Firsts and lasts

Yesterday was kind of a big day for me, the beginning of a string of big days in the upcoming months.

It was my last day seeing patients as a medical student. Although I still have a reading elective left (Legal Issues in Reproductive Health - whoo!), I'm DONE with my clinicals. Done. Next time I care for a patient, I will be able to sign that order for Tylenol! Oh, the power... Seriously, though, I'm excited (and not just because of the obscene amount of sleeping in I have planned).

It was my first day getting cavities filled. I have grown up thinking I have perfect teeth. This is what the dentist tells me every time I visit them. I apparently had teeth that make dentists hyperventilate. Last cleaning (4 weeks ago) was no different. My X-rays were perfect. They couldn't see anything that looked bad. And then they got out this little light defraction/laser/ray gun device and held it to each tooth. In the end, they decided all of my sealants had to come off, and maybe there was a little bit of decay hiding under one of them. Ha. Or, as it turns out, I have five cavities that my friend Student Dentist Mark found for me yesterday. I went from no cavities to five. But, I am good with pain, and the cavities were shallow, so I avoided novacaine. I may have made some unhappy noises in the process, but I was not really feeling the whole slurred speech, drooling on myself thing. Anyway. My teeth are fixed now, but I'm still kind of pouty about the whole experience. I liked having perfect teeth.

It was also my first day realizing I really like violent movies. Not all violent movies, but I really enjoy a particular type of violence. We saw Watchmen last night. It was...okay. Really good at times, reeeallly slow at others. And I realize that the point of Doc Manhattan is that he's detached from humanity to some extent, but I spent a lot of the movie wanting to slap him across his serene face. I do love the whole Ozymandias, King of kings concept, so that worked for me. What really worked for me though, was the bloodshed. There's some pretty graphic, stomach turning stuff...and I liked it. Then, looking back, I realized that I also really liked the violence in Kill Bill and Eastern Promises. It's this specific kind of basic, almost arty, realistic violence that maybe appeals to the trauma surgeon in me? I'm not sure. Also, as a sidenote, there's a reasonably extensive sex scene in the movie that a couple of people walked out on. I'm sorry, you're fine with that extreme level of violence, but some consensual, adult sex is too much for you? That's messed up.

Also, two days ago was my first time wielding an embossing gun. Awesome! I'll try to get some pictures of my work when the light is better. (Also, for those of you wondering, the embossing was on invitation related paper goods, and the invitations are rapidly making it towards their goal of being mailed.)