All my brothers, sisters, and me

I'm back from my quick trip to New Jersey/New York for my aunt and uncle's 40th anniversary party over the weekend. I had a very fun time seeing my extended family (now even more extended since the additions of my two adorable second cousins, Alia and Asha). I'm so fortunate that my family members, although incredibly busy with work, kids, and life in general, all place such an emphasis on spending time together. It's certainly not easy when we're spread out from NY to Atlanta to Wisconsin to Idaho but we've made it happen. What's more, my family always graciously invites Josh to come and loves him so much that they demand at least one karaoke song out of him (and that's sayin' somethin'). I was very touched by the celebration that my two cousins threw in honor of their parents and hope that my sister and I can do the same one day for ours. I'll probably have to book different entertainment though; it might be considered tacky in some circles if my Dad performed "Can't Help Falling In Love" at his own party.

Check out NJ pics below:


I couldn't get enough of these rugrats all weekend. Alia (7 1/2) and Asha (2 1/2) couldn't be more different but both equally stole my heart. I also made sure to check that their respective dental developments were right on target.


My cousins Deblina and Shoma emcee'd the party and my sister thrilled the crowd by singing two famous Bengali songs. I am unfortunately cursed with having no demonstrable talent that could be enjoyed by a crowd so I manned (womaned?) the A/V systems. I am a great packer, however, and have often considered packing a suitcase as my talent in the living room at our next family gathering a la Brad on Hey Dude. Anybody with me on that one?


Tanya graduated magna cum laude from the University of Antagonizing Younger Siblings (UAYS). She hits the nail on the head here by deliberately sabotaging a picture of us I could have potentially framed and given to my parents on a special occasion. Kudos, TKP.


My Dad performed at the party and invited the lovely couple to dance. Man, I do love the whole "Patelvis" routine but mark my words: I plan on thoroughly searching my Dad's bags for and promptly destroying any Elvis costume that might find its way to my wedding reception someday.


Me and A and A. I'll be planning a trip down to Atlanta sometime soon to possibly visit the CDC where my cousin works, scout out some post-graduation opportunities (yikes!), and visit these cuties.


I had a tiny little hope in my heart that we'd find enough time to run in to the city for a day to catch some tourist staples for Josh's sake (he's never been to NYC). We didn't end up getting the chance other than to escort my cousin around the upper west side to find a gift for her parents on Saturday afternoon. We're planning on heading back soon so that Josh can be re-introduced to the Big Apple the right way--by grabbing a slice, visiting Times Square, and staying out until 4 am.

Perhaps I'll post a couple more pictures from last weekend's wedding in GR when my internet isn't being so testy. I also plan on posting musings about why I'm a born spy as my next post so stay tuned for that. For now, I must say adieu and hop into the sack with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix...I have to finish it and #6 before the big day on 7/21!

Sleep tight :)

xoxox

I should be sleepin' like a log

I just took a random survey online at sleepeducation.com to assess one's level of "sleepiness." Alarmingly, the good folks at sleepeducation.com think that I should "seek the advice of a sleep specialist without delay." I guess a score of 12 means that you really, really need to catch a few more z's. I could have told you that without taking some mini survey-I fall asleep on the 10 minute bus ride in to school every morning (as well as 2-3 times in our 1 o'clock lecture).

I really need to get in to the habit of starting the bedtime routine at 11 these days. I think I might have closed my eyes just a little too long while taking my patient's blood pressure this morning.

Yep. That's professional.

xoxox

summa time and the livin's easy.

Once again I'm posting after a long absence. I'm starting to wonder whether or not it's time to call the ol' blog quits. I can't imagine abandoning the blog but I also don't enjoy posting 3-week wrap-ups only every now and then. *sigh. We'll see. Maybe I'll have to finally take up quilting as my creative outlet.

Recent tid-bits:

1.) I passed my board exam. Josh did too. Yahoo! :)

2.) I'm heading out to NY/New Jersey this weekend for my aunt and uncle's 30th anniversary party. I'm really looking forward to seeing my cousins and other family even if it does require my participation in a mini talent show.

