Today marks my first day of dental school classes, a day that I am sure will be indelibly imprinted on my memory for the rest of my life. I’ve been prepping for today for the past 5 years and suddenly, as if from nowhere… here I am. In anticipation of The First Day, I have worked on:
I’ve always approached blogging from a rather pragmatic stance, complete with low expectations, no thoughts of a cult-like following, and no deluded visions of grandeur. For these reasons, I don’t usually link my blog, I’ve pulled it out of as many search engines as possible, it’s not listed on my Facebook profile, and I seldom bring it up in conversation. The whole idea is one of website as a hidden gem. I’d like the people who visit to only do so because (however limited in scope), they find a small nugget of value in reading my rantings/ravings. The reality is harsh, but generally goes thus: nobody cares what I had for lunch, they probably don’t think I’m funny, they aren’t interested in the things I link, and my photographs don’t speak to them. On the contrary, those who have a modicum of interest in what I’m doing here, I welcome you with open arms and an appreciation for every speck of feedback and comments you offer.
Mykala got this card as a congratulations when I got into school. Love this card.
A gift from Katy.
This is just about the only t-shirt I ever wear these days — it’s kinda silly, but it makes me happy.
Consider it part of my down payment on an education at the U of M.
Nine months ago, I received some rather bad news: a rejection from the U of M School of Dentistry. Never one who enjoys having to zig when I intended to zag, I nevertheless tried to learn how to accept change. I signed off last February with a statement that seemed confident but was riddled with holes of doubt and trouble. Only work and time could resolve those issues. And today, I got some news. So… finally… years of planning, a biochemistry degree, research, summer classes, dental observations, dental conventions, a dental coop class, taking the DAT, applying, getting rejected, taking a DAT class, more observations, re-applying, and endless months of waiting for news, it is official — I start dental school next fall at the University of Minnesota!
The comments of support, advice, and sympathy in the days following my dental news made me smile with gratitude at having such friends. Communicating with people, both online and offline showed me the good side of so many folks … it seems that there is nothing you can’t get through if you are blessed with friends and family. Rewind to Friday afternoon and I was barely getting by; every free moment my mind had was spent contemplating my situation, wondering what was next, alternating between disgust with myself for not getting in and a quiet calm looking forward to a year of planning, freedom, and waiting.
I was going to think about this post for a long time, attempt to be as eloquent as possible, and then type up a long tale recounting the events that have transpired since my application to dental school. Perhaps that post will still be written, but this post is not that one. I didn’t make the cut for the University of Minnesota class of 2011 dental school. This Tuesday, the rejection notice came in the mail. No wait list for me. No dental school this September.
One of the biggest obstacles preventing me from writing very much in the past couple of months has been worrying about dental school: specifically, whether or not I have gotten in. I’ve been hesitant to write anything at all about it until I knew one way or the other; it’s awfully difficult to think about, much less write coherent thoughts concerning my hopes, dreams, and fears. Come to think of it, avoiding the cathartic effect of writing may have been a mistake. There are many stories to tell that have happened along the way … but they will fit best when there is some sort of conclusion. Then again, I don’t know if I really want to look back at the journal of my life and read about all this worrying I’ve done. Either way, the silence has been getting to be too much, so I think I’ll pick up on the writing thing again.
This entire week has been an atrocity. Busy everytime I turn around, the time I’m taking to write this right now is borrowed from a lab that I got time off from (it’s also my lunch time). That said, I was unlocking my bike yesterday to race to a workout and couldn’t help but notice a Rice Crispies bar lodged between my front reflector and tire. My first reaction to the foreign substance on my bike was anger - it was an inconvenience to kick the dang thing off. A moment or two later, though, I looked at the bar on the ground (it had a bite out of it) and the humor sunk in. I mean … there’s a Rice Crispies bar wedged into my bike. That’s funny. Try to make an argument against the humor there. I could just imagine some guy (I’m assuming it was a guy … do you know girls who litter desserts?) walking up to my bike and taking the time to carefully set the bar in there so it fit just so. As Daniel Bogan would say, “People can be so damn strange sometimes.”
The tie I got for my U of M interview.
Nina works at the Binz Refectory, and has been there well beyond my four short years at St. Thomas. The thing that amazes me is her ability to stay cheerful, day in, day out, through all those years. I’ve stopped to get food from her in the balmy fall days of September, the early, dark, snowy mornings of February, and on springtime days looking forward to a summer change of pace. I am sure she’s been subect to belligerent students, dropped plates, and the monotony of a food service job … but she never seems unhappy.
