Apologies for my long absence from
noding. It shall be explained in this node.
Today is (was) my 25th birthday, and this is a snapshot of my life. A diary entry? No. Well, maybe. An attempt to record my current situation - because it will change. Perception of life is a "relative phenomena", relative to experiences and expectations.
Here goes.
Professional
Smooth, rewarding: I am in my second of private dental practice. The practice I have joined has been pretty good to me. It has been established for more than 20 years, and I love looking at the treatment cards of patients who have practice loyalty. I see all sorts of treatments that have worked or failed. How long they took to fail. And what materials were used. Great way to gain experience, and to prepare for future scenarios.
And the more continuing education courses I go to, I realise that there is more I don't know.
And like anything: the more you do, the more failures you are going to get.
What next? Specialisation? I was thinking of pediatry dentistry aka pedodontics, but I have come to the conclusion that if you like treating kids, you haven't treated enough kids. And I've just about reached that. General practice is great because I get to practice everything, and abstain from anything. I'll probably just do my fellowship exams next year, so that I can place an extra few letters after name. Besides, FRACDS looks good! Fellow of the Royal Australiasian College of Dental Surgeons.
The Greater New York Dental Meeting in November was going to be the professional event AND holiday of the year... but it will be postponed to next year. Yeah, I'm pretty disappointed. I am one more person contributing to the demise of the travel industry...
Personal
This one is a toughie.
How do I say the love of my life did not work out?
I thought I was made for him.
Maybe it was the fire in his eyes that painted the picture and burnt the canvas.
Maybe I wanted a different picture.
I know I will always love him.
But I got the best birthday present from him! A ride in a single-engine airplane over Sydney. On a beautiful blue sky day, and it was smooth. And I got to take over the controls (even if it was only for a few minutes). And a drive in a Lexus IS 200, a luxury car that I might just be able to afford one day.
I will miss him when he leaves on a jet plane. How do you say goodbye when you don't want to someone to go?
Pain
Good news to report. I am in less pain than over the last 12 months. My last daylog was probably on my suffering from pain. Chronic pain dampens the spirit. Pain from muscle spasms and a tired body are the reason why I haven't been noding. Pain was mostly in the neck and upper back, but press hard enough, my arms and thighs and palms hurt too.
At one point, I could not even sit for 10 minutes without being in moderate discomfort. It's better now because I can sit for almost half an hour before the spasms are triggered. Ahhhh.... relief from self-help. I've been going to the gym 3 times a week (well, mostly) and I hope to have my last session with this egotistical musculo-skeletal specialist tomorrow.
Here's the vicious cycle: work --> pain--> treatment --> work to get money to pay for treatment caused by work. The cruel irony. Yes, this is the occupation you do not want to be in if you want to maintain a bad posture.
Here endth my report.