6 Years!

Sure doesn't seem like it was "that long" ago!

For Unto Us a Child is Born!

Merry Christmas!

(Original oil painting by my sister)

I'm Studying for Boards

Right now, I'm going through an old released exam. Tomorrow, I'm going to blaze through some Kaplan. After that, I'll do another exam. I really just feel like I'll have to do as much as I can and pray that little bits come back to me as I take it. I'm really overwhelmed.

School's Out!

(Yes, those are porcelain crowns. Yes, it is very weird. See the Tooth Artist, not me, if you want one.)

Right now, my countdown to boards says 13 days and it's really freaking me out!

Anyhoo, finals are over, all practicals complete, and I even cast my bridge before I left (while several others hung around to make jewelry for Christmas presents - fun!)

I came home to an insanely messy room, messy closet room, and messy sewing room. My closet room is my old bedroom where I keep my clothes. The problem is that there is so much stuff in there, it's spilled out of the closet to the bed, the floor, the chair... But, really, it's not all clothes, I promise. : ) I'm in no way willing to admit that I have a problem. I picked up a lot of that today which feels good, but I now have a lot of laundry to do....tomorrow....

I spent a decent amount of time today planning so that I can get my act together for Christmas. I know what I'm baking and have all the ingredients ready to go. I figured out what I'm sewing, and I'm going to spend some time tonight organizing a bit so that the sewing room mentioned above will be taken care of and I can get to work. And boards? Maybe I'll start tomorrow? Monday? See, the difference between the DAT and boards is that with the DAT, I was aiming high and this time, well, mediocrity is all I ask for. Really, just passing, is all I want. It's all I need : )

The New Monday

Lately, Mondays have been glorious. I only go to fixed prosthodontics at 1:00 pm. So that means I wake up around 8:30, leave the house at 9:00, go to Texas Roast (site designed by my brother - who's site needs an update...) to get the BEST coffee around and then either study or shop my morning away. It's so relaxed. There's no traffic. It's the best : )

This morning, I ransacked Target for some warmer clothing as I have none. Last year, I borrowed Angel's sweater wardrobe as she was (and is again) pregnant and unable to wear said sweaters. I figured it's time to grow up and buy my own. I found some killer bargains on the clearance racks. One of my shopping secrets that I will admit to is my willingness to purchase clothes from two otherwise inappropriate-for-me departments: little girls and maternity. It just broadens your choices on the clearance rack and the kids' clothes are usually cheaper. See, I can usually swing an XL in the girls' depending on the garment/style/fit - shirts and some dresses only. As far as the preggers clothes go, well, right now, most "normal" shirts make you look pregnant anyway, and not all preggers clothes are made to fit a big belly (excluding pants, of course). I also did a little Christmas shopping and bought shrubbery at Lowes.

I was responsible enough to go to school, do a practice prep for tomorrow and go to fixed.

What a great Monday. Last Monday I studied for boards and pharm, but it was still a great Monday. Hopefully it's a peek at what a little bit of my break will look like : )

Obsessions

Betsy tagged me to list my obsessions after listing hers and her son's, so here I go. Since I have no offspring to include, I include my cats:

1. Blogging. It has changed my life by taking up way too much time that should be spent studying and could be spent sewing. Or finishing our house. Or a myriad of other things that should have a much higher priority than being on the internet.
2. Sewing and all things related. Especially buying fabric. My stash is getting embarassing and very lopsided compared to the amount of crafting I actually get to do with it. If you have ever seen my craft blog, you understand.
3. Bargains. I very rarely buy anything (aside from necessities) that is not on sale. Clearance bin fabric, clearance rack clothes, the cheapest option on Amazon.com, eBay bargains, you name it. Ooh, the dollar store and dollar aisle at Target....My latest bargain = 2 pairs of prescription eyeglasses from Zenni Optical. Seriously good deals.
4. My DVR routine. Every day provides a nice list of shows to watch when I get home and need to decompress. When I can't go through this routine I get moody. Everyday includes a Gilmore Girl episode (sometimes 2) and John and Kate plus 8 (because it makes my life seem so nice and crazy-free). Then every day but Friday and Sunday have their own favorites.
5. Coffee. For some reason that was really hard to come up with, but it is so necessary for dental school. In the past, the last one would have been baking, but who has time for that and who wants to wash the dishes? Not me. And I would always eat the leftovers and that just makes you fat and have to diet and work out. Again. Not fun.

The Cats (Roxy and Reagan):
1. Food
2. Sleeping in the bed with us
3. Watching birds and bugs
4. A good rub
5. Trying to get outside. Only to eat some grass once they do and then throw it up.

Who to tag now? I'm gonna go with the last person to comment on this blog and that would be Mrs. Annie Hunt. If ya want to. Ya know, for fun and all. : )

Did you look at the sky tonight?

