There are many different approaches to the application process, but all of them involve using AADSAS (Associated American Dental Schools Application Service). This is a service provided by the ADEA and mandated by all dental schools for applications to submit almost all of the information required by the schools. Coursework, grades, letters of recommendation, personal statement...everything EXCEPT your DAT scores (which are sent by the test-giving company).
Now, I'm not going to talk about the content of the application; it's pretty cut-and-dry. There are really only three other things to discuss: school selection, timing, supplemental material, and interviews.
1. School Selection:
This could be the most difficult decision you make during your application process or it could be the easiest. There are two ways to approach it: select so many schools that you're statistical guaranteed to get an interview, or carefully select your schools based on your abilities and the statistics of previously accepted students. Obviously, I feel option 2 is the way to go, as the bit of thought you put in at the beginning should pay off in saved time and money later. Of course, if you feel you're a long shot, then applying to as many schools as possible makes perfect sense. If you can, though, try to narrow down your choices early (do you really need that safety school?) to the schools you feel you could get into and, if you have the luxury to discriminate, might actually want to attend if accepted. This leads me to my next point...
2. Timing:
The phrase "apply early" is the mantra of the pre-dental community, and while I didn't follow this advice, it is a good idea to get your application in as soon as possible. When "as soon as possible" is exactly, though, is up for debate. I don't believe someone who submits in May will have an advantage over someone who has submitted in June, for example. But, someone who submits in July will have an advantage over the person submitting in October, all else being equal. Someone scans your application, makes sure it meets certain criteria, looks for other things that make it unusual (in both good and bad ways), and hopefully put it in the digital "consider for interview" pile. A committee then comes together, looks at that pile, and sends out invitations. The only way I really see how applying early can help you before December 1st (the date the first acceptance letters are allowed to go out from any dental school) is against equally competitive applicants.
Since most people will have their applications in during the summer, though, most of this is probably irrelevant. What might be a good idea, though, is to wait until you've taken the DAT (if you're taking it in the summer) before submitting. As timing isn't so important then, you can wait and make an informed decision about where or if you will apply. I took the DAT on July 11th and submitted my application July 13th (of course, everything was ready to go well before July 11th). Knowing my DAT scores enabled me to really know where I had a good chance of getting in at, allowing me to eliminate the bottom safety schools and no-chance-in-hell schools from my list. It might ultimately just be a money/time saver, but I'm glad I did it this way.
3. Interviews:
This is the most enjoyable part of the whole application process. Everything is in; now you get to go check out a bunch of cool schools and tell them in person why they should accept you. If you really want to go to a particular dental school, this shouldn't be too difficult. That's not to say that you won't get a bit nervous, or that every school will accept you just because you want to go there. I'm just saying that the best way to approach the interviews is as if you are making the choice, not them. You want to be confident (not cocky), interested (not pandering), and relaxed (not lazy). You were invited for an interview because they want to accept you, and now they just need to see if you would really be a good fit for their school or not (or if you really want to go).
There's really not much to it. If you're realistically at this point, all of the hard stuff is behind you. Good luck!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Paulie's web page business
What better way to pass the time than to make web pages and actually get paid for it? I have never seriously pursued web page design work, but when given the offer to make a page I've always taken it up. I really only have two pages I've made, one of which will be completed by next week. They're OK. Both are clean and easy to read, not a lot of junk moving around of blinking pictures. The Fort Wayne Scottish Pipes and Drums page is OK (I noticed a couple of problems just recently), but the Quality Tool Company, Inc. page will be much better looking. Compared to the web pages of some other area tool and die companies, mine is definitely one of the cleanest and most functional. I'm surprised at how much junk that no one will ever look at or use most of these companies put on their pages.
Anyway, since I'm stuck on a computer all day anyway, it's nice to have the opportunity to make a little extra cash while at the same time learning some new skills. Every little bit will help us as we move and get settled for dental school in Denver.
