Thursday, July 30, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Don't Sweat It
Last year, in a daring show of omnipotence, our beloved dental school charged every student a year-long membership fee to a gym that wasn't yet built. Many of us griped and complained (and rightly so) because we were essentially paying to have the new gym built. In the meantime, the company offered us "complimentary" memberships (as if they were doing us a favor) at other local clubs. Unfortunately for me, the amount of exercise I will do is proportional to the convenience with which I can reach the gym...and my temporary membership was to a club that was more than 5 minutes away. (5 minutes of driving = not very convenient = I worked out 3 times last year)
Anyway, as it turns out, I'm actually glad that the school forced us to pay to have the new Spectrum Gym built on campus, because it's so very pretty, so very convenient, and so very awesome. (See pictures below for proof.)
Oh, and here's a picture of me during my yoga class doing my favorite pose.
Just kidding! But I am going to try to do that sometime. You'll know when I do, because I'll probably have to wear a band aid over my broken nose for a while.
The new Spectrum is right on campus, and so Jeffrey and I have been enjoying walking right over from school and working out. Jeffrey likes to use the basketball court, cardio equipment, and free weights to work out. I like the cardio equipment and free weights, too, but I also like going to the 1 hour classes that they have. My favorite classes are yoga (of course) and Zumba, which is a Latin dance-styled workout. I had also done classes before at Hendrick Health Club in Abilene like Kickboxing and Step Aerobics.
Even so, nothing could have prepared me for what I stumbled into today.
I decided to try a class called "Athletic Interval." The name sounded innocent enough--after all, I was an athlete not too many years ago. I should have run when the instructor walked in the door. You know you're in for a beating when your FEMALE instructor looks like this:
(Oh yeah, that's a woman...see her little triangle top bikini? That's how you can tell.)
Helga* began class by yelling at us to start running, and continued to yell at each of us until we cowered on the floor. They she yelled at us for cowering. At one point, she continually yelled, "Come on! You've got to do this!" at me while I lay quivering in an attempt to do my eightieth push up of the hour. I tried to explain that I was having a difficult time holding my position because my hands were sweating and slipping on the wood floor, and if I did the modified position, my knees slipped out from under me because they were also sweating profusely.
She yelled at me again.
I left when she yelled, "Ok, everybody up! We're doing some more conditioning jumps!"
No thank you, Helga. I will probably not condition anything but my hair for the next few days.
*Name has been changed to protect the innocent (meaning: to protect me from Helga)
Anyway, as it turns out, I'm actually glad that the school forced us to pay to have the new Spectrum Gym built on campus, because it's so very pretty, so very convenient, and so very awesome. (See pictures below for proof.)
Oh, and here's a picture of me during my yoga class doing my favorite pose.
Just kidding! But I am going to try to do that sometime. You'll know when I do, because I'll probably have to wear a band aid over my broken nose for a while.The new Spectrum is right on campus, and so Jeffrey and I have been enjoying walking right over from school and working out. Jeffrey likes to use the basketball court, cardio equipment, and free weights to work out. I like the cardio equipment and free weights, too, but I also like going to the 1 hour classes that they have. My favorite classes are yoga (of course) and Zumba, which is a Latin dance-styled workout. I had also done classes before at Hendrick Health Club in Abilene like Kickboxing and Step Aerobics.
Even so, nothing could have prepared me for what I stumbled into today.
I decided to try a class called "Athletic Interval." The name sounded innocent enough--after all, I was an athlete not too many years ago. I should have run when the instructor walked in the door. You know you're in for a beating when your FEMALE instructor looks like this:
(Oh yeah, that's a woman...see her little triangle top bikini? That's how you can tell.)Helga* began class by yelling at us to start running, and continued to yell at each of us until we cowered on the floor. They she yelled at us for cowering. At one point, she continually yelled, "Come on! You've got to do this!" at me while I lay quivering in an attempt to do my eightieth push up of the hour. I tried to explain that I was having a difficult time holding my position because my hands were sweating and slipping on the wood floor, and if I did the modified position, my knees slipped out from under me because they were also sweating profusely.
