I'm BACK!

Lately, I've kind of been struggling with life a little bit, so updating my blog slipped way down on the priority/things I feel like doing list.  I would be lying if I said I haven't had time, when the reality is that I really haven't had any interest in sitting in front of my computer for several hours re-hashing all the stuff I have been doing.  So let me update you quickly on the bad stuff so that we can move on to the better stuff.

BAD STUFF:

1) I am having severe back problems as of late.  I've been to the doctor several times to have adjustments made and the pain was NOT going away.  They sent me to the radiology clinic to get an x-ray, which came back normal (thankfully).  I asked for a copy of my x-rays because I think it is cool to see my insides.  This is what my lumbar spine looks like.

Pretty cool huh?  Long story short, the doc has announced that he thinks I have "sacro-ilial instability" and asked me to buy some special belt to help.  As much as I hate the awful muffin top it gives me, it helps relieve the pain quite a bit.  I was even feeling good enough this week to go to the gym...twice.  I'm not back to 100%, but there has been such an improvement in the pain levels that my spirits have been greatly lifted.

2) School has been kind of a pain lately.  My partner and I have recently been assigned several patients with very complicated cases (at least 5 cases that require daily attention).  Each case often requires wading through lots of paperwork, coordinating about 6 different people's schedules for consults, and spending lots of time talking through treatment with faculty and the patient to make sure we have every base covered.  I often come home exhausted and frustrated after running around making phone calls, asking professors for information, or simply trying to establish a game plan.  Practically every evening, I will be sitting on my couch trying to relax when I inevitably remember little overlooked detail that will require time to fix the next day.  Then I get stressed.  And this is on top of our normal schedule in which we typically see 3-4 patients a day.  I sometimes wish I could just have a week where I did simple things like cleanings, fillings, and crowns.

That being said, there has been a decent amount of good stuff going on lately too.  My weekends have usually been filled with lots of fun events.  I've also seen some new places and tried some new things.

GOOD STUFF:

1) While clinic has mostly been filled with frustration, there have been some isolated good things that have happened.  I did make two gold crowns for a patient that I was very proud of.  Despite being very difficult to prep for and requiring several appointments to complete, I just finished them last week.  They were BEAUTIFUL and fit perfectly.  I did not have to make a single adjustment to either one.  Just took them out of the lab box, cemented them in, and then sat back and admired them.  I could tell by the look on the professor's face that even he was very impressed.  Days like that make me remember why I decided to do dentistry in the first place.

2) Spring break was back in February and my parents came out to visit.  After spending a day in the clinic fixing their teeth, we did lots of fun things.

First up was a road-trip to Vegas.  

On the way there, we stopped at the Hoover Dam.  Ever since moving to Arizona, I've been wanting to go see the Hoover Dam.  It was so cool!  Just over a year ago, they opened the new bridge that allows traffic traveling between Arizona and Nevada to bypass the dam.  After crossing the bridge in my car, we were pleased to discover that you can park and walk out along the bridge.  The concrete walls on the bridge are so high that you can't see anything while driving across.  I guess they wanted to prevent drivers from being distracted by the view as they crossed.  But when you walk out there, the only thing separating you from a long way to the bottom of the canyon is a steel railing.  The view is incredible.  It was a little scary going out there because the wind blowing between the canyon walls was very strong and the bridge shook every time a heavy car crossed.  It is very high up over the river (840 feet) and definitely not for the faint of heart.  But the view of the dam was simply amazing and worth every ounce of nerve it took to step foot out onto that bridge.

We made our way down to the dam and walked around on the top for awhile before our tour began.  The center of the dam is located on the Arizona/Nevada state line, so I got to stand with one foot in each state, which was kind of cool.  Not only was I in two places at once, but in two separate time zones!  The intake towers on each side of the dam have clocks on them, the one on the west tower labeled "Nevada Time" and the east tower labeled "Arizona Time".  It was so strange to see two separate times displayed.

Nevada Time

Arizona Time

Time for me to have one foot in each time zone.