When I say I ran into my English teacher today, I do almost mean it in the literal sense. I was biking and he was driving, the corner was rather blind, and we both swerved and braked in emergency avoidance maneuvers. We casually chatted afterwards, but I the pounding heart-rates of both parties precluded the pretenses most people usually observe in polite conversation. I guess I am a bit socially awkward, not really in a debilitating sense, but still an inconvenience I could do without. My mantra is and almost always has been, be yourself. You can turn up the volume and turn down the volume on the traits, characteristics, and actions that make you as the situation dictates, but you should always go with being you. “Me,” as I currently stand, is a little bit awkward. The price of sincerity, I guess.
That building on the right - might be going to school there in two years. This was taken at the beginning of the long drive up to Doctor Ippoliti’s cabin.
I just wrote most of the Wikipedia article about the DAT - Feel free to check it out.
I’ve started one or two journal entries here, and then immediately deleted them. I am saying the same thing over and over in a side-long and vague way that leaves me with no satisfaction. When my fingers cease flitting over the keys, the ideas are still in my head, and I’m looking at a couple of paragraphs of junk. To get in the blunt state of mind, I thought I’d list out some things about myself:
All humans are simmering pots of needs; every person you meet has a unique concoction of needs brewing. Take a baby, for instance: its needs overflow moment to moment in cascades of petulant tears. As that baby grows up, it does not stop literally crying out for things because it no longer want to, it stops because crying out no longer works, surrounded as it is in a sea of selfish people. Over the years, we learn to bottle up our needs, yet they continue to drive us from the inside out.
Welcome to the first post of 2006. So many things have happened to me in this year, that I’ll toss them out in random order, maybe they’ll be funny, and maybe you’ll get bored. Who knows. First, Nils is in Norway - he’s overseas along with many people I know (for example: Emily, Emily, others). He called the experience “once in a lifetime” complete with backpacking Europe later in his 7 month stay, and total immersal in Norwegian culture and general Norwegianess. This type of horizon and world-view-expanding activity strikes me as extremely desirable for the complete college experience. While I am unable to partake at this point in my existence and for the forseeable future, I plan at some point to do some real traveling. It would break my routine-building tendencies, show me things I’ve never seen before, and make me a more interesting life-experiency type father. “Let me tell you what the Cathedrals of France look like at sunset” is generally more interesting than “let me tell you about the Saint Paul skyline at sunset” but not necessarily as practical as “if you use the correct attachment on the wrench, removing the oil filter doesn’t have to be that difficult.”
25,000 dollars for Professional School - Win 25,000 dollars towards professional school simply by entering a few bits of information. A credible organization: the people who administer prep courses for standardized tests.
Sagert (12:31:58 AM): have you ever thought of going into grill-work?
tumbledry (12:32:07 AM): grill work?
Sagert (12:32:13 AM): like, crafting blinging and icey teeth for people?
tumbledry (12:32:22 AM): hahah oh oh
Sagert (12:32:27 AM): you know, once you got your dental stuff done
tumbledry (12:32:32 AM): it would be a natural outgrowth of basic dental training
Sagert (12:32:38 AM): exactly
tumbledry (12:32:47 AM): one would source those specialty items and promote
Sagert (12:32:50 AM): i just started reading your thing about precious metals, and it totally clicked for me
tumbledry (12:32:52 AM): not a bad idea
tumbledry (12:33:01 AM): i like it
Sagert (12:33:45 AM): just a thought
Sagert (12:33:49 AM): just throwing it out there
tumbledry (12:33:51 AM): i wonder
Sagert (12:33:57 AM): you got plenty of time
tumbledry (12:34:01 AM): i know fake vampire teeth can cost a couple thousand
tumbledry (12:34:11 AM): and people do that crap all the time at halloween
Sagert (12:34:19 AM): ummm…
Sagert (12:34:23 AM): i like my idea better
Sagert (12:34:29 AM): unless they’re blinging vampire teeth
Sagert (12:35:00 AM): or a full front set book-ended by vamp teeth that reads “suck this” in diamonds
Sagert (12:35:03 AM): that’d be tight
tumbledry (12:35:17 AM): oh man that’s unstoppably cool
Sagert (12:36:04 AM): again, i’m just planting the seed
Sagert (12:36:10 AM): let what you learn nurture that seed
Sagert (12:36:17 AM): and occassionally give it a bit of sunlight
Sagert (12:36:24 AM): and see where that beanstalk takes you
tumbledry (12:37:49 AM): your metaphor and idea are equally good
tumbledry (12:37:51 AM): would you get this work done?
Sagert (12:38:11 AM): i could probably be convinced
Sagert (12:38:41 AM): although i might opt for a removable model, depending on employment and things like that
tumbledry (12:39:28 AM): haha alrighty we could arrange that
tumbledry (12:39:33 AM): you’d be tough
tumbledry (12:39:38 AM): tough as nails
Sagert (12:40:12 AM): tough as steak
Sagert (12:40:21 AM): and that’s the point, really
tumbledry (12:41:03 AM): well i still have respect for steak
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