April Showers

No, I wasn't the only person on Earth raptured in May.  :)  Life has been a teensy bit crazy lately!  

Time to catch up!

Becky's Shower

Becky, her mother-in-law, and her mom

Candyce & Mecca

Ash & Me

Lauren (baby A was born in April, too!), Michelle, & Ashley

Easter

The next big event was Easter.  We had our usual extravagant fare, but got started having fun and put the camera down as soon as everybody arrived.  Luckily I got this cute one with mom before lunch started.

Operative Faculty Dinner

One of the most fun things I did this semester was teach in the D1 (first year) labs at school.  I worked in occlusion (ie, how your teeth come together) and operative (ie, fillings). To celebrate the end of the year, the operative faculty all went to a Mexican restaurant for margaritas and dinner.  Unfortunately, we were cut a little short by tornadoes (literally - crazy weather), but Megan and I had fun none-the-less!

UT Scholarship Banquet

Last weekend the College of Dentistry hosted its annual Scholarship Banquet.  

It's always the same weekend as the hoopla that is the Mid-South Dental Congress (aka, welcome back to Memphis, dental nerds.  Come party with your old friends!)

I've been honored to receive the Gov. Winfield C. Dunn Scholarship for the past 2 years.  Governor Dunn is a dentist who [duh] became Governor of Tennessee.  He was an integral part of establishing our current clinic (which is named for him), and he is now the chair of the committee that is funding the multi-million dollar renovations that have once again made UT THE most technologically advanced teaching clinic in the country.  

So basically, he's kind of a big deal!

Thanks so much, Kendall, for this picture!

One of the best parts of any dental school event is the photo shoot with Dr. Hatch.  He's like party pics at a sorority function, y'all.

sweet Jeni and me

my handsome date, Heath

good friends!

me, Ashley, Katie, and Nishel

Last but not least, my Katie!

We needed a new one!

Whew, now that I'm caught up, it's off to Spring Break!  It's okay, go ahead and be jealous.  :)

Good News!

A little bit of mail came Monday . . .

I PASSED!

(IpassedIpassedIpassedIpassedIpassedIpassedIpassed!)

(Whew.)

Thanks so much for all of the prayers, encouraging text messages, and support while I was studying and then taking that marathon-of-a-test.  One more big hurdle down!

I'm in print!

. . . and you can click here to see it!

(super-awful iPhone photo ... of the actual article!!)

Yep, that's right, the Journal of the Tennessee Dental Association has included a paper that I co-authored with a faculty member in their Fall 2010 journal.


Here's a quick run-down if you don't want to muddle through all of the dental speak:
-that thing (Cemento-osseous Dysplasia) is fairly common in African-American women (ie, if a dentist sees it on a radiograph, or x-ray, in that group of patients, it's pretty easy to figure out what it is)
-two MALE patients presented with this same condition in the span of a few months.  (I know this doesn't sound like a big thing, but anomalies like this really excite health care people ... obviously)
-Anomalies throw a wrench into how we diagnose things as doctors.  That's why you may think that "one random" vitamin you take every day is insignificant and leave it off of that ridiculously long health history form we make you fill out every time (I know, I know, I don't like them, either), but you never know what "one random" vitamin is the key that sticks you in some magic group that tells your doctor what ails you.  (goodness I love diagnosis.  It's like a giant puzzle.)


Okay, I'll stop with the medical ramblings, but that's the long and short of it, to educate dentists and other dental professionals on abnormal presentations of a somewhat common condition.

Even though we've known for months that they were going to print it, it's still fun to see on paper! (especially since, to this day 1.5 years later, I still have not seen a print version of my only other 'professional' publication ... I should look into that, right?)

Even though I'm sure he doesn't read this, many, many thanks to Dr. DiFiore, the primary author.

Now, back to boards studying.  Because the next thing I need from those awesome people at the TDA is a license.  :)

Happy Birthday . . . to Me!

I took a little blog break yesterday to celebrate my birthday!  YAY!  (well, and to take mock boards at school, but that is a totally different issue, and NO celebrating was involved.)

That's right, we all know I have a slight, ahem, obsession with birthdays.

Luckily, I have awesome friends that are willing to give up some of their precious study time to help me celebrate!

After the dreaded event that was Mock Boards 2010 (listen, you haven't had it handed to you until someone has gone over your work with a digital caliper and judged you to the 0.1mm.  ick.) I had a job interview!  I will keep the details confidential, but let's just say this whole "finally entering the real world" thing became a whole lot more "real" yesterday.