Venus and Jupiter have hooked up with the moon and apparently this won't happen again until I'm...quick math in my head...72 ish. So I'll probably see it again. God willing. But had to capture it. Sure wish I had a digital SLR. I would have dug out my good ol' fashioned SLR, but who wants to drive to *insert your favorite film developer here* (what?) for 1 hr developing when I can put it on my computer and publish in like 10 seconds.

While Moping About No Pumpkin Pie, I Found This:

Prayer of Thanksgiving
Lord, you are the Creator and abundant Giver of all good things. You have outstretched your hand to me, the lowliest of sinners.

I will never merit your grace and mercy. Your favor towards me is undeserved. You are altogether holy, and lovely. If it not for Christ's sacrifice on my behalf, I could never stand in your presence.

Thank you Father for your provision. Thank you Jesus for your friendship. Thank you Spirit for your fellowship. I praise You and am humbled by your graciousness to me this day and all others.

Amen.

Can I get an Amen?

Opera Buffa = Perfect Way to Start Your Break

Figaro was amazing! It was so funny and so well done - I loved it! For all the studying of Mozart I've done, I never really knew how funny this opera was until I read the libretto. Then on stage, they did such a good job! We went the last night, so unfortunately, I can't encourage you to go see it now, but if you like classical music in the slightest, I highly recommend this opera if you ever get the chance. Don't worry, they have the English above the stage for the non-Italian speaking among us. What a great birthday present!

So it was nice to get a little dressed up and have a quiet dinner together and sit at the opera (for 4+ hours!) and just relax. No house, no school, just some good entertainment from my favorite composer. Next on the list....Don Giovanni. Maybe in the new opera house....

Thankful...

1. That I'm out of school for a week.
2. That I have a husband working so hard to build me a house.
3. That I get to go to the opera tomorrow and enjoy some culture for a change.
4. For good friends that check up on me...even if it's early in the morning and I haven't had my coffee. Brave.
5. For coffee.
6. For parents who let us stay with them even though the cats puke on the carpet.
7. For DVR - no other way to watch t.v. when you're this busy.
8. For hobbies so I can keep my sanity.
9. For Jesus so I can keep my sanity.
10. For keeping up with old friends on the Internet.
11. For blankets and warm socks on cold nights.
12. For a brother who can cook up a mean chicken.
13. For the opportunity to go to dental school so I can serve others and the Lord. Even though I complain about it all the time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Semester Wind-down

Believe it or not, as the semester winds down, we just found out our grades for our first practical in our fixed prosth class. Crazy, right? Yeah, I thought you'd agree. So here's the story. We prepped a bridge in late Sept or early Oct. I thought I did ok minus some damage to an adjacent tooth - something that will improve over time and with REAL teeth. A month passes. This Monday they show ppt slides of practicals that were good/decent and practicals that were, well, failures to be exact. Remember that tooth damage thing? Well, one of those failures had pretty much the exact same damage as mine. And the preps showed signs that their maker struggled with similar issues that I struggled with. Torture! Plain torture! So I spent the week preparing my mind and heart for a possible disappointment come 5pm today. They told us Monday, that if you fail, you will have to redo the preps and they will give you 2 teeth in your box to do so. So a lot of us said we were just hoping to open our boxes and find no extra teeth inside and all would be good.

So today was a long day. I worked really hard all during fixed this afternoon and I'm slowly getting caught up (post the removable drama). When 4:00 rolled around, I started getting knots in my stomach. I kept working right up until 5:00 and went to get my box - the death march. I walked past numerous people pouring over the comments made on their projects, dreading what I would find. I got my key, opened my project locker, pulled out my box and walked back in the lab. I opened the lid, pulled back the flaps, and there was a tooth sitting at the bottom of my box. No, there were 2 teeth. Wait! Four teeth? What? Are you kidding me? My heart sank. Why would I have to do the preps twice? Were they that bad? I didn't even want to look at the paper. I pulled out my typodonts and looked at my preps. They really weren't that bad. What is going on here? Utter disappointment. But a bit of a peace because I spent so much time preparing myself with Truth so I wouldn't let it get to me.

So I pulled out the paper and looked for the grades at the bottom. 87 and 86? Why are there teeth in my box? Oh. The teeth would be taped to my paper if I had to redo them. Not just floating around in the bottom of the box. Oh! Huh. So the picture in the slides wasn't a picture of my teeth. Oh. Ok.

I never really got excited about it, just relieved. I shall not want. Just ready to put all this behind me. Never mind that we just turned in waxing practicals that we won't get back until mid-Decemberish.

Clinging to the Last Verse

I saw the last verse posted on another blog and realized I'd never seen the other verses to our National Anthem. So here's the whole thing. I voted, but I've been generally put out by this entire election, all the hype, all the discord - I've really just stuck my fingers in my ears and tried to survive dental school. God is still God, still the ultimate One in Charge no matter what happens. I just hope I can pay back my loans one day : )

The Star Spangled Banner

(The Defense of Fort McHenry)September 20, 1814 By Francis Scott Key

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?

