Summa, summa, summa-time

Ahhh, summer has arrived: pedicures, ice cream, the NBA playoffs...and that was just this past weekend! I had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and the weather was impeccable--the perfect mixture of fun, sun, a little studying, and good food. I barbequed at Delt Sig Friday night, canoed and watched movies Saturday, studied Sunday and spent the day with the 'rents on Monday getting babied. We've officially passed the half-way point for spring term and even though the humidity this week has been stifling, I'm certainly not complaining. Summer vacation is so close I can taste it...and it tastes a lot like a chocolate-vanilla twist with sprinkles from Dairy Queen!

I don't have any set plans for the summer besides working on my research project in the lab at the D-school. The Summer Research Program through which I am funded is chaired by one of the most laid-back, glib professors at the dental school who suggested Dominicks, a popular outdoor sangria restaurant, and the golf course as good places to meet with our mentors to discuss our projects. Hopefully, my mentor will adopt a similar attitude this summer and although I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be sharing a quart of sangria with her, I wouldn't mind working, say, 30 hours a week? We'll see, though--a lot of my buddies are sticking around A-squared so fun shouldn't be in short supply after 5 pm, anyway. Besides my ground-breaking oral cancer research, a few tenatively planned summer activities for 2006 are as follows:

- class Cedar Point trip on June 23rd
- weekend touring wineries with the Bevs and anyone else who is interested
- camping
- East Kentwood girls' weekend (camping? Chicago?)
- weekend up at Frankemuth/Birch Run outlet mall

I'm sure I'll cook up some more plans in the next few weeks too, it's just an issue of actually getting around to them! That and reading the 5 million + books on my to-read list before August. And finding a new apartment. And moving. Oy, I'm getting stressed out thinking about my stress-free summer plans! I'll leave it at this point before I start wishing we had a summer semester!

Cheers :)

xoxox



p.s. ~ Go Pistons!

Grill master Pat bought portobella caps just for the two veggies in the crowd. Thanks, PK! :)

Say cheeeeeese (burger)!

Sunscreening and hydrating before heading out on the water

Shveta and Sara canoe the Huron River!

Friday Fiver fun!

Whoa...Friday Fiver two weeks in a row? You lucky dogs, you!

1. Where did you grow up?
I was born in Muskegon, Michigan and grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Even though I have no particular interest in returning to the west side of the state in the future, I will miss the beautiful beaches.

2. Have you ever been to Indiana?
My family almost moved to Indiana when I was in middle school and I drive through Gary every time I go to Chicago. Other than that, Indiana's not really on my list of must-visit states.

3. Describe yourself at age 18:
College frosh at U of M. Idealistic, hard working, kinda confused (School of Engineering...what was I thinking?!), and homesick.

4. How do you deal with pain?
physical pain: ice, heating pad, complaining
emotional pain: cry, cry, cry, chocolate

5. When is the last time you screwed up?
During one of our softball games on Wednesday night, I lost count of how many strikes I had when I was at bat. After my third strike, I got right back in my batting stance holding the bat high over my head and ready to knock 'er outta the park. Everybody laughed at me and one of my teammates had to come get me off of the plate. Screw up or just extreme tenacity? You be the judge ;)

Happy long weekend!

xoxox

...can't...post...too...busy...

I have a major love-hate relationship with spring semester. The latter always predominates as I'm trekking to my 8 am class every morning in proper clinic attire (a description of which in our manual of conduct emphatically does not include flip-flops) or if I'm stuck indoors studying on a Saturday when it's sunny and 70 outside. However, the former is basically the rest of it. We've been seeing our first "real" patients recently and have had a lot of time off because we're rotating in and out of the clinics. I had a glimpse of what life might be like for some real dentists on Tuesday as I saw a patient in the morning and golfed nine holes in the afternoon. Ahhhhhh. My sister remarked that was borderline bourgeoise but hey, I can still help people and earn a green jacket at the same time, right? ;) At any rate, we're at the half-way mark for the semester and I'm really looking forward to having some time off from school. Although I'm having a lot of fun this term with softball, golf, the NBA playoffs, and friends, I'll be thrilled to have 6 weeks of freedom from homework. The thought alone just made me smile.