After that, it was time to celebrate at one of my favorite places - Bhan Thai.  We were in our own room upstairs, which gave us plenty of latitude to eat, drink, catch up, and laugh a lot.

Megan and me at dinner

Of course, there was cake.  Everyone laughed because I made my own.  (Don't be distressed, my precious friend Jeni offered, but I had to share my Mimi's Chocolate Swirl cake with my friends ... I have it as my birthday cake every year!)

(Coincidentally, it was my breakfast this morning, too.  yes, I know I went overboard on the glaze.  That's your prerogative on your birthday.  :)  And sorry, folks, this recipe is a family secret.  Some things can't be shared, right?)

As we left we asked the bartender to take our picture.  After the first one he said, "wow, that was really good!"  I honestly thought he was lying. (they all say that, you know?)

NO!  He was telling the honest-to-goodness truth!!  What a great picture!  (This one is a framer, I do believe!)  It doesn't hurt that I have GORGEOUS friends!  (I do, don't I?)  Jeni missed the picture.  :(  She snuck off without us knowing!!

PS - Take a look a what my two bffs mailed me for my birthday:  

(sadly, they both live hours away.)

Cookbooks!  Do they know me well, or what??  I told one of them that this is called enabling.  Looks like lots of fun (and new recipes to post!) in my future!

PPS - the St. Jude Marathon is today!

(Please please PLEASE visit their website and learn more about this awesome hospital if you aren't familiar with it!)

What is especially cool about the marathon is that it ends right by my apartment.  Literally, the last turn of mile 26, as seen right here:

The half marathon finishes on the other side of our building.  There are signs everywhere that say, "Be a hero for Hanna!" and "Run for Devon!" I could go on and on.  

I have been listening to the 'cheerleaders' for the last few hours as the runners are finishing -- not conducive to studying at all but so so heartwarming.  They are clapping, yelling "YOU'RE A HERO!" (St. Jude is all about being a hero for their kids!) and being so encouraging!  There is one lady in particular who has been here for the past hour (they come in shifts).  She has the sweetest Southern voice and her "Woo" is more of a "whuu-ooo"; you know, she sliiiides into it!  And it's two short "woos" before a long one.  "Whu-oo, whu-oo, whu-oooooooo!"  (Goodness, I wish I had a video camera so everyone could hear.  Typing does not do it justice.)  I don't even know this lady, but I love her.  She is giving 100% for every single person that comes by!!  

Now that her shift is over, I guess I will have to get out the earplugs for the rest of the day and actually get some studying done.  

Back to the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Challenge later today!

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Studying, Studying

My kitchen table is a mess right now.

I suspect it will stay that way for a few more weeks.

The papers are even spilling over into the chairs.

Goodness, I have a long way to go between now and the 16th!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

last exam EVER! ... well, almost.

Ahh!  Over a month.  Boy, oh, boy, have I been a slacker!  

(a blogging slacker, that is.)

In terms of school, I have been going 90-to-nothin'.

Which leads me to the title of today's post ... today was my last [University of Tennessee] dental school test EVER!!!

Can it be true?  Really?  No kidding?  

Truth be told, there are grumblings about some sort of pass/fail sleep disorders class next semester, but for today, such a blissful day, I am pretending it doesn't exist.  No more getting grades on paper exams.  (yay!)  

Sorry, teacher friends, this student is sooooo happy about that.  :)

What did I do to celebrate?

I applied for a big girl job, yep, I did.  "Big girl job" reminds me of that Gilmore Girls episode where Rory and Lorelai discuss being an "ah-dult" and promptly decide that you aren't an "ah-dult" until you say "ah-dult", not "grown-up".  (sigh.  I digress.)  Anyway, I brushed up my CV, wrote a fabulous cover letter, and sent it.  It's my first 'cold' send-off of sorts, so I am now in that tumultuous state of wondering whether or not they will contact me!

On that note, please pray that I will (1.) have patience to wait on things like this over the next few months and (2.) that God will provide the perfect opportunity.  I truly have no doubts that He will, but I (3.) need the open heart to hear His direction.  Transitions are certainly times that are stressful and require a lot of faith that He will provide! (again, I digress. This is what happens when I don't blog for a month.)

So what's a girl to do when she's not studying for dental school exams anymore?  Study for dental exams.  SAY WHAT?  Yes, I said study and exams.  National Boards Part II on December 16 and 17 is the next big hurdle.