She yelled at me again.
I left when she yelled, "Ok, everybody up! We're doing some more conditioning jumps!"
No thank you, Helga. I will probably not condition anything but my hair for the next few days.
*Name has been changed to protect the innocent (meaning: to protect me from Helga)
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Random Facts (this one's for you, Jesse)
I am a fan of fun, random trivia and facts. However, one of my friends is not merely a fan - he is the king of this useless knowledge. This post is dedicated to him; hopefully he can learn a few new facts here. As for the rest of you, feel free to use these to impress family and friends. The last one is, of course, the best, so if you don't want to read them all scroll down to the last one. Enjoy!
- Rats are incapable of vomiting.
- The Bureau of Standards says that the electron is the fastest thing in the world.
- On average people fear spiders more than death.
- There are only four words in the common English language that end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
- Average life span of a major league baseball is between 5-7 pitches.
- "Go," is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.
- The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.
- 2 and 5 are the only prime numbers that end in 2 or 5.
- Cockroaches can live up to two weeks without a head because their brain is located throughout their body.
- Only one breed of dog is mentioned by name in the Bible: the Greyhound. (Proverbs 30:29-31, King James Version).
- Donald Duck’s middle name is Fauntleroy.
- Today, about five percent of the entire U.S. potato crop goes to make McDonald’s French fries.
- The Wright Brothers’ first successful flight on December 17, 1903 covered a distance of about 120 feet—shorter than the wingspan of a modern 747.
- Dock Ellis, a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1970s, threw a no-hitter while under the influence of LSD. At certain points during the game, Ellis said he couldn’t see the batter or the catcher, and as a result, relied on the
baseball to tell him where to throw it.
- Minnows have teeth in their throats.
- The peacock is actually the male name of the peafowl. The female is called a peahen.
- The Michelin Man has a name – Bibendum, though close friends call him simply “Bib.”
- The tune to “The Star Spangled Banner” originates to the tune of an old drinking song,”The Anacreontic Song.”
- Duct tape was invented in 1942 for use by the U.S. Army as a waterproof sealing tape for ammunition boxes.
- The letter J does not appear anywhere in the periodic table of elements.
- No single word exists to identify the back of a person's knee.
- Until someone finds another one, "the sixth sick Sheikh's sixth sheep's sick" is the most difficult tongue twister on record.
- A raisin placed in champagne will sink and float from bottom to top over and over.
- Fifteen out of one hundred (15/100) people secretly chew their toe nails.
- The might of a hurricane is so strong that in ten minutes it expends more energy than the entire world's atomic weapons put together.
- In the English language, just two words end in "mt". They are dreamt and undreamt (Undreamt is defined as unimaginable).
- "Uncopyrightable" is the only fifteen-letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter.
- Most U.S. automobile horns honk in the "F" key.
- It is impossible to fold any piece of paper in half more than seven times consecutively.
- The only mammal with four knees is the elephant. It is also the only mammal that cannot jump.
And finally...
- The average sleeper swallows eight spiders in a lifetime at night. The average person also consumes about a pound of insects in a lifetime.
Have a fantastic day. Until next time...
Good night, and good luck
--Jeffrey
- Rats are incapable of vomiting.
- The Bureau of Standards says that the electron is the fastest thing in the world.
- On average people fear spiders more than death.
- There are only four words in the common English language that end in "-dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.
- Average life span of a major league baseball is between 5-7 pitches.
- "Go," is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.
- The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases.
- 2 and 5 are the only prime numbers that end in 2 or 5.
- Cockroaches can live up to two weeks without a head because their brain is located throughout their body.
- Only one breed of dog is mentioned by name in the Bible: the Greyhound. (Proverbs 30:29-31, King James Version).
- Donald Duck’s middle name is Fauntleroy.
