Good Lookin' Gums

It has been verified by a knowledgeable source, I have good lookin' gums! Unfortunately, when the instructor came by she said it wasn't quite as top-notch as Pam did. Sigh. But...I did get an A---when they calculated my BFI, it was a 97% which, is an A right? Radiology was good, we finished the other half of our full-mouths. I had to retake four, but once I retook them I did really well. Clinic was just HOT and HOT and HOT, the AC wasn't working and it was stifling. Luckily, they didn't make us wear our lab coats. It was a lot of information today, just to remember to do, not anything necessarily that was difficult, and so it was really frustrating and confusing at the beginning. Slowly though, as we worked through clinic it all came together, and by the end I thought it went really well. Poor Pam, having to work on me and my braces----thank you!
Oh and thanks to Prof. Bossenberger for helping me find the combination to my lock! I have combo locks for work, my bike, and my locker here, and I remember them all as long as I'm not thinking about it....but unfortunately (embarassingly) I could not for the life of me remember my com today!

Life is busy, busy, busy. But tests went all right last week, not perfect, but definitely good enough to just be glad that they are over. Yesterday I went to Megan's, walked in the door, and the kids updated me(yelling over the top of each other) on their lives...it felt great. I am so glad that they were that excited to see me, and it was fun. After dinner, which was AMAZING (thank you so so so so much Megs!) I needed a nap, unfortunately the noise level didn't die down at all. But I had lots of fun watching everyone play with Halloween decorations. This is a snapshot of Megan's living room: Danica walking around with a witch hat and mask, Myles flapping a humongous bat wings', Lynnaea pressing a button over and over that opened a door and people would scream, Kiersten playing with a pumpkin like it was her baby doll, and Anders holding a plastic cat and making flying noises with it around the room. It was a roomful, but so much fun. Loved it. It has been a great start to a week...lets hope it continues!

Sept 24

Clinic was so much fun today. First, I whined to Kelsie and Pam C. about all my problems trying to give plasma this morning. They were SO AWESOME to listen to all my whininess. Thanks guys. Then...we got to poke marshmellows and candy corn! It was nice to practice on that, then also on the typodont so that by the time we actually got to real people I actually felt pretty comfortable. PROBING IS SO MUCH EASIER THAN EXPLORING! I was all worried for another frustrating day in clinic, but not so much! It was great! I like probing! Although, it does hurt a little more when the partner does mess up, but Pam was awesome, so it was not a big deal. Our instructors decided to switch pods, so we had a new face today, which was kinda fun, kinda not. It's just the whole getting used to a person's personality and exactly what they really make you do. But good day, all in all. I passed of my vital signs PE and my extra oral exam PE. YAY! Now, I will go and take my anatomy exam so that I can start studying for the radiology exam that I want to take tomorrow.

Spaceships and Blood

Today was a long day. It is gloomy and wet and rainy, and my alarm(set for 5:05 so I could get some homework done) was lovingly cradled in my arms when I woke up....and turned off. So yes, I woke up at about 7:24 and had to be in class at 7:50. I left the house at 7:35 and wasn't too late, just breathing REALLY hard.

Radiology was a blast...we got to make mistakes on purpose, to see what it would look like. I always feel like we are in a space ship in some future world when we are in the dark room, and the cylindrical door spins around. 

Dental hygiene clinic was...stressful. To say the least. We were learning how to use explorers. I poked my clinic partner twice (sorry!) and just felt really frustrated because I still don't understand the difference between using one end of the explorer or the other. And its really critical to know...I just don't get it. Grr. Also, I was all concerned about my Health History---rewrote it a couple times, in fact---and we didn't even get to it. Sigh. It's been a long day. I am going to go home, eat leftover goulash, and then spend the rest of the evening cramming like crazy for my anatomy lab quiz tomorrow and test. I REALLY wanted to take the test tomorrow, because then we have a radiology test Thursday, but because I work Tuesday night I might end up taking Anatomy Wednesday. Oh well though. Life will go on. 

Oh and PS I think i lost my radiology book and binder. It's making me more than a little frantic. 