Until then, I'm looking forward to catching back up with friends, Thanksgiving and visits from family, (my birthday!), and maybe, just maybe, a "big girl" job.

a very boring busy

I hate to be one of those people who says, "I can't believe it's already ..." but really, I can't believe it's already October!

Time surely flies when you're having fun.  (Or when you're in dental school.)

Here's a recap of the last 3 or 4 weeks:

Lots of studying.  I know this picture is soooo interesting.  Who doesn't love cardiovascular drugs?  We've had 1-2 tests a week for the past month and a half, and now it's 2 or 3 until the end of the semester.  ick.  Oh, well, after that we are finished!!

And this is why we have had so many tests/why I am studying so much:

NBDE Part II.  double-ick.

December 16 and 17.  Write dates down on a post-it and start saying some prayers for me, please!

Of course, there has been a little bit of fun thrown in.  Being the Arkansas girl that I am, I haven't been able to resist going to see my Hogs play!  We had a heartbreaker last weekend against Alabama, but it has been a fun season so far and I'm looking forward to seeing them back in action next week.

Guess who doesn't look so fresh and pretty after several hours tailgating and jumping up and down yelling WOO PIG?  Oh, my, how I envy those people and their not-so-frizzy hair!

I had to get a picture with my favorite guy (my dad), though!

I LOVE when the team comes onto the field!

Of course, no tailgate is complete without Rick's.  Mom thought that our friend, John Phelps, would appreciate this gigantic Razorback cookie.  Did I mention that he is a diehard 'Bama fan?  Oh, the fun.  (Until we lost, anyway.)  Mr. Phelps did love his cookie, though!  If only it had brought us just a teeny-tiny bit more luck.

Then it was back to school, back to clinic, and back to studying.  [sigh]  Which catches you up on this very busy, somewhat boring, life that I love!

Happy Sunday!

Flip Cup Tourney 2010

Ah, the flip cup tournament!  

It's the traditional end to ZIPS rush: Friday night, the Train Station downtown, and head-to-head flipping competition.

Teams "recruit" members and start practicing, well, that night.  But it's serious competition.

ZIPS Officers filling in the bracket

"Dr. Wicks's Flippers" team members Nishel and Candice practiced hard before the competition started.  The team is Nishel, Candice, Ashley, and Michelle.  They won our D2 year, were topped last year in the finals and were looking to take back the trophy this year.  Sadly, they lost to the same team in the semis.  

Peru Reunion!

Me, RJ, Leslie, and Candice

D4 girls

Michelle, Leslie, Candice, Nishel, Megan, and me

D4 class picture

Not a great picture, but a great group of people!

At the end of the night, a group of D2s won the tournament.  No D4s even made the finals, but we had a great time anyway.  It was a great end to our Rush week! 

AAWD Wine & Cheese

AAWD is an organization that has become near and dear to my heart over the past two years.  I've written about it before when we had our Senior Appreciation Tea.  AAWD is a national organization that was formed by a group of women dentists who saw the need to support each other not only in everyday work, but also in education, product development, and home life, and that remains the core of the organization today.  


This year I have the pleasure of serving as President of Tennessee's student chapter.  We have an amazing group here at UT, not only students, but also faculty and administration who have helped us build from the ground up over the last 5 years or so.  


Our big kick-off event every year is our Wine & Cheese Party.  Need I say more?  


The foundation that manages the Woodruff-Fontaine Home, a beautiful Victorian in Memphis's Victorian Village, is very gracious every year and allows us to use the Lee Fontaine Carriage House for the party.  It is an amazing place!  They have been renovating over the past 3 years and recently finished the Bridal Suite upstairs.  Mrs. Lovell, the foundation President, showed Dr. Harrison and me around before we set up, and it was beautiful.  Amazing to think they used to keep horses there.

Lauren, Nicole, me, and Katie

The calm before the storm!  We were in the kitchen waiting on the girls to arrive with the food.  Just after this you would have thought a hurricane had come through.

Enjoying the party in white - as Katie put it, "it's almost Labor Day!"

Sweet Jessi, another UA Chi Omega!  It has been so much fun having her here in Memphis. I had to twist her arm to get her to come because the D1 class had a quiz the next day in their morphology class.  Her stress brought back a lot of memories about starting dental school and having to learn the ropes ... when it's necessary to freak out, when it's not ... mostly just falling back on verses like Matthew 6:27, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?".  Forgetting that, dental school could involve a LOT of worry.  

