Really quick overview of kind-of recent events...
I'm back in school after a crazy summer session. And, one of my friends, Justin, purchased a stick-shift vehicle. It's been a learning process for him since he was a former automatic driver.
So fast forward to today...
Justin picked me up from my apartment so we could go to a sushi place. Dinner was awesome and it was also great to catch up. Ooooh, I did not have a single California roll this evening (which is actually a feat because that's my go-to roll).
Anyway... on the way back, we had some problems. I think it started when we had a difficult time figuring out if we were in the left turning lane or the straight lane... and it kinda just escalated from there. Pretty soon we were in Downtown Pittsburgh unable to distinguish which lane we were in. We eventually found ourselves not in an actual lane but on the piece of the road that divides the two-way flow of traffic. Yes folks, right smack in the middle... going towards a statue. Of course, the large statue alerted us of our mistake and we rectified the situation quickly. Now, now, I'm not hating on Justin's driving. Truthfully, we couldn't see the lines on the road (I think there were none). After changing lanes about 5 times within the span of 2 blocks, we were on a straight road back towards my apartment.
And then...
The GPS fell. Seriously, it just fell. And for a brief moment in time, we freaked out. It was dark (almost 10 PM) and we barely knew where we were. We're not really experts on Pittsburgh driving so panic was a reflex. But, this story has a happy ending. We managed to put the GPS back on the windshield (lopsided, but it was there) and we managed to get home. I didn't even have to tuck and roll to get out of the vehicle. :-D
It was a very odd driving experience... but, I am pleased to say that Justin is a safe driver and is now proficient w/ his manual car. Yay!!! Now, I'm back home, chillaxin' and sharing the events of the day to everyone.
This is it for now. Have a Happy Labor Day!!! :-D
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Janel vs The Finals
My second semester in dental school has ended... and to cap it off, we celebrated (yeah, right) with an intense 7-finals-back-to-back spread. I don't think I've ever felt so busy academically. There was little time to devote to each exam, and knowing my ridiculous procrastination habit, I had even less time than most people.
Picture this... a 32 page endocrinology handout...
I summarized it in 17 pages of size 10.5 font, Times New Roman, and .25" margins.
I basically gave myself 30 minutes to memorize each page because I needed some time to do the practice exams.
So how much time did I have for this crazy task... from 4PM to 11:30AM essentially.
And no, I have never been able to pull an all-nighter so I did have to sleep.
So before every freaks out and yells at me for being bad... I did pull it off and did very well on the exam. All in all, a happy ending.
But, certain revelations were made regarding myself and my study habits...
(1) I'm a study guide person. Paragraphs and memorization just does not work with me. I need to see things in an outline or list format. I am probably better off rewriting my notes.
(2) I don't write very fast... it could take me 3 hours to reorganize a 7 page handout... or, take 45 minutes to 1 hour typing it. Unless I have to draw things, I think I'll stick to typing.
(3) Even if I'm a worry-wart... I definitely can mobilize myself under pressure.
(4) My Berkeley education was awesome... I might not remember everything I learned at the drop of a hat... but certain themes are so embedded in my mind that pick up of information becomes relatively quick. Also, I have mastered the quick uptake of large amounts of information.
(5) I should be thankful for getting through finals despite being ill-prepared and must do better next semester.
Dental school is soooooo odd. Sometimes, I hate it. Like when I'm stressed out because I think I'm going to fail amalgam because my cavity preparations might be less than ideal or because I might have flash on my amalgam placement. But after everything is said and done, and I realize that I actually didn't suck as badly as I think I did, I start to love it. It's a love/hate relationship. It's so much fun telling everyone about what I do at school. It's really exciting. Dentistry is a whole new world on its own... and I feel like being in the field makes me part of something so much larger and more important than myself.
Despite the fact that I get so stressed out, I'm so glad to be doing this. The difficulty of school is merely an initiation to a well-respected and amazing profession.
Kudos to all who got through second sem and to all the 4th years graduating at the end of the term.
Picture this... a 32 page endocrinology handout...
I summarized it in 17 pages of size 10.5 font, Times New Roman, and .25" margins.
