suburgatory teeth sabotage

I love this show- that’s no secret. I’ve talked about Noah’s sunny beautiful office before.

I just about died watching this episode Apocalypse Meow:

Looks like someone switched over to digital radiographs…

Here Noah brings in his therapist for a “free cleaning”. Bob who is his therapist started dating someone Noah was interested in. So Noah takes his revenge in the best way he knows how: with evil restorations.

Power of composite, yeah?

Vampire teeth were actually a trend in Japan. Some offices specialized in creating this “Yaeba” look. The fake fangs are attached with a non-permanent adhesive.

Picture

A quick comment about cosmetic dentistry: I commented to my orthodontist that my mamelons are really prominent. She said, “yeah, and they make you look younger. Some people really like them.”

I guess you could fabricate mamelons on Class IV restorations for that younger look? I had no idea mamelons were something to want. To me it’s like… your hairline or your fingerprints. :) They are just there.

last lab final

I haven’t been writing as much- I know! It’s been a little hectic around here with dental school exams (the usual), summer approaching and my weird sleep snoozin’. I’ve been waking up in the morning feeling a little too groggy even after seven full hours of sleep. I take a lot more naps but I don’t know what’s going on...

This week we have our final GRD lab final exam! It’s a practical exam and we get four hours to complete two procedures. Now that we’re working on composite materials, I appreciate amalgam a lot more where we don’t have as many shaping-carving-polishing steps. Plus you can distinguish tell where the amalgam ends and where tooth structure begins. Not true for composite.

That’s the biggest pro of using composite though. It’s almost indistinguishable from tooth structure. I had to look in my mouth a long time to figure out which molars had composite restorations.

Only a few more weeks in this basement dental lab with my seat lonely up against the corner.

If you are already out enjoying your summer, congratulations!!! I’m daydreaming about beaches, sundresses, iced coffee runs, and train trips. Or probably really snooze-dreaming.

Let’s get through the last few weeks everyone! Ready, set, go!

Vegan-ing in Philly

I’ve been eating delicious vegan foods lately! To be honest, deciding to go vegetarian was a little bit stressful with dental school going on. What do I buy? What do I eat? Am I getting enough nutrients? But now that our schedule is loosening up a bit, I can take time to explore. And I’m so glad I have beautiful friends (like Laura and Barbara) to support me and answer all my questions. ;)

I finally tried pizza from Blackbird Pizzeria- I loved the harvest pizza with brussel sprouts and leek. Fake cheese freaks me out (not to mention it never melts the right way) but this was delicious.

It’s so much fun trying new vegetables and fruits. Especially in Philly with all the farmers’ markets and CHINATOWN, I get to develop my palate. When we went to Vedge earlier, we ordered whatever sounded good and had a blast trying different things. We were having so much fun tasting & chatting that I forgot to take pictures but here’s one from after dessert.

And I close on a sappy note: I was talking to my dad and he told me that he looked up vegan restaurants near our house. For when I come home this summer! :) This comes from my biggest eating partner-in-crime.

The thing about Korean food is that although many meals are vegetarian, many of the big party meals have meat: bulgogi, kalbi, etc. But there are so many delicious greens dishes in Korea with lots of root vegetables and fresh mushrooms! I can’t wait to go home and make delicious vegan meals for my family. Cooking for people you love has got to be the best feeling in the world.

By the way, if you are interested in trying out vegetarianism/vegan, read The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. It’s incredible with information on veganism and practical tips to make that transition.

Graduate! onward.

Here it’s been raining in the most wonderful way.

I’m sorry it’s Penn’s graduation weekend but I just love this rain! Friday night I went to bed listening to a loud thunderstorm outside my window and woke up to a cool breezy morning. Does it count as a workout if you had every intention of running but fell asleep in your workout clothes ?

Seems like dental students are the only ones walking around with backpacks on this campus. Not that I mind because the weather is so pretty it’s hard to be grumpy and well, we’ll be done in FOUR WEEKS!

This end of the semester is like a cliff. I keep flipping weeks on my Google Calendar and before I know it, my calendar is empty.

Have you watched this commencement speech by David Foster Wallace on the power of attitude? It’s called “This is Water” and it’s brilliant. This is advice we can all incorporate into our everyday lives and I love that. At my commencement speech we were told to choose happy marriages over happy careers. And I love all the ongoing talk about women and careers and partnerships.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I just swallowed an elastic from my braces while eating an apple... I really hope these are biodegradable. That might be my cue to sign off.

What are some good advice you’ve gotten upon graduation?
Are they relevant/useful yet in your life?

April: thank-you friends.

There is a fine line between feeling truly grateful and feeling entitled. Sometimes I cross that line because sure, I’m thankful for what I have but… don’t I sort of deserve that anyway? With that said, I’m genuinely grateful this month for the one BIG thing I certainly didn’t deserve: my wonderful supportive friends.

Here’s for panic g-chat sessions in the computer lab. And some things never change: Laura, I’m sorry for Skype-crying (… awkward) but you didn’t just shut the screen and go bye-bye. For friends that can make me feel loved from thousands of miles away. And my friends in Philly for opening up to me, sharing their struggles and inspiring me to take on things I could never do on my own (run for two hours straight?).

If that’s too mushy… I’m also thankful for Pitch Perfect, Spotify, Philadelphia public libraries and Georgetown Cupcakes.

I leave you with this. Also I have officially stained my shirt yellow eating a mango with my fingers… Bad idea. This illustration is from Lost Cat by Caroline Paul and Wendy MacNaughton as featured on Brain Pickings.

All the things we’ll never understand. Things we know we don’t know, things we don’t know we don’t know. (I thought this comment was brilliant?)