Thursday, March 30, 2006

TEST SOOOnnnn

Hi there, well, the holidays are almost here, however, that also means that my term test is here too . Always take the good with the bad ....universe in a balanced state, such is the law of ying and yang? Wish me luck as I battle on with understanding embryology, tooth formation, enamel formation, dentine formation, and pulp complex. In addition to that, I shall have to keep on top of physiology ( We've been given one system per week and expected to fully understand and be able to apply our knowledge in clinical situations) in the biology stream , and also finish at least two assignments per week. Dentistry is not easy hahahhahaha.....should have become used to that by now :P . At least I am making some progress in Lab with better dexterity :D.

Sigh, Haven't been able to go to the gym for the past week due to bruised ankle ( from ice-skating last friday). But, I'll definitely make up for it during the Easter Break hahaha......Gonna try out HOt Yoga and make it to the gym every other day hehehhe.....looking forward to doing some cooking and shopping as well as going crabbing !!

YUp, have to complete assignments and study for evidence based dentistry test as well during the holidays .....hahaha, balance ...balance....

Currently doing research on Facial Swelling . Quite interesting actually , Cellulitis, Sjogren's Syndrome, Sialadenitis ( some dental jargon to scare you guys :P)---WOW, lots of things contribute to inflammation.

Quite excited about tommorow ---going to assist my tutor as she does a restoration on my clinic partner :)

Ok then, Till next time , tata
Cheers
BUSY --dental obligation
Jun

Saturday, March 18, 2006

Persian Festival......hmmmm......

Hey guys ! its me again....Well, had a rough week but i guess it will continue to be rough for a while before calm seas ....:P Filled my first six teeth with GIC and CR material on Friday hehehe, its a great feeling to pack the gooey stuff into the cavities and light cure them ( make them harden) after carving them... Never knew dentistry involved art to such a great extent!
We are now studying the liver and blood. Read up about all the different blood disorders that may present themselves in patients and WHOa ....they are numerous.
Also studying about alcoholic liver disease ----people, please do not exceed two standard drinks per day if you drink everyday and oh, Try to stay away from ALCOHOL because it really messes up your system. Yeah, you get a high for now , BUT you will definitely get a low soon enough......
Went for the Persian Festival on Saturday night and had my fortune told ----Ended up being quite a disappointment as she only told me what I already knew ie. YOu are Worried about your Studies!! BIG DEAL , I mean, I AM a student SO i'd obviously be worried about that ....ish....
other than that, There was free massage, henna tattoo and GREAT music....so the five bucks I paid did not go to waste.

Cheers
.....still reading about liver disease and cirrhosis,
June

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

7 things ......:P

7 things that scare me:
1) The Dark ( pai seh, still sleep with my night light most of the time :P)
2)My imagination...overactive as ever ...ish
3)Being below average----umm....kiasu is the word
4)BEes!!!! AAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
5)Wasps!!! Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh
6) Hornets!!!! AAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhh
7) come to think of it , anything which has stings or poisonous fangs which can harm me....."_"( people included---eg. backstabbers and the like)

7 random facts about me:
1.I Love TO SING
2.I read a lot ......books, newspapers, magazines, and recently for study purposes ....journals --boring right?
3.I work out at least twice a week
4. My cousin is getting married in April but I won't be there ...sob....
5. I recently told a friend off (embarrassed)
6. I got hit on by a sleazy guy in the gym last week ---EWW
7.I have plenty of fruits in my room ;)

7 things I hope to do before I die:
1. Travel the world :D
2. Raise a family
3. Earn a comfortable living
4. Eliminate fear of visiting dentists among my patients
5. expand my interests and hobbies to include scuba diving :P , skiing and......still thinking about it....
6.Adopt pets and care for them
7. Basically live every moment to the fullest.....hahaha

7 things I can do:
1. I SING
2. I Play the piano---need more practice
3. I can dance :P .....learning from Rajes heheh
4. I can eat 6 apples, 3 oranges , 12 biscuits, 1 nectarine, and still go down for dinner which consists of two skewers of chicken and a bunch of carrots and beans ---had a stomach upset later hahah
5. I can write poems when fancy strikes me
6. I can cook --- my cod fish with lemon butter and herb sauce is superb :P, other receipies are in the works
7. I can look good in red pants --a recent discovery ;)

7 things that you like:
1. Travelling ---Seeing new places, experiencing the culture
2. Catching up with friends and Doing fun things together
3. Singing
4. Reading
5. Nature and the great outdoors ....not when it is too sunny and I am without sunblock :P
6. Animals!!
7. enjoying good food......yummm.......

