for the sake of blogging

The semester is over. Time for reflection...? Nah, I'm too tired. I'll do that later.
I held single's ward FHE at my apartment last night and decided to be creative and decorate sugar cookies.
Here is the ridiculousness that resulted.

people are curious creatures.

I buckled down and have been studying in our life sciences study room for several hours. It's about 65 degrees or less in here. Not conducive to nap taking... I'm usually freezing when it's below 75 degrees, so I'm currently a shriveled purple color.

We have these couches and chairs inside and outside this study room. The chairs are made of this hideous, yet appropriate, multicolored fabric. The arms of the chair are topped with a wooden panel an inch deep that run the length of the arm. They're mildly modern looking.

After years of use, these chairs and couches are holding up nicely in my opinion. However, many of the wood-paneled arms fall off. These panels are basically, glossy 2 x 4's, so when they hit the linoleum they make a surprisingly loud noise.

It is not uncommon to sit in a chair and have the arm panels fall to the ground in a great commotion. The hilarity of this scenario is that, without fail, EVERY SINGLE PERSON this happens to, before leaving, will carefully put the wood back on the arm of the chair for another unsuspecting fool to knock off and create more racket. It kills me!

How many years of college education does it take to remove all common sense from an individual?

Boneheads.

random memory

When I was born my maternal grandmother gave me a blanky that she made. That thing became my security blanket for probably close to a decade. (sad, embarassing, but true). For the first couple years of life, I was never without my yellow friend. It trailed close behind me everywhere I went. Following toddler years, I weened down to mostly sleeping with it. I made it through typical daily routine without toting it along. I did include it in play time; I brought it out when it was time to play house, dolls, or picnic. It went with me on sleepovers to grandma's as well.

Progressively, I became embarassed about it. The backside of the blanky was shredded due to being drug around in earlier years. Plus, it was faded, and just babyish. However, I still clung to it (in secret).

Then one day, without any prompting, I stopped. I just looked at it, and said, "That's it, we're done". And I THREW IT IN THE GARBAGE!
No kidding. I totally trashed it. (How sentimental of me)

That must have been 15+ years ago. I never thought about it again, until now.
I won't try to psychoanalyze what this could possibly say about my character or how my childhood has influenced my adult behaviors... yikes...too deep

However, I will say that I am regretting that impulsive decision all those years ago.

Steve Jobs

Happily, this morning, I went to my very last plant lab that I will ever have to go to again. My cute professor had us watch this on youtube. Shockingly (ok not) I got all choked up and inspired. Give it a little watch, you'll see what I mean :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

I decided some time ago that I would make Sundays my day to update my blog. However, as you can see, I haven't been doing so. I have just been grossly uninspired to write... But just for the sake of keeping a goal, I'll tell you what I've been up to.

Thursday I skipped school and volunteered all day with Richmond's first annual Homless Connect. Basically people from all different service oriented fields gather in the Richmond Convention Center and provide free care to the local homeless. (medical/dental screenings, free hair cuts, free boots, etc...) The dental school had a very small representation that included me, Dr. Brooks and maybe a dozen others. I screened patients. I took patients one by one, heard their stories, took a look in their mouth and said "yep, you're right, you do need to see a dentist" and gave them information as to where they could go to receive free dental care. It was not what I anticipated. AT all. When I think of homeless people I imagine dirty piles of people, stoned out of their lucid minds, and completely unable to communicate at even the slightest intelligible level. At the very least I imagine a remarkably creepy and dirty dude. I personally met with probably 20 plus homeless individuals (and saw 131) and only 1 of them came close to this description. The rest of them were as the cliche' goes, simply hard on their luck (is that the saying?) It was a learning experience for me. In general, they were polite, and gracious, and making efforts to improve their lot. I felt compelled to reach out more.

Last night I went bowling with some new friends of mine. In 5 years (not counting Nintendo Wii) this is the second time I've been bowling. I think I bowled a 67 and a 98... It was refreshingly fun. I got to know a couple new people and really enjoyed myself. I know this sounds unremarkable...but if you are one who is unaware of how grossly unsocial I tend to be, this is headline news :) I think I'll do it again.