- Today, about five percent of the entire U.S. potato crop goes to make McDonald’s French fries.
- The Wright Brothers’ first successful flight on December 17, 1903 covered a distance of about 120 feet—shorter than the wingspan of a modern 747.
- Dock Ellis, a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1970s, threw a no-hitter while under the influence of LSD. At certain points during the game, Ellis said he couldn’t see the batter or the catcher, and as a result, relied on the
baseball to tell him where to throw it.
- Minnows have teeth in their throats.
- The peacock is actually the male name of the peafowl. The female is called a peahen.
- The Michelin Man has a name – Bibendum, though close friends call him simply “Bib.”
- The tune to “The Star Spangled Banner” originates to the tune of an old drinking song,”The Anacreontic Song.”
- Duct tape was invented in 1942 for use by the U.S. Army as a waterproof sealing tape for ammunition boxes.
- The letter J does not appear anywhere in the periodic table of elements.
- No single word exists to identify the back of a person's knee.
- Until someone finds another one, "the sixth sick Sheikh's sixth sheep's sick" is the most difficult tongue twister on record.
- A raisin placed in champagne will sink and float from bottom to top over and over.
- Fifteen out of one hundred (15/100) people secretly chew their toe nails.
- The might of a hurricane is so strong that in ten minutes it expends more energy than the entire world's atomic weapons put together.
- In the English language, just two words end in "mt". They are dreamt and undreamt (Undreamt is defined as unimaginable).
- "Uncopyrightable" is the only fifteen-letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter.
- Most U.S. automobile horns honk in the "F" key.
- It is impossible to fold any piece of paper in half more than seven times consecutively.
- The only mammal with four knees is the elephant. It is also the only mammal that cannot jump.
And finally...
- The average sleeper swallows eight spiders in a lifetime at night. The average person also consumes about a pound of insects in a lifetime.
Have a fantastic day. Until next time...
Good night, and good luck
--Jeffrey
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Drill Skill
Yesterday in the lab we got to use our dental drills for the first time to cut down a plastic tooth in preparation to put a metal crown on it. We were given explicit instructions that included measurements (literally) to the 1/2 millimeter as to how far we were supposed to drill in certain places. We were also told to be very cautious about not drilling the teeth neighboring our current tooth in the model.
For a first-time crown prep, I was told that I did well with the tooth I drilled. On the other hand, if I had actually done that work in a patient's mouth, I would have had to fill both of the neighboring teeth (to even out the erratic gouges I accidentally put in them) and probably perform some sort of tissue graft to replace the gingiva that I nicked during the procedure. I also cut my own pinkie finger a little bit with the drill.
One good tooth, two damaged teeth, battered gingiva, and one personal injury. Nope--I'm not quite finished with my learning here at dental school. Thank goodness we practice on plastic teeth first! I told my dad this story today, and he revoked his earlier offer to be my first "real" patient.
I pinkie promise (with my uninjured pinkie) that I will get better before I work on any of you, blog readers. But Dad, someone's gotta be first. Take one for the team.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Dental School: Verse Two
I don't know how it happened. My summer has ended.
Yes, today is my first day back in the world of academia at dental school. We have been warned and scared by the upperclassmen about this 2nd year. Apparently it is the most difficult year of the four-year dental education. Yikes.
To quell my fears (and allow me to sleep last night), I reminisced on last year's events and how far I came toward those special three letters that I hope to have after my name in three short years: D.D.S. (And by the way, that stands for "Doctor of Dental Surgery," so WE ARE "REAL" DOCTORS! Haha.)
It was interesting to look back over my lab work from the 1st year and see how many of our first projects that seemed so difficult at the time became easy projects that could be completed in a mere half hour or less. The first project that we did in the lab was to fill these tiny wells with green wax using our new instruments. We spent hours on this project, worrying over its appearance and making naive mistakes, only to find that we would soon laugh at the simplicity of its parameters.
