Category Archives: General

Plans, troubles, way-out

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately. Ever since I got rejected for JHDO, I’ve been looking for a job (although not very enthusiastically) and got very troubled. I guess it’s not that I think I’d not get a job, but that the feeling of uncertainties is troubling. Yes, we’re all afraid of uncertainties. That’s why we all try to deal with troubles. Some people resort to escape, hoping that the trouble would somehow go away; others deal with the problem bravely and would try to resolve every trouble until they see light at the end of the dark alley. I’m neither type of persons. I get anxious; but when I get exceedingly anxious, I start to become very annoying (yes, not annoyed). Luckily for me, some people would still listen to me and tell me that I’m very annoying. And from that moment onwards I’ll try to behave. How do I solve the problem? I’ll try my best, and, although I’m not exactly a catholic, I tend to believe that God already has an answer for me. It only matters when I’ll find that answer.

Anyway the best way to deal with emotional ups and downs is to find something else to do. I did exactly that today. I read a journal, and continued processing the photos I took during elective. Well, this time I selected a random day again (rather than continuing working on the photos from CPH). I chose Bergen, another beautiful city we went to. And, this time when I handled the photos, I tried to be a little different. I hope you’ll find that difference.

120229 Bergen Day 1

Photos, JHDO, more

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So, how’s this site? I’m proud of that so far; I hope that you love it as much as I do.

I was a bit disoriented for the past few days. I got to work on a number of things, like Gao’s work, preparation for interview, and so on. And the feeling of uncertainty troubled me a lot. But now things are better, for I know that I’m not accepted as a JHDO in OS, so I got to find a job at private practice, which I’ve always thought I’d do after I graduate. So, here I come, 40K.

And as I went back to hall after interview I finally got time to do things that are long overdue: go to gym, organize elective’s photos, and read the job ads. I also paid a visit to my beloved Fusion. Well, I’ve decided I need to visit it more before I move back home. This is especially true given that I’m not accepted as JHDO and shouldn’t come back much to PPDH.

And yes, I’ve uploaded more photos taken in Copenhagen. It’s really a beautiful city. And I highly recommend you guys see my albums.

120304 CPH Day 1

120305 CPH Day 2

What’s next?

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What’s next? I keep asking myself this question. My life is rather dull lately. For the past few days I keep staying awake until 4 or 5 am, doing nothing, and then I would sleep and wouldn’t get up until 3 pm. Am I unhappy? No. I just don’t know what to do.

I’ve been advised to learn something. I guess this is at least better than buy something. OK, I’ll just need some time to figure out what to learn. And perhaps when I’ve finally figured that out, I’ll already be close to start my work, and I’ll become busy then.

Anyway I got OMFS interview on Monday. Hopefully whether or not I get the job, when I know the result I’ll feel better, because I’ll finally know what’s next and start doing the next things.

Call me doctor :)

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“It’s a moral responsibility.”

OK, I have to admit that I’m quite excited about my latest status that I have to write one more piece on that. In addition, this is a totally new site, so it’s understandable that I’d like to write more. Well, life after graduation is not simple at all. After we got the exciting results yesterday, we went to the Dean’s Reception, which served champagne. I got one of the cocks and asked Cathy to kindly keep that. Well, she’s a better collector than I am.

And afterwards there was a perio lecture to attend. No one intended to go initially, but then they said they’d give out a $1,000+ electric toothbrush, so why not?

Originally I thought there’d be no surprise yesterday — I would pass, so would everyone. Some surprises did surface, but let’s just talk about the happy surprise. Well, I’m honoured to pass with honours, which I didn’t really expect (I mean, we weren’t told how well we did in exams for the past five years). And of course I feel happy for everyone else who spent my BDS life with me, in one way or another.

And then we’ll have to register for many things (at least three). 1) Register with the dental council; 2) get x-ray licenses; 3) get insured by MPS. And thanks to bureaucracy, they will in no way be done under one roof (unlike Apple’s services). And everything needs to be paid, in cheque, which is very annoying. If we’re truly to contribute to the industry, the first thing should be to fight for more convenience for dentists. Why isn’t a place that can help dentists get what they need from all parties? And, before we expect that, let’s talk something more fundamental. Henry Ho was right — no one at the faculty tells us what to do after we get the temporary certificate. All things we heard are rumours. So..

*   *   *

And then I have something about this site to talk about (since it got a new design, and a new system). The first thing you’ll notice is the term “theone”. Well, it’s our new codename, “the one”. I have no intention to associate this site with Big Lau’s mall. I just hope to emphasize that this site is “the one” we’ve been waiting for, after all these years. And I want to show my passion for blogging. This blog is not going to be temporary, not to be abandoned. Instead I’ll keep blogging and blogging.

The reason that I’m so into this is because after more than nine years of blogging, I sense the moral responsibilities bloggers hold. Whatever you write, whatever you publish, someone must read that and get a certain message. And in the age of mobile cyberspace, information flow is so fast that people start to take whatever they’re told without ever digesting the information, differentiating right from wrong. What we write may have a lasting impact on individuals or even the wider community. So we must continue to write, but in a cautious manner. One thing that struck me a lot happened when I exchanged email with some lower year dental students. “‘[email protected]’? Are you from LSC?” He asked. I didn’t expect my site is so well-known among LSC, that even a guy four years younger heard of it. And because of this, I know I must continue to do this, with more studiousness and attention than ever. It’s a right thing to do to blog things right.