FAQ's Gleaned Insofar From Fall Semester 2008

-It is possible to eat one entire box of Frosted Flakes in two days.
-It is also possible to eat three bowls of Frosted Flakes in two minutes.
-It takes 44 nickels to pay for one gallon of milk.
-Why is it that popsicles taste best when partially melted, so you have to eat them really fast so they don't fall off the stick, and then you get a head freeze?
-It is possible to eat one loaf of home-made zucchini bread in two meals.
-It is possible, when sitting on any sort of chair, to fall asleep midsentence.
-Is there a reason the apartment suddenly get noisiest at 11:30PM?
-You can fit 5 girls, one camping stove, one 8-man tent, and a cooler, with food and overnight bags in one Buick Century for three days.
-Library computers hate my password.
-Chocolate is good for you. (I realize this is a previously proven fact, I would just like to reiterate it)
-Riding your bike with 50+lbs of books on your back makes the seat a LOT harder.
-Ramen tastes better at 11:00PM
-The Lord made us fear death so that we wouldn't commit suicide.
-Professor's that really want you to learn are REALLY rare, but REALLY appreciated.
-How many types of food a day is nutritious, and do animal crackers fill all the requirements?
-No water in the morning really bites.
-Changing poopy diapers gets really old, really fast.
-My room goes in cycles. Clean. Not clean.
-Dishes don't do themselves... and neither does homework.
-I really need to get paid! (Money goes out faster than it comes in)
-Bikes were sent from heaven.
-After five years of not doing gymnastics, it really hurts.
-Sometimes good intentions don't last.
-Good shoes are essential.
-If you see someone with one pant leg rolled up, it means they have been riding a bike

*Thanks Aleesha for your great additions.
*Feel free for all college students, and graduated students to comment and add to my list of noted facts and questions. It could be interesting :)

UDHA

As a first-year student of WSU Dental Hygiene program, I was required, along with my fellow students, to attend the UDHA convention last Friday at Thanskgiving Point. In preparation for us going, the senior-students gave a presentation to pump us up about going, becoming a member when we graduate, but did not really explain a whole lot about it.
We get there, and there is a really WEIRD lady talking to us about how our heart is our son, and we need to release the emotions inside, become rooted like a tree, breathe deeply. A lot of mumbo-jumbo...no offense to those who liked it, I'm not a big lovely/feely kind of a person in that way.
Then we have a second presenter. He was coming to talk to us about ADHA (which by the way, I still don't know what that stands for, although it might have been mentioned---I do know it is the national organization for DH). He spent an hour telling us how poorly the dental hygiene association has been run in years previous and that it is going to change. He didn't tell us how it was going to change, he just pointed out what they had done wrong, and then simply stated that it would, eventually, change. After the longest hour of my life, he said he was going to show us WHY they were changing. My interests were sparked "yay! something new in your speech!" We spent the next hour watching videos of disgruntled DH's around the nation telling us why they thought it was a waste of time to join the association. That it helped them personally, none at all, actually. Then, I THOUGHT he was going to tell us why exactly it would be beneficial to be a member when we graduated (we were a class specifically designed for students, so he wanted to boost our morale, right??!?!) but NO! He spent the next hour telling us how we should recruit other people to come.
He did at one point say it was good to join because of benefits you can get, like discounts on loupes(although you can get better student discounts), small discounts in health insurance, and that at one point in the distant past this organization helped make it possible for DH's to administer anesthetic. That is all I gleaned from his pro-joining speech. And I was listening.
To top it all of, he was a terrible speaker, he had terrible skills: no dynamics, no enthusiasm, complete monotone voice, no gestures, he didn't relate anything to us, he used big words and no catch phrases. He was a dud, pretty much.
It was the longest convention of my life (although I did get some pretty sweet free toothbrushes) and I left completely against ever joining ADHA. Luckily, our ethics professor heard about it today, and in TWO MINUTES told us how she used to be a member, and also a member with a position of authority...she told us how she was one of the ones who pushed for DH's to be able to administer anesthetic, and what that means to us. She told us the importance of having an association to back us up in case of malpractice, in case we need an insurance break, in case we need to pass something new in the future because medicine is ever changing. She also said a few more things. In that TWO MINUTES I was more convinced to become a member than I have ever been. Certainly it reversed my absolutely negative attitude toward ADHA. Oh yeah, and its American Dental Hygiene Association. So there you go. I learned something today. Now I can become an activist, and NEXT time, there better be a better speaker, because that serious reflects poorly. Lamesauce.