My mom came over yesterday just to talk and hang out. She brought us a beautiful framed piece of art. It's a paper work of this Chinese character that's done in such a way that the symbol looks like it has been pressed into a chunk of stone. It means love or real love or very very strong love in Japanese (though it might have different uses in Chinese or Korean, I don't know). It's very simple and looks nice on your wall.
Anyway, since I'm stuck on a computer all day anyway, it's nice to have the opportunity to make a little extra cash while at the same time learning some new skills. Every little bit will help us as we move and get settled for dental school in Denver.
My mom came over yesterday just to talk and hang out. She brought us a beautiful framed piece of art. It's a paper work of this Chinese character that's done in such a way that the symbol looks like it has been pressed into a chunk of stone. It means love or real love or very very strong love in Japanese (though it might have different uses in Chinese or Korean, I don't know). It's very simple and looks nice on your wall.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Masashi's 4th Birthday Party
Our son, Masashi, had his 4th birthday yesterday, and we celebrated by throwing him a big birthday party. With about 10 kids and just as many adults, it got pretty interesting in our little 900 sqft apartment, but everything came off wonderfully. Everyone loved the Baikin-man (a Japanese cartoon character) ice cream cake that Ritsuko made, the helium balloons were a hit with all the kids, and there were plenty of toys for everyone to play with. Masashi was pretty good with all the new presents; he was a little stingy about sharing a few of his new toys, but overall he was able to play with all of his friends in a pretty peaceful manner. All of the kids, with one exception, played really well. If you want to see pictures, Ritsuko should have some up on her blog soon.
Applying to Dental School Part I: Advice for taking the DAT
I have a slight feeling of deja vu doing this, but with this blog posting I hope to provide some advice to all of the future dental students (pre-dents) out there. I'll make this a two parter, with Part I focusing on the DAT and Part II on the actual process of applying.
Just a little background for the few non-dental readers: DAT stands for "Dental Admission Test" and consists of several sections. The student is tested on his or her knowledge of fundamental college-level biology, inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry, as well as reading comprehension (English), quantitative reasoning (pre-calculus level math), and perceptual ability (testing one's ability to perceive and manipulate complex shapes in one's head). Scores are created based on national percentiles (you did better than 85.7% of all other test takers, for example) and converted into a 30 point system. Each section gets a score, and there are also averages used of those scores for the dental admissions process.
On to the advice. I feel obligated to warn the reader this is only my opinion, and is in no way being suggested as the best way for all. You ultimately must decide what is best given your unique circumstances.
1. When to take the test:
I took the test as soon as I had most of the courses that covered the material on the test complete. I took Bio 1 & 2, Gen Chem. 1 & 2, and Organic 1 all within a year, and then took the DAT half-way through Organic 2. I also had Anatomy and Physiology, which might have helped a little. Piling all the prereqs together like that and taking the DAT soon after they were finished left everything fresh in my mind. You don't really need stuff like Anatomy, Physiology, Genetics, Microbiology, or Biochemistry as everything on the DAT is stuff you should have covered in the basic classes. If you study for the DAT well, the basic classes will be enough. Do your basic prereqs in marathon fashion(including o-chem 2) and get that DAT done ASAP! The further you get from your basic science classes, the more difficult you DAT studying becomes (assuming you're doing some kind of liberal arts degree, mixing in science and other class).
2. Good materials:
I used the Kaplan DAT book (the one you can buy are book stores, not their course material), and old Barron's book, and any practice test I could get my hands on (Topscore software, Kaplan book tests, ADA DAT site). Don't stop here, though! Keep your old bio, gen chem and o-chem books handy (if they were any good), and maybe consider getting Schaum's Bio Outlines and Campbell's "Biology" to aid you in your task. Wikipedia is a great resource for specific information you get stuff on.
