Facebook curfew

On Wednesday the YM quietly put a notice on the office table

'excessive use of facebook at work affects performance'

so facebook access is only allowed during lunch break(1-2pm) and after work (5-7pm)

thanks to the solicitous public

bloody 'ell!

3 S

hate to say this
it's just my second day of work but already i'm sick of not having much to do
not that i am a workaholic, it's just that i cant stand watching the time crawl at snail's pace
please
either keep me busy like bees from 8 to 5
or let me sleep in , chill at home
Never in-betweens

yeah..i din go to 5 yr dental school for nothing...so stop making me feel i'm some unwanted incompetent loser
be it extraction, filling, rct, crown, denture, surgical or splint..just bring it on!!

grrrrr....
anyway
now everyday i wake up wishing i'm equipped with the 3 key qualities to thrive in outpatient
aka 3 S - speed, spot diagnosis and split second decision!

Passed!

Today i got 60 marks in driving

Woohooo!

Strictly Adult

two awkward encounters in one day

Bank A
Worker : Yes?
Me : I'd like to open a new account
Worker : student or joint account?
Me : err..neither. I'd like a personal account
Worker : Ooh......

Bank B
Worker : Hello
Me : Hi ya, can i apply for an ATM card please?
Worker : Sorry, we only provide ATM cards for 17 and above.
Me : Right, i'm above 17.
Worker : Oooh....

Master of none

During the usual after-dinner family chit chat

Mom : Oiii...you need to start practising your BM now. Or else, how are you going to communicate with your patients and colleagues??

Me : Like... how?

Mom : Speak to us in BM from now on.

Me : ...............

Mom : okay okay...at least, learn some dental terminology in BM. That should be helpful.

Me : There are so many jargons in dentistry.Where should i start?? ( excuse )

Mom : Pretending i'm your patient and I dun understand things like plaque, calculus, RCT etc How would you explain to me in BM??

Me : (pondering) haih.....plaque is plaq la, benda yg lembut dan putih/kuning tu, lekat pd gigi; then calculus is ...err...batu gigi?! Rct ..hmm...err..i dun think i'll be doing that in hospital.

Mom : Batu gigi???hahahahaha

Bro : OMG..this is the first time i've heard of that!!! Dr, apa lu cakap?Wa tak faham!

Me : batu gigi is calculus la! It's the calcified plaque on the teeth, hard like stone.

Bro : I know it's as hard as a rock but please, we don't translate it to BM so directly. We call it karang gigi, doink! See, i dun need to go to dental school to know this!

Me : (teeth clenching) since you're so smart, then tell me what is bridge, crown, overdenture, post and core, braces in BM?

Bro : Of coz, i dunno. Do you??

Me : ................

Bro : (shaking head) Ma, i think...drill her driving first lah. One at a time. It's ok to be dumb at work but she definitely needs to know how to get to the hospital in one piece.


Boohoooo!

Hide n Seek

My family was tired of me grizzling about getting fat and noshing nonstop
so they came up with a solution
that is ....hide the snacks!
they keep some in their workplace and some in their cars, just to make sure the food is unreachable by me esp when i am all alone at home
well, that is not to say i'm not allowed to snack at all
i do get my treat day every now and then (in fact, almost every day)
but in a controlled amount (up to mom to decide)
so what's left in the house is nothing but raw food and dried stuff which i'll never touch
the downside of their idea is that
if they forget to leave a portion of edibles for me before they're off to work i'll be starved until they come home
what i usually do to tame my 'under-sweet blood' is sleep
yea..HIBERNATE - that's how animals survive through the winter months

Unfortunately, my hunger pangs overpower today
so i decide to search high and low for f-o-o-d
after 1 hour of rummage TA-DA! i declare VICTORY!!
my smart mother hid a bag of chocolate bars in her wardrobe!
muahahahaha
obviously, they didn't do enough to keep me out of it
what can i say?

try harder, mom :P

winner takes all :D:D

Oh no, i'm so fat!