Bites

Sometimes to feel whole you have to devour a mountain. Bite by bite until you are stuffed over-full. Using all your senses until you feel so complete that your heart hurts. Then you can't decide if it is because you have so much, or if it's the memory of the previous emptiness. Sometimes it seems better to never know what you could have, because of the emptiness after losing it. Once lost, a pearl of great worth is never forgotten, but cherished forever. It brings joy in its keeper's soul, even as it brings sorrow from its departure. Yet, even in sorrow I suppose it is still better to have once been intoxicated with joy, than to have never felt it at all.

I climbed my mountain today, and I met a little boy, who was running down a trail. He asked my name, and I asked his. "Zach" was his answer, simply stated, and the exchange quickly forgotten. What will that Zach, with shockingly blond hair, and pools of brown eyes, become? Will he be able to experience joy so that he might know sorrow?

Today is a melancholy day. As I climb my mountain to my accustomed perch, I see breathtaking red leaves that dust the tops of dying, green leaves. Excitement, for a new season. But sorrow, to mourn the loss of a bright and happy summer. Excitement, that days progress to one day that might permanently make the whole. But sorrow, that mourns the passing of a deeply appreciated youth.

Do we live in the tangible world around us, or do we live in the world created by our mind? The tangible world is stark, rough, and unbearable---yet it stuns my senses, and bite by bite, it makes me whole. My one hope is that people appreciate the tangible, but learn to live in their own creation. Because you can only take reality bite by bite, all together it becomes a deadly intoxication that recklessly takes away your breath.

My creation has lost what once was a pearl of great worth, and so I climb my mountain. To become whole, and to discover what else I can. Discovery too, can bring sorrow, but is that not worth the initial joy? You can believe in destiny, but a wise man once told me you have to build the bridges, or destiny will never reach you.

My hours of homework I left at the bottom of the mountain. So I could soar to the top. The wind chills, and my mind wishes for times already enjoyed. Now, turn my head to the red leaves and embrace the brilliance of a new season. What once was foreign, will soon become familiar. With familiarity, fear will become joy. Bites of my mountain might fulfill other, future losses---losses that haven't even been gained yet to be lost.

To my future self: remember not to linger too long on the past--for the future is ungraciously ever-present. Enjoy your own creation, because that is what makes sunshine and laughter.

Peace now, for I have devoured a mountain. With crickets, and rocks, and red leaves, and a little boy named Zach. To go back down, leads to hard work, monotony, failures, and mistakes. But when those too squeeze my heart, I can once again devour this mountain, bite by bite, and become whole. And if I had no mountain-I'd have my own creations, thus we discover insanity's necessity. Then I could resist reality and build a bridge to my destiny.

My need for completeness is now tucked at the back of my heart. It will come out again on some future day, but for now, my mountain has made me whole. In my youth I realize my need to utilize my mountain for future, all-encompassing, bites. But maturity will bring the wisdom that makes my mountain no longer a necessity, but merely a treasured amenity.

I'd like to dedicate this post to my 10th grade english teacher, who finally convinced me to throw away the accepted format, and my need for an A, and taught me to put my heart on paper.

Fulcruming and Positioning

Today I learned how to hold an instrument. Not even to use it, just hold it...and let me tell you it was harder than it sounds! 

Easy: 

+not indenting the knuckles on my pointer finger, because I had a piano teacher that FORCED me to NEVER indent my knuckles. Got that one down.

+keeping my pinky next to my ring finger---for some reason that just made sense to my fingers

+anteriors---can I only clean anterior teeth please?

+posture--I actually didn't do too bad at leaning over today, yay!