My Clinic Coordinator, Dr. Blen.  He is AWESOME.  I could not have asked for a better dentist to have as a coordinator.  He is to-the-point, funny, helpful, full of applicable advice, and he lets us make our own mistakes and learn from them.  Talking on an iPhone?   Not his strong suit.  HA.  He was a good sport about it, though, and let me take his picture!

Our Clinical Director, Dr. Seeburg, and his wife, Marcia

Dr. Seeburg has been an excellent addition to UT; it is great to see him walking around the 4th floor every day.  

Whew!  Finally sitting down and enjoying a minute with friends.

D4 Class Picture with Dr. Harrison, our faculty advisor

back row, from left: Valerie, Denise, Rebecca, Angie, Ashley, Michelle, Clair, Lauren, Nicole, Candyce, Joi, Dr. Harrison

Friday it was back to ZIPS events, so watch for another post soon!

Flight

Isn't that a great name for a restaurant?

Okay, I must admit that I have never actually eaten there, but I've heard it's fabulous.  I used to go to the former restaurant, Stella, quite frequently so I don't know why I always forget about it!  hmmm...anyway, the topic at hand... 

Fraternity Rush!

This is not your typical "Greek Life" from college, although I do miss those days.  (Chi Omega just got 104 new members Saturday.  104! Oh, I miss my days at the Chi-O house!)  The dental school fraternities are laid-back, co-ed organizations that basically operate just to provide a social outlet for students outside of the stresses of our two little blocks in the medical district.  We encourage the D1s to get involved, whichever organization they choose.

I missed our first 'Rush' event last Monday due to another meeting, so I was ready to go on Wednesday.  We had our annual cocktail party at the aforementioned Flight, which is one of my favorite events all year!  After wearing scrubs 5 days a week it is nice to remember what it's like to look nice.  And wear heels.

Michelle and me

happy to be out of clinic and out on the town!

We survived both Dr. Beaupre AND Dr. Durdik together at the UA.  Steve and I can conquer anything.  

It was so great to catch up with Jessica!  She just had a baby.  I know, you wouldn't have known, would you?  Baby E was at Anna's playing for the night so Mrs. Gambill could come celebrate the beginning of her back-to-school, too!  

Beautiful Ashley, my fellow football fan, birthday twin, and basically just a-mazing girl!  I'm so glad we had that conversation a year ago where I said, "um, why aren't you applying to dental school?!?" and Ashley just looked at me and smiled.  Now here she is in Memphis with me!

Jessica (D1), Ashley (D1), me, Sarah (D3), Megan (D3), and Stefania (an Italian exchange student)

I'm slowly but surely meeting the D1s and learning their names.  Emphasis on slowly.

And a few D1s whose names I didn't need to learn:

Some of my faves from the UA!  

Lance, who worked for Dr. Hays, and Jessi and Nicole, both Chi-Os a few pledge classes behind me.  The Chi-O hootie-hoos are taking over UT!

It was nice to get out and enjoy time with friends away from school.  This was just the first celebration of many last week, so there will be many more posts and pictures to come in the next few days!

Happy Monday!

Team Odontoblast, part 4

Here it is, the end of our trip! Since I've been over all of the logistical stuff by this point, this will be mainly pictures!

(Oh, and got a hold of Burton's jump drive today with all of his fabulous pictures ... it is like a photo diary of our trip!)

Monday, June 14

Monday morning and afternoon we worked at the school in Chincha.  We were set up in a room right next to our little sleeping quarters and had an abundance of fun kids to treat!

our treatment room

Megan and her a-mazing prophylaxis skills!  Everyone got a little oral hygiene instruction and a toothbrush.

Then they practiced using them!

Dr. B giving RJ some pointers on his IA injection technique

pulling a tooth ...

success!

This little guy was more concerned about what was going on with the camera than my hand and syringe in his mouth ... those are the all-star patients!

The real deal amalgam - the mercury and alloy are separate and you use a well to combine the phases.  No triturator required!

We are convinced that this little girl is going to be a model.  She loooooved Dr. B!  She even came back to see him later in the week.

At this point in the trip, we had convinced Alycia to look in the mouth.  Now it was time to pull a tooth!  I got the patient numb and am pointing things out to her ...

Success!

She was very concerned ... much moreso than the patient ... and had to talk to him afterwards to make sure she had not hurt him.  (She hadn't.)

