Colorado, Rocky Mountains

Iowa winter 2

Iowa winter :)

Learning to be content

"For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."

We learn to be content whatever the circumstances only as we are put through different situations,

in want,
in plenty,
hungry,
well-fed,

I think God is teaching us to focus on the essential and not expend our energy worrying about the things that are non-essential.

"Do not worry about your life... but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness..."
"So we fix our eyes not what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Striving to attain a comfortable life was not one of Paul's goals in life. The materials things and circumstances in this life did not affect his motivation in life. His joy and contentment was not attached to the pursuit of worldly gain. His eyes was firmly fixed on Christ.

"I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him..."

Where does our motivation and drive for life come from? Is it from the love of oneself or from the love of God?

That you may open our eyes of our heart, that the things of this world may fade in the light of the glory of Your Son.

God is love

God is love. It doesnt seem to be grammatically correct. Shouldnt it be.... God is lovely, or God is loving...

If you see God, you see what love is.

Love manifest in the fellowship of the Trinity : Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

God is love.

Homesick

The feeling of missing home seems most acute when I am tired and drained, physical and emotionally and spiritually. When I wake up in the morning, i dont look forward to the day, to seeing patients, to doing work... And if I dont do anything about it, it will just get worse.

It was time to dig my root deep in the word and find the hope that is an anchor for my soul, firm and secure. I read Romans 8:28-39.

In moments when things are removed from your life,
It is the blessing of God
To look with the eyes of my heart the unseen,
To lay hold with the hands of faith the intangible,
To stand with feet of assurance the unchangeable,

Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

I am learning to be content whatever the circumstances.
To know what it is to be in need,
and know what it is to have plenty,
To learn the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether living in plenty or in need.
I can do everything through him who gives my strength.

learning about colour

I have been playing around with characterisation for dentures... I think its really interesting.... to add colours like purple, red and white.... giving depth of colour.... texture like stippling for the attached gingiva.... carving the free gingiva and root eminences... creating embrasure forms... balance and harmony in tooth positions...

I like this photo too because of the lighting that I created to bring out the full effect of the anatomy. I used an external slave flash to give additional diffused light from an opposing angle.

Tennessee

I'm going to Nashville, Tennessee for a conference next week. Going to be a good break from school and will have a great time there. Just means that I have to work a little harder now to finish as much lab work as I can before i leave.

Friends from every continent

Chicagooooo...

Chicago +++

More pics of chicago

Malaysia National Day

This entry is kind of back dated to August 31st, Sunday evening.

Came back from Chicago at 5pm with yetunde. She was like driving at 95 mph.

Anyway, the malaysian gathering was smaller than the thai... about 10-12 people. There was nasi lemak... curry fish... ikan bilis... and of course the malaysia style english and chinese. We played bridge, sat around, told ghost stories in the cool evening of fall. It was really nice.

Apparently, there are only about 3-4 singaporeans in Iowa. Must make a point to meet up.

Thai get together

Just came back from a Thai gathering... My friend Ron invited me. There were like 30 Thai people at the gathering and everyone was speaking thai... but the atmosphere was really warm and close to home feeling. Something like church. Half of them looked chinese, a third looked malay and the rest looked thai... Sitting with them made me miss home.

Made in Iowa Dentures

We make custom trays for complete dentures without a handle here. I was wondering how they can get the trays in and out without handles... but they do... its amazing... but it works.

And no blue tray acrylic resin for custom trays. Its light cured acrylic resin! Presto, control of setting time and even thickness.

Final impressions... this one is Kerr Extrude, Light Body (Its a polyvinylsiloxane) The impression material was cut through after pouring out the cast to see if there was even thickness of the final wash.

Rugae for patients - Preformed rugae.

Crown preps galore

Fixed Prosthodontics Technique - Crown preparations on dentoform teeth.

These teeth are HUGE! And there is like gingival recession so that you can prepare really ideal preparations with generous reductions.

These shots are taken with Canon 400D, 100mm Macro Lens, MT-24EX twin macro flash with photomed macro flash brackets and NUS custom made pistol grip and homemade remote-control (resoldered the wiring of a nokia 6510 hands-free set). With one hand I positioned one of the flashes behind and on top of the object. The other flash is positioned on the right but close to the camera lens. Flash set to ETTL. This positioning gives me even lighting and good contrasts and shadows at the right places, bringing out the contours of the preparation.

Ok, for those who are not into this kind of thing... just skip it. :P

Work is piling up

Work is piling up. Lit reviews and treatment planning seminars will be on in the coming weeks. My classmate has decided that he will not continue in the prostho program... so that leaves just Maysaa and me... its going to be sad and we are going to miss him. He said that the program is not what he expected it to be and it wasnt worth it for him. Well, at 60 years old, its not the best age to start prostho.

Great company in Chicago

On the 96th Floor of John Hancock Tower, kissing Sears Tower. Muah!

Ron, Kosta, Aristotelis, Todd, Bow

We stayed at the Hilton Chicago, 4 guys to a room ($90 per night!!)... the room had 2 bathrooms, so the 2 asians shared one bathroom, and the 2 greeks shared the other...

Chicago!

The famous Michigan Ave of Chicago.

Famous Skyline of Chicago from the lake side

View from John Hancock Observatory Center on the 96 floor.

Evening sunset along the river on Michigan Ave

View of the skyline from Grant Park... they were having a Jazz Festival