And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,

Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,

What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,

As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?

Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,

In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:

'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion

A home and a country should leave us no more?

Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep's pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!

Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just,

And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

And the star-spangled banner forever shall wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

It's Official - I set the date.

Candidate's Name: ABBY MANN

Program Name: American Dental Association

Exam Name: NATIONAL BOARD DENTAL EXAMINATION PART 1

Site Number: 0051 - PROMETRIC TEST CENTER

Site Info, Driving Directions

Site Address: 12342 COIT ROAD

Site City: DALLAS

Site Country: TX, USA

Site Phone #: 972-385-1181

Appointment Date: 03 Jan 2009

Appointment Time: 9:00 AM

Appointment Duration: 8:30

E-mail: rabby02@hotmail.com

Don't you love that the answer to "site country" is TX, USA? Yeah, that's my country.

This does mean I get to take finals, move, have Christmas, and study for boards. And take boards. But then it will be over. Just gotta pass, baby, just gotta pass.

Looking Forward to Saturday!

Mom found these goodies at Central Market...my favorite pancakes from my favorite Austin restaurant for breakfast, Kerbey Lane, and some maple syrup to go with them : ) Mmmmm......just in time for the cold front!

Hearing from God

That last post was just the beginning of what the Spirit has had to say to me lately. At least I already knew what part of the problem is: complaining. So God must have just been a-grinning away yesterday when I was *complaining* to Erik about church and going to a service where we don't know anyone and how I needed to study (to which my good husband pointed out that my priorities are a bit out of whack...I'll deal with that one, too)...because He knew we'd go, and that the sermon would be on.....you guessed it. Complaining. No kidding.

Philippians 2:14-16
14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life--in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

The part that really sucks about this is that people have noticed lately that I've been moody. That I've been letting things like bake sales get to me. Enough that one friend told me that he knew something was wrong, because of all people, I'm usually able to make his day better, and I wasn't smiling that morning. Granted, several people tell me things like that all the time and I think that God must be miraculously covering for me because I feel tired and beat down by dental school most of the time. They tell me I'm always happy... ha! Thank the Lord that the Spirit can shine in spite of me.... Anyway, in an attempt to APPLY the sermon, I intend to practice positive speaking in my blog as well as real life.

Another kick in the pants came from Dr. Cobb via his thoughtful emails...

"In the midst of battle and difficulty that we call LIFE, we make every attempt to carry on normally. We often feel that we can not eat spiritually regularly. When that happens, we do not look or feel well. Everyone notices..."

Everyone notices. A few of my craft blogging "friends" are in Canada and just celebrated Thanksgiving. They've been posting about gratefulness and God's goodness as they enjoy their holiday and now that we're certainly headed in that direction, I want to ask God to train my heart as it were and make it a season of gratitude - actively not complaining. I don't think God wants much to do with grumbling people. Too much maintenance. Too self-centered, and not trusting in him. Consider the Hebrew people in the desert. Yeesh. I gotta get out of my desert!

Tired

I feel like I'm doing more complaining than ever when I get on this blog. My other blogs are pretty positive and exciting things are happening. It's just that when I narrow my life down to dental school, there are very few positive things going on. I will list a few as evidence:

1) Courtney came and spoke at CMDA and I loved it! CMDA is my favorite time and I HATE it when removable interferes (which it often does...last semester the culprit was dental materials and I hated it then). Add Courtney *and Vietnamese sandwiches* to the mix and it makes for a great day : ) For me, CMDA is the best community I have here aside from family, and I think it's pretty sad to say I'm frequently absent and sometimes distant as I go through a lot of stuff in my heart and head this year. Things need to change, I think, if I'm going to enjoy the next few years.

2) Same day: Nanna and Grandaddy came up for Grandaddy's appointment with Stephen and I skipped 1/2 of path to visit with them. Great break in the day!

3) I had a good time this morning with the gals running the Race for the Cure (my first race in Dallas...just not the same: no hills, no capitol building to run to, so unfamiliar....) It's been good to develop friendships a bit more. I'm so slow to do that and I think people sometimes give up on me early, but I can definitely see improvement lately and I like that.

If you didn't notice, althought these things are school related, they have nothing to do with dentistry. Sometimes I find that disturbing, but a lot of the issues really just have to do with *the school* and not the practice itself. Several of us are going through a disillusionment phase due to the demands of BCD that some might call unreasonable, archaic, unproductive....I could go on. But the further you get into it, the brighter the light is at the end of the tunnel and the independence that comes with practicing one day is pure freedom compared to where we are right now. That was the whole point of getting into this mess, right? Right.

