The Hazard Chronicles

This week at school we had Mock Boards. For those who are unfamiliar with the board exam, it consists of doing a couple of fillings and a deep cleaning on real patients. For students who are getting licensed in the Western U.S. we also have to do a root canal on an extracted tooth which is mounted in a fake mouth, and there is a written portion much like the exam I just took in December.

Anyway, Mock Boards is a big deal event where the school does a simulation of the actual day of the clinical exam (fillings and a deep cleaning). All the paperwork is the same, the protocols are the same, and they try to make the stress level the same as the actual test day. They tell us that they are going to be ultra tough when it comes to grading, and we are supposed to look for patients with "ideal" cavities. What the heck is an "ideal" cavity anyway? How would you like your dentist to tell you that you have 5 cavities, but don't worry, they are "ideal." Well, this is what we do in dental school. Really, this whole test sort of seems like just one more hoop to jump through in order to receive the holy title of "Dentist." But I'm not bitter.

Well, it was a good attempt put out by the school, but I don't think they quite succeeded because in the end, this pretend test thing didn't really matter. There was no real pressure. If we failed then it was like "Darn, I guess I better do better next time," instead of "Darn, I guess the last four years of my life and several hundred-thousand dollars worth of tuition were for nothing." Don't get me wrong, I actually think I scored very well on this fake test (I am, after all, a wonderful dentist), and I am glad that I got to have a dress rehersal for the actual thing, but I just didn't feel the pressure. So, the point of all this is that Mock Boards pretty much took up my week as far as school goes.

Besides that, we had a pretty good week. Yesterday Rachel lined up a babysitter and took me on a date to the International Motorcycle Show which is on tour here in Cleveland. It was so much fun! Some of you know that I love motorcycles. Well, this was like the ultimate window-shopping experiance for a motorcycle guy. They had pretty much every make and model you could want out on the floor for you to sit on and test out. I think I will probobly always have a motorcycle, and since I'll be selling mine before we move in the near future, it was sort of fun to check out what was out there and contemplate what my next bike might be.

Also, Rachel (who has her motorcycle endorsement) was finally convinced that maybe she would want one too. Up until now she has been a little bit scared of them, but I think she got pretty excited about some of the little 250s. And who knows, maybe our whole family will ride motorcycles one day. Wouldn't that be cool?

Rachel's favorite bike at the show- a Yamaha V-Star 250. I think she looks good on it.

And here's what I think my next bike will be after we move- a Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Classic. Simply beautiful.