NOT easy:

+keeping my ring finger down at the base of the instrument...for some reason I keep my hand positioned higher up?

+doing the left maxillary lingual teeth---who do they think they are, anyway? It took me a really long time to catch this part of the mouth...I couldn't keep a hand with a mirror and a hand with an instrument all in that side of the mouth and figure out how to look at what I was doing. My TA ended up gloving up and demonstrating. It felt better after that.

+Basically everything just feels awkward...good thing we aren't expected to be perfect right away!

It was a great clinic though, and fun to learn! Life is going grand for me. Here's a terrible blond moment from my life yesterday:

Lindsay ran out of milk. Lindsay used her roommate's Sana's milk for breakfast. Lindsay felt bad. Lindsay called Aleesha and talked to Aleesha while she went to Smith's and bought a gallon of milk. Still talking to Aleesha, Lindsay put the gallon of milk in her car, seatbelted up, and started the car. Lindsay can't find her phone. Looks frantically in purse. No phone. Looks frantically in  back seat, and in back pack. No phone. Thinks about walking into the store, and tells Aleesha that she can't find her phone anywhere. Three second lapse. Lindsay realizes she is still talking on the phone to Aleesha. Oh wow. In my defense....yeah. Nothing coming to me. 

Bliss

I would just like to notify everyone that something alarmingly, blissfully, awe-inspiringly, happy happened to me. My manager called me on Saturday and begged me to work today. Finally, I said yes, even though I knew that might mean I would be up until the wee hours of the morning just to fit in some homework between getting off work at 11pm and having class at 7am. Then I get to work, and my coworker Ben was there. WHAT?? So I said, what are YOU doing here? He said he worked until close. I thought that was ridiculous, cause it is a Monday night, and it will be incredibly slow, and there is absolutely no reason why there should be two of us there---there usually isn't. So I called the MOD(manager on duty) and explained that I had only come in because I thought I was desperately needed, and I was very pleased that I was not, and could I PLEASE go home? She said yes. YEAH! You cannot imagine my inexplicable joy and acute happiness at that one simple word. So I did just that. And now I am back at the library studying so I stay somewhat focused tonight. HAPPY JOY!

Sept 15

Today, clinic was busy. We did half a full-mouth set of xrays digitally, and then the other half conventionally. I like radiology, especially because she is just really letting us experiment right now and I feel no stress about having to have it exactly correct. Then we had DH clinic, and we did intra-oral exams. Lots of little anatomy places to remember, which I thought was annoying because they weren't all in our books so I had to google them. But it was fun. Pam and I have really good times in clinic! (Sorry I had to take your blood pressure twice!) Then I passed of my patient/operator positioning PE, so that was a relief to be able to keep on top of the PE's. Life is crazy. I've been in class today from 7:40 to 3:45, and then Candace and I worked on our Case Study until 5:15. Now I am madly checking some things on the computer, printing of some homework, and I work at 6pm. I won't get off until eleven. Sleep is a much-sought after commodity, but quickly becoming a thing of another life. Sigh.

September 10th

Before I talk about clinic today...I want to rewind to Monday. I forgot to say anything about taking blood pressure! It was lots of fun. I like having mine taken, and I did pretty well...for the most part. My blood pressure was low, most of my readings were somewhere between 104-110 over 64-72. Since we'll probably practice a lot, I'll be able to see if it stays there consistently.

On to today. Today's clinic was TONS of fun. We were learning how to do extra-oral examinations, which means feeling all of the sinuses, muscles, and nodes for lumps or bumps that are abnormal. Once I knew where all the nodes, sinuses, and muscles were, it was just fun to feel around and get to know the body a little more. My partner got to feel my TMJ and how out of place it is when I open and close. They discussed how they would chart a patient like me---with multiple popping and clickings. Haahaa. After that we tried to learn how to use the mirror to reflect the images we can't see, so that we aren't stooping over while we work. It was a little tricky, but fun. All in all, it was a really great clinic day, and now I better go ride my bike home before it starts raining on me.