A New Chapter In Life

so here i am
bracing myself for a new beginning

some ask Dun you miss London?
it's a lie if i say no
weather, people, culture, fashion, cafes, public transport, high street shopping....
there are 101 reasons to stay in London
so why not, you ask

there is something missing in London
something i never realised, has been my priority in life
cant believe my egocentric side is only a disguise
underlyingly, what the heart yearns for is no different from what every child wants

so i made my choice
promised that i'd stop looking back
there is only so much i can run away
life is too short to dwell on the past
come what may, i'll survive...Noo, i'll flourish!

so here i am
looking to a brand new ME!

L.O.V.E

In a world where true love is scarce

I witnessed one today

~Love is not about finding a perfect person

but

learning to see an imperfect person perfectly~

Viva Exam

i never liked viva

vivas are different from other exams

you cannot skip the question you are not sure or dunno and come back later to try again
you cannot spit out 200 nonsense words and let the examiner pick out the relevant parts
you cannot cross out previous answers and reattempt them


in a viva

every word you say counts
every word you say determines what sort of question you might get next
every word you say can lead to only two outcomes
impress or disappoint



5 years of dental school have made me realised that
i can read a hundred pages about caries
and still fail to convey what i know in one short, condensed sentence to the examiner during a viva


My seen case was a catastrophe
thanks mom and dad for giving me a strong heart
otherwise, i'd have got MI and passed out right in front of the examiners and patient

My unseen case wasn't as bad, but almost on a slippery slope

i could see the examiners endeavouring to throw me a life-saving rope but my sweaty wobbly hands slid through it effortlessly

'Pulpotomy or pulpectomy?' Dr. J asked

'Pulpotomy' i answered without hesitation

He squinted at me.

The other examiner, Prof H chipped in, ' It's a permanent tooth.'

'Uhmm...sorry, i mean pulpectomy..oh hold on, let me see the xray again' i started to panic

They both peered at me, as if asking ARE YOU SURE?

Oh shit!Pulpotomy or pulpectomy?pulpotomy! No no no..pulpectomy! errr..maybe not...arghh Yin Hui, make up your mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had two little voices constantly debating in my head throughout the viva, confusing myself and both of the examiners

15 min just slipped away faster than i realised

the next thing i knew, i was already out of the suffocating room and resenting being the biggest dolt in front of two senior examiners

Seriously

A second chance at getting it right??

NO, THANKS!!!

Back and Alive!!!!!!!!!!

the feeling after finishing the last exam

is so freaking G.R.E.A.T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

never mind the utmost stress for the last 5 weeks
forget the panic attack + emotional breakdown pre and post viva

i just want to break freeeeee at this very moment!!!

WOooohoooooooooooooooooo


Up Next : reminiscence of viva

super sleepy module

I can't help but laugh at myself. My own stupidity.
Of all the dentistry course modules, dental materials is my least favourite
and the biggest irony is i chose it for my ssm!
WHY??WHY???WHYYYYYY?????
words like tensile strength, thermal expansion, covalent bond, polymaleic acid, alumina-silicate glass, anhydrous cements..........make me see stars
Boring is an understatement. It's definitely an effective cure for insomnia.

1 book plus 10 journals for just one material...duuude! I din even study so much for finals

sighh....what's left to say?
I made a dumb choice so stick with it!

*grunt*

I'm sorry. I don't know what to say.

Thursday,17th Dec

Task : take impression for crown( lower 7) - one for working cast and one for opposing cast

Outcome : Mr. Sarcastic wasn't happy with the impression for opposing cast.
He took the impression from me
Let's see. Patient's got a big jaw and your tray is obviously too small. You
need to extend the tray distally

I tried to beg some empathy from him, hoping he would let me off by accepting the
not-so-perfect impression
'I have already extended it and this is the biggest tray we have here. I actually
thought i could get away with a slight deficiency.......

' In that case, you'll need to make a special tray for it.' He didn't even let me finish
my last sentence which could be my key defense. So mean!