The next project involved making rudimentary tooth shapes from the wax using some little blocks that provided a jumping-off point for our waxing. Again, we spent hours on these little teeth, and cursed our clumsy hands for not being able to replicate the delicate and gentle lines and angles that our eyes saw in the demonstration teeth.
Soon we had renewed frustration as we began to wax teeth completely from scratch. Beginning with a flat base or a small preparation, we were to wax an entire tooth, polish it, and demonstrate it to our teachers for a grade. My first grades were not impressive. Tiny dents and minuscule details cost me point after point until I finally realized that dentistry, as they say, is a game of 1/4 millimeters.
Little by little, I trained my fingers to behave and work with the instruments and the wax. Gradually I was able to know how the hot, melted wax would behave before I touched it to any surface. And luckily, with each improvement in my skill, I saw improvement in my grades and in the speed with which I could complete these projects. Even still, the difference between my first time practicing a particular tooth and the second time practicing that same tooth showed vast improvement.
Finally we came to our last projects. One involved working with a material called "composite" which we will someday use on real patients--we were all very excited to be working with true materials. The final exam involved waxing 9 teeth in 2 hours and waxing them in such a way that they properly contacted the teeth on the other jaw.
After reviewing this year's lab work, I felt good about how far I have come, and hopeful about how far I will go in the next three years. It won't happen overnight, but I know that I can figure this out. I know I will be challenged, and I know I will get frustrated at times, but I also know that I will be able to look back and laugh at my first attempts at fillings, dentures, and bridges, and I will be able to look at my good work and be proud of the excellence that I will give to my patients.
For now, though, it's back to lecture...
Yes, today is my first day back in the world of academia at dental school. We have been warned and scared by the upperclassmen about this 2nd year. Apparently it is the most difficult year of the four-year dental education. Yikes.
To quell my fears (and allow me to sleep last night), I reminisced on last year's events and how far I came toward those special three letters that I hope to have after my name in three short years: D.D.S. (And by the way, that stands for "Doctor of Dental Surgery," so WE ARE "REAL" DOCTORS! Haha.)
It was interesting to look back over my lab work from the 1st year and see how many of our first projects that seemed so difficult at the time became easy projects that could be completed in a mere half hour or less. The first project that we did in the lab was to fill these tiny wells with green wax using our new instruments. We spent hours on this project, worrying over its appearance and making naive mistakes, only to find that we would soon laugh at the simplicity of its parameters.
The next project involved making rudimentary tooth shapes from the wax using some little blocks that provided a jumping-off point for our waxing. Again, we spent hours on these little teeth, and cursed our clumsy hands for not being able to replicate the delicate and gentle lines and angles that our eyes saw in the demonstration teeth.
Soon we had renewed frustration as we began to wax teeth completely from scratch. Beginning with a flat base or a small preparation, we were to wax an entire tooth, polish it, and demonstrate it to our teachers for a grade. My first grades were not impressive. Tiny dents and minuscule details cost me point after point until I finally realized that dentistry, as they say, is a game of 1/4 millimeters.
Little by little, I trained my fingers to behave and work with the instruments and the wax. Gradually I was able to know how the hot, melted wax would behave before I touched it to any surface. And luckily, with each improvement in my skill, I saw improvement in my grades and in the speed with which I could complete these projects. Even still, the difference between my first time practicing a particular tooth and the second time practicing that same tooth showed vast improvement.
Finally we came to our last projects. One involved working with a material called "composite" which we will someday use on real patients--we were all very excited to be working with true materials. The final exam involved waxing 9 teeth in 2 hours and waxing them in such a way that they properly contacted the teeth on the other jaw.
After reviewing this year's lab work, I felt good about how far I have come, and hopeful about how far I will go in the next three years. It won't happen overnight, but I know that I can figure this out. I know I will be challenged, and I know I will get frustrated at times, but I also know that I will be able to look back and laugh at my first attempts at fillings, dentures, and bridges, and I will be able to look at my good work and be proud of the excellence that I will give to my patients.
For now, though, it's back to lecture...
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