7 things you just can’t live without:
1. The air we breath
2. The water we drink
3. The food we eat
4 . A place to stay
5. My parents' love
6. My friends
7. My education

7 people that should fill in this:
1. Since Caryn has done it......hopefully erm.....hhmmm.....Lydia
2. TST
3. LWZ
4. Shin Yee
5. Jason
6. Temme
7. Yi Juin

Long Weekend!!!! YAY

YEs!!!! The weekend is near .....gosh, this has been a busy week and I think the trend will continue throughout the year :P .....But, I am still thankful that I have weekends to look forward to.
Had another lab session on drilling for upper teeth the other day and sadly, I am still wanting ......SHEESH.......Maybe I need to relax a little and 'feeel ' the Drill . Clinic was not too bad as I had retained my skills as a competent operator hehehe.....managed to identify decay !
Still thinking hard about treatment plans for patients though .....hmm...need more research on that. Oooh......the cardiovascular system was a lot more fun than embryology but I am still working on both.
Been trying to work out more often of late (wish me luck on maintaining a steady weight :P) and eating more fruits and vegetables --mom don't you worry about my nutrition hahaha.
Oh, Lincoln College won the swimming event !~!! Unfortunately I had night clinic ( Yes , I Have Classes At Night ----not by choice ) so I couldn't be part of the cheerleading team ...sigh.....brought back loads of memories from last year ;).
That's all ....Need to walk back to college now , will update when needed ...till then, TATA
Exhausted from work out,
June

Friday, March 03, 2006

The Drilling Begins

The Drilling Begins----------often heralded as the start of our life's work as a dentist ,my love affair with the drill got off to a shaky start. Guess we can't be naturally good at everything :P

It was a hot 35 degree friday afternoon when we met. It was lying in a shiny metallic box, newly oiled and slippery to my gloved hands. Oh the feel of its smooth lines and little bumps on the grip gave me the shivers. I was finally getting to know its tunes and vibrations! ---Alright, before I make your flesh curl to the point where your knees go weak in 'anticipation', I'll lay off the overly dramatic language and get to the clinical view.

We are entrusted a high speed drill and a low speed drill. The high speed drill has to be used with water while the low speed drill doesn't need water. Drilling through enamel, one is adviced to use the high speed and the low speed drill is for the dentine most of the time. I learned to use the low speed drill in the gruelling 3 hour session ( my arms still ache on saturday morning ) because we were to drill simple patterns in the acrylic base to adapt to the controls. It was then I realised that drilling with a rotating instrument is no child's play.
Due to its rotating bearings, it tended to move towards the left ( not desirable when we are trying to drill a straight line!)Thus more force was needed to guide the drill. Depths of the pits were hard to judge and i'll need to work on that. My patterns came out worse than I had hoped....to the extent the tutor could hardly find anything good to say....---all he could say was that I was conservative in drilling! (meaning i did not remove too much from the allocated area)
Hope I perform better in the next lab session.

Friday night, me and my pals went to the Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts to watch the Sky dance . It featured some great orchestral pieces and some eerie contemporary pieces accompanied by ballet in the sky LITERALLY!! The dancers were suspended in mid air above the river and they were seen 'floating and flying from one end of the river to the other illuminated by sky lights. The evening was enchanting....and fantastical.....

Hmm....Adelaide seems to be coming to life this year with so many festivals ---now i see why it is called the Festival State!

Its off to work now---studying embryology at the moment ......

The singing dentist,
June