Where has the time gone??

Wow, it has been a really long time since I've posted. School has been going well, so far second semester is def. the worst semester of dental school. We are all very, very busy. Lab work takes up so much time for us. Also, Board Exams are coming up in May/June. Lots of studying and lots of stress. First semester was fine, ended it pretty well I think. This semester is a whole new monster.

Lab courses: Fixed Prosth, Removable Prosth, Endo, and Pediatric take up the bulk of my time. I've been going into lab every day on the weekend to make sure my lab work doesn't fall behind. So far, so good. My hand skills have def. improved over last year when everything was so "new."

In other news, I've started running again. (Yeah!!) Running outside now, using my new Garmin 305 GPS watch to keep track of all my data (pace, distance, time, etc). I love it, running outside is so enjoyable, I despise the treadmill now. I also have no need for my iPod when I run outside, so much better without it.

I've also decided to run the 2008 Chicago Marathon; I signed up this morning! 26.2 miles!!! Very exciting, trying to keep a baseline level before the real training starts in June, the marathon is October 12th. So far, I've been running real well. Did about 60 miles in January alone (2 of those weeks I didn't run because I was sick). Ran 8.25 miles this morning. It was a great run, lots of fun.

Also, I went to go see the movie, "Spirit of the Marathon" last week. It was amazing! The documentary chronicles runners participating in the 2005 Chicago Marathon (1st timers, repeaters, and elites). The movie was very inspiring and motivational. Can't wait until Oct. 12th. Knock on wood, that I'm healthy and injury free!!

Tetralogy of Fallot

I've been studying too much pathology...haha, or maybe not enough?? Got my first Basic Human Pathology II exam on Tuesday. I should do well, it's all memorization, which I think I can handle, hopefully. School's moving along, this will be our 2nd exam of the year thus far.

We did have a practical last week, it was on a crown prep on number 9 (maxillary left central incisor). I passed which I am very thankful for. I really need to take my time with all my preps and slow down. If I take my time and think about what I'm actually drillin, it turns out alright. Usually when I practice, I try to get the prep drilled as fast as possible, I think I'm starting to break away from that habit.

I'm in the library, it's freezin in here, wish I woulda brought my Illinois hoodie. Speakin' of the Illini, they beat some Badger rear end yesterday!! Can't wait to see where the football team will be ranked come Monday. It was great to be able to watch an Illini game over here on the east coast. The stadium looked incredible, all sold-out and decked in orange. Wish I was there in CU to celebrate, congrats to the football team. We have a whole lot more football to be played, keep it up!!

Day 0 - Year 2

Labor Day today. Tomorrow is the first day of my second year of dental school. Not really nervous, more anxious. This previous week was orientation for the new "first years". I really hope they had a great time and feel more at home now (for those not from Boston).

I know our class had a blast. Seeing everyone again was a lot of fun. I really appreciate the unity our class has and hope it lasts not only for the next three years, but forever. I know it's asking a lot, but friends are what make everything better, even dental school. I for one, will def. help plan reunion trips every year after we graduate.

I look at the "first years" and many seem nervous/worried of course, but if I could go back and be in their shoes, I would. I wouldn't necessarily change anything, just relive the experience all over again. They are in for an exciting year of school. Let's hope I am as well. :)

One Year Down...Three To Go!

Wow, finished one year of dental school. It seems so easy when you look back on it. It was like a big blur, but I survived. Nice thing about the end of the year was that our schedule wasn't as intense, we only had two classes for most of June. The benefit is that I got to experience a little more of the east coast due to this. I went camping in both Vermont and Cape Cod. Both were a lot of fun, you can't go wrong with cliff diving and eating fresh lobster (no allergic rxn, luckily!).

Summer has been going well, I've just been relaxing for the most part and catching up with old friends. Being back at home has its benefits also...very large TV, a car, food, sleep. My room is still a mess even though I've been home for a couple weeks. I really think I should clean my room up, and I need to clean out my closet too. After I finished grad school I kinda just dumped everything into my car and drove back home only to dump it in my closet. I looked through some of the items, brought back some memories.