Well, it's October 19th and I just need to make it through the month. Then hell month is over and even though finals will be looming, we get a chance to breathe. This semester is flying (mainly because it's a day-to-day survival basis) and Christmas cannot come fast enough. I've had a hard time making myself study lately, and I'm trying to diagnose the issue. Right now, I'm just tired.

Piece of Cake?

I know I got all grumpy about the people who said D2 was easy and called them "liars". I guess I spoke a little too soon. I mean, what we thought was "hell week" based on number of tests has turned out to be, eh, just a bunch of tests. 1/2 the questions are from old tests, which is unheard of in D1 world. And I'm a big fan of test day because I'm a relatively fast test taker (ok, I'm notorious) so I end up with an extra 30-40 minutes in my day to do whatever. And that's kinda nice. So today I had like an hour to do whatever. So I got caught up a bit in lab - cast my bridge, dug out the decay in my tooth, and did a bridge prep for the practical tomorrow. Productiveness is nice : )

Midterm Monsters

Right now I'm in denial, checking my email, watching my Gilmore, and getting excited about the hot tub that awaits me...instead of studying for midterms.

Today we prepped fake teeth with fake decay in them and it was a nice look at what dentistry is...really is. I mean the unrealistically tiny perfect preps of Baylor Operative are silly. But thank goodness for the hand skills! The amount of lab work we do in fixed is completely unbalanced with the amount of crown preps we should be doing since that is what we will be doing 1/2 the time in our careers. NOT waxing and investing and casting and polishing, all of which I'm behind in. Hence the complaining.

I had some nostaligic time last night reading my blog from Day 1 and it's so hard to believe it was three years ago this December that I started studying for the DAT. That's crazy. This December, I will start studying for and possible take the National Board part I. It's the DAT on steroids. Serious anabolic steroids. Then we take part II which is more clinic based and then the WREB where we actually treat patients. I bought some dental decks from a 4th year and it can be a little intimidating to look at. Get ready for study updates and practice test scores come Christmas!

Sometimes Baking Helps You Get Through Dental School

It also helps to eat what you baked - with coffee. Thanks, Jenn and Goodie, for the recipe! I'm baking tomorrow!

Chocolate-Cherry-Almond Biscotti

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Kosher salt

3/4 cup dried tart cherries, coarsely chopped

3/4 cup blanched almonds, coarsely chopped

3 large whole eggs, plus 1 large egg white

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (essence)

1/8 teaspoon almond extract (essence)

Directions:

Position racks in the upper third and lower third of the oven and preheat to 325F. Line 2 baking sheets, preferably insulated sheets, with parchment (baking) paper. (We just used wax paper.)In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt until well mixed. Add the cherries and almonds and toss with your hands to distribute them evenly.In another bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg white, and vanilla and almond extracts. Pour into the dry ingredients. Using a fork, mix together the dry and wet ingredients, taking care to work all the bits of dry ingredients into the dough. This will take about 5 minutes. The dough will be (really) dense and sticky. Divide the dough in half.Place a piece of plastic wrap 18 inches long on the countertop. Transfer half of the dough to the plastic wrap. Lightly moisten your hands with cold water to prevent the dough from sticking to them, then shape the dough into a flattened log 12 inches long by 2 1/2 inches wide by 1 inch high. Lifting the plastic wrap and cradling the dough, flip the dough onto the center of one of the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough, flipping it onto the second prepared baking sheet.Bake the logs until they are dry to the touch and firm in the center when pressed with your fingers, about 30 minutes. They will spread considerably and may crack slightly on top. Transfer to wire racks and let the logs cool on the pans for 30 minutes. The logs will be slightly warm to the touch.Carefully transfer the logs to a cutting board and set the parchment-lined panes aside. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs crosswise on the diagonal into slices 1/2 inch wide.Arrange the slices, cut side down, on the lined baking sheets, placing them close together but not touching. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and using tongs or a spatula, turn the biscotti. Continue to bake until dry and crisp, 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the biscotti to wire racks to cool completely. Store the biscotti in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks. Serve with coffee or hot chocolate.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.~30 minutes prep time 60 minutes total bake time

Hmmm.

Anyone who says D2 is "easier", lies. I think they do this purposefully so that you will see "light" at the end of the D1 tunnel and press on to better things. Then you get there, and realize the light was really a LIE and you're trapped! It's too late! Then they get you all excited about getting patients in the spring, and even tempt you with things like probing your classmates' teeth, scaling your classmates' teeth, even scaling (in my case) your husband's teeth so that you get all excited about doing some real clinical dentistry and hold on tight and press on so that you can enjoy something new! Then you realize you just add that on to your lab load. Hmmm. By D4, you're just running for the door, you get out, and rarely look back.

I had a not really bad, but tiring week, and plan on sleeping a lot now.

Thank you, blog world, for tolerating my vent. I will be a happier person next week. I promise : ).

