The perfect week!

Completely booked week with NO cancellations/no shows! (I have classes Wednesday afternoons.) Yay! Who knows when this will happen again.

Also, I'm exhausted!

Good day

I had such a great appointment with my patient this morning. The very definition of why I want to be a dentist. This was especially needed in the midst of my recent questioning in why I want to do this as a career.

Reasons why:

-Patient actually arrived. There was a minor problem with her account and I wondered if it would deter her from coming, but she kept her appointment. My #1 pet peeve in life right now is patients that no show with no warning.. I understand dire circumstances but otherwise, these people are wasting my time.

-She did not have rampant decay like someone who just doesn't care about oral health. I had another patient the other day who is going to lose two teeth due to decay. And it's frustrating because this patient did NOT have to lose those! It was entirely preventable!

-Fillings were done efficiently and without complication. Patient was satisfied with the results, and seeing the difference I made was fulfilling.
-The faculty I was working under called her treatment a "once in a lifetime experience" due to something unique about her teeth. It was cool to get an opportunity to work on such a case.

-While I was waiting for faculty to check my work, we had pleasant conversation, building up dentist-patient rapport. This is the type of relationship I would like to have with my regular patients someday when I practice on my own.

-As we parted ways I said that it was great working with her. She said the same, and added that "you are a much better dentist than the ones I had before." I have much more to improve upon, as I am aware of nearly every appointment I have with a patient, but this was so encouraging to hear. My recent lack of confidence has increased a little bit through this appointment.

I wish all my appointments were this simple and happy, but unfortunately life often complicates them.

Because I've kept my heart under control

Parachute at Jefferson Theatre, Charlottesville, VA.

Adventures in dentistry

So it's been close to a month since the fall semester of my 3rd year started. Compared to last year, when I would regularly come home at 7 or 8pm working on projects (read: close to 12 hours per day at school... and then often having to study at home after), so far it's been eerily chill. Minus some appointments where I get spastic and crazy. But at least I come home at normal hours of the day now!

Yesterday I had a really good appointment. I gave my patient the cleaning of her life! It was one of those times that I really felt that I was truly understanding what I was doing and knew exactly how to achieve the results I wanted. Err... sorry patients' teeth that I have previously cleaned... I will do better next time! Plaque, calculus was flying all over the place. The best part was that she told me she always had a hard time getting numb, and even though I was prepared for the worst, she was anesthetized quickly/in one injection! She was pleasantly surprised. "I had dentists who had to get me to come in 30 minutes early because they always had trouble getting me numb." I felt like she gained more confidence and trust in me as her student dentist, and I also felt more confident after the appointment.

But then, today. Simple exam, but I just could not get it together! Even though I tried to be as prepared as possible, everything seemed to somehow take forever to do. Thankfully, my patient was, ahem, patient, and gracious about everything. I'm sure I looked like a crazy person running around everywhere and nervously asking if she was doing okay every five seconds.

So lots of highs and lows, but not bad so far. Not bad at all. SO FAR, being the operative phrase.

Watermelon Festival

Salted watermelon popsicles at RVA Watermelon Festival today with my new roomie! :)

Don't it feel like sunshine after all?

Fun weekend!


First, my dear friend H came home after being abroad for a looooong time, and I went up to Northern VA to help in a surprise party to welcome her back! It was so good to finally see each other in person again. Hopefully, being on the same continent will help us see each other more often. Love you, H! :)

Then tonight, I had the chance to see Jimmy Eat World! When I was a freshman in high school, their song "The Middle" started to become popular, and I was intrigued by this new type of music that I found myself connecting with. Before then, I was mainly listening to the likes of Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys (publicly, I was a staunch BSBer, but I secretly also liked N*Sync. The truth is now out!). In response to my interest in the band, this guy that I met in one of my classes that year gave me a burned CD of Jimmy Eat World's Bleed American. After one listen, I was hooked. So now I think of them as sort of the gateway to the type of music that I enjoy to this day, and they'll always have a place in my heart.

Honestly though, I kind of forgot about them in recent years, but going to see them reminded me of why I like them. Also, they are sooo good live. I would totally see them again, especially because there were so many songs that they didn't have time to play, but I would love to hear in concert at some point.

NYC, in pictures

The first couple of days, I stayed at the Millennium Hilton downtown, courtesy of my buddy who currently works in the Financial District. We had an amazing view from the room, and one of the new World Trade Centers is located right in front of the hotel.

On Thursday afternoon, my friends H and M and I went to go see Broadway performances at Bryant Park. I went last year, but it wasn't as good this time. In fact, some of the acts made me not want to go see them. Sorry, Charlies.

Two of my favorite peeps! Gratuitous photos of us hanging out in the Big Apple. :)

For lunch, we stopped at Ippudo's new location in Midtown. At first, I inhaled the ramen and could not get over how good it was (better than Totto, in my opinion). But later, the greasiness got the best of me. :( Still, I cannot deny how delicious it was when I ate it.. the rainy weather probably helped with my appetite for something warm and soupy. The ambiance of the place was clean and modern. AND PORK BUNS. WERE SO WONDERFUL.

The next day, we woke up before the crack of dawn to try to score some Jimmy Fallon show tickets. Unfortunately, we did not get to see the show, but it was a very close call. Sigh.. next time, Jimmy. I shall grace your audience with my presence!

Saturday, I had the chance to watch Cirque du Soleil in a VIP suite at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, thanks to my friend and her cousins. Twas nice! Felt so rich and VIP for a few hours. :)

And later that night, my friends and I participated in a 5K Glow Run at Citi Field in Queens. It was really fun, despite people not actually running during the race.

And for my last meal in NYC, Dominican food. Malecon! Oh man, if they made a restaurant near me I would be their loyalest customer. Plantains, yellow rice, yuca, roasted chicken.. mmm mm.