I did go down to Champaign-Urbana a week or so ago. It was good seeing old friends again. I think we had a little too much fun that first night. We def. partied like undergrads, haha. Regardless, I got some really great deals on Illini clothes, can't wait to bring 'em back to Boston.

2nd year starts right after Labor Day, which seems like forever from now, but I know it will be here before I know it. It's gonna be a very tough year, but I know I'll survive. I have great family and friends to look to for support. In the meantime I plan on running about 2 more 5K races in IL before school starts. There's also the Komen Race for the Cure which I will be running in Boston in September. 5K races are very addicting, but I think now I want something more. I plan on running the Chicago Marathon in 2008, let's hope I can do it, training starts next year, since it's too late for me to run this year's Chicago Marathon. :(

My body is failing me

Usually I never get sick, which is good.
Other day had some crab cakes (which I've had numerous times before from other restaurants) and had food poisoning or an allergic reaction, or both. I was sleeping, woke up to some pretty "wicked" pain in my stomach/intestines. This was probably some of the worst physical pain I have ever felt in my life. Then to make matters worse...I broke out in hives. Yes, hives. All over the body, lips were swollen, heck, my whole face was swollen. I didn't even look like myself...oh yeah, this was all occurring at 5 in the morning, awesome. Once I stopped scratching the heck out of myself, I eventually fell asleep. I woke up that morning feeling fine, as if nothing happened. Thank you immune system, I knew you were strong.

Unfortunately, that was the least of my worries. Got a 5K race in a couple weeks and I want to get my time under 20 mins, previous race times were around 21 mins. Shouldn't be too difficult so I've been training lately. I usually run about 6 miles every other day, nothing ever goes wrong. Lately though my ankle has been bothering me, even though I've cut the running down to only 5K a couple times a week. I probably should just stop running for a while, but it's pretty addicting, at least for me. I've been icing the ankle for a while, and I think it's just something I've got to deal with come race day. It doesn't hurt when I don't run, but it also doesn't hurt when I do run. It kinda just has a funny feeling every now and then. Regardless, it won't stop me from running and trying to beat my previous 5K times. Oh yeah, I bought some new running shoes since my old ones were about 8 months overdue for a change. These new shoes feel great and help A LOT. Maybe that was my problem all along?

A Semester Flies By...

It's been awhile since I've posted. I didn't realize anyone read this thing. Regardless, almost done with my second semester of dental school. Lots of classes this semester, thus far: Physiology, Medicine I, Histology, Oral Health Prevention/Microbiology, Operative Dentistry and Biomaterials again. Neuroanatomy is what I got right now, test tomorrow. After Neuro, we're gonna have Immuno and Patho. Loads of fun, atleast in the summer we only have class 3 days/week.

Neuro...mmm...fun, and not fun. A little of both. It's really interesting, but obviously there's a lot going on in there. Treat it like a story that never ends.

Semester has been alright so far, highlights were spring break in Vegas/Illinois. I can't really think of much else to write right now. The only thing I've been studying for the past week has been cranial nerves, contralateral innervations of the lower part of the trigeminal motor nucleus, and the spinocerebellar tracts directing proprioception afferents to the cerebellum. Anyways, I'll write more next week when I remember what else has happened this semester.

Last big push...

Last exam block of the semester coming up, probably also the hardest. Mainly because we also had a ton of projects due last week: functional wax-ups on articulator, O/OL prep of #3 and composite on it, composite on #20, and amalgam on #30.
Yeah, working on the upper teeth (maxillary teeth) using a mirror is tough, you think you're all good, then all of a sudden, whoops, wrong way...damn, gotta crown the tooth now.

In gross we are disseccting the thorax, abdomen, and pelvis. No matter how hard you scrub and how many gloves you have on, once you put those hands inside the abdomen, they're gonna smell for the whole day. wow...

Listen to Justin Timberlake: "My Love" Great song...