How bad do you want it?

Success that is. I happened upon a video that is quite timely.

I have been in transition to Dental School from a one year hiatus after undergrad. Getting the momentum and rhythm going for my hectic schedule has been one of my challenges so far. Last week I was overjoyed when the weekend came along because that meant that I didn't have to get up at 6am the next morning and follow a strict routine into the next day. It meant that I could rest. However, when I ask myself how badly I want to succeed, my actions thus far have not been parallel to my answer.

See video to find out why:

When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful - Sean Walker

Also find inspiration on my other blog: Climb.Reach.Achieve

Weekday, Weekend - What's the difference?

It was a super long week and I somehow managed to make it through 7hrs of Occlusion, an hr of Intro to Clinicals, 10 hrs of Biochem, a 2hr talk/lecture from the dean, too many hrs of Anatomy and countless mixers/meet-n-greets. In essence, I made it through week 1 of Dental School. I believe I owe it all to Starbucks -1 tall breakfast blend (medium) to start the day and get me through 8 hrs of lecture and 1 tall chocolate mocha to, well... get me through the other 3-6 hrs of study thereafter, ugh!

With all the work that is required to get through each phase of DS, I believe it's safe to say that the secret to a successful transition is support. My school is really big on support and most, if not all students here function as a family unit - always looking out for each other. That comes to me as great relief. I have already gotten tonnes of help and advice from upperclassmen and it is well appreciated, of course.

So, It's the weekend which typically translates to sleep, movies, mall, night on the town, sleep and...more sleep, right? WRONG! It's sad to see my weekends go up in smoke. I took a night off from the books last night to catch up on a week's worth of sleep (no joke) and now my weekend has to pay for it. I have to stuff 32 hours of lecture in my cranium by Monday so that I am prepared to stuff another 32 hrs of lecture come Tuesday. My weekends have quickly gone from relaxation to work-work-work in no time (and no warning).

FYI, It took me 10 mins to think of what to post and 20 mins to write this post, which means I've lost 30 mins of study time, which means I'll have to make up for it later, which means even blogging has become a hassle. No bueno! Anycrazyweekend, enjoy! and have loads of sleep and fun times for both of us!

Fumes & Starbucks

It's Thursday morning and Biochemistry is at the top of the hour. I have approximately 5 minutes before classes start and wanted to give a quick update.
Dental School is in full effect and it is starting to feel like I have been handed a ticket and a warm welcome to zombie land. Since my classes now start at 8am everyday, I now have to get up at 6am, which, if you know me NEVER happens. Two days in and I'm already running on pure fumes and Starbucks. Starbucks is soo good! I'm not so sure I can keep up with the Starbucks-every-morning lifestyle though, being the poor student that I am and all, but I digress.
My schedule is crazy (but not as crazy as it can/will get). I have classes from 8am to 5pm EVERYDAY and sometimes have to stay back in the anatomy lab to finish up work that was not completed in the allotted class time, and if that's not enough, I THEN have to turn around and study! GOL-LY!
So you see, I may need to change my name to Ms. blog-a-little from now on. My posts will be brief, like the one today. Class is about to start...

Whirlwind week wrap-up

It's back to school for me next week, which means it's time to pull out my big girl crayons and put on my big girl thinking cap. I'm very excited to start Dental School and finally live part of a dream that I've had for so long. As is the intention of this blog, you will be hearing of my dental school experiences, both inside and out of the classroom.

It was Orientation week at my school, which means it was a free 5 days before hell - literally, and I've been busy trying to know and memorize the names of ALL 80 students (dork! I know...) I must say this week has been a whirlwind of fun, excitement, jitters, boredom and outright tiredness. It was soo. loong! but I've met some very interesting people, some of which I hope to develop friendships and build memories with over the years to come (we'll see). Now that the week  is all behind me I'm looking forward to a weekend of fun and REST, and of course a very productive semester.

On another note, I miss New York, I miss my old life - family and friends. I'll admit I'm a little home sick which probably explains my weight loss, moodiness and why I found myself 40 mins out yesterday on the I-95.  However, as with everything else this is a process and one that will help to build character and  strengthen me in the long run. My best friend likes to refer to it as growing pains, and he is correct. I'm open to all the lessons and perspective I will gain from this experience which I will share on my other blog (Climb.Reach.Achieve).

Just so you know, the courses that will be kicking my butt (*chuckle) this semester includes:
Biochemistry
Anatomy
Occlusion
Intro. to Clinic

Wish me luck!

Holy Heat-Happy?!

I don't eat much and I'm not high maintenance (at all). Thank God for that because I will be needing to save the money from those expenses for the hair salon. I thought New York was expensive! Would you believe it costs $75 for a perm and $35 for a wash and set at the Dominicans in D.C? That is WITHOUT a deep conditioner and WITHOUT the tip. The cost of getting my hair doubled at the very point in my life where I'm as broke as a joke.

Anyway, the hair was all frizzy and the funk was becoming unbearable so I decided to venture out in the D.C area to find me a Dominican hair salon. I found Giovani's off of Adam's Mill Rd. in the Adam's Morgan area. First impression when I walked through the door was hmm it's clean, neat, small...and the people are friendly. So I sat in the chair and got my perm, got the really big rollers and was placed under a dryer in a corner that was hotter than a branding fork ( I swear). I had to strip down to my tank top and fan myself with some dusty magazine, just to make it through the torture-chamber.  I never knew I would be happy about parking rules, but I had to get up from the dryer several times to go move my car as the surrounding area has strict 1hr parking rules (thank God for small mercies!). I got crazy stares by walking around in the street with a head full of jumbo rollers, eh whatever.

