Must have books in Dental School, Part 1

As if the 65 digital books I already have aren't enough for me to read, there had to be additional books that supposedly does a very good/better job at explaining the key things needed to know for some of the courses that I'm taking this semester. Hey, I'm not complaining, anything that makes it a little more clear/easier and can help me to understand the subject matter better, I'm pretty much game, which is why I'm investing in the following books:

So far Biochemistry has been pretty straight forward. However, looking further ahead I already see that I will run into difficulty. It was suggested by several upperclassmen that I get either Lippincott's Biochemistry or BRS Biochemistry as they both do a good job at breaking down the subject matter.











 Anatomy has been a whirlwind! The books I currently have, one of which is Netter's Anatomy, have been doing a really good job. Couple that with my professor's ppt slides, Lab AND the Netter's Anatomy Flash cards and everything is pretty peachy. However, I was told that the BRS Anatomy (board review series) book make things a whole lot clearer than any of the material I currently have. I'm definitely getting that!








 Occlusion so far has been simple, but that's because we haven't actually gone to the lab yet! Wheeler's Dental Anatomy, Physiology and Occlusion I hear is pretty good for this course. It's also good for Anatomy and Physiology.











And of course, last but not least, our first two years (one at some schools) is preparation for our Board exams Part 1. A good strategy would be to purchase the NBDE Part 1 book from now and as you go along through your semester(s) keep referring to the book to see what is required for the board exam on a particular subject area. It would serve as a little study guide for the future (wink wink).

**You can also get these books at The Book Depository (follow the link below). I love them! They have FREE shipping worldwide on ALL books. You can save some money here. I'm also able to get you a 10% discount so contact me if interested.

 D1s out there, I would cop some of these if I were you. Good luck in your studies!

How bad do you want it?

Success that is. I happened upon a video that is quite timely.

I have been in transition to Dental School from a one year hiatus after undergrad. Getting the momentum and rhythm going for my hectic schedule has been one of my challenges so far. Last week I was overjoyed when the weekend came along because that meant that I didn't have to get up at 6am the next morning and follow a strict routine into the next day. It meant that I could rest. However, when I ask myself how badly I want to succeed, my actions thus far have not been parallel to my answer.

See video to find out why:

When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful - Sean Walker

Also find inspiration on my other blog: Climb.Reach.Achieve

Weekday, Weekend - What's the difference?

It was a super long week and I somehow managed to make it through 7hrs of Occlusion, an hr of Intro to Clinicals, 10 hrs of Biochem, a 2hr talk/lecture from the dean, too many hrs of Anatomy and countless mixers/meet-n-greets. In essence, I made it through week 1 of Dental School. I believe I owe it all to Starbucks -1 tall breakfast blend (medium) to start the day and get me through 8 hrs of lecture and 1 tall chocolate mocha to, well... get me through the other 3-6 hrs of study thereafter, ugh!

With all the work that is required to get through each phase of DS, I believe it's safe to say that the secret to a successful transition is support. My school is really big on support and most, if not all students here function as a family unit - always looking out for each other. That comes to me as great relief. I have already gotten tonnes of help and advice from upperclassmen and it is well appreciated, of course.

So, It's the weekend which typically translates to sleep, movies, mall, night on the town, sleep and...more sleep, right? WRONG! It's sad to see my weekends go up in smoke. I took a night off from the books last night to catch up on a week's worth of sleep (no joke) and now my weekend has to pay for it. I have to stuff 32 hours of lecture in my cranium by Monday so that I am prepared to stuff another 32 hrs of lecture come Tuesday. My weekends have quickly gone from relaxation to work-work-work in no time (and no warning).

FYI, It took me 10 mins to think of what to post and 20 mins to write this post, which means I've lost 30 mins of study time, which means I'll have to make up for it later, which means even blogging has become a hassle. No bueno! Anycrazyweekend, enjoy! and have loads of sleep and fun times for both of us!

Fumes & Starbucks

It's Thursday morning and Biochemistry is at the top of the hour. I have approximately 5 minutes before classes start and wanted to give a quick update.
Dental School is in full effect and it is starting to feel like I have been handed a ticket and a warm welcome to zombie land. Since my classes now start at 8am everyday, I now have to get up at 6am, which, if you know me NEVER happens. Two days in and I'm already running on pure fumes and Starbucks. Starbucks is soo good! I'm not so sure I can keep up with the Starbucks-every-morning lifestyle though, being the poor student that I am and all, but I digress.
My schedule is crazy (but not as crazy as it can/will get). I have classes from 8am to 5pm EVERYDAY and sometimes have to stay back in the anatomy lab to finish up work that was not completed in the allotted class time, and if that's not enough, I THEN have to turn around and study! GOL-LY!
So you see, I may need to change my name to Ms. blog-a-little from now on. My posts will be brief, like the one today. Class is about to start...

