Good luck bad luck

Good luck: Yesterday I joined the Emirates Airlines flyer programme and I've booked my tickets home for December - 27th Nov - 28th December.

Bad luck: Their prices have risen 200 sing dollars since last week.

Good luck: I was glad they still had seats available during this peak period time.

Bad luck: I was feeling anxious because the prices had risen and so didn't want to wait any longer to get my tickets.

Good luck: The web site filled in my ticket details using information from the flyer program which is in my maiden name.

Bad luck: My passport is in my married name.

Good luck: I realised my mistake fairly quickly.

Bad luck: Not quick enough - the transaction had already gone through.

Good luck: After I contacted Emirates via email, they said they could change it.

Bad luck: It's going to cost me an extra 100 sing dollars.

Good luck: Lessons learned: Never change your name after you marry, even if you think it will be better because your kids don't look like you. Never book airline tickets in a hurry. If your instinct tells you that this is the best price you're going to get, book them.

And so to today:

Bad luck: 2 out of 4 of my son's permanent molars have big cavities in them.

Good luck: His oral hygiene is good and his diet is OK - he doesn't eat sweets.

Bad luck: I didn't want to take him back to the dentist we used last time because of his impatience and condescending attitude.

Good luck: My mother in law knows a dentist who is a friend of hers.

Bad luck: She works at the government clinic

Good luck: The clinic admit my son and don't seem to realise he's a foreigner.

Bad luck: The clinic seems busy and the waiting area is a bit ordinary.

Good luck: My MiL's friend calls for us personally, so we don't have to wait.

More good luck: Inside the dental surgery the room is sparkling clean and all those in attendance are clothed in hygienic protection gear. This is about a 1000% improvement on the private clinic we attended a few months back, where strangely, the dentist is also a lawyer!!!

Bad Luck: My son has at least 6 (SIX) teeth that have cavities in them, and yet the dentist also tells me that the white marks on his teeth are due to too much flouride!! WTF?

Good luck: She tells me that the work done by the other dentist has fallen out and she will fill it without using the drill.

More good luck: She says that these days they treat children quite differently and don't really need to use the machines and that she can fill some of his milk teeth too.

Great luck: She's an experienced dentist and really sounds like she knows her stuff. I am immensely grateful to her and almost cry. She gets on with the job and is a patient and gentle dentist. My son doesn't flinch a bit and when it comes time for him to rinse, he manages to spit into the small sink (at the other dentist, he was so unco-ordinated he spat most of it on the floor - the nurse was not impressed.

Fantastic luck: After profusely thanking her, she gives us another appointment and we go home - we didn't have to pay because kids in Malaysia get free dental treatment from Government hospitals.

Enough luck. Now to solve the mystery of why my son, with his pretty good diet and good oral hygiene has so much trouble with his teeth, which seem unnaturally 'soft'.