At any rate, here are a few thoughts of late in a cohesive list format:

1.) I've recently heard from a few of my good high school friends and even though I'm yet to return their calls (sorry Christin and Michelle!) I was thrilled to get their messages. I love that I still regularly keep in touch with women that I've grown up with, many of whom I've known for almost 13 years now! Last summer a few of us took a girls' weekend trip down to Cincinnati and had a great time; I'm hoping we can pull another one together this year.

2.) I finished reading The DaVinci Code last Friday night and saw the movie Saturday afternoon. Overall, an entertaining read and movie but the latter could have been a little more suspenseful in my opinion. TIME magazine suggested that adapting the book to a movie format might have been a misstep as breaking the code of, say, a riddle in iambic pentameter with a solution in ancient Greek isn't entertaining for most people. Speak for yourselves, TIME! (pushes glasses up nose with index finger)

3.) I love, love, LOVE Google. I learn so much with the help of that little search engine every day that it's a wonder we lived without it. When Josh needed to tie a Windsor knot for a wedding last summer, we Googled it and found an illustrated how-to diagram. When I wanted to know what really is "Davey Jones' locker" today at lunch, we Googled it and found out. Google settled the laying-cable-on-the-bottom-of-the-ocean dispute with my Dad last summer and has aided in the search for countless sound lyrics over the years. *sigh* I think I'll go Google stuff after I'm done writing this--anyone know how fruit pieces get suspended in Jell-O? I will soon!

I guess that's enough nonsense for now. I'll sign off with my favorite quotation from TIME's Verbatim section in this week's issue:

"Senator Hillary Clinton is being criticized because she recently called today's college kids lazy and uninformed. A spokesperson for college kids said: 'Whatever, lady from TV.'" -- Conan O'Brien

xoxox

Friday Fiver on Saturday morning

What songs would you play to match these situations?

1. At a sporting event: We're Not Gonna Take It, Twisted Sister

2. At a party/social event: Yeah, Usher

3. Utterly depressed: On My Own, Les Miserable

4. Driving in a car: Hurt So Good, John Cougar Mellencamp

5. Feeling lustful: Let's Stay Together, Al Green

xoxox

If they don't win it's a shame...

So I'm sweaty and coughing up a storm right now and I made it home from our softball triple-header (a tie and two losses) just in time to watch my Pistons lose for an unprecedented third time in a row to the Cavs. I can't say that I'm feeling fantastic but I can say that 1.) softball opening night was ridiculously fun, 2.) Pistons are goin' to work Friday night and we're gonna win 2 straight because this is our year, and 3.) I gotta get me some Vick's Vaporub stat.

As if the aforementioned isn't Debby Downer enough, I'm starting to seriously bum out that my sister is leaving for India for the summer on Friday. Even though I've sadly become used to only seeing her once every 4 months, there's always that psychological something that tugs at my heart strings when she leaves to go abroad. I know she'll have a great time and I'm planning on stocking up on phone cards in a big, bad way this weekend. *tear

At any rate, a few happy thoughts of the day are:

1.) I was re-elected today as our class social chair. Sure, I was unopposed but that's usually an implicit sign that the incumbent did a satisfactory job, right? I try very hard to get to know everyone and plan activities in which everyone can participate. Next up on the docket: karaoke, indoor rock climbing, and a screening of The Sandlot as movie night.

2.) The forecasted thunderstorms eerily held out tonight until the last second of the last inning of our last game. We think it was G.V. Black--the "grandfather of modern dentistry" and our team's namesake--smiling down upon us. We could've used a couple of W's too, G.V., but we'll take no rain.

3.) No mumps! 'Nough said :)

Time to slather my decolletage with something, anything containing menthol. Recently I was getting a spa treatment done and the aesthetician mentioned she'd be massaging my decolletage and asked if I was alright with that; I momentarily panicked but then decided that I was confident and liberal enough to let someone massage my weird-French-sounding-whatever-it-was. Why can't they just say "neck line"?

xoxox

G.V.'s girls, minus Kristin on accident!