Whirlwind week wrap-up

It's back to school for me next week, which means it's time to pull out my big girl crayons and put on my big girl thinking cap. I'm very excited to start Dental School and finally live part of a dream that I've had for so long. As is the intention of this blog, you will be hearing of my dental school experiences, both inside and out of the classroom.

It was Orientation week at my school, which means it was a free 5 days before hell - literally, and I've been busy trying to know and memorize the names of ALL 80 students (dork! I know...) I must say this week has been a whirlwind of fun, excitement, jitters, boredom and outright tiredness. It was soo. loong! but I've met some very interesting people, some of which I hope to develop friendships and build memories with over the years to come (we'll see). Now that the week  is all behind me I'm looking forward to a weekend of fun and REST, and of course a very productive semester.

On another note, I miss New York, I miss my old life - family and friends. I'll admit I'm a little home sick which probably explains my weight loss, moodiness and why I found myself 40 mins out yesterday on the I-95.  However, as with everything else this is a process and one that will help to build character and  strengthen me in the long run. My best friend likes to refer to it as growing pains, and he is correct. I'm open to all the lessons and perspective I will gain from this experience which I will share on my other blog (Climb.Reach.Achieve).

Just so you know, the courses that will be kicking my butt (*chuckle) this semester includes:
Biochemistry
Anatomy
Occlusion
Intro. to Clinic

Wish me luck!

Holy Heat-Happy?!

I don't eat much and I'm not high maintenance (at all). Thank God for that because I will be needing to save the money from those expenses for the hair salon. I thought New York was expensive! Would you believe it costs $75 for a perm and $35 for a wash and set at the Dominicans in D.C? That is WITHOUT a deep conditioner and WITHOUT the tip. The cost of getting my hair doubled at the very point in my life where I'm as broke as a joke.

Anyway, the hair was all frizzy and the funk was becoming unbearable so I decided to venture out in the D.C area to find me a Dominican hair salon. I found Giovani's off of Adam's Mill Rd. in the Adam's Morgan area. First impression when I walked through the door was hmm it's clean, neat, small...and the people are friendly. So I sat in the chair and got my perm, got the really big rollers and was placed under a dryer in a corner that was hotter than a branding fork ( I swear). I had to strip down to my tank top and fan myself with some dusty magazine, just to make it through the torture-chamber.  I never knew I would be happy about parking rules, but I had to get up from the dryer several times to go move my car as the surrounding area has strict 1hr parking rules (thank God for small mercies!). I got crazy stares by walking around in the street with a head full of jumbo rollers, eh whatever.

70 mins. later I was removed from the torture-chamber and got my blow-out, which was good. Soon my hair was bone straight with a nice bounce (isn't that what a perm does?). So I think I'm done and I start to get up, and holy heat-happy! the stylist reaches for the flat-iron. Whaat? Now why on earth would my hair need to be flat-ironed after a perm, surviving the torture-chamber with jumbo rollers AND a blow-out?! I didn't get this heat-happy stylist's logic at all, but hell for $75 PLUS tip I should have made her iron the damn thing.

All in all my hair looked great, felt great and most importantly smelled great - but wait, doesn't it always after my $40 perm in New York? This $75 hair-do thing is so unnecessary.

**Enter the sweepstakes to win a compact digital camera. Go here for details.**

Win a sleek, compact digital camera!!

Haven't I always said that I love giving things away?! This time around I'm giving away an oh so cute, red digital camera!

 < ain't it cute?!>

 It has such great features too! 

4x digital zoom, maximum photo resolution 3.0MP (2048x1536), built-in 16MB memory, expands to 4GB (or 10,000 photos). 1.1" LCD color display screen, JPEG photo file format. 

Uses 2AAA batteries (not included). 3 3/4"L x 2 1/4"H x 1 1/8" W. 

To enter:

*Send an email to patrice@stu-dentdiaries.com with the word: CAM (1 entry)

*Follow this blog through google friend connect (1 entry)

*Invite a friend to follow this blog ( 1 entry)

*Follow Stu-DENT Diaries on facebook (1 entry)

*Tweet this giveaway on twitter (1 entry). You will need to follow me so I can keep track @MzPTrice

**Remember, the more entries, the greater your chance to win!

Go here for additional details and eligibility rules.

winner will be randomly chosen on 09/14/2010. SPREAD THE WORD!