3. How to study
A. In general:
Just read, DO PRACTICE PROBLEMS IN YOUR TEXTBOOKS, and take lots of practice tests over and over again, even if you memorize the tests. I would take a practice test to evaluate where I stood, study what I missed, and then take the section tests again and again (with the science section I forced myself to answer the question in my head and NOT just select it from the multiple choice) until I got each section perfect (at least for the science sections). I would then start the next week with a new practice test. Repeat for about 5-6 weeks.
B. Biology:
Read Campbell's (skipping over stuff when it gets too detailed) and do the practice problems at the back of the book. I swear some of those questions appeared almost verbatim on the DAT. Us Schaum's to review when you're just sitting around somewhere (bus, airport, toilet).
C. General Chemistry:
Read your textbook, compare with what Kaplan says you need to know (which is basically everything in your textbook), and do as many of the easier practice problems in your book as you can. Do acid-base stuff, do redox problems, know orbitals, don't skip math problems just because people say DAT chemistry is mainly "conceptual." If you can do an acid-base problem without having to flip back to an example or check the formula, then you understand acid-base. Easy as that.
D. Organic Chemistry:
Again, use your textbook. If your cheap like me, you bought an old, used textbook from 10 years ago because it was cheap and came with a study guide for the chapter problems. Do some of the problems, the easier ones, but don't get too hung up on it. Flashcards are the way forward, my friend, specifically the one's created by our Buckeye friends at OSU. Do the flashcards on the computer, copy them onto index cards, do them sitting on your patio as you sip a cold one in the beautiful summer heat, just do them! Draw the molecules, be one with them. Know how to do IR and NMR, too. There are some great resources on the Internet to help you study that stuff.
E. Reading Comprehension:
Sorry, I didn't really study for this, so all I can say is do more than just a couple of practice problems. Just because English is one of your first languages does not mean you will cruise through this. Maybe study LSAT books, or just do lots of RC section tests.
F. Quantitative Analysis:
This section seems to get a lot of people. You really need to be able to look at the problem (mostly story problems, often long) and just KNOW what you need to do. You might run out of time. The math is easy, doing it in the time allotted might not be. Review all the stuff covered in Kaplan and do a lot of practice problems. Don't get wrapped up with anything requiring too much long division or doing logarithms in your head: the DAT is testing for general knowledge, not your ability to memorize pi to 100 digits and then use it in a calculation. Do memorize general formulas, though, and know your fundamental trig. Good luck.
G. PAT:
So, how does one really study for this section? Counting cubes, comparing angles, punching holes; there is no real secret way to getting this stuff. First thing, you need to be methodical. We do things the way we practice, so figure out the best way to tackle each top of problem and practice it that way EVERY time. Example: figure out one way to count cubes
(I made a chart like in the picture and then always counted right to left, bottom to top, front to back, in that order. I could use this chart twice). Somethings, like angles, you just need to practice a lot and develop an "eye" for the little boogers. Practicing the same questions over and over again is fine. I even made my own angles in AutoCAD (the angles in many of the books/programs are not hard enough). If you have problems with keyhole, pick up a book on engineering drawing and teach yourself not just how to read top-front-back models, but also how to DRAW them based on the orthographic projections.
There you have it, my opinion on how to prepare for the Dental Admission Test. Armed with this fountain of wisdom and your pile of books, go, study, most importantly, my friend, stay relaxed! Oh, and check the comments for this post; there's already some good advice from visitors posted there, too!
Just a little background for the few non-dental readers: DAT stands for "Dental Admission Test" and consists of several sections. The student is tested on his or her knowledge of fundamental college-level biology, inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry, as well as reading comprehension (English), quantitative reasoning (pre-calculus level math), and perceptual ability (testing one's ability to perceive and manipulate complex shapes in one's head). Scores are created based on national percentiles (you did better than 85.7% of all other test takers, for example) and converted into a 30 point system. Each section gets a score, and there are also averages used of those scores for the dental admissions process.