I'm going to an LDS gala December 5th. My roommate in a desperate attempt to get me to go, actually went and searched for a suitable dress for me so I couldn't bail last minute b/c I didn't have anything to wear. She went to Macy's picked out a few and sent me to go try them on. One of them turned out to be magically delicious and I immediately bought it.
She's a genius. When I have money I am going to pay her to be my personal shopper on a regular basis. I can't wait to post pictures of me in my new dress. Get ready to be dazzled!

Lastly, I gave a talk in church today. I love giving talks. It's a lil adrenaline rush and gives me the opportunity to search the scriptures more than I normally do. I spoke on testimonies and faith. Most importantly I got to wear my other new dress that I bought for the occasion :) Yay for new dresses.

The suspense is killing me

So, I am still waiting to hear back about getting into dental school. It's normal. Some people don't hear back till the spring time, one person I know didn't find out until the week before school started... (please let that not be me...)

So in the meantime my mind is going berserk with "what ifs".

When I'm sitting alone on a Sunday morning, and lurking all my friends' blogs, I think that I'd like to move back out to the West... Get my MBA and do some sort of something...or other... geez I don't know. I miss my peeps out West. (or is it that I'm feeling compelled to settle down? ahh!)

I'm just feeling so anxious for change. I've always been someone who is ready for the next best thing to come and enrich my life, and the fact that I have stuck out almost 5 years of college in Richmond is really something... I've been dealing with so much sameness lately that I'm going crazy. Literally.

Here are some things I'm thinking.

I crave culture and international exchange.
I want to perfect my spanish and start a new language- Arabic.
I enjoy my biology.
I love to read and write.

I need some ideas for back up plans.
I know that I could just reapply to D school if I don't get in, it's common. But I am pretty confident that I can't take another year of this...

Any suggestions for other career or academic options?

and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly

Do you ever feel like there are people that can read minds?... Don't laugh. I know I probably sound like some poor soul who has spent too much alone time in the histology lab or who has read too much Twilight, but I'm totally serious. I think it could happen, and what if!? I would just die if people knew some of the stuff I am pondering upon. I am sure I got caught thinking something naughty the other day.

Maybe there are just some people who have overly expressive faces and it's impossible not to know what they're thinking...maybe that's it.

Yeah.

I have been tagged...

Well I have been tagged...more than once...... so I thought I should give in and do this whole tagging thing....here goes

8 Favorite Shows:
1. Law and Order SVU... I'm a lil twisted I like those depressing shows
2. The Office
3. Anthony Bourdain No Reservations
4. uh...
5. I
6. don't
7. watch
8. anything else... the news?

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Edo's Squid
2. Ipanema
3. Kuba Kuba
4. Melting Pot
5. Qdoba
6. Cafe Gutenberg
7. Neowanahana sushi
8. Kobe

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
1. slept in till 9...twas aaaaweeesome
2. Went to Histology lecture
3. aced a biotechniques exam. I rule.
4. fooled around at work for a few hours. My afternoon thing.
5. talked to nate' (roomie/bf) on her bed while she straightened her hair.
6. took angie, doug, and the girls to trunk or treating at midlothian ward
7. wrote a stupid boy a stupid letter
8. slept

8 Things I look Forward To:
1. gradutating from college
2. finding out if I get in to d school or not
3. getting hitched to a cute man
4. having sons
5. eating cake
6. shopping for dresses and shoes and handbags
7. Twilight movie (good one linds!)
8. running a marathon.

8 Things I Love About Fall:
1. leaves
2. Halloween
3. sweaters
4. galoshes
5. hot chocolate
6. Thanksgiving
7. tights
8. buying gifts

8 Things on my Wishlist:
1. dresses
2. shoes
3. handbags
4. an acceptance letter to D school
5. a denial letter to D school
6. a pony
7. a jetski
8. flowers

8 People I am tagging:
1. Dix
2. nikki
3. lorna
4. stacy
5. amanda
6. whoever else feels so inclined

whoa, whoa...