'Err..special tray for the opposing cast???' For one second I thought I heard it wrong
so I had to repeat it just to confirm although it might sound stupid

He gave me the YES-YOU-HEARD-ME look and said
'Yes, b'coz this tray is not good enough.'

I looked at him with my mouth open. I wanted to say something but i was at a loss
for words. Then i just nodded and walked away. Subconsciously, i still couldn't believe
what i've just heard.

Achievement : none


Today

Task : impression for crown (round 2)

Outcome : The wash impression turned out weird.Why did i use the word weird?It looked jagged
on one side rather than a smooth and flat margin.

Mr. S gave a few reasons why the the impression looked 'funny'
i. inadequate moisture control
ii. underextended tray
iii. position of the tongue that hinders the impression material from flowing into the
sulcus
iv. sequence of impression loading - start from the most difficult area which is the
distolingual area.

Finally he said,
Keep that impression. In a worst case scenario, you may need to pour it and make a
special tray

OH GOSH!! another special tray???? NOOOoooo

Quickly, i asked,'Can I have another go?I might get it right next time.'

'Of course!' he smiled

I repeated the impression a couple of times, taking all his advice into consideration
and sadly, i kept getting the same thing back. The same funny impression.
Feeling a bit ashamed, I walked up to him with my 3rd or 4th impression

'Any better?'

' Hmm...no. In fact, worse.' My face turned red

'Yup!' (Dunno why but i thought i sensed some glee in his tone)

He went on,' I thought i told you to make a special tray for that last week.'

'I did but that was for the upper.' I was surprised that he forgot coz he never did.
That word shouldn't exist in the world he lives in.

He stared at me in disbelief and put his palm on his forehead, as though he was saying
Why are you such an idiot??Why would you need a special tray for the opposing
cast??Isn't it bloody obvious that the working cast is more important, dope???

Again, i lost for words. This time, my anger was blazing up. I knew I had to walk
away before things got uglier.
Deep down inside, a little voice was screaming,
' Dun be such a coward. Tell him it was him asking for a special tray for the
opposing cast and he did sign the lab card. Show him the card and let him know it's
not your fault. Go, Yin Hui!!!'

But in the end, i chose to be a craven. i guess my conscience got the better of me.
What good would it do if I ticked Mr. S off??? Probably 6 months of misery in return.
Sigh...Fine, just let me stay foolish

P.S A 'Dr.L's dentistry guide for dummies' pocket book will make the best Christmas gift for me this year

*pout*

A burden called FINALIST

Today at radiology seminar
the tutor put up a panoramic radiograph and turned to us

"Third year, i'll be proud if you can grasp most of things we are going to discuss here"
"But..."

She stared at me and my group mate

"Fifth year, I expect miracles from you two!"

"And...less miracle from the forth year"

"Right, Yin, come forward and present this radiograph to your colleagues"

*gasp*

Since when the relaxing radiology session became not so relaxing??

Being labeled a finalist
you are inevitably prohibited from defending your ignorance with those excuses you used to exploit at ease like

I have no idea
haven't seen this before,
It's the first time i'm doing this
we haven't been taught how to do this yet
I'm a third year so what do u expect?


Tutors get demanding
Patients can put your degree at stake
People around you suddenly lay their expectations on you
You don't/rarely get away with blunders. Even if you stumble make sure you pick yourself up before anyone notices coz sympathy becomes so scarce that sometimes the world feels so... unforgiving

so much for the honour of being a finalist!

Well taught

can't stop laughing to myself at my patient's msg

this afternoon one of my fav patients sent me a text, freaking out that half of his tooth fell out

my response was typically dentist-like

which tooth?when?any pain/sensitivity?how severe?

he replied, almost instantaneously

upper right 6, fell out when eating lunch, no pain yet..oh gosh!

very dentist-like answer

that's why he is my favourite patient

LMAO

L for Luck

"You're the lucky customer of the day!Your coffee is on the house!!" the barista flashed a big wide grin, as if i just won the lottery

i hope today, two weeks later
i'll be as lucky too =_=

right, time to pay off my 'series' debt (~_^)

Ta!