The sign showing where the state line is located.

Then we took some scenic shots on top of the dam.

You can see the bridge bypass behind us.  It's very high up!

We took the complete tour of the dam.  First we went into the diversion tunnels in the canyon walls.  When the dam was being built, these tunnels diverted the river away from the dam site.  Now they contain the penstock pipes that carry water from the lake to the turbines to generate energy.  We stood in a small room located over the pipes that were 30 feet in diameter.  There was so much water rushing through these pipes that you could feel the entire floor vibrating.  It was impressive.  It had a very eerie feeling down in this area because you could tell that you were deep inside the canyon.  All the walls were made of solid rock and it was very damp.  Then the tour moved into the powerhouse on the Nevada side. This is where all the turbines/generators are located.  Finally we moved into some other areas of the dam.  This was my favorite part.  At one point, we were walking down a narrow tiled tunnel.  At the end of the tunnel, there was an elevation marker.  I remember the tour guide saying that the wall I was standing in front of was made of 150 feet of concrete.  On the other side of the wall was Lake Mead, at a depth of 650 feet.  It was surreal to really think about where I was.  Good thing that concrete held up!  We took an elevator further into the dam, which eventually led us to some ventilation shafts.  They were tiny and narrow, but eventually led to the face of the dam where you could look out.  We had a photo opportunity field day in these tunnels.  It was really cool!

I stuck my hand outside the grate and the front of the dam to capture this picture.

Very windy inside the ventilation shaft!

And here are some other dam pictures.  The whole thing was just so dam awesome.

Eventually we made it to Vegas.  It certainly is a very interesting city, to say the least.  Everything seemed very over the top to me, as if every overindulgence of humanity was taken to the extreme.  FOOD! MONEY! SEX! You were assaulted by it all on every street corner.  We still had a good time.  

We rode the Deuce up and down the strip to see all the fancy hotels and casinos.  We walked through the Venetian.

We saw the pawn shop in the TV show, "Pawn Stars".  (The line to get in was crazy.)

We watched the Bellagio fountains.

We went to downtown Vegas and saw the Fremont Street Experience.  There is a huge LED canopy located over the street and they project images over the street in time to music.  I enjoyed sitting outside eating caramel apples watching all the people and the lights.

We finished the trip with a photo session in front of the Las Vegas sign.

Once back in Arizona, we ended our spring break fun with a hike to the top of a mountain, a NASCAR race, and a White Sox spring training game.

Despite her smile, she is actually very pissed that I made her climb that mountain.

Shamelessly copied and pasted off the professional site.

3) Speaking of spring training, I made some headway on completing my goal of visiting all 10 spring training stadiums in Arizona.  After checking off Surprise Stadium and Maryvale Stadium off the list, I only have 4 left.  With good planning, I can achieve my goal next March.  I also introduced 2 friends to the glory of spring training by taking them to their first game.  And the best part, I got to see the Cubs, the White Sox, and the Brewers play this spring.  Yay!

4) The weekends have been fun with all sorts of fun activities.  This quarter, I painted pottery with Mindi, attended 2 bachelorette parties at clubs in Scottsdale, went to the botanical garden when Vicki visited Phoenix, and participated in my first Passover Seder meal hosted by Allie.  And I have eaten copious amounts of frozen yogurt (the cure for any bad day).  This weekend's activity was going to the shooting range with Mindi and her husband Anthony.  I have never shot a gun before and I was a little nervous.  I didn't really like the idea of holding something that could kill somebody (although I guess driving a car can do the same thing).  But after learning the ropes and how to be safe, I had a pretty good time.  I shot both a 9 mm and 40 caliber.  And I hit the target...more than once. So I was pretty happy with how I did.

(That last artsy photo is courtesy of instagram, an app I downloaded on my new iPhone.  Yeah, I'm now one of those kids.  And I kind of love it, so I make no apologies.)

So that is a rather lengthy recap of what I have been doing during my blog hiatus.  Hopefully I will be a little bit better about updating my blog.  Hopefully.  Until next time!