Please accept my apology that this article is a bit unorganized. It’s been a long time that I haven’t written so much. Maybe a short summary for today? 1) I love my blog; 2) call me doctor; 3) both being a blogger and a dentist mean great moral responsibility.

A fresh start

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This post is published on July 5, 2012. This is a special day because our BDS V finals results are released. Yes, we’ve all become dentists. And I think this day is a right occasion for updating my beloved site, Anzyme. This site has quite a history:

  • opened on February 13, 2003, it has been continuously updated for the past nine years;
  • three revisions in between, with codename “buddy” layout in service since 2005;
  • close to 100,000 visits;
  • recorded our (I mean it, our) daily lives in LSC, HKU, and beyond, …

Many of you may think a new layout with modern web page features, such as search, interaction, tags and RSS is necessary. I agree with this to a great extent. However, I have always had a strong emotional attachment towards the previous system. A simple HTML web page made from scratch means maximum freedom for layout; simple, controllable file system management; and most importantly, the ability to troubleshoot should problems arise. My learning in dental school has really reinforced my belief that if you are not 100% sure about what you’re doing, don’t do it. In fact, even though the previous model enabled most freedom in layout, I abided by strict rules, which is part of the reason contributing to this site’s subtle beauty.

Nevertheless, in light of the revolution happening on the Internet over the past few years, most notably the advent of social networking, the previous model of this site no longer serves the best purpose of information dissemination. Twitter and facebook has replaced this site as the best way to share short, random thoughts and photos. Blogs are only suitable for sharing structured thinking, and memorable events. And honestly, the convenience of facebook and twitter has really diminished my motivation to blog (in the traditional way). It’s time for a radical change in the way I blog.

So this site, powered by WordPress, is the answer to all that. Code-free, online editing, social networking support, convenient search, auto-saving, etc., are all available. It is hoped that with a fresh start of this site, the bits and pieces of my new life as a dentist can be recorded here in this site. Meanwhile, I assure you all that the previous memories recorded by this site will be preserved, as the core idea, the founding idea of this site remains — record my thoughts in plain text.

You’re directed to this page if you want to leave comments.

New iPad, more

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Well, I bought The New iPad today. (That’s the official name given by Apple, isn’t it?) I never thought I’d get one, because my iPad 2 is already performing so well. So what’s new? Let me remind you of the facts of my iPad 2 first: white 32GB 3G. My new iPad? White 32GB 3G. So what’s new? Basically I’d say only the retina display is new, because my iPad 2 is still fast, still got sufficient space, is white, … So only the retina display is new. That’s why when it was released in March I never thought I’d get one, but would wait for the fourth gen instead. The turning point was the release of MBP with retina display. I set a new target – I’d “retinalize” my devices asap. Given that the new MBP is crazily expensive, I thought maybe the iPad is a good start especially when I’ve decided that I’d continue to read and read. As I hold one in hand now, I wouldn’t regret. The retina display alone is a very good reason to switch to a new machine. The feeling as I switched from the original iPhone to the iPhone 4 recurred today. And that feeling is great.

Besides adopting the latest technology, I also decided to do something old school lately — write some Chinese. The thing is, for a period of time I found that my competence in Chinese is deteriorating dangerously. Not only is my handwriting poor, but that occasionally I have absolutely no idea how to write a certain words. That’s why I’ve decided I’d handwrite a short Chinese passage every day, which can help me improve both my handwriting and my vocabularies. This is sad, isn’t it? A local student has to go back to square one and practice Chinese handwriting.. But for the sake of my future children, I guess this is a must.

Next, new (old) photos. Well, as I become less occupied lately I have time selecting the best shots taken in my elective trip and upload them. So here’s the second day in Umea. (I know, it’s really long long time ago.) May I?

120221 Umea 2nd day

Thoughts on exam

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Three weeks ago, I announced exam was over. I’m afraid that wasn’t quite the truth. It was just the papers that ended; and we struggled for another 20 days to wait for this day. Yes, exam is finally over, and I can finally relax. Is there a chance that you’ll fail? Hopefully not..

With the finishing of exam, I got to plan this holiday very seriously. I don’t have any plan though. I just have several items that I want to buy. But then I think I shouldn’t focus too much on materials. So I right now what I want to do is shortlist the things I want to buy, and prioritize them accordingly.

Job hunt? I don’t konw.. Everyone says there’s no chance we won’t find a job, so I don’t want to hurry.

What about this site? Has it finally come to a point we should do something? Maybe, we’ll see.

Exam’s over

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It’s June. In the past it means an elevated level of anxiety, as exam would soon come. Things are a little bit different this year, with papers come one week earlier. It’s still a long way till exam is really over, but life’s significantly easier after the two written papers are over.

I actually feel a bit lost after the exams. I forgot what happened in the past years, but I haven’t devoted my fullest efforts to this final final exam. I did study, but we generally have a feeling that there is no way we won’t pass this exam. The difference is really whether we’ll just “meet expectations” or is “above expectations”. Which won’t matter anyway because we’ll get a job anyway, and how well we did in the exams won’t matter what kind of job we get. (It’s apparent what job we’ll get, isn’t it?)

So, it’s time to think things. Stuff like how I’m going to spend this very last summer vacation, how I should prepare for work, and how I should spend my future life, both in the short term and in the long term. The future is always fascinating, and it’s important that we continually upgrade ourselves and evolve, so that we don’t always look back and miss the old days.

Or maybe I shouldn’t worry too much. We stil have OSCA and VIVA, and JHDO interview. Yes, I’ve finally decided to give it a try. I may or may not succeed. But should I succeed, I hope I haven’t made a wrong decision staying in PP.