one year already ^^

happy one year anniversary. it has been a great year. so many happy moments with u. lets hope for many more wonderful years to come!

love u!

Xmas work presents.

xmas is coming and my workplace is still very busy but the staffs have been super excited about the awaitng holiday.


micah my very smiley, beautiful and lovely nurse got me some wonderful FCUK gifts. (i know, i should be the one getting her presents but i have been super busy lately... micah i will make it up to u!!)

and a pair of very cool socks to keep me warm for the cold winter.

i am in severe need to go for a nice holiday. however allen will be working over xmas, and i will be the only dentist working in the whole practice for the next week as well. friend faz invited us to join a paris disneyland trip on a half price offer. but i guess we have to pass. busy busy. need a break!

busy busy.

it has been crazily busy these days.

work, of cos, is as stressful as usual.

weekends are now packed as well.

last weekend of november i was in newcastle attending the super interesting inman course.

then the next wek, our whole practice proudly attended the dentistry award in leicetser (nominated as north west best practice and our boss best young dentist)! ^^

then week after, drove all the way to leyland to pick up my beauty parcel (postman missed us 3 times!). then to manchester to do some shopping. the whole city was packed with ppl trying to do xmas shopping. and i need to say a BIG thank you to my baby allen for my very very amazing xmas present! my long-awaited lady dior^^

so down.

u know those days when u feel u can do nothing right, like you cannot do any single thing well?

i am feeling like that today. total shit.

i need a long break. i do.

triple irritations.

i probably made the dumbest decision to have my braces tightened right before my mjdf exam.

the pain is unbearable.

1) its so sore i cant actualli eat a thing- i literally cant bite on anything. i am so hungry i am feeling dizzy.

2) with this pain and hunger- i practically cant read a word, awful revision speed.

3) and tmr i am going to london- i am supposed to have a big feast at the malaysian restaurant in chinatown. now i think i can onli js order some super soft bihun.

OMG.

it will be worth it.

second time tightened my braces. this times had the elastic bands on as well.

the almost unbearable pain.

had to work the whole day bearing this torture.

it will be worth it- is the motivation that keeps me going.

cutie pie!

my gorgeous nephew is 3-month-old and he is so precious. i am such a proud aunty!!!!

wearing the man U shirt i bought for him. such a handsome cutie pie!

facial sauna.

Bought a 10-pound facial sauna from argos today. It's cheap but there were really good reviews about the product so i thought i would give it a try.

Got home. All excited to give myself a treat. Then tak-da-- set all the pieces up, switched the thing on, and guess what, IT WAS NOT WORKING.

Argh, argos, what a disappointment.

Gonna waste a trip returning it tmr.

happy birthday me ^^

lets not mention the age. it's a happy birthday^^

favourite pretty pinky daisies!

dr pang's masterpiece. i am not making it up, this is, hands down, an amazing cake. i couldnt stop eating. it was deeeeeeeeeelicious.

double celebrations.

Today is the last day of my VT year (foundation training). I am so so happy. It means the next pay is not a fixed pay anymore lol.

And then before i left the practice my boss js made my day even more amazing--by paying for my Inman course!! that's 774pounds saved. BIG thank you.

ouch

just had my braces tighten yesterday. OUCH.

it will be a week of porridge again. zzz.

spider.

Today i had a patient in for a root canal treatment. The notes on the computer says "EXTREMELY NERVOUS PATIENT", so i thought ok, this needs a lot of tender-loving-care again. The patient was actually passed over by my boss. I have seen her once and she was a bit shakey on the chair.

So i told her i would have to inject her first. And she was telling me she was nervous. I tried to calm her down and all of a sudden, my nurse Micha gave out a terrified scream--a spider was crawling on the worktop on her side. So i thought, ok ai ling your are the dentist, you should take care of this. So i went over and had a look, thinking it's a tiny creature that just created an over-exaggerating reaction from my nurse. No, the spider was massive. It's like 3cm big. I stepped back and asked Micha "go ask Ramky to come please!". Since my boss was on holiday, Ramky, the other dentist upstairs was the only guy in the whole practice. I mean, guys should take care of shit like this right?

And guess what, my "EXTREMELY NERVOUS" patient just jumped out from the chair and said "hey i am not scared let me take care of it!". Next she grabbed a few paper towels from the dispenser and charged towards the spider, and proper squash the poor insect. Micha and I were stunned, speechless. Shocked, but i still managed to say thank you to her for handling the mess.

Then she went back onto the chair and told me, "you are gonna numb me up right? OMG i am shaking now".

The minute she finished the spider off, i thought this lady should have no fear whatsoever. But then again, she is scared of me, the dentist, and the needle in my hand.