Sometimes You Gotta Wonder...

Dental school tends to draw people who are very detail oriented and then makes obsessive compulsive freaks out of them. Hence, the general distress when we turn things in to be graded. They scare you and use words like "automatic failure" and take extremely unecessarily long sessions to grade things leaving you wtih knots in your stomach as you prepare yourself for the worst. So when things turn out ok, well, in this case MORE than ok, you're left to wonder. Did I just get lucky? Were they undeservingly merciful? Did I just get the easy grader and won't know that I really suck? OR am I really not as bad at this as I think I am because they've made me an insecure freak? For some reason, operative has done that to me. Dental anatomy, totally different. I had a great outlook - I would leave my practicals, go study/eat lunch, come back, check my grade, put it in the drawer, and move on to more important things. I did fine and never freaked out. Operative leaves me at least 2 times a semester spending an hour trying to accept the fact that I probably failed, reminding myself that I get a drop and it will be ok, and then it turns out fine. Just fine. They let you know if you need help and apparently I don't. So please explain to me why a student with a B average in operative can't get over practicals!?!? I think I need a nice hot bath tonight to get over this. I'll use my fun new bath stuff I'm getting at the Bath Junkie social tonight! : )

Next time I think about saying, "I feel like I got hit by a truck..."

I'll keep my mouth shut. Tonight Mom, Dad, Erik and I went to the Dairyette to get a delicious hamburger and then run across the street to the football field at Bishop Lynch to watch my cousin Sarah march in the Terrell High School band. After halftime, we ran back to the car to eat our food and in the midst of dinner, the carhop got hit by a pickup. A lady ran over her feet and pinned her between two cars. After a lot of excitement, it all turned out ok...she actually walked away when all was said and done. Thank God her mom was there who is a nurse, so she was in good hands until the ambulance came (by the way, my mom called 911 and was put on hold...yes, on hold! My dad had to run across to the football game and get a cop who radioed (?) in for an ambulance!). It all happened when someone was basically really rude and impatient and it turned into a life changing night for that lady driving who has to live with what happened for the rest of her life. Yuck. We are so busy and so self-centered a lot of the time (at least I know I'm guilty) and we make rash decisions and don't think. So slow down. Be nice to people. Take a look at the big picture and enjoy life.

Getting in the Groove

This week was decidedly better, and I give it all to God. I also lend a lot of the mental health improvement to the lovely weather (also from God) and some good time with my family (again, God). I decided to be practical about getting work done - to use my time wisely in class, take advantage of the help you get from professors while in class, and only work outside of class when absolutely necessary. And only when you really know what you're doing. I haven't freaked out about tests, but took them seriously. And it's also been a good soup week in the hospital cafeteria, which is always a bonus.

On a side note, I went to my 10 year high school reunion on Saturday with Ellen by my side. What a great friend...I miss her so much. I also had lunch with Courtney last week, so two long lost amazing friends in one week is pretty good. Grounding, refreshing, challenging, Godly gals the both of them. It was so fun to catch up and remember good times with them and everyone else I saw at the reunion...it's also fun to be making more of them right now, which is so much easier to do when there is time to breathe in dental school!

Gotta Catch My Breath

I'm going to have a really long week. I sit down every Sunday and plan out exactly what has to happen each day in order to make it (let me emphasize "make it" - not get ahead). I also start my perio rotations this week, so I'm losing some of that "off" time that is now lab time since some due dates are approaching and I need to step up the pace. So I plan on being in the lab as long as it takes tomorrow to totally catch up with operative and fixed. And then there's removable...guess I'll have to stay late Tuesday, too. Unfortunately, I also plan to work through lunches, and I'm so miserably behind in path after that absolutely miserably embarassing practical, that every free moment will be devoted to catch up. And I have 2 tests this week. I'm just grateful that God will give me the strength to do all this...even if it's really hard. Because He knows I don't have it in me.

Lessons Learned

It was a really long week last week as I kept losing things. My ID badge never showed up and the card machine was broken, so I went all week long without until finally on Friday, I happened upon a working machine and the clinic director ready to help. Yay. I apparently left my Mx typodont in my sim head on Thursday as I was rushed out of the lab for the 4th years to take over for a progress exam. The guy in my spot took it with him and I was upper arch-less for the entire week. I spent perfectly good study time (and chilling time) on eBay looking for cheap replacements, but in the end my friend Regan who graduated last May was gracious enough to give me hers, which I picked up on Friday afternoon. Needless to say, typodont-napper fessed up and is supposedly going to return it to me (although I will probably have to get it myself...). Next was my mixing bowl, but that was easy as Alex and just packed one of mine up with his. Not bad. Next problem was that I left my handpieces out just in time for the next progress exam, but they were in their rightful place when I returned. Yeesh! I have got to straighten my act up! And I actually need to start studying. Really. I'm kinda behind....in everything but fixed and radiology : ) Cuz we have pop quizzes in those classes : )

Eh....It's Not Really that Bad

So after a week of insanity, I made some very important decisions.