On to the advice. I feel obligated to warn the reader this is only my opinion, and is in no way being suggested as the best way for all. You ultimately must decide what is best given your unique circumstances.
1. When to take the test:
I took the test as soon as I had most of the courses that covered the material on the test complete. I took Bio 1 & 2, Gen Chem. 1 & 2, and Organic 1 all within a year, and then took the DAT half-way through Organic 2. I also had Anatomy and Physiology, which might have helped a little. Piling all the prereqs together like that and taking the DAT soon after they were finished left everything fresh in my mind. You don't really need stuff like Anatomy, Physiology, Genetics, Microbiology, or Biochemistry as everything on the DAT is stuff you should have covered in the basic classes. If you study for the DAT well, the basic classes will be enough. Do your basic prereqs in marathon fashion(including o-chem 2) and get that DAT done ASAP! The further you get from your basic science classes, the more difficult you DAT studying becomes (assuming you're doing some kind of liberal arts degree, mixing in science and other class).
2. Good materials:
I used the Kaplan DAT book (the one you can buy are book stores, not their course material), and old Barron's book, and any practice test I could get my hands on (Topscore software, Kaplan book tests, ADA DAT site). Don't stop here, though! Keep your old bio, gen chem and o-chem books handy (if they were any good), and maybe consider getting Schaum's Bio Outlines and Campbell's "Biology" to aid you in your task. Wikipedia is a great resource for specific information you get stuff on.
3. How to study
A. In general:
Just read, DO PRACTICE PROBLEMS IN YOUR TEXTBOOKS, and take lots of practice tests over and over again, even if you memorize the tests. I would take a practice test to evaluate where I stood, study what I missed, and then take the section tests again and again (with the science section I forced myself to answer the question in my head and NOT just select it from the multiple choice) until I got each section perfect (at least for the science sections). I would then start the next week with a new practice test. Repeat for about 5-6 weeks.
B. Biology:
Read Campbell's (skipping over stuff when it gets too detailed) and do the practice problems at the back of the book. I swear some of those questions appeared almost verbatim on the DAT. Us Schaum's to review when you're just sitting around somewhere (bus, airport, toilet).
C. General Chemistry:
Read your textbook, compare with what Kaplan says you need to know (which is basically everything in your textbook), and do as many of the easier practice problems in your book as you can. Do acid-base stuff, do redox problems, know orbitals, don't skip math problems just because people say DAT chemistry is mainly "conceptual." If you can do an acid-base problem without having to flip back to an example or check the formula, then you understand acid-base. Easy as that.
D. Organic Chemistry:
Again, use your textbook. If your cheap like me, you bought an old, used textbook from 10 years ago because it was cheap and came with a study guide for the chapter problems. Do some of the problems, the easier ones, but don't get too hung up on it. Flashcards are the way forward, my friend, specifically the one's created by our Buckeye friends at OSU. Do the flashcards on the computer, copy them onto index cards, do them sitting on your patio as you sip a cold one in the beautiful summer heat, just do them! Draw the molecules, be one with them. Know how to do IR and NMR, too. There are some great resources on the Internet to help you study that stuff.
E. Reading Comprehension:
Sorry, I didn't really study for this, so all I can say is do more than just a couple of practice problems. Just because English is one of your first languages does not mean you will cruise through this. Maybe study LSAT books, or just do lots of RC section tests.
F. Quantitative Analysis:
This section seems to get a lot of people. You really need to be able to look at the problem (mostly story problems, often long) and just KNOW what you need to do. You might run out of time. The math is easy, doing it in the time allotted might not be. Review all the stuff covered in Kaplan and do a lot of practice problems. Don't get wrapped up with anything requiring too much long division or doing logarithms in your head: the DAT is testing for general knowledge, not your ability to memorize pi to 100 digits and then use it in a calculation. Do memorize general formulas, though, and know your fundamental trig. Good luck.
