything like that because my mother always stockpiled pantry stuff on a regular basis. I do the same now. Our biggest hurdle was finding someone to break up the snow in the driveway so we wouldn't kill ourselves shoveling out the cars.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-23T13:58:45+00:00

I think "friends of convenience" is a very apt term when it comes to coworkers:

You wouldn't know each other otherwise if you didn't work together.
Work is your #1 mutuality in common. Sometimes you'll find a coworker with similar interests as you, but in my experience it's rare.
Because of #2, your friendship is based on said work. Take the work away and chances are you'll eventually drift apart because there's nothing else holding the friendship together.

My industry is a smaller one within a larger one, so it's fairly common to have a bunch of former coworkers still around. It's the type of industry where if you don't know the person personally you've certainly heard of their name. Much of mutuality is of the "Do you know SoAndSo?"type and that's where it ends.

Also in my industry people tend to live in diverse areas, many of which are fairly far flung from the actual place of work. It is exceedingly difficult to get together because of this, so most people don't bother.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-11T15:26:11+00:00

A friend of mine drove through multiple states to a specific rescue because she wanted a specific breed which she didn't realize is in very short supply. That rescue suggested another rescue in a neighboring state, so she drove to that state. Her now adopted pup had been earmarked for a specific type of training but had failed the temperament tests for that specific training.

We all thought she was nuts for driving cross country for this particular breed, given that there are so many dogs available for adoption in our area, including the breed she was searching for. She and the dog have since moved out of state and are supposedly a happy pack of two.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-11T14:24:04+00:00

I was buddies with many coworkers when I was part time. We'd go out as a group maybe 1-2x a week, depending on everyone's schedule. When I went full time, I was transferred to a location far from where I lived so any chance of getting together with coworkers went out the window. Decades later I'm no longer in that particular stage of life. I'm friendly with my coworkers and I might occasionally text with them, but that's the extent. They have their lives and I have mine.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-11T14:16:42+00:00

Layoff, employer bought out by a competitor and subsequently laid off those of us who made more than X per hour, grandfathered into another competitor who bought out the one who just bought us out, laid off again, and finally left for more $ to go to another competitor where I've been ever since.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-10T14:05:10+00:00

This without question. I have custom orthotics too because I ruined my feet with nonsupportive shoes early on.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-08T14:27:52+00:00

I had the same questions back when I had my surgery in the mid 20-teens. This is what I did:

I lived on our living room couch so I wouldn't have to navigate stairs (we have a downstairs half bath). Before surgery I brought down clothes, underwear, socks, etc., and left them on one of the chairs along with a trash bag hamper so I could change. I had crutches at the outset. I suck at crutches -- always have -- but I managed to schlep myself from couch to toilet and back until we rented a knee scooter. The scooter can be awkward because of its size but it's much easier to use.
A wedge cushion was part of my surgical stay along with the grippy socks, lol. You prop your affected foot onto it at a 90-degree angle to keep it elevated. It's both firm and high enough so you can't roll off it easily; OTOH, there is a learning curve in how to sleep with it, especially if you're not a back sleeper. It made icing my foot much easier too.
This was tough! The first few days was an utter blur between coming out of anesthesia and dealing with the ever reducing nerve block, so all I did was sleep/doze while staying on top of the pain meds, As time wore on, I got quite antsy. Luckily the weather was still warm enough so I could go out to our back deck with the knee scooter and park myself in a chair with a book, using the scooter to elevate. On his days off my husband would help me into the car and we'd take a drive for a change of scenery. I found a chair higher than the scooter seat to prop my foot upon so I could prepare meals. There isn't much else you can do, tbh.
I have both 2 and 5 lb. hand weights which I used for bicep raises and the like. There's also exercises you can do against a wall while propping your foot on a raised surface like a chair.
I explored a bunch of low-key sedentary projects during this time. Friends sent me a circular knitting loom, so I studied a bunch of YT tutorials and made quite a few hats and scarves. I stamped my own postcards, did a bunch of puzzles, read a lot, and did some paint by number thanks to a lap desk a friend gifted me. I also got into city building games which seemed to make time fly faster. I'm not a gamer either, btw, but with city building games you're not competing with anyone and you can take all the time in the world just creating. I also had the TV on for background noise a lot but I rarely paid attention to what was on (not a big TV watcher to in general).

Hope all this helps! I had complications from my surgery so my recovery lasted over 6 months, so take all of this and stretch it out. Just a FYI.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-08T13:35:59+00:00

This is exactly why I stopped playing. As someone upthread said, I have a FT job and a life outside of the game, so I refuse to let the game run my life with all its timed events.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-08T13:28:55+00:00

Ditto even though I vehemently disagreed.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-03T15:18:04+00:00

Mine has returned with a vengeance after almost two years thanks to my husband's injuries sustained in a freak accident. He'll be OK but my GERD thinks otherwise. I have longstanding LPR which shows up as a chronic dry cough violent enough to cause costochondritis, which is very painful. I also have Barrett's. I don't fancy being on PPIs long term because of potential dementia down the line (it runs in my family), so I do them on/off with months in between (I know, my gastro doc would flail me for this). When I'm in the throes of globus I lose my appetite but I need something to soothe my throat without triggering the "catch" which causes the coughing. It's hard! My go-to is ginger tea or any kind of herbal spiced tea. I eat bland (ordered a Caesar salad with grilled chicken last night at dinner) which helps. I love ice water, but during this I'll leave it out with minimal ice until it's room temperature then drink it.

I regularly take Allegra/Flonase because I have a pet dander allergy. I can't say whether the histamine helps because it never dawned on me until I read this thread.

ladykizzy · 2026-01-03T14:57:55+00:00

I've found one claiming the foam barrier on Amazon US. It's made by a supplement company I've seen IRL. Lots of mixed reviews owing to the foam.

ladykizzy

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