Monday September 8th

So, life is good, good, good. Today I had radiology clinic and hygiene clinic---which means I was in the same two classrooms of the health science building from 7:45 until 4:45ish. It was a long day, but really good. I have a feeling my life will be like this a lot for the next two years. I took four horizontal bitewings on a dummy(we call them dexters) with film, four horizontal bitewings on the dexter with a sensor(digital). Then I took four vertical bitewings digitally, and four vertical bitewings conventionally. I say "four" on all of those, but really, I took several extra's of each, until I finally got one that was diagnostic. The funniest part of the day was when I had a really weird-looking vertical film, and I took it to Prof. McConaughy to tell me what was wrong. I had all the teeth on it, and I had all the contacts right, but it looked skewampous. Prof. M. kindly told me that I was "very artistic". It was pretty funny.
I passed off the Eagle Soft PE! A big thankyou to Pamela for helping me figure out the new computer program. So happy to have that over with. I'm sure there's harder things to come in the future, but at least I understand the computer a little better!
After the long day, I really wanted to go running, so I rode my bike a mile and a half up the mountainside and ran a few miles on the fitness trail, stopping to do the usual sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, squats, wall-sits, lunges, jumping jacks, etc. A week of not working out definitely was apparent, but it felt so nice and the weather is so beautiful! Unfortunately now, I have to go do homework. Have a great night everyone!

September 3

I was going to post some more pictures of my awesome trip to Zions, but computers are not my specialty, and apparently pictures are not the specialty of library computers. But today was my third day of clinicals. It was great! Well, at least I knew what I was supposed to be doing for the majority of the time, passed off two PE's, and learned a lot more about filling out health histories. It really wasn't that exciting of a day, I still feel really lost when it comes to Eagle Soft--the computer program that we will use for patient information and appointments. But that is not due right away, and I will hopefully find some time to work on it. That makes me feel better so I am not at all stressed about it. I really like my TA's, and I'm sad that they have to rotate every three weeks. Can I keep mine? Haahaa, I'm sure I will like the other TA's as well. I feel like I haven't done radiology in forever, we had one lab last Monday, and then I didn't have it this week because of Labor Day---but I think it will be easier to get used to because I am more used to the rest of the classes already. That is life in my world of dental hygiene. On other notes---Luke left on his mission today!!! GOOD LUCK and GOOD BYE! He is definitely the youngest of all my high school buddies, and the last one to go. Sad that all the boys I know are gone. Oh well. Also, my sister Andrea stopped by JCPenney when I was at work last night with the FINAL DRAFT of her and Kayli's novel---it has been through one person already and has a couple more levels before it can be published! I get to read it in its entirety now! Yay!

Zions National Park

So I didn't have my long day of clinicals/radiology yesterday, because it was Labor Day! To celebrate the long weekend, me, my cousin Reagan, my best friend Aleesha, her roommate Michelle, and their friend Juliana went to Zions National Park. We've been planning it for most of the summer, and it was more awesome than we could have imagined. We had oodles of fun, MILES of hiking, GORGEOUS scenery, good food at BLONDIE'S, HILARIOUS shuttle bus drivers, WINDY storms at night, ONE tent, and RAIN. Thats the main parts of the trip. I would definitely recommend a camping trip with five girls sometime in your life. We had a blast. No problems, no squabbles, everyone got along SUPER well, we NEVER got lost(even though we also never knew where we were headed, but signs are a marvelous invention). For those who have been to Zions we hiked the Narrows(no pics, sorry, no one wanted to drop a camera in the water) which had water at one point ABOVE my hand, which was extended above my head, and yes, I was completely submerged. We hiked Angels Landing(completely soaked in the rain). We hiked Hidden Canyon, the three Emerald Pools, and a couple other short little ones. It was an amazing, inspiring, intensely tiring trip. I loved every minute of it. Sorry to Aleesha that you were sick the entire time, and sorry to Reagan for all of you blisters. You guys were great! Oh, and a thanks to my dad for the use of four sleeping bags and a cooler, and a thanks to my sister Megan for her tent and camping stove.