G. PAT:
So, how does one really study for this section? Counting cubes, comparing angles, punching holes; there is no real secret way to getting this stuff. First thing, you need to be methodical. We do things the way we practice, so figure out the best way to tackle each top of problem and practice it that way EVERY time. Example: figure out one way to count cubes
(I made a chart like in the picture and then always counted right to left, bottom to top, front to back, in that order. I could use this chart twice). Somethings, like angles, you just need to practice a lot and develop an "eye" for the little boogers. Practicing the same questions over and over again is fine. I even made my own angles in AutoCAD (the angles in many of the books/programs are not hard enough). If you have problems with keyhole, pick up a book on engineering drawing and teach yourself not just how to read top-front-back models, but also how to DRAW them based on the orthographic projections.There you have it, my opinion on how to prepare for the Dental Admission Test. Armed with this fountain of wisdom and your pile of books, go, study, most importantly, my friend, stay relaxed! Oh, and check the comments for this post; there's already some good advice from visitors posted there, too!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Possible Summer Trip
Obviously, we are already taking a HUGE summer trip just moving out to Colorado. That's more like a summer marathon, though; we'd like to take a fun, relaxing trip and immerse ourselves in the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. One possible route that I just worked out would take us to Rocky Mountain NP, Grand Teton NP, Yellowstone NP, Craters of the Moon NM, and Dinosaur NM all in one nice big circle. At 1600 miles, though, it will be quite a haul, even for a 2-week trip. Google Maps estimates 31 hours of travel time, so that's only about 2.5 hours of travel per day. We'll have to talk about it more, of course.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Sorry LGBT, looks like Russian Jews had the Rainbow Flag First!
I was reading the wikipedia article on the USSR today when I ran across an interesting little tidbit: Russian Jews where granted land in far eastern Russia to pursue cultural autonomy, the region being called the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. It was some crumby land (maybe Stalin was just trying to move the Jews as far away as possible), but it was land, and the area (now only 2% Jewish) maintains a strong Jewish/Yiddish culture to this day.The most interesting thing, though, is the little "country's" flag: white with a rainbow stripe. I guess the LGBT community's flag is a little different, but it's still funny. Oh my, will the rainbow ever be used for PBS book shows, children's toys, or Jewish autonomous regions again?
Hat Power
Recently I bought one of those grandpa-hats from a store here in Fort Wayne. It was only $7, nice, cool (temperature-wise) weave, and my wife said it looked good on me. It's a solid brown cap, made by Dockers (not the one in the picture here), and maybe a bit big from my small noggin, but I absolutely love the thing!The thing that's really interesting about such a young, strapping lad like myself (hahaha) wearing a hat like this: I feel like I older people don't automatically just assume I'm some young punk and actually treat me with more respect. Now, before you get on my tail about imposing stereotypes and observations and the unscientific method by which I came to this conclusion, I know. Maybe wearing the hat makes me more polite, maybe it's just my expectations making me see what was always there, maybe I'm mental. It's just a thought, and true or not I enjoy wearing this hat.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Colorado Dental Student Web page
Yesterday, Ritsuko and I were looking through Google's applications for something that would help her make a simple web site. We discovered a newer app, called Google Sites, that seemed perfect for the task. I actually liked it so much, I thought I'd make a resource page for pre-dents and new dental students going/wanting to go to University of Colorado School of Dentistry. It's simple, it's clean, and best of all it's informative. No more searching through all the different web pages of the University of Colorado system or messing with the School of Dentistry's site for what you need, just go here to see the Colorado Dental Student site!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Dental Decks and what to do with myself until we move.
My right eyes hurts from staring at this computer all day (actually, it's probably from the lighting of the Soviet-style office I work in), but I finally feel like writing my blog after a few days of laziness.