Tuesday, June 15

Tuesday we spent the day in Pisco.  Pisco has a school, but no community center/medical center yet, so we set up in the library.  The medical team also went out on "campaign" with us, which means we had to take two vans.  Hmmm ... this created a little problem because none of the Peruvian medical staff could drive the van (license not necessary in Peru, folks!) 

What to do, what to do ...

See that little car overtaking our little van?

Oh, that's because there is an American boy behind the wheel!

He was not yet driving like a Peruvian.

In Pisco we set up in the library.  Poor kids; they will not want to read books for a while!

Our extraction station and supply station

Central Sterilization - Peru style!

Michelle rocked the mobile handpiece

Zach let this little girl "examine" him with his headlamp on.  Unfortunately, this did not calm her fears too much; she still cried about 3 minutes later when it was her turn!

RJ, Candice, Dr. B, and me talking strategy

Burton can make any petite girl look tall with his great photography skills!

The chapel on the Pisco square

We went into town for lunch to a really great restaurant.  Dr. B took us next door to the pharmacy (yep, pharmacy) to buy us ice cream after lunch, and when we left a homeless man begged for money.  This would not have bothered me, but when we told him no, he followed us to our van, shouting, and Dra. Jenny almost had to run over him to get out of the parking spot!  Oh, the experiences!

Wednesday, July 16

Wednesday morning we went on "campaign" with the medical team again, but this time to Ica.  Ica does not yet have a school or a clinic, but they have a church.  Right now the church is being used as the school so that the kids can get an education!

The church (aka school) with our little van in front.

All of the girls!  Megan, Candice, Leslie, Michelle, and me

Me with some of the girls from Ica.  The whole environment was so different in Ica - chaotic, wild, and the kids were [mostly] little swindlers!  They would go from person to person asking for a toothbrush or toothpaste (multiples) so that they could go sell them later.  We tried to corral them, but it is just the way they have been raised.  Sweet kids nonetheless!

 Tomas, the PICA child, who ate about 1/3 of the toothbrush handle by the time we left.  I say this to stress the total depravity of the situation in Ica; it is causing such emotional stress that it is causing psychological issues in the children.  So sad.  (Everyone kept telling me not to be dramatic, but I'm telling you, this is the definition of PICA!)

Alycia went out to check on the process of the new earthquake-resistant housing and school while we were working.  This is her real job ... writing grants to make sure these projects are funded.

Clean teeth, happy kids!

Around 1:30 we finished in Ica and went back to Chincha.  We did not see the oldest students on Monday afternoon when we were there, so we decided to forego sandboarding so they could be seen.  We knew they would be there waiting on us when we got back.  First, though, we were greeted by Nellie, our cook while we were in Chincha.  She was also our patient on Monday.  We were happy to be able to share our gifts with her since she shared her gift with us all week!

After lunch it was back to work.

Candice offered Burton some encouragement while he worked.

Wednesday night we had some fun with Dr. B.  Have you ever seen the iPhone app or website yearbook yourself? Leslie and I were yearbooking ourselves at dinner, and when we yearbooked Dr. B he explained that when he had hair it looked like Megan's, only not quite so long.  An idea was born ...

pretty realistic!

Thursday, June 17

Our last day!  We packed up early to head to our last site, Canete.  We were going to head back to Lima from there.  Little did we know the kids had something else in store for us!

Taking pictures before we left.  Notice that box?  We didn't think a thing about it ...

They are chocotejas!  Traditional chocolate candies aka deliciousness in a little wrapper.  The filling is like a cross between a caramel and nougat.  I know that sounds weird, but that's what it is like!  Our box was three flavors:  prune, pecan, and fruit.  I never could decide which was my favorite.  Dra. Jenny snuck out on Wednesday and got them for us.  It was such a thoughtful gift and we were overwhelmed by their generosity.  Of course, where did we find Dra. Jenny when we went to tell her thanks?

Already in the van, ready to head to Canete!

Our last site of the trip - the school in Canete.  There is also a tomato farm there - Coprodeli is trying to begin growing some of their own food.

After we finished our work Thursday we drove back to Lima.  Thursday night we went to downtown Lima for a last group dinner.  By the time I made it back to the Coprodeli house, I slept about 1.5 hours before leaving early, early for the airport and the 34 hour trip home.  Gotta love airport delays.

What a wonderful trip.  Such wonderful people and wonderful memories.

We are already talking about going back.

When you see faces like this, how could you stay away?