I basically gave myself 30 minutes to memorize each page because I needed some time to do the practice exams.
So how much time did I have for this crazy task... from 4PM to 11:30AM essentially.
And no, I have never been able to pull an all-nighter so I did have to sleep.
So before every freaks out and yells at me for being bad... I did pull it off and did very well on the exam. All in all, a happy ending.
But, certain revelations were made regarding myself and my study habits...
(1) I'm a study guide person. Paragraphs and memorization just does not work with me. I need to see things in an outline or list format. I am probably better off rewriting my notes.
(2) I don't write very fast... it could take me 3 hours to reorganize a 7 page handout... or, take 45 minutes to 1 hour typing it. Unless I have to draw things, I think I'll stick to typing.
(3) Even if I'm a worry-wart... I definitely can mobilize myself under pressure.
(4) My Berkeley education was awesome... I might not remember everything I learned at the drop of a hat... but certain themes are so embedded in my mind that pick up of information becomes relatively quick. Also, I have mastered the quick uptake of large amounts of information.
(5) I should be thankful for getting through finals despite being ill-prepared and must do better next semester.
Dental school is soooooo odd. Sometimes, I hate it. Like when I'm stressed out because I think I'm going to fail amalgam because my cavity preparations might be less than ideal or because I might have flash on my amalgam placement. But after everything is said and done, and I realize that I actually didn't suck as badly as I think I did, I start to love it. It's a love/hate relationship. It's so much fun telling everyone about what I do at school. It's really exciting. Dentistry is a whole new world on its own... and I feel like being in the field makes me part of something so much larger and more important than myself.
Despite the fact that I get so stressed out, I'm so glad to be doing this. The difficulty of school is merely an initiation to a well-respected and amazing profession.
Kudos to all who got through second sem and to all the 4th years graduating at the end of the term.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Beyond Tired and Stressed
This has been such a bad and long week.
Here's the gist of it...
My mom was hospitalized for three days... so I basically was stressed out of my mind. I was so scared.
I had four exams... three of them were on the same day. The other one occured while my mom was still in the hospital.
I still have two more exams to go... and I'm just so darn exhausted.
I just want to be able to sleep and not feel guilty. I want to just have a little bit of breathing room... but I don't even know. Not until this Tuesday afternoon.
I'm so bummed out. I'm not very happy right now. I just feel stress... stress... and more stress.
I can't wait for the weekend... this will be the first time in a long time when I can actually feel like I have free time.
I know I signed up for this... I know that dental school is hard and I am very glad that I'm here. I'm just really tired.
Here's the gist of it...
My mom was hospitalized for three days... so I basically was stressed out of my mind. I was so scared.
I had four exams... three of them were on the same day. The other one occured while my mom was still in the hospital.
I still have two more exams to go... and I'm just so darn exhausted.
I just want to be able to sleep and not feel guilty. I want to just have a little bit of breathing room... but I don't even know. Not until this Tuesday afternoon.
I'm so bummed out. I'm not very happy right now. I just feel stress... stress... and more stress.
I can't wait for the weekend... this will be the first time in a long time when I can actually feel like I have free time.
I know I signed up for this... I know that dental school is hard and I am very glad that I'm here. I'm just really tired.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
I Really Should Blog More
Today was a really long day. It was very eventful and it left me feeling a little bit accomplished in at least one aspect of dental school life. Here goes... I went to a CPR certification. My card expired some time last year and it's awesome that the school scheduled for us to get certified. This way, I don't have to go to some random location or bus to far away destinations just to get certified. Hooray for that.
On a side note, life is bitter sweet sometimes. For those who know me personally, it is a very very very obvious thing that I love anime and manga A LOT. I even went to my first anime convention last summer... and I really liked it. Anyway, I found out that Pittsburgh hosts an anime convention. Of course I was extremely excited especially after I discovered that the location was only 30 minutes away via bus. But then reality hit me like a giant mecha robot (you like that? just imagine Transformers or Escaflowne), I have an exam the Monday after the anime convention weekend. And knowing me, I will feel to guilty to endulge my anime-ness when an exam is looming around the corner. ::sigh:: Maybe some other time? Or maybe I'll study extra early so I can go...