So, what have I been doing lately? Working, playing Lego Star Wars on Xbox 360 with Masashi, shopping with Ritsuko (mostly for Masashi's upcoming birthday party), using lots of parentheses in everything I write, playing Neverwinter Nights occasionally, with my D&D addicted best friend, perusing SDN, not sleeping enough, playing outside with Masa, playing a little golf (I suck and should probably stick to just tossing a frisbee around), slowly getting ready to move, trying to keep busy at work (I really haven't had much work recently, but I can't just go take a nap on the lawn), etc.
As far as dental school goes, I got my hands on some 2006-2007 Dental Decks for NBDE Part I, which we take at Colorado after the first year. I haven't really been studying at work, just browsing through them, but I'm surprised at how much material was covered in my 2007-08 coursework. I had Biochemistry, Virology, and Medical Microbiology. These were all graduate level courses and fairly detailed. After looking over these dental decks, it seems that about 5/8 of the material is stuff I should remember from these classes plus my anatomy/physiology classes from 06-07. 1/8 is more detailed anatomy/physiology stuff, and the final 1/4 is dental anatomy and occlusion material. 5/8 of the material for Part I of the boards as review? Sounds too good to be true, so it probably isn't. I imagine there is a lot more detail involved, and it will most likely end up being more like relearning than simply recalling to memory.
I'm reading "We the Living" by Ayn Rand currently. I've read this and most of her other "novels" several times before, and have come to the conclusion that no matter how much I agree with her ideas, her writing just isn't that great. I understand what she's doing, presenting her Objectivism philosophy using the whitest of whites and the blackest of blacks to make sure you get it, but the unrealistic contrast is a bit too much and takes away from the stories. "We the Living" might be the best, but even Kira (the stories main character) comes across as artificial sometimes. Despite these complaints, the vision she evokes of early the early Soviet Union in "We the Living" is powerful and scary. There are so many things that have happened and are happening still today that are "so hard to believe," and what happened to Russia can seem like just another tragedy on a long list of tragedies. So, it's good to remind oneself of such horrors once in awhile, and "We the Living" is a good one for horrors of Communism and dictatorships of any sort (whether it be a overly strong leader or the Dictatorship of the Proletariat). Live free or die! Let's all move to Wyoming (which doesn't have a dental school, but is close to Colorado).
So, what have I been doing lately? Working, playing Lego Star Wars on Xbox 360 with Masashi, shopping with Ritsuko (mostly for Masashi's upcoming birthday party), using lots of parentheses in everything I write, playing Neverwinter Nights occasionally, with my D&D addicted best friend, perusing SDN, not sleeping enough, playing outside with Masa, playing a little golf (I suck and should probably stick to just tossing a frisbee around), slowly getting ready to move, trying to keep busy at work (I really haven't had much work recently, but I can't just go take a nap on the lawn), etc.
As far as dental school goes, I got my hands on some 2006-2007 Dental Decks for NBDE Part I, which we take at Colorado after the first year. I haven't really been studying at work, just browsing through them, but I'm surprised at how much material was covered in my 2007-08 coursework. I had Biochemistry, Virology, and Medical Microbiology. These were all graduate level courses and fairly detailed. After looking over these dental decks, it seems that about 5/8 of the material is stuff I should remember from these classes plus my anatomy/physiology classes from 06-07. 1/8 is more detailed anatomy/physiology stuff, and the final 1/4 is dental anatomy and occlusion material. 5/8 of the material for Part I of the boards as review? Sounds too good to be true, so it probably isn't. I imagine there is a lot more detail involved, and it will most likely end up being more like relearning than simply recalling to memory.