Dental phobia is a funny thing. I can't be scarier than a massive spider can I?

free bird.

finally broke my 10-year bond with JPA. i am one free bird now.

thank you for the 7 years of amazing life, support, and a wonderful degree. i wouldn't be what i am without you, that's a fact. thank you.

the cutest thing ever.

my adorable little nephew said hi to the world on 20th May 2011. he is the most adorable thing. aunty ai-ling wish you all the best things in the world. may you be healthy and happy always. a lot of love will be there for you. can't wait to hold you in my arms and give you a dear kiss.

i am officially an ugly betty.

finally have my braces on today. being an ugly betty at this age is abit embarassing i have to admit.

i thought i would handle it better, but the discomfort is actualli a bit overwhelming.

argh. the pain a girl has to go through to look better.

should not complain tho, free treatment. thank you Dr Burns.

the most stressful day of the year. hopefully ever.

i knew it was gonna be stressful today when i looked through my diary before i left the surgery yesterday; but i just didnt expect it to be THAT stressful. no. awful is the word.

four patients were booked in for extractions in one morning. im starting to think my receptionist probably doesnt like me much. the extractions themselves were enough to pump my adrenaline and work my flabby arms. i realli didnt need more drama:

Drama 1:
the first patient was so paranoid. she starting shaking after the injections. so i thought ok just take a deep deep breath. then she was getting pale and was realli realli shaky. apparently she didnt have anytin to eat before coming in. oh great. so i had to ask my nurse to bring her a glucose drink. and guess what, it ran out in the emergency kit, and another nurse had to run to the store nearby to get a box of ribena. then she started being a bit...mmm... annoying.

patient: how long is it goin to take?
me: about 10mins
patient: what?? 10mins?! that long?!
me: well i mean the whole thing will take about 10mins. i will want to make sure u stop bleeding and ok before i let u leave.
patient: i mean how long will it take?? the part u take out my tooth?
me: well about a minute for one maybe. you have 3 to come out so maybe a couple of minutes.
patient: how many minutes?????

well i guess i should have said 1 minute and 22.3 seconds or somtin.

then the first tooth came out in like mayb 45seconds. n then
patient: is it going to take THAT long for the remaining two??? THIS long????

i guess the answer should have been Im not taking part in dental extraction Olympic games.


Drama 2:
after the first drama i decided im just a VT. i should have the right to ask my boss to cover for my freaking-out. so i went to tell him i have a Q of extractions lining up in my diary and i needed a break.

me: hiya, i have fours extractions booked in this morning. the first patient was realli nervous. i think i m freaking out a bit. will u pls take this patient from me?
boss: well just dont do 4 then. just take out 1 or 2 today.
me: no i mean 4 patients are booked in for extractions. not 4 teeth.
boss: oh..well i think it will be a good practice for you. good learning curve.
me: i think the first patient freaked me out a bit.
boss: welcome to the real world ai ling. you are having a good training.
me: no. no. cos in a real world i will not let the receptionist book in a diary like this for me.
boss: ok ok. at least numb the patient up first. i have to see 2 patients then i will see yours.

a 13 year-old kid with a grossly carious tooth. managed to give the injections. then when i put in the forcep she started saying to her mom she didnt want to have it done anymore. and mom said pls pls pls. and she said no no no. it took a while. i decided i didnt wanna sit and wait for my boss to come back i would js yank out the tooth myself. so i managed to convince her to let me have a go. she burst out in tears. tooth came out anyway. at this point, boss came in and gave me a wink, like telling me "see this is exactly how u learn". ok thanks.

Drama 3:
i took the xray. then i had no idea where my nurse went to. so the film was lying there for a while before she came back to develop it. the picture came out fussy, i couldnt see very clearly. then i thought ok its just routine extraction. patient was cooperative at least he wasnt paranoid or crying. then i spent a good 10mins trying to luxate it. it just wasnt happening. so i asked my boss to come give me a hand. he was struggling. then we heard a crack. the tooth came out with a big chunk of bone fragment. ouch. proper ankylosis. bone was well fused to the mesiodistal root.

this is what i needed. a bad xray when an xray was most needed.


Drama 4.
schizophrenia.


The morning was fully fully booked. by the end of the session i wanted to roll into a ball and just rot.


my receptionist decided to give me her humours in the afternoon too. this time it was all fillings and a root canal treatment on a nervous 13-year-old. the nervous kid was from my colleague dentist who had flown away to a 5-star skiing hotel in austria. margaret, while u r enjoying the spa and jacuzzi in austria, pls remember poor ai-ling is enduring partly bcos of you.

Drama 5:
the 13 years old kid couldnt realli open his mouth. i was struggling to put a film holder in the take xray. then i was struggling to inject. then i was struggling to drill. he started crying and kept saying he wanted to spit out. i couldnt realli see what i was doing bcos of his very very limited mouth opening and his extra-activities. so i had to dress the tooth and tell the mom the magic of happy gas. referral.

the whole day i thought i could have a panic attack any minute.

lets hope this will be the worst possible day ever ever in my life.

happy love day.

a long day at work but the day was made beautiful because of u.

the trip to the post office was hilarious. the plan wasn't ruined. it made the day more special.

the cake wasn't the prettiest, but it showed how hard u tried. and i love u for that.

thank you for everything. for making so much effort even though u have a long night ahead.

i am so blessed.

sick dog.

this winter has been cruelly cold with severe snow. i have been sick for a few times. this time is the worst. i feel horrible. 4 sick leaves in 2 months. crazy.