In the past year, I’ve heard from many readers that share my sentiments about practicing dentistry and wanting to change. There was one element that I hadn’t really thought about sharing until someone brought it to my attention. A while back, I received an email from a man whose wife followed my blog because she, too, was unhappy in dentistry. He mentioned that as the spouse, he occasionally stopped in to read it looking for some insight and advice. There’s a fine balance of how you can lend support but maintain certain boundaries, and be firm yet gentle about what you...
Changing my career was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. You might be surprised to hear that leaving Dentistry was much harder than getting into it. The process of entering the field took work and determination, but it went with the flow. It was what I was supposed to do. I felt proud and hopeful. However, leaving it was rebellious, and I was going against the flow. I felt ashamed and afraid. Because of the fear and the challenges involved, I made many excuses that I thought were valid. And dammit, they were important! But those...
Did you know that content gets stolen all the time on the internet? And I don’t just mean identity and credit card theft. I’m talking about content. A few years ago I was curious to find out how National Geographic Traveler magazine found my photo on my obscure little blog. I did a search on Google for fish tacos, and sure enough, near the top of the Google images page was my photo… on someone else’s website! I was shocked and immediately did a search on copyright infringement. I learned that this is very common, and websites educating us on...
In case you were still wondering… I didn’t win the Biggest Baddest Bucket List Competition. If I had, you would have heard about it right away, over and over. In fact, you’d probably be sick of me by now. While I’ve summarized my journey into and out of dentistry on this blog, I realize I haven’t shared much of how life has been “post-retirement.” It’s no secret that I believe it was the best decision I could have made for myself. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but it was right. I am finally content, and...
For years I ignored the fact that I was unhappy practicing dentistry. A few times in my decade of practice, I seriously considered getting out. But each time, I convinced myself to stay. My biggest excuse was the economy. As luck would have it, right when I concluded I wanted to change, things started to tank. People were out of jobs, and I told myself I should have felt lucky to at least have one. While that excuse was very real, it was just that– an excuse. I don’t regret it because it forced me to stay in the career...
Do you have good internet manners? If you have good manners in real life, it may not be safe to assume you know how to behave online. But should the rules here be any different? The Daily Posters at WordPress recently wrote an article about comment moderation by the blog host, but lately I’m much more fascinated by the actual readers’ comments and what these statements say about that individual. Online behavior generally mirrors the non-virtual segment of the world we live in: most people are polite, but there are a few that are just plain rude. We all know...
Peeing in the sink. This confirms you can find anything on-line. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) It was awfully humiliating, but luckily it’s not what you think. In my last post, I described how my intuition helps me out in the form of recurring dreams. This peeing incident was just a different recurring theme making its rounds in my head. From plane crashes to climbing down steep mountainsides, these dreams always have a message to deliver to me. Once I get the message and act on it, the dreams move on. I’m afraid that things are getting even freakier than plane crashes...
Have you ever had that dream where you see a plane crash? Or you’re sitting on a toilet peeing, only to wake in a panic, hoping you didn’t wet your bed? If so, don’t freak out! It doesn’t mean you need to cancel your trip to Mexico next month or that you need to start wearing Depends to bed. Believe it or not, dreams might be your body’s way of trying to get your attention. Throughout my career transition, I learned to use my dreams as tools, and it became extremely effective (and fascinating, I might add.) This was my...
I know, I know… my last post was pretty self-indulgent. I mean, most people can’t relate to such specific tales of bosses being hypocrites that have strict payment policies when they don’t have the courtesy to pay their own bills. Or bosses who manipulate and lie to their staff in order to control them. Or bosses that are too stupid to recognize that you are there to help their business, not compete with them. As an associate my role in the dental office was always unique. I was sort of a boss and sort of not. So when it was convenient...
Remember those quizzes from Seventeen magazine? Seventeen (magazine) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) While my values and morals were taking shape during my teenage years, these quizzes helped guide me to make important life decisions. When my high school crush started dating my best friend, I still wondered: Is He More Than Just a Friend? (I needed to be sure he didn’t like me.) When word got out that my friend’s parents were out of town for the weekend, I needed to be prepared and know: What’s Your Party Personality? (Just took this, and I happen to be the Perfect Party Personality!!!!) ...