1. It's ok to be behind. Just a little bit. Because then the wet lab will clear out and you won't lose your mind in the hustle bustle of the people that insist on being the first to get checked off. Who needs that? And there's PLENTY of time to catch up. Plenty.

2. Organization is key to success. Because success requires that you turn things in on time and don't get behind. 15 mins saved here and there can add up!

3. It's important to stop working and eat lunch.

4. Working in a group is always a plus.

5. Going in on the weekend is ok. Just for a little bit.

Top 10 Reasons I'd Rather Be Studying Gross Anatomy

10. You can study gross anywhere: couch, bed, Starbucks, bathtub.

9. You can watch the olympics while studying gross.

8. Studying gross anatomy doesn't involve the phrase "Crap, now I have to retake the impression."

7. The brachial plexus is way more interesting than scraping alginate out of your rubber bowl for the 15th time.

6. You can study gross while eating or drinking (well, except in the cadaver lab).

5. Working in the cadaver lab may smell funny, but does not smell like defeat.

4. Listening to Dr. Hutchins' sound effects is more entertaining than the screech of the trimmer.

3. My gross notes are way more organized than my lab station.

2. My sim head isn't slimy and wet, but he can't provide hours of endless dissecting fun, either.

1. Surgical blade beats buffalo knife anyday.

D2- Day 1

Today was good but a little crazy. It started a little early for me...6:15! I left the house at 7:00 and got to school around 7:30 with time to spare even though it was raining and there was a little traffic. I also broke my back windshield wiper - turned it on and it snapped in two! I parked in the D2 lot - what a blessing - so much closer to school and less 6 floors of parking garage to go up! - and lugged a bunch of stuff to my desk. I took a lot of it to Lauren's desk and left her a piece of brown paper and a note + the books she bought from me and some other goodies I just wanted to get rid of. Good fun. So then I rushed to grab some tea and a granola bar which I couldn't eat before class started so I hid them in my drawer and tried to catch my breath (they're really being sticklers about this no eating in the lab thing this year...)

Sitting way in the back of the room, I could get away with quietly transferring my D1 tackle boxes into my new ones since the old ones don't fit in these drawers (go figure!) Turns out Monday mornings will be a bit of a blow off and we'll actually get to sleep in some - YAY! We got out early and I had time to get my parking permit and a hole punched in my ID card. Went to make some hot chocolate because my new citrus green tea was uber nasty and got "caught" by Moira *roll my eyes* getting water out of the hot water tap in the D1 lab. Why can't we have a hot water tap in our lab? I miss it so much.

Next was 2 hours of pathology and I must admit...I dozed. Just a little during the second hour. I'm not used to sitting and doing nothing for extended periods of time.

A long lunch followed with a no show from Karen (probably stuck in clinic) but a lot of others came and joined. We then had fixed for an hour before group B got to leave early.

So, I went to Walmart. Needed a few office supplies and some more storage solutions and some bread and parmesan for dinner tonight. I lost my ID badge somewhere in the store and I'm hoping I'll get a call tonight that someone turned it in. If not, oh well.

A lot of us are a little nervous about jumping into all of this, but probably not as nervous as the D3s who had fillings and root canals to perform on real patients this morning. Yikes!

But I Don't Wanna Go...

Ok, it's not so bad. School hasn't even really started, and I've already loved seeing everybody again (we had a side-splitting, wrinkle-making get-together last night) and getting my STUFF ready to go. I'm such a sucker for organization. In fact, while I was up at the school all afternoon getting the insane amounts of supplies we got on Friday in some semblance of order, I noted that several of my classmates had gone and bought label makers. As crazy as it may be, I have always eyed and envied those little devices that print out those neat little stickers that can say whatever you want and stick on whatever you want. Every end-of-summer trip to Target consisted of a few moments in front of the label makers trying to justify the need for one in the lab *and it really would have been GREAT in the lab* and I would always back down and just buy more markers or scissors or something. So now I'm really tempted. I mean, really. So far, the term "orientation" in dental school means "we have 7 HUGE boxes of expensive stuff that you need to come and account for and then cram into the 2 lockers and 4 little drawers that we have for you." It's always a task to figure out which upperclassman to believe when it comes to what to buy, and I've done a pretty good job so far feeling out which way to go. I have a few things to return, but we'll see. I might actually end up using some of it since I can't use any of what I bought last year. But that's ok, too. See, I got to buy the really cool scrapbooking organizer I've also eyed for a while now. So this "Christmas in August" is over and almost all of my new dental goodies are carefully tucked away in the closet ready for me to play with them on Monday.