40 days and 40 nights

It has been raining non-stop since last Tuesday night. Better still, the weather forecast calls for the next 10 days to be rainstorms, severe thunderstorms, and rainshowers. At least we get a little variety, right? I'm going out of my gourd because there's nothing worse than not being able to wear flip-flops in mid-May. Of course there are far worse things but I'm the sheriff 'round these parts and what I say goes. Hmph.

At any rate, strange things have been afoot in my life lately. Without blogging the bizarre details, I've apparently become the most forgetful/scatter brained person in the world when it comes to misplacing things, one of my classmates contracted a "probable" case of the mumps, and I'm cleaning my sister's teeth tomorrow. All that and dental school itself just keeps getting weirder and weirder. The other day in our class on occlusion--the meticulous study of jaw movements and bite complexities--we had to take a quiz that involved eating standardized snacks of varying texture/size and record how many times we chewed, how long our masticatory period was, and what our level of jaw pain was after chewing. Seriously, I earned points for eating one Swedish fish for 12 seconds and then 2 at a time and recording my observations. Nutty but I'd take that any day over the head and neck anatomy quiz I had this morning at 8...*sigh*

In other news, I'm sick as a dog today. I'm running a temperature, have completely lost my appetite, and have a pretty wicked sore throat. In all honesty, I don't care if I have the Plague as long as I don't get the mumps--my classmate will most likely be out of commission for at least 10 days...an eternity during the accelerated spring term. Then again, that whole Plague thing was pretty awful and highly infectious. Here's hoping for a mild case of the flu, I guess. Either way, I feel pretty crummy and even though I had originally planned to start studying for next week's exams tonight, I forsee a few cups of hot tea and a lot of The DaVinci Code in the near future instead. I have to finish that bloody book before Friday's movie premiere to justify putting myself through this literary torture.

cough, groan, cough.

xoxox

Spring Cleaning

It's been a while since I posted last but it sure doesn't seem like it. I feel like I've been going 100 miles a minute for the last week and a half. Now that I've got my bearing (sort of), I've realized that spring term is pretty awful. We're taking 7 classes and the majority of them will be quite demanding this year because I guess last year's class played hooky for a lot of the spring. Unfortunately, it looks like the class of '09 will be paying the price for their springtime debauchery. At any rate, I guess I can't complain if the weather stays this beautiful and I still have enough time to do something outside each day, even if it is only eating lunch by the fountain on Central Campus.

As for last weekend, it basically was a whole lot of dancing. The performance on Sunday went well and a lot of my friends came out to see the show. I'm not one to toot my own horn or anything but I think our dance was pretty fly. I had a great time and will hopefully be able to squeeze Biorhythms in to my fall schedule as well (of course depending on what our schedule is like for flag football...oh yeah, and for school). Speaking of intramural sports, our first softball game is tomorrow and we actually play a double header against both of the other D1 teams. The forecast is calling for "severe storms by the afternoon" so keep your fingers crossed that we don't get lighteninged/thundered out.

In other news, I'm heading back to GR this weekend for a turbo Palit family get-together. Two of my uncles, an aunt, and my sister will be coming in to town for their fix of homecooked Indian food and karaoke. Hopefully I can get most of my anatomy studying done during the rest of this week so that I can take full advantage of the babying by my parents.

Finally, I stole this from Emily. Do you think it's a fitting description of me? My room is white and lilac, after all ;)

Your Birthdate: September 24

You understand people well and are a natural born therapist. A peacemaker, people always seem to get along when you are around. You tend to be a father or mother figure to friends, even to those older than you. You enjoy your role, and you find that you are close to many people. Your strength: Your devotion Your weakness: Reliance on others for happiness Your power color: Lilac Your power symbol: Heart Your power month: June

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

xoxox

Spring term is in full swing and so far I've learned that it's not easy to catch a ground ball, I swing a little too early, and that I'll eventually have to choose between looking cute in a hat and using my peripheral vision to catch a ball. I haven't done much this week besides drag my sorry carcass to school between 8 and 5, play softball, and dance. Hey, I'm not complaining but my GPA might be if I keep this routine up. Actually, the first week of classes has been intense but there's also a little leeway in terms of not having to really bust tail until this weekend. Then I'll be complaining. Anyhow, I have a few quotes of the day from earlier in the week:

"Dental school patients have a special place in heaven" ~ Dr. Richards expressing his deep appreciation for the brave souls that allow us to work inside their mouths.