I'm reading "We the Living" by Ayn Rand currently. I've read this and most of her other "novels" several times before, and have come to the conclusion that no matter how much I agree with her ideas, her writing just isn't that great. I understand what she's doing, presenting her Objectivism philosophy using the whitest of whites and the blackest of blacks to make sure you get it, but the unrealistic contrast is a bit too much and takes away from the stories. "We the Living" might be the best, but even Kira (the stories main character) comes across as artificial sometimes. Despite these complaints, the vision she evokes of early the early Soviet Union in "We the Living" is powerful and scary. There are so many things that have happened and are happening still today that are "so hard to believe," and what happened to Russia can seem like just another tragedy on a long list of tragedies. So, it's good to remind oneself of such horrors once in awhile, and "We the Living" is a good one for horrors of Communism and dictatorships of any sort (whether it be a overly strong leader or the Dictatorship of the Proletariat). Live free or die! Let's all move to Wyoming (which doesn't have a dental school, but is close to Colorado).
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The lesser of two evils
What does an American have to do to get a decent president these days? We've endured 8 years of Bush, and an Obama-McCain match-up is the best we can do? Now, I analyzed both of these guys awhile back and came to the conclusion that I could vote for either one. Unfortunately, both candidates have some serious weak points. Obama talks too much like a kind of Robin Hood on fiscal matters: raise taxes on the wealthy so we can afford our poor. Why can't we just level the playing field and stop trying to "build" everything (build hope, dreams, a new society, etc.); things will be built by those with the will to build if we can just leave them alone for a bit. McCain, on the other hand, will have a difficult time getting anything done without the help of the social conservatives in his party and seems to susceptible to the culture of loopholes, earmarks, subsidies, and other shady practices that help dig America deeper into a hole. Again, just leave people alone.
I bet for every major problem we have in America today you can find at least 10 pieces of major legislation that have actually compounded the problems they were targeted to resolve. Wonder how we got to where we are today with gasoline? Don't blame it all on China: take a look at this article to get an idea of how it's really all just "you reap what you sow." And now with new technologies coming out, everyone wants to make new subsidies (such as the huge ones for ethanol)! Short term relief that will lead to nothing but long term pain similar to what we've been struggling with regarding oil for years.
Obama and McCain, maybe they should just be on a ticket together. Neither one is going to make anything easier for the man or woman who simply wishes to live and let live while striving for his or her best.
I bet for every major problem we have in America today you can find at least 10 pieces of major legislation that have actually compounded the problems they were targeted to resolve. Wonder how we got to where we are today with gasoline? Don't blame it all on China: take a look at this article to get an idea of how it's really all just "you reap what you sow." And now with new technologies coming out, everyone wants to make new subsidies (such as the huge ones for ethanol)! Short term relief that will lead to nothing but long term pain similar to what we've been struggling with regarding oil for years.
Obama and McCain, maybe they should just be on a ticket together. Neither one is going to make anything easier for the man or woman who simply wishes to live and let live while striving for his or her best.
Monday, June 09, 2008
The Move: Truck Rental
Last night I put in our reservation for a Penske truck and car dolly. There were a number of factors that led me to just rent a truck instead of putting a hitch on the CR-V and renting a trailer for the 1150 mile journey to Colorado. The biggest factor was the fairly recent press U-Haul has received about accidents involving U-haul trailers and their renting practices. Another concern was the lack of air conditioning in the Ford Taurus, which would really suck for Ritsuko. Finally, renting a truck alieviates the need to leave anything behind: we will take all of our stuff and just set up house the way it is now. We'll probably by a new bed (we've been meaning to for awhile, but that's it.
So, we'll get our Penske truck and dolly on July 13th, pack, and head out early the next morning. We were able to get everything for less than $1200 using the 10% discount for reserving online and a %12 AAA discount (joining AAA cost $54). Some big costs come from gasoline, too (surprise, surprise): 1150 miles /8 mpg x $4/gallon = $575! So, a conservative estimate of the costs of our move to Colorado:
$1200 - rental
$575 - truck gas
$200 - CR-V gas
$160 - 2 nights hotel
$60 - food
$55 - AAA membership
__________________
$2250 - total
Yeah, it's a pretty expensive move, but what are you going to do? It's still cheaper than our move back from Japan, and we had to sell or leave a bunch of our stuff then. This cost is also less than the price of the laptop we have to buy for dental school. So, even though it's more expensive than the scary U-haul trailer method, renting the full 16' truck is probably the best way for such a long move.