So Long 11138 Wyatt

You were hard to study in with romping dogs and kids and hard to sleep in with lawn mowers, romping dogs and kids. But man, you were so close to school. Therefore, you will be missed. On to bigger and better things...including gasoline bills (bigger, not better).

Arrrgh....Boards

Kaplan study books have reared their ugly heads once again. I got my book for boards and I'm not exactly thrilled. I have continued my attempt to go through my gross notes and the process has proved easier now that I've gotten to the sections where I started outlining and summarizing each section. So my notes continue to go digital and maybe they'll help somebody. I feel like I'm back in my old habit of prepping lessons during the summer like I did when I taught. Don' know if I'll exactly make it through gross this summer, but it's a big deal, so I'm working on it. I think I'll do biochem next...that seems like the other big class I need a refresher in from the fall. I really don't know when I'm going to take boards. I keep flip-flopping and Erik would love it if I set a date, officially. Cause then I would study. I don't know. I'll finish test 1 from gross this week and move on to the next. I may start trying to crack this book in the evenings and save the decks for a little bit closer to D-day.

Numbers Don't Mean Everything

But I was really glad to get these in the mail yesterday. It represents a lot of hard work in an insane class of overachievers. Erik's still trying to coach me into letting it all slide so I can have more fun. I think next year will be different enough anyway so that can happen more easily. We'll see. You hear lots of things in dental school and I've found so far that there's not even a unit of a crystal of salt in most of them.

On a side note, while I was up at the school setting up my new laptop and printing out some things, I went and checked my Micro grade. You know, the test I decided it wasn't worth studying for, so I would just take my C and be done with it? Well, I didn't study, at least the way I should have, and survived with an 80 on the test. Whew! B in the class is a gift from God because I didn't do anything to get it. At least at the end of it all. :) Maybe studying isn't all that it's cracked up to be after all....

D1-Done!

This is the first time I can remember that I turned in a test where I know I guessed on at least 1/2 of it. But so be it....because I am done. I didn't finish all gloriously with an all-nighter full of coffee and energy drinks and highlighters. I went home and watched some t.v. and organized my school stuff. Thought I'd go to bed early, but ended up transferring all my files from my laptop (well, no longer-my-latptop) to the desktop on the study. It was mesmerizing and really relaxing compared to the crazy night most of my classmates probably had. I discovered a whole cache of music I forgot that I transferred and enjoyed it this morning as I pseudo-looked over some last minute notes. This anti-climax to my year may seem kinda odd, and not very characteristic of the OCD, type A kinda personality most of us dentite types are. But I needed it. I liken it to training for a marathon, getting to -oh, say- mile 24 of the big race and finding this really nice bench under a pretty tree with a view of the lake - and sitting down. Just for a while. Of course, I got up and walked across the finish, but no running or crawling for me. A nice, quiet finish with a peaceful satisfaction that I completed a really big task and that I will never have to do it again.

Winding Down

14 days left and still a lot to do, but reflect I will. I think that I (only though the power of God) have handled the first year of dental school fairly well. (1 minor meltdown, only a handful of pseudo-all-nighters, and the lining of my stomach is still intact! - the extra gray hairs and wrinkles are, however evident) There will always be things I could have done better, lessons I could have learned faster, or more I could have done, but what has happened brought God glory in many ways, taught me lessons in a lot of ways, and laid the foundation for the future. That is productive. Right now, it's really tempting to think about the summer and all the things I want to do that I was really bad at during school...like exercise, and quiet times, and Bible study, and cleaning, and hobbies, and just plain fun times with Erik. I really want those things to become such a part of my life in my time off that I can't as easily neglect them during my "piece of cake", "joke" of a 2nd year. I'm excited for the 1st years coming in and LOVE answering their questions on SDN and can't wait for orientation week in August. It's such and exciting time that fades all too quickly, but I can't wait to get a buzz off it. Ya know, get excited about dentistry again - at least in that fresh, unadulterated, naive way they still look at it. How soon reality sets in. Apart from the cyinicism that unfortunately befalls most of us post year one, I still am excited about how God can use dentistry in my life and the mission trip completely instilled that in me again. I feel that our decision to wait for kids so I can be obedient to this using of my talents is still worth it and the 3 more years it will take to finish this stage will fly by just as fast as this one has. I know that God will teach me everything I need to know - in life and in dentistry - to see that happen. Way exciting!

Random Thoughts

This may sound a little stupid and definitely naive, but Facebook has taught me something today. With a looming 10 year high school reunion a lot of old and familiar faces have been resurfacing and it's fun to read everyone's story and hear what they've been up to. It's so amazing how at that point of high school graduation, we all had a basic story that was outlined for us by society as far as growing up goes. Big generalities, mind you...We went to elementary school. We went to jr. high. We went to high school. In the midst of that, we learned how to read and write, we lost teeth and got brand new ones, then came cars and boys/girls and braces and proms and the big day of graduation. After that...well, we got to decide. Some stayed on the traditional path of college...wedding...job...now kids....in some form or fashion. Others had their own plans, or were just along for a different sort of ride, maybe one they didn't plan on. But after 10 years a lot can happen since that parting of ways and it's so easy to "expect" people to be in a certain place in life when that's the stupidest thing to ever assume. That's society for ya. So if/when you find yourself on a path you didn't expect, you can bet there are quite a few right along side you because in all reality, that normal path, ain't so normal anymore...we grew up.

