CAI JING’s gallery

Today is my last work day in Manhattan, so after the classes, I went to the Hale and Hearty Soup on 64th&Lexington to have a long lunch break. I ordered 2 soups, one for me, and one for the baby. That little store was as crowded as usual, so I waited at the corner for a table. Not long after there’s a vacancy…good, I walked toward the seat… and suddenly, I didn’t know from where and how, there was a woman who quickly stepped in front of me. I looked at the woman confusedly because I didn’t expect this to happen in NYC. She simply said:” I have a pregnant friend.” then sat down. She did have a pregnant friend so my first reaction was “I’m sorry” and waited for another table… but wait… I’m pregnant, too! Why should I be sorry for? At least you should say thanks. Just because I don’t have the “American pregnant figure”, I’m not as huge as some people are, I don’t deserve the privilege?! I wanted to walk to that woman and say: you know what? I’m pregnant, too. But I don’t have a rude non-pregnant friend with me… oh well, I’m too shy a person to start any argument in public, it’s just not me.

Speaking about my belly, it’s 5 months so far and I think it’s pretty big and obvious compared to my tiny body. But still, no one ever give me a seat on the train even when it’s crowed. Sometimes I’m not happy with this, imagine after a long day of work, you take an hour train ride back home with a heavy belly, you show your belly in front of kind looking people sitting there, but she/he just stares at you belly and won’t get up… I always wondered why, because American people usually have good public manners. One day I suddenly realized when I sat on a train and looked around: most American people look pregnant …more than me!…including some men… oh well, that’s the way it is in this country.

My upper left side wisdom tooth started aching since last Saturday. Not many dentist offices open on Sundays, so I went to this Dr. Chin’s office which was open. His office is on Pell Street in Chinatown which is known for hair cut shops. Dr. Chin is a middle-aged guy who tries everything to keep his money rather than his hair… yeah, he is bald, later on I figured it out why, maybe he spends too much time thinking about money, and he’s more like a business man then a doctor! In my word: 伊想钞票想疯特了.
He took a look at my teeth, X-rayed my wisdom teeth, later on explained to me that my condition was caused by biting the wisdom teeth on the wrong side which cause a bruise, he told me I don’t have an infection even though I told him that I can feel a fever on my left side. Regardless of my toothache, he spent a lot of time trying to sell me unnecessary treatment like porcelain teeth for cosmetic reasons. Of course I’m against that, I consider any doctor who persuades the patient to get unnecessary fake parts for the body just for looks is Not a good doctor! And he implied that my orthodontist didn’t do a good job. –^– him, I was in the pain and all he thought about is how to exploit me. If the porcelain teeth are so good, why did he himself get them? His own teeth are far from straight… Anyway, all the treatment he gave me was a X-ray, telling me to buy the pain relief pills at a drugstore, a toothbrush which has his name on it, and $230 bill! This is unbelievable to me, that’s more than my monthly salary when I worked as a dermatologist in Shanghai in the late 1990’s, I’m sure I treated more patients everyday and had more conscience as a doctor than him. Later that night, my infection developed to the lower left wisdom tooth, I think it’s partly because he stuck his non-sterilized toothbrush in my mouth and some inappropriate operation (compare to my dentist in Shanghai, his treatment was not that professional and his equipment is old). And I had a fever, the left side of my face is swollen and I can barely open my mouth. Now the condition of the lower side tooth is worse, it even covered the pain of the upper one. I still haven’t had a good sleep for days… I become so angry and disappointed at Dr. Robert Chin, I will never see him again! He is nothing like his Chinese name 嘉德 which means good conscience, shame on him!

Hi there, if you by any chance came across my website, if you’re a girl (or you think you’re a girl:-p), who lives in NYC, if you’re interested in art, museums, literature, cuisine, travelling… if you’re a curious person who likes trying new things, then you are what I’m looking for. Feel free to contact me, we can hang out.