Not getting engaged. You have to actually be dating somebody who intends on marrying you for that.

I'm rethinking my future, that's all. Educational and career changes ahead.

no pun intended

I have been virtually absent from the world of blogs lately, I've had a lot on my mind and a lot on my plate. This year has been a year of tremendous growth and even more change.

Just wanted to let you know some cool and interesting stuff is going down in my life right now and pretty soon it will all be made manifest to you. I don't want to jump the gun and spill the beans too soon, so just know that I'll keep you posted. When the time is right you'll know all the juicy details.



In the mean time, no news is good news. Life is good, life is grand. I am blessed beyond measure and my Heavenly Father loves me.

Wise documentary

To get a better feel for what it is exactly that I do on my MOM projects several times a year, here is a documentary that was done this summer at my last one in Wise County Virginia!

http://www.vcutvhd.vcu.edu/shows/medicalcenter/mercy.html

It's 30 minutes long, and nicely done. So don't be lame, and watch the WHOLE thing!! It's awesome and inspirational.

You can see me a few times randomly throughout the thing. I am in sterilization at one point, and at another point I'm on the front row when Dr. Brooks is talking to the students...for some unexplainable reason I'm messing with stickers...

Dr. Brooks is the main doctor that is speaking throughout the video. She is my hero!

Being involved with these projects has given me a greater perspective on life and shaped my goals. Someday I will have a project of my own that I take down to South America!

and making progress...

So, as you can see I'm trying to make good on my goals that I previously set for myself.

* I've been working on my bedroom and bathroom; painting them and decorating.

* I have been reading the Twilight series; I just started book numero tres (that's the third book for you who are not fluent in spanglish). This actually wasn't one of my aforementioned goals, but who really cares, it should have been.

* I have been putting on a smiley face and thinking positively about my future, even though I'm really quite nervous about it.

so doin good.....

However. I've decided that life is a challenge. Well. I redecided that...again...actually. What's the deal with when you try to work on something new in your life, and the old stuff you thought you had down to a science starts to fall by the wayside and become something you need to work on again... reinforcing the nagging wonder if you'll ever have a balanced life?! (Or is that just me?)

Here's the list of stuff I used to have down to a science and need to rework on again:

* working out. Yes. Haven't been to the gym since June. MONTHS ago. One of these days I'm going to pull a muscle getting out of my desk. That would be funny/not.

* dressing myself. I'm probably kidding myself, when I say I used to have style, but I wear scrubs 4 out of 7 days of the week, and the other days I wish I had an excuse to wear them b/c I swear I have nothing. I look at the new incoming freshman walking on campus and I'm like...wow...they're so ....coool... (I also look at my roommate with similar admiration and awe)

* getting out of bed in the mornings. I am not kidding you, there was a time in my life when I chose to get up at 5 in the morning just so I could read and start my day off early, even if I didn't have class till 9. I'm lucky if I can get out of bed by 9:30 these days.

Here's the list of stuff I have never been good at, but still have in mind to work on:

* politics, ya know, getting informed.

* the list could go on...but I'll stop at that one.

...Anyways.

So, yeah. The purpose of this delightfully exposing exercise for me is knowing that you are aware of my follies keeps me accountable to myself... It makes sense to me. Just go with it.

A work in progress

Jen


Me


Me Again


Jen Again


Ta Da!

Stay tuned, more picts of my "room" (I use that word loosely since my room consists of a bed, a closet, and a tea table.) all put back together will soon follow!

I don't want to grow up, I'm a toys 'R' Us Kid...

I think I have Peter Pan syndrome.

No seriously.

I know you're probably thinking, "Jess, you're totally responsible! You're graduating, and you're going to dental school next year. You have your stuff together!"

OK...that's actually what I HOPE you're thinking... What you're really probably thinking is "Yeah, I could have told you that...you're totally childish..."

