Work it, Own It!

Thanksgiving with the family and close friends was great! I blame it all for the lack of a post last week. Not to worry though, I'm now back from my mini vacay and naturally, it's back to the grind as finals are well on their way. Sometimes all we need is a little break so we can dive back in, full throttle. With that being said, dive into this Mental Monday trivia. It's a tough one so the first person to come up with the correct answer(s) gets a $10 iTunes gift card! (no joke).

First person to come up with the correct answer(s) gets $10 iTunes gift card!

On Saturday, 6 marriages are due to be performed throughout the day at the local church. However, the details of the brides and grooms have been inadvertently mixed up in the planner. Although each name is in the correct column, only 1 name in each colum is correctly positioned.

	Groom 1st	Groom 2nd	Bride 1st	Bride 2nd
1	Abe	Goliath	Minnie	Stephens
2	Bill	Holdernes	Nina	Tallis
3	Colin	Idi	Olive	Underwood
4	Doug	James	Pauline	Vitori
5	Eddie	Kite	Alice	Wells
6	Fred	Leonard	Rosie	Yates

Here are the facts that are certain about the correct order:

1. Yates is 2 places below Goliath
2. Colin is 1 place below Idi
3. Fred is 3 places below Nina, who is 2 above Underwood
4. Vitori is somewhere below Olive who is somewhere below Kite
5. James is 1 place above Pauline who is 2 places above Doug
6. Rosie is 1 place above Abe who is one above Stephens
Give the first and last names of the groom and bride for each position.

You know what time it is!

PS answer might be easier to send in table form. Feel free to send a table with correct answers to patrice@stu-dentdiaries.com or copy & paste table you made in the comment section.

♪♫ Let's Get Physical, Physical ♪♫

 It's Mental Monday! Put on your thinking caps.

Look at the following:

1 + 23 - 4 + 5 - 6 + 78 + 9 = 106

Notice that the digits 1 through 9 are used in order to arrive at 106. Using 1 through 9 in order, and using only addition or subtraction, create equations that equal 100.

Come on, give me at least 2 equations! Post your answers in the comments section.

♪♫ Let's get Physicaaaal ♪♫

Break Time: Good Time

...especially when Thanksgiving is right around the corner and all I can think about is going home to my mom's stuffed turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes & gravy, green bean casserole, candied yams, pumpkin pie, mmm-luscious! I really can't wait for next week when I ride on up to ♫Neww Yorrkkk♫ It will surely be good times with the family and close friends. What are you doing this Thanksgiving?

Train Your Brain

It's Monday! and I'm here again to give you your weekly brain work-out with   

Mental Monday.

I had a pretty relaxed week last week, and not to toot my own horn but I must thank my own Mental Monday post (and my relaxed school/study schedule) for putting me in that frame of mind. Now that it's time for another work/school week let's pick up the pace.

How good is your memory, problem solving skills, flexibility, attention and processing speed? You may have a general idea but how can you really tell for sure? A couple weeks ago I came across a website geared towards improving all those mentioned above, it's called Lumosity. What's on it? GAMES-geared toward enhancing cognition!
It was designed by neuroscientists and game developers; research shows where these games, as simple as they appear, help in ones overall cognition.

I'm a true testament that lumosity works. In just a couple days after visiting lumosity in my down time, I have seen improvement in my memory and Brain Performance Index (BPI). For example, I have to draw teeth for my Occlusion class - it's a way of studying and knowing our teeth's anatomy and morphology. Before starting lumosity I would have to repeatedly refer to my laboratory manual for the dimensions of the teeth, even when drawing the same tooth more than once. After a couple training sessions with lumosity, I was able to draw all my molars, from different views by having only looked at the laboratory manual once.

Lumosity does work and is free for the most part, but you must make an account in order to participate in the exercises. Another good thing about lumosity...there's an app. for it! Check it out on your iPhone or any other smart phone. This way you can train your brain on the go.

Click the link below and find out your brain grade and start a training program to improve your memory and congnition.

Come back and share your progress!