Spring Memories

I got a case of Spring Fever today, being the first day of Spring and a beautiful one at that...so I decided to write out some of my favorite Spring things/memories in honor of it (in no particular order):

1. The all-important shorts wearing temperature that mom set at 70 degrees.
2. Making Easter eggs.
3. Aggie baseball. (Also where Erik and I first held hands...collective awwww....)
4. Studying at Research Park.
5. My first dates with Erik.
6. Island Party. Whoop!
7. Spring Break camping with the gang.
8. My daffodils and roses coming to life.
9. The first mow.
10. Moving to Lago and watching the baby deers move about.
11. Beautiful clear days walking across campus.
12. Camping when it's still just a little cold at night.
13. The first flip-flop day.
14. The Easter I decided to get baptized.
15. Movies in the park season.
16. Drives through the Hill Country in the Wrangler.
17. Moving into our first house.
18. My favorite outfit: shorts and a long sleeve shirt.
19. Green peeking through the dry grass.
20. The Capitol 10K!
21. Tai chi in the park.
22. The first BBQ.

Of course my favorite of all happened this weekend about 2000 years ago. Thank you, Jesus for spring and new life and enjoying Your creation....and for dying for my sins and rising again so I can enjoy You.

In need of....

In need of grace, In need of love

In need of mercy raining down from high above

In need of strength, in need of peace

In need of things that only You can give to me

In need of Christ, the perfect Lamb

My refuge strong, the great I Am

This is my song, my humble plea

I am Your child, I am in need

Just a bit of taking stock today of what's most important and where I stand with that. Praise the Lord that all of the above has been provided and although it's nice to sing those words and think about how needy we really are in those areas, the fact that I am His child makes it all taken care of. Otherwise, man, what in the world would I do?

(btw, that's my sister's photo. Cool, huh?)

A Day in the Life Of...

I will be gradually compiling pics that depict my days here at school. Since each day is a little different, it'll take a little bit. I will be including pictures taken by myself and our class historian Elizabeth Garza (who is also my personal friend), so I must give her props for helping to make this blog post possible. : )

Mornings

Every day begins with coffee. I started out with just a cup in the morning and tea the rest of the day, but it's now 2 cups a day. Breakers has the best coffee (the little stand Julie runs in the basement of the dental school). Unfortunately, she's not usually up and running by class time at 8 am, so I started going to McDonald's...2 cream 2 sugar. The lady learned my order. That's prety sad.

More recently I have made a few cups of joe at home before leaving for school. It works on some days. Most days, McDonald's here I come.

Class

I sit in seat #54 and Alex is seat #55. He's a good seat buddy. Now that I have an empty chair on the other side most of the time, he's my main man.

Garzas in front

Room 6

door to the room

This is basically my view from my seat. Ben and Melodie. Chatting away between classes.

The next few pics are histology lab. Actually kind of a relaxing time. Dr. Svoboda turned the lights down low and Dr. Opperman walked us through the slides with her oh so soothing accent.

Please note in the above picture that I am packing up to leave. While everyone else is still studying. Thank you, Dr. Shippen, for getting me ready to histo so I could leave early! : )

Lunch

A tribute to lunch. This is Ben Morgan's lunch as made by, well, a boy. We threw a few peanuts in to top it off, but, seriously. I guess it all ends up in the same place, right?

Please note the can of Ranch Style Beans and the can opener accompanying it. This was NOT staged. Sadly enough.

Lunch area

Cafeteria

Studying

Studying at the Garza's doesn't look like it would be the most productive thing in the world, but that's just Rudy. Liz and I can get it done. Just to explain...we were studying for the 2nd Growth and Development test and "Dr. Buschang" showed up.

Studying in the library is also a good thing. This is what Ben looks like studying in the library.

This is what Harrison looks like studying in the library.

I was guilty of doing this once. So far. It's really hard to do with insane amounts of ping pong going on behind you and Sports Center blaring on the TV overhead. But dental school will make you tired enough to catch a few winks between classes on the couch.

I admit that this is staged, but many a winks are caught during breaks here at #54. Not necessarily on my computer.

See, I'm not the only one. Alex ignores my snoring.

This was taken at the very end of gross when we learned the anatomy of injections. This is a "mental block" being demonstrated on a real, yes real, human skull. It really creeped Erik out to have a skull in the house and he was glad to see it go. Who knows what the cats thought.