70 mins. later I was removed from the torture-chamber and got my blow-out, which was good. Soon my hair was bone straight with a nice bounce (isn't that what a perm does?). So I think I'm done and I start to get up, and holy heat-happy! the stylist reaches for the flat-iron. Whaat? Now why on earth would my hair need to be flat-ironed after a perm, surviving the torture-chamber with jumbo rollers AND a blow-out?! I didn't get this heat-happy stylist's logic at all, but hell for $75 PLUS tip I should have made her iron the damn thing.

All in all my hair looked great, felt great and most importantly smelled great - but wait, doesn't it always after my $40 perm in New York? This $75 hair-do thing is so unnecessary.

**Enter the sweepstakes to win a compact digital camera. Go here for details.**

Win a sleek, compact digital camera!!

Haven't I always said that I love giving things away?! This time around I'm giving away an oh so cute, red digital camera!

 < ain't it cute?!>

 It has such great features too! 

4x digital zoom, maximum photo resolution 3.0MP (2048x1536), built-in 16MB memory, expands to 4GB (or 10,000 photos). 1.1" LCD color display screen, JPEG photo file format. 

Uses 2AAA batteries (not included). 3 3/4"L x 2 1/4"H x 1 1/8" W. 

To enter:

*Send an email to patrice@stu-dentdiaries.com with the word: CAM (1 entry)

*Follow this blog through google friend connect (1 entry)

*Invite a friend to follow this blog ( 1 entry)

*Follow Stu-DENT Diaries on facebook (1 entry)

*Tweet this giveaway on twitter (1 entry). You will need to follow me so I can keep track @MzPTrice

**Remember, the more entries, the greater your chance to win!

Go here for additional details and eligibility rules.

winner will be randomly chosen on 09/14/2010 09/30/10. SPREAD THE WORD!

Tuition: A real kick in the rump

Got a little something that would be sure to give me a real kick in the rump if ever I decide to slack off.

This is my tuition and fee schedule for my first year of Dental School. As you can see, the total cost for ONE year is $43,462.00 and that does not include living expenses, which would amount to some figure I have issues saying out loud. 
I have strategically posted this flyer right above my desk where I study. Whenever I need to be reminded of the reason I absolutely cannot afford to let the ball drop, this would sure do the trick, don't you think?
It's my motivation, and will later become my satisfaction when I become Dr. Patrice S., DDS.

Please support my cause "Aid for Minority Dental Students" by donating whatever you can afford to help students like myself combat the alarming cost of Dental School.  

Business Mode, Road Rage and Facebook Robbery

Phew! Like I said in my last post, I had a busy week ahead. Last week I was M.I.A due to my move from the Big Apple, getting everything set up around my apartment and getting everything straightened out for the start of the school year. Last week wore me out! but now that all that is out of the way it's now time to get myself in business mode.

School begins in approximately 1 week. I'm settled and ready for the rough road ahead. As reality starts to set in, I find myself praying for patience and understanding. Patience - to deal with the different personalities I am yet to encounter and for the road rage I've developed since I've moved. People in Maryland drive like it's Sunday everyday or like they're on their way to a funeral. Seriously! the last time I drove 30-40mph was during my driving test and that was eons ago. And Understanding to, of course, grasp the gazillion information that will soon be thrown at me (God help me).

I know I promised to post pics of the new apartment but I had a change of heart (sorry) after watching CNN the other night and caught news of a  facebook robbery. Did you hear about it? This lady, Keri McMullen from Indiana posted a simple status update stating that she and her hubby would be going out that night to a local bar. Apparently, one of her facebook "friends" took her not being home as an opportunity to break in and rob her apartment. Yes, I did say her facebook "friend." Lucky for her, she had installed cameras in the apartment and so the robbers (at least the one on her "friend" list on facebook) was caught. So you see, I have to now be very careful of what I reveal on the net. The last thing I need is someone busting in on me, or something. You can find news here if you missed it: Facebook Robbery.

As a heads up for those who enjoy my ramblings and ridiculousness, once schools starts I will be in business mode. That means that this page will become "serious" again. But not to worry, I will try to drop in some craziness once in a while and you can always go to Patrice's Corner for more of me, go shopping or enjoy some discounts, ok?

I-95

I was up by the crack of dawn on Sunday morning all ready and excited for my debut in a new city. Packed up my 16 yr old car "old faithful" with all my stuff and I was ready to hit the road - for good. Traffic flowed smoothly on the I-95 and I whisked my way into D dot C dot 4hrs, 250 miles and an empty gas tank later, I arrived at my new home - beat - but safe, sound, clean, dry and in one piece.

So, I've been in my new town a total of 2 days and I've already gotten lost like a dozen times! I have no sense of direction; couple that with night time and you've got yourself a very lost girl. Lucky for me I have a little thing called common sense and I somehow always seem to find my way back home, albeit it takes me an hour or 2 to find somewhere that looks familiar.
I've been keeping myself busy by shopping and...shopping, and decorating.
It should get a little more exciting here when the rest of the fam (classmates) arrive. Until then, you're stuck with my adventure-less, lost stories.

Deuces...

New York!! On to some new stuff! moving on to something better (by way of Chris Breezy), lol.
Today marks the day I'm no longer a New Yorker. I'm leaving the big apple to the nation's capital, that's right I'm moving to Washington D.C.
Don't cry for me New York, I gotta do what I gotta do but I promise I'll be back to visit, and just so you know, you'll always be my favorite state.
So I'll be super duper busy today and for the rest of this week as I'll have lots of packing and un-packing, driving, getting lost, finding my way, site seeing, meeting Mr. Obama - chyeea I wish!
Nevertheless, I'm looking forward to it all. Best part of my move will be decorating my new apartment (eek!!) and of course meeting the fam (classmates). I call us family because we're basically stuck with each other for the next four years. Should be a great day, a great week, a great four years!!