Being Frugal

Now that we are approaching the end of the first term, it is apparent that for some, not having an adequate sum of money to carry over until the next financial aid disbursement is a reality. I was almost caught in the above situation if it wasn't for a timely intervention. I consider myself to be tight fisted with money. Hence, receiving my first FA disbursement seemed manageable; the first thing I did was to place myself on a strict budget and lived within my means. Nevertheless, despite my frugality, I still found myself 'dipping' into my resources to make up for expenses such as paying more to get my hair done, engaging in a Starbucks moments, indulging in several retail therapies, and the least expected, parking and speeding tickets.
What this has taught me is despite how much I plan there are still unaccounted expenses that I encountered. Now, as I anticipate my new FA disbursement, I am ever more cognizant of the fact that the cost of living differs from the city where I previously resided to the one in which I currently reside. I am also more cognizant of the unanticipated expenses that can pose problems for me if I am not careful. In my planning and budgeting, more emphasis is now being placed on being frugal, and at the same time trying to avoid having to unnecessarily and wastefully spend what I do not have. The worst thing that can happen to any of us is to run out of money before our next disbursement comes around.
As professional students, managing our finances is a necessary skill that we must be good at. As future dentists, medical doctors, or the likes, managing the finances of our practice will not be something that we want to learn on the job, hence the time to do so is now. I'm learning from my mistakes, how about you?

Relax...

It's Monday again, and I must say it has been a mentally taxing weekend for me. So this week for Mental Monday, I'd like to slow the pace a little.

Let's RELAX...
You can't avoid all stress but you can counteract it's negative effects by evoking a relaxation technique. For example, practice deep breathing, yoga, meditate, listen to classical music, etc. All these in the end leaves the body more relaxed and enforces mental clarity.

Listen to Classical Music:
Investigations at University of California, explained that kids who studied music by learning an instrument or learning to sing, were greatly superior at solving puzzles, and when examined, scored 80% higher in spatial intellect than the non-musical crowd. In a different study, 36 students were prearranged three spatial analysis experiments on a typical IQ test. Just before the primary examination, they would listen to Mozart’s sonata two piano sonatas, K. 448 over a period of ten minutes. Prior to the subsequent test, they listened to a relaxation recording. Prior to the third, they did not listen to everything. The standard scores for all 36 of them: 1st examination: 119. 2nd examination: 111. 3rd examination: 110. A Student who listened to classical music saw an increase of nine points. (mindcafe.org)

So not only will you be more relaxed but you will also be increasing your cognitive abilities.



Answer to last week's Mental Monday riddle: 1113213211

How Committed Are You?

Recently, I came across a survey which spoke about the completion rate of college students (undergraduate and graduate). One important  aspect of the survey centered on the lack of discipline and commitment to self exhibited by those polled. As I read through the data, I couldn't help but ask myself, how badly do my colleagues and I really want to complete our dental program and become dentists? In searching for an answer to the above question, I realize that a one size fits all does not apply in this case. However, I do believe that there are 3 things that we all should consider as we strive in our quest to becoming future dentists. First, it is imperative that we take time to reflect on ourselves continually, to ensure that we are staying committed to our intended purpose. Secondly, it is equally important for us to recognize that everything that we do have consequences. For example, if a person chooses to allow non-essential activities to overcome their study-time, then, the onus is on the individual to accept the responsibility if he/she does not perform up to standard on any given quiz or examination. While some students may not be good test takers, the results of tests evidently reflects, in most instances, the amount of work dedicated to studying. Finally, equally as important to the first two statements, as future dentists, it is incumbent on us to know when to say "no" to even our best friends who may encourage us to miss classes or skip studying, just because they may have chosen to do so. It is imperative to note, that while we may have made friends or associates while in dental school, we are totally responsible for ourselves. At the end of it all, the major difference is donning the cap and gown on graduation day. In reflecting on the survey that I read, the question that I'm posing is, are you disciplined and committed enough in your quest to become future dentists (or whatever profession  you have chosen)?

Riddle me this...

It's Mental Monday y'all, where we post activities geared towards enhancing your cognitive abilities.

Riddle me this, riddle me that...Did you know that a great way to exercise your mind is by doing puzzles, lateral thinking puzzles or just some odd riddles? The good thing about this is, you can do it anytime or anywhere. Just a few minutes while waiting for a doctor's appointment or riding the bus can help significantly enhance your problem solving skills. So are you ready? let's go!

What row of numbers come next in the series?

1
11
21
1211
111221
312211
13112221

Respond with your answers. Surprise for you at the end!