Another random note, being a dental student has some simple perks... such as an awesome discount to dental products from major retailers. It's nice to know that I can buy a Sonicare power toothbrush and an Oral-B power toothbrush for a third of the price. Some people will be getting dental products for presents... and they will like it... they will all like it. :-D
On a side note, life is bitter sweet sometimes. For those who know me personally, it is a very very very obvious thing that I love anime and manga A LOT. I even went to my first anime convention last summer... and I really liked it. Anyway, I found out that Pittsburgh hosts an anime convention. Of course I was extremely excited especially after I discovered that the location was only 30 minutes away via bus. But then reality hit me like a giant mecha robot (you like that? just imagine Transformers or Escaflowne), I have an exam the Monday after the anime convention weekend. And knowing me, I will feel to guilty to endulge my anime-ness when an exam is looming around the corner. ::sigh:: Maybe some other time? Or maybe I'll study extra early so I can go...
Another random note, being a dental student has some simple perks... such as an awesome discount to dental products from major retailers. It's nice to know that I can buy a Sonicare power toothbrush and an Oral-B power toothbrush for a third of the price. Some people will be getting dental products for presents... and they will like it... they will all like it. :-D
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Aaaaagh Finals
I'm soooo tired. One more final and the hardest one yet of all of them. So stressed. So feeling blah. I don't know what to do. I'm just reading over stuff now. :(
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Giving Back
I would tell everyone that I've been busy with schoolwork... but that's not really anything new. Instead, I'll just tell everyone about the community service things that I'm involved with.
Right now, the Pedo Club (I'm secretary... in case you didn't know) is holding a Toy Drive. And, I'm basiclly asking my classmates to sponsor a child by purchasing a toy for them and leaving it unwrapped at the Pedo clinic. I also helped out w/ the Christmas tree sale at the School for Blind Children. We received 300 trees yesterday and we hauled them out, removed the string binding their branches, trimmed their stems, measured their height, tagged their specs, and cleaned up. It was a fun time and it was great hanging w/ the second years... but I'm not going to lie, it was freezing. I was suited up in my winter gear.
Since it is super cold in Pittsburgh, I am now considering making an investment on a really warm jacket. All the wam outerwear I have are coats and I need something lighter and shorter than that. It's amazing how expensive jackets are. Northface is ridiculous... some of the jackets are like $500. I'm looking at Columbia right now but they don't have prices listed on their website. The other one that I'm looking into is Lands' End... my grandma wants to give me her Lands' End jacket... but I really don't wanna wear bright orange around school. And, I found a moderately priced $140 jacket that I might buy myself for Christmas.
Wow. I can't believe that Christmas is coming up so fast. It's going to be exciting, relaxing, and hopefully super fun. But before I get there, I need to suffer through finals. There's just no easy way out. Ah, the life of a dental student... with so much stress, you have no room for other emotion.
Right now, the Pedo Club (I'm secretary... in case you didn't know) is holding a Toy Drive. And, I'm basiclly asking my classmates to sponsor a child by purchasing a toy for them and leaving it unwrapped at the Pedo clinic. I also helped out w/ the Christmas tree sale at the School for Blind Children. We received 300 trees yesterday and we hauled them out, removed the string binding their branches, trimmed their stems, measured their height, tagged their specs, and cleaned up. It was a fun time and it was great hanging w/ the second years... but I'm not going to lie, it was freezing. I was suited up in my winter gear.
Since it is super cold in Pittsburgh, I am now considering making an investment on a really warm jacket. All the wam outerwear I have are coats and I need something lighter and shorter than that. It's amazing how expensive jackets are. Northface is ridiculous... some of the jackets are like $500. I'm looking at Columbia right now but they don't have prices listed on their website. The other one that I'm looking into is Lands' End... my grandma wants to give me her Lands' End jacket... but I really don't wanna wear bright orange around school. And, I found a moderately priced $140 jacket that I might buy myself for Christmas.
Wow. I can't believe that Christmas is coming up so fast. It's going to be exciting, relaxing, and hopefully super fun. But before I get there, I need to suffer through finals. There's just no easy way out. Ah, the life of a dental student... with so much stress, you have no room for other emotion.
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