So, we'll get our Penske truck and dolly on July 13th, pack, and head out early the next morning. We were able to get everything for less than $1200 using the 10% discount for reserving online and a %12 AAA discount (joining AAA cost $54). Some big costs come from gasoline, too (surprise, surprise): 1150 miles /8 mpg x $4/gallon = $575! So, a conservative estimate of the costs of our move to Colorado:
$1200 - rental
$575 - truck gas
$200 - CR-V gas
$160 - 2 nights hotel
$60 - food
$55 - AAA membership
__________________
$2250 - total
Yeah, it's a pretty expensive move, but what are you going to do? It's still cheaper than our move back from Japan, and we had to sell or leave a bunch of our stuff then. This cost is also less than the price of the laptop we have to buy for dental school. So, even though it's more expensive than the scary U-haul trailer method, renting the full 16' truck is probably the best way for such a long move.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Beautiful Morning
I'm in a weird mood today; I think it has to do with how I woke up. It rained some last night, but we left the windows open, so I woke up this morning to the sound of a million birds and the fresh smell of trees and grass. It was barely light, but I looked outside to see if it was still raining, and everything was covered in droplets of water and a dense fog hung over the ground. This is when I thought that I might actually miss some things about Indiana. Ritsuko and Masashi were still sleeping soundly, of course, and for some reason the fog, the dim light, and the smell of cool, wet vegetation made them look all the more peaceful.This beautiful morning experience has put me in the mood to contemplate beautiful, peaceful things. Usually I'm too tired to appreciate the serenity of early morning, but today got me for some reason. I think early morning is a beautiful time. I can remember early summer mornings riding my bike through narrow streets and alleys in Sapporo (Japan) before anyone was out. The city was always at its most beautiful then.
It's interesting to picture the world and creations of mankind without mankind in the picture. When I was a junior in high school, a highway was being built around the east side of Fort Wayne (I-469). I found a way to drive my car out onto the highway after it had been completed but before it was open for use, so one day my girlfriend and I drove out onto this highway and sat around in the middle of the road for awhile, enjoying the nice weather. Have you ever sat in the middle of a four-lane highway? It was as if we were the only two people left in the world. Seeing the created without any sign of the creator, it made even that new highway feel ancient and sacred. (The above picture is by Steve Hanson)
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Financial Aid Reward
I received my reward letter from the University of Colorado financial aid office. It's kind of odd to see such large numbers on a piece of paper that has your name on it! For the first year (Fall, Spring, Summer 1/2), my total reward came out to about $85k. That's a lot of money, I'm just glad that I won't have to take out any private loans (all money from Pell Grant, Staffords, and Grad Plus; thank you fellow citizens and foreign residents paying taxes) to cover living expenses as this massive amount of debt seems to cover it all. My wife told me that in Japan you are only able to receive education loans to cover your education (i.e. not living expenses), so I feel grateful to be getting this much at relatively low interest rates.
All that I need to do now is sign some stuff and I'm done! Everything is consolidated this year as U. of Colorado has signed on to the "school as lender" program. I'm sure you've heard about a lot banks not wanting to take risks with student loans. In order to avoid any future problems, U. of Colorado will receive loan money directly from the government and act as the sole lender for all the students (at least for the Health Campus students). Sounds fine to me.
Now that this is done there are only a few more things to do and about 6 weeks left until we move!
All that I need to do now is sign some stuff and I'm done! Everything is consolidated this year as U. of Colorado has signed on to the "school as lender" program. I'm sure you've heard about a lot banks not wanting to take risks with student loans. In order to avoid any future problems, U. of Colorado will receive loan money directly from the government and act as the sole lender for all the students (at least for the Health Campus students). Sounds fine to me.
Now that this is done there are only a few more things to do and about 6 weeks left until we move!
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