3.) I helped Josh brew and bottle another batch of beer the other day...or was it actually Love Potion #9? Check out this bubble in the sugar-primer-yeast concoction:


4.) This past weekend we went back to Grand Rapids to attend the wedding of our good friend from high school Rod to his fiancee Elizabeth:


My Dad is all about the pre-prom shots in front of the house before dressy events


Finally being a vegetarian at a wedding paid off; the chef had to make a special dish for another veggie and myself...and it was topped with a morel!

Hmm..it looks like the blogger server is having some problems right now even though I thought I'd post a couple more pics. Maybe it's just a thinly veiled attempt by blogger to send me a Dear John letter. I'll check back later.

xoxox

Hodgepodge F.F.

1. What year were you born?
1982 - the same year that Graceland opened to the public and Michael Jackson released Thriller. Unfortunately, that means I'll be hitting the quarter-century mark this year. Sometimes I look in the mirror and disappointedly realize that this just might be the best it's gonna get. I'm still waiting for that growth spurt to turn me into a 5'8'' vixen.

2. Who do you like to hug?
Josh, Mom, Raja, and there is something so satisfying about disrupting my sister's personal space (which she weirdly refers to as her "bubble").

3. Do you run away or face your problems?
I try to face them but only after stewing about them for days and getting nervous stomach :-/

4. How much cash do you have on you?
Basically, I have to run my debit card for a $1.05 coffee at Beanster's.

5. Friday fill-in:
I know exactly how to ____.
I know exactly how to pop a bag of microwave popcorn such that there are fewer than 5 unpopped kernels.

Any questions?

xoxox

Don' know much about den-tis-try...

I've got the Sunday night panic/blues. You familiar? That sigh-inducing dread starting around 3 pm on Sunday afternoon of what's to come in a particularly daunting work or school week that basically negates the fun or relaxation of the entire past weekend? Yeah, that's the one.

I think my summer may even be full of dread/panics--Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night, and so on--in addition to the standard Sunday due to the uncomfortable position I now find myself in: abruptly outta the nest. Clinic started last week and chaos ensued. Sure, I feel fine doing cleanings and simple restorative work (filling cavities) because I've been doing those on patients for a while; now the denture, root canal, and bridge and crown work flood gates have been opened and the the only patient I've worked on for those procedures is this guy:



Basically, the next few months will be pretty darn uncomfortable for me as I try to find my rhythm not only with relatively unfamiliar procedures but also new paperwork, faculty, and SOP's up in the clinic. That and being completely responsible for contacting, scheduling, and rescheduling my personal pool of 24 (and growing!) patients has got me stressed to the max. I'm not quite sure why I envisioned life immediately following boards to comprise canoe trips, beach houses, and amusement parks.

*sigh. In actuality, I'm just being dramatic. Sure, I'm stressed and nervous and feel pretty incompetent right now. But, I do realize that the learning curve is very steep this summer and hope that I'll be somewhat hitting my stride come fall. I also couldn't be happier with my decision to take boards before all of this you-know-what hit the fan. Watching some of my classmates trying to deal with this paradigm shift in addition to studying for boards just breaks my heart. And in all honesty, I did sit by the pool and get a pedicure last week and volunteer at the Special Olympics Summer Games this weekend. It's hard for anyone (and especially a control freak like yours truly) to simply accept feeling out of control and vulnerable for an extended period of time. Of course I wish the ridiculously uncomfortable phase lasted only two weeks instead of two months (and hopefully not two years!) but I'm trying to make peace with it and just bite the bullet. After all, it's the only way I'm going to learn. Not to mention I did feel similarly overwhelmed and scared a month and a half ago for boards and I'm happily on the other side of that. I'm sure I'll be calmly reflecting back on this June's panic in no time.

Then again, I'm still fighting off heart palpitations as I nervously peer into the mailbox every afternoon for my boards scores.

Oh well.

Happy Monday!

xoxox