And that is the end of that trip! Good times with good people! Sorry for the lack of any kind of storytelling and/or transitions between pictures. It is what it is.

Jamaica 2.0

I want keep up a more consistent site!

If only so that all the pictures that I take don't just hide away in my phone, never to see the light of day.

Hence, I blog.

Today I think I'll focus a bit on my Jamaica trip. I won't provide much commentary, but overall it was a good learning experience, both in the clinic and just working with the people on the trip. While schedule-wise it was mostly the same as the trip I went on last year, I will say it was a different dynamic due to the larger group with varying personalities this time.

On the Black River boat tour, featuring crocodiles...

...and dolphins!

Working in the clinic (permission granted by the patient to take this pic).

Our fearless dentist leaders.

This tooth was particularly memorable to extract. First, because it was a wisdom tooth, far back in the mouth where it was hard to see. But also, as I was trying to extract, the crown fractured off due to the extent of the decay, and I essentially lost my grip on the tooth. Instead, I had to slowly elevate the root out. I really wanted to give up and get one of the dentists to come help me but I was determined to keep trying. Eventually it came out! One of my proudest moments on the trip.

The food this year was just as good as the last.. can't go wrong with lobster!

Zip lining at YS Falls.

Sunrise in Jamaica on my last day of the trip.

And to end on a totally unrelated note, a beautiful sunset in Norfolk, VA.

Tomorrow... NYC recap!

Happy belated Fourth of July!

Fireworks, in case you missed them last night.

Hope my patients to dedicate a chapter of their autobiography to me

"I've gone from avoiding dentists and periodontists to practically stalking them, not in some quest for a Hollywood smile but because I enjoy their company."

I randomly picked up David Sedaris's new Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls today while I was at Barnes and Noble, and no joke, the first chapter was entirely dedicated to his strong rapport with his dentists.

Love it.

Hipster remixes

I'm alive. Processing a lot of thoughts these days. Re-evaluating. Mostly recognizing my frail humanity and how much I suck at living life apart from Christ. How do people do it without going crazy? Genuinely curious.

On a more superficial note, my musical preferences lean toward the indie/hipster spectrum-I can't help it! It makes me smile and sometimes do wiggles that kind of resemble dancing. But going a step further, lately I've been into remixes of songs that I like. A couple of favorites, mostly because they sound like odes to the warmer weather!

Ra Ra Riot-Beta Love (RAC remix)

Local Natives-Who Knows Who Cares (Wax Nostalgic remix)

Summer is almost here!

Sporadic blogging is best

So obviously my 365 blogging project fell by the wayside. Womp womp womp.

Anyway. The last spring break of my life has come to an end, and I must say, I feel so refreshed.

Part of my trip consisted of going up to NYC to play with friends. Even though I was only up for a short period of time, this is probably one of my favorite trips to this city thus far, in the few times I have visited.

First! Meeting up with my friend H for falafel and smoothies..

And then heading to Brooklyn to explore for the day.

Then in a stroke of spontaneity and fate, our evening turned from good to great! As we wandered around the borough, we stumbled across the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Our curiosity lead us to skimming through one of the event brochures, and realizing that there was a free performance that night in the cafe. Enter Emily King:

I have never heard of her, so she was unexpectedly really good. I hope she makes it even bigger.. the soul in her voice!

Our friend R also joined for our adventures! Good music, good venue, perfect timing on our part. :)

We finally ended our night at 4 in the morning with some karaoke in K-town. Felt young and carefree again, being out so late!

And all the yummy food that I ate. Senegalese chicken, get into my belly. Macarons, get into my belly. Corned beef hash, get into my belly.

My sleep schedule is so off right now, so I'm definitely going to suffer tomorrow. Oh well.

29.Walking to A lot

Down Broad St.

24. Simple Sunday lunch

Avocados and cilantro make everything delicious.

23. Party time!

Arts and crafts, and general hanging out, with friends.

21. Cary St. Gym and Field

Also, I passed my pedo competency today! Praise God. It was supposed to be easy since we've done a million of these tooth preparations this year and last year, but I kind of felt nervous during the test. Thankful.

19. Last bit of holiday cheer

Some of the only lights still up in late January.

18. MLK Day

The Age of Miracles. A miracle that I finished this subpar book.

17. Coast

One of the best parts about being from a coastal area is the accessibility to bodies of water, all year round. The beach during the winter is so underrated.

16. Eatin' good in the neighborhood

Ate every single bite of this plate. :)

15. Snowy morning

The day our school gets a 2 hour delay/10:00am school opening due to the weather is the ONE day that my classes start at 11:00am. -__-

But, the snow was pretty while it lasted!

In defense of working with kids (because yesterday I thought that I would not want to work in pedo): I was on orthodontics rotation this afternoon, and a bunch of my classmates and I were crowded around a computer screen as one of the residents was explaining something to us. All of a sudden, this little kid weaves through, pops up in the middle of our huddle, and tries to look at the screen with us. It was so cute and random.

14. Baby teeth

Me: Is it supposed to snow tomorrow?

Classmate: Have you been living under a rock?

Despite hearing rumors about possible snow tonight/tomorrow, weather.com told me it would be a sunny 40 degrees F tomorrow so I subconsciously haven't believed it. But, I've been proven wrong: it is steadily sleeting right now. There's no hope in it getting me out of school tomorrow (class unusually starts at 11am this Friday for me), so I'd rather it not fall on us, but oh well. 

Today, we had pedodontics lab, the first of two sessions. I'm pretty sure I do not want to be a pediatric dentist at this point, even though I love kids. It's the dealing with crazy parents, and kids' squirminess while I hold sharp/dangerous objects, that turn me off.