I'm feeling kind of bad. I mean, I just realized that I'll be 26 on my next birthday. TWENTY SIX...and people still mistake me for a 20 year old. Which, let's be honest, every woman wants to hear that she LOOKS younger than she is...so that's good, but I don't believe that's where my youthful "charm" ends.

-I still use a bulletin board as decoration; a place for pictures instead of using frames.

-I own practically no furniture and zero grown-up decor for my apartment. I don't even know what I would do to my apartment if I did decorate it.

-I know how to cook like 2 things.

-I have seriously NO IDEA what is going on in the world today. NONE. Obama wants to change what?

-My idea of scrapbooking is uploading pictures to facebook.

-Unless it has to do with school, I am completely irresponsible and unreliable. I.e. church callings, relationship responsibilities, etc, etc...

-And I talk way too much. I have no filter and just say whatever is on my mind.

Bad, bad, bad.
I feel compelled to make some changes.

Immature Jessica would say "I am overwhelmed by the sucky essence that is me, and I don't even know where to begin... How about I take a nap..."

Mature Jessica would say "I am going to make a list and here it is"

1.) I am going to paint my room. Yes, probably some wildly inappropriate color like bright orange, but it's a start to unleashing my inner nester.

2.) I am going to start reading the news. As much as it pains and depresses me to do so, I'm going to inform myself on current events, and hopefully figure out who I'm voting for.

3.) I am going to start cooking for my friends. That kills two birds with one stone; nurturing friendships and learning to cook. So domestic.

4.) Lastly, I am not going to blurt out my opinions when I disagree with someone else's actions.

Wise

This post is enormous, so I'll make the dialogue snappy.

Wise County VA, we saw 1300 patients in 2.5 days, we provided 1.3 million dollars worth of work.

This project was the largest in the world and broke all the records.

I am so blessed to have been part of it.

(The pictures are in reverse order, so start from the bottom)


all tuckered out looking as sexy as can be

Jen helping me out with my look

I'll tell you what I AM in need of- A bath and a t-shirt that is not 4 sizes too large...oh and not a rat tail hair style either.

never looking better

gasin' up... took about 170 dollars each time

Not a bad drive

James was such a trooper and drove the entire time, so Jen and I never had to. We love James!!

On the road again...7 hour drive back to Richmond

End of Project meeting. Dr. Brooks and Dr. Dickensen telling us how freaking awesome we are. It's true.

I love this picture. This was after everything was packed up and we were headed out. Everybody's faces are so funny...

random sheep dog dressed up in dental scrubs

Jen

James

this poor cute Iranian boy that I followed around the whole trip...


Pizza hut

Neda made front page news!

it doesn't look like it, but he's singing

Neda, Jen, Austin, and David

This program is first come first serve so people end up waiting in very long lines for a very long time.

we're so retarded...lol

Fizza and me amused ourselves by putting stickers all over Neda's back...


James fulfilling the never ending job of trash duty


Naz and me


Zeeshawn being a good boy and dumping the spit buckets out...disgusting job which I have managed to avoid entirely

Cutie cutes Omar and Zeeshawn

FIZZZZA!!!



This is the doc that let me do things I shouldn't have done... love him...

5 am, rise and shine! (me and Fizza, another one of my lova loves)

Dr. Brooks, doin her thang

I heart Neda. You know when you meet somebody and you just have a crazy connection with them, and love them instantly. That's Neda for me. She's my girl.

Oral surgeon resident that I helped out a bit


I'm tough.

Jen and me setting up one of the two sterilization sites for the hundreth time...



This is the main area where we work. Restorative and hygiene dentistry here, oral surgery in the back.


The project is set up at the Wise County Fair grounds, see how gorgeous? Since it's up in the mountains, the weather is basically perfect. It was warm and breezy the whole time :)


Jennifer and me after most of the set up was complete...


More settin' up


This is one of the two big supply trucks that brings down everything that we need. I drove this one for like 2 hours or so...it was scary, but I felt cool...haha


This is Neda and me setting up the units. (The things that suck saliva and blood and squirt air and water.)