"Without saliva, there is nothing" ~ a grandiose statement by Dr. Mistretta, our professor of Biology of the Oral Mucosa

"Dude, this is the pits" ~ Roua, half-way through our 4 hour Orthodontic Diagnosis class this morning.

Also, I've finally succumbed to the worldwide hysteria of The DaVinci Code and picked up a copy of the book in the airport last weekend. With the large exception of Harry Potter, I'm basically a literature snob and must say that I'm struggling through most of the prose. I do, however, see how people are fascinated and engaged by the plot and I'm only about a hundred pages in. I believe firmly in reading books before movies so hopefully I'll have a chance to finish before the May 19th movie release. But judging from my extra-curricular overload of late, finding time to do fun stuff instead of school doesn't seem like it will be a problem :)

xoxox

Me and a George Washington monument in Boston. Our Prosthodontics professor told us the truth about whether or not GW really had wooden dentures but I can't seem to remember which it was. See how much I retain from lecture?

I think my sister might kill me for putting this picture up but I just couldn't resist.

Well I'm back in the saddle again...

I'm not quite sure where I got the idea that spring term--affectionately referred to by students as "Prophy Camp" (in reference to dental cleaning or prophylaxis)--would basically be a picnic/ice cream social from 10 to 3 every day for 7 weeks. In reality, we were simply given our cadaver at 9 am the first day of class after an hour of lecture on skull anatomy. Talk about diving right in! I've been back in school for two days now and have already had 7 hours of lecture, investigated a human skull cavity, and practiced periodontal cleaning up in the clinic. That in addition to dance rehearsal and intramural softball practice means I've been quite the busy bee since getting back from Boston.

My weekend trip to Beantown was awesome and even though way too short, spending time with my sister was, as always, a blast. I think she had a great birthday and my plan to force my fashion sense upon her in the form of birthday presents (read: copper slouch bag, colored layering tank tops, multiple long beaded necklaces) is almost complete. Needless to say, we revelled in our wacko shared sense of humor (a pair of jumbo, neon green sunglasses was involved among other things) and even had a brush with Ben Affleck in a Harvard Starbucks! I'm looking forward to seeing her again in a few short weeks :)

Finally, I thought I'd use my weblog as further shameless self-promotion beyond its already shameless, self-promoting nature to invite all of my readers to come see me, Sara, and Shveta dance on Sunday night at the Med School's BioRhythms performance. It shall be the culmination of all of the intense hip-hop energy I've mustered for about a month now in hopes of not being publicly humiliated when the performance finally came. It should be a lot of fun so let me know if you're interested in coming.

That about wraps it up for me, folks. There are loads more I wanted to write tonight but my brain is protesting as evidenced by the lack of cohesion or even entertainment value within this post. Isn't it weird to think about the brain thinking about itself? Hmmm. Now there's an intelligent question to ask Dr. Cortwright tomorrow morning.

xoxox

We started a rumor that all of the true D1 badasses were put in the back row of the pre-clinic lab and are almost embarassingly in love with the idea. However, I think a lot of people were envious of our custom Back Row Babes t-shirts at school today, a little project I've been working on for the 6 of us for a few weeks now. Even "Tom the Tooth Man Taylor" Lutz eagerly purchased and donned our new super-pink duds. Back Row Babes 4 Life!

TKP and me on the bus en route from Worcester to Boston. Needless to say, some crotchety old man kept looking back and glaring at us the entire ride because we were giggling so much. Basically, public transportation is non-option when we're together.