Give me some Credit

to quote one of my favorite movies, vanilla sky: what is the answer to 99 of 100 questions? money.

when i was a young, naive kid, i had the ridiculous notion that checks could buy anything. you couldn't blame me though. we'd go to the grocery store, mom would write a check, and we'd walk out. we'd go to toys r us, mom would write a check, and we'd walk out. lather, rinse, repeat with anywhere we went. little did i know there was this whole "checking account" where money was taken out of. nope, i believed all of the buying power resided in that rectangular piece of paper.

nowadays, all of the buying power resides in a more compact rectangular piece of plastic. i'm talking about a credit card, grandma. one quick swipe, a flick of the digital pen, and the merchandise is all yours. easy as that. sometimes, there isn't even a signature needed, just a swipe and you're out the door. even more, there isn't even a "checking account" needed to purchase anything. you can buy things on "credit."

i never quite understood the whole "credit" thing. there's some mysterious score out there for everyone and it's determined by some complex equations taking your age, weight, height, and zodiac sign into consideration. there's a billion commercials out there that sing songs about credit. some people say it's good to have debt, some people say it's bad to have debt. there's APR, transfer fees, late payments, cash back, airline miles, etc. etc. it all seems so overwhelming.

my naive little kid mind is still as naive as ever. i just thought, well, why don't people just buy it all at once? am i right? just save up and pay it all up front so that you don't have to worry about more payments. i guess that's just one of my little idiosyncrasies: i hate the notion of owing people money on my conscience. but anyways, i didn't fully realize the necessity of credit until my recent LASIK surgery. if i had paid all of that up front, that would have put a Texas-sized dent in my account. when they offered me the chance to pay it off in two years with no interest, i took that deal immediately. like if i was on deal or no deal, i would've pressed that red button before the banker could even call me. DEAL!

and how did i qualify for that two year, no interest payment plan? because i had great credit.

it feels good to finish paying off a credit card. no more bills in the mail from them. no more balances to look at. no more reading "thank you for your prompt payment." no no, thank YOU for turning my dollar cheeseburger into a five dollar foot long because of interest.

then again, it also feels good opening up a new credit card. the excitement of opening up that crisp envelope knowing the card is inside because you can feel the lining of it from the outside. the first, clean swipe that makes you feel so powerful and limitless as God himself must feel when He uses a credit card. the letters in the mail that tell you that they increased your spending limit: well don't they just know the right thing to say. they might as well just send me a letter in the mail that says "you're handsome today."

if you were wondering, yes, this blog is a true story. it isn't based on a movie that was based on a novel written by sapphire. i finished paying one off and opened up another one. ironically, i'm a sapphire owner now. chase sapphire, that is. isn't that precious?

finally, one of my bucket list items is to own an amex black card. yes, i know the gruesome details of that particular card, but if i have to do some illegal things to be invited, then so be it. they don't call it the black card for nothin'.

obviously, i'm kidding about the illegal activity. give me some credit.

thanks for reading.

-jdv

Why does one choose to be a Dentist

i will be starting dental school in august and i thought i would share with ya'll what my personal statement stated. i know it's quite lengthy, but with the help of friends and family, i think it's one of the best, if not THE best, things i've written (not to toot my own horn or anything). seriously though, i'm very modest. on second thought, this is the worst thing i've ever written. there. now you have no expectations when reading it. enjoy!

At the age of thirteen, I nervously surveyed my surroundings from the dental chair. Prior appointments had outlined my need for braces and a head gear, and the day had finally arrived. Jaws aching, light blinding, and eyes watering, I had undergone an experience like no other. Although I was not smiling after the procedure, I remember the grin that my orthodontist, Dr. Stevenson, had from ear to ear. Despite my new reason to be even more self-conscious, I was pleasantly surprised that he treated me with the same level of kindness after the procedure as he did before it started. This compassion which he exhibited for another person not only led me to regard Dr. Stevenson with a sense of admiration but also lay the groundwork for a budding interest in the field of dentistry.

The years after my initial meeting with Dr. Stevenson gave me more opportunities to experience the field of dentistry with greater proximity. Because my brother himself is a dentist, I had the privilege to witness firsthand what being in this particular profession entailed. I began by shadowing him after my sophomore year in college and subsequently, I started to work for Dental Smiles, the dental office he is employed in at present. Currently, I am working full time as an office worker at the same dental clinic, and I am looking into becoming a certified dental assistant. From my experience there, I noticed that hard work, cooperation, and communication are all essential to delivering quality care to patients. Aside from the actual treatment and manual dexterity needed, a dentist must also possess the ability to talk to people. Being able to effectively converse with both assistants and patients is of vital importance to this profession.

The ability to establish a connection with people through good communication skills was not something I acquired early on in my school life. Back in high school, I was not involved in sports, clubs, or school activities because I was so focused on my classes and studies. I graduated summa cum laude, but my social skills needed improvement. When I entered college, I decided to live on campus for the first two years so that I would have the opportunity to be surrounded by my peers. Although it did entail some degree of sacrifice in terms of grades, I developed the ability to interact with people, which cannot be obtained by reading any textbook. I met people of different races, religions, ethics, and cultures and learned how to relate with them. In the process, I formed a bond with some people who eventually became my close friends. I soon came to realize that my relationships with my friends all possess the same qualities which should be found in a doctor-patient relationship: trust, openness in communication, honesty, and care.

My continued exposure to the everyday affairs of Dental Smiles has made me see that there is much more to the life of a dentist than possessing the correct technical expertise and fostering the right relationship with patients.

At the root of dentistry lies service. Pairing this notion with my high school motto, "Men for Others," I know that I have the right attitude and heart for a future in dentistry. This desire to reach out to others has been channeled through the volunteer work I have done with health-related camps and activities. For instance, I remember feeling a great sense of fulfillment when I volunteered at "The Camp that Love Built," a summer camp geared towards individuals with spina bifida who are working to be independent. I was paired with a camper and for a week, I would assist him in daily activities such as bathing, eating, changing clothes, and swimming. The week was exhausting but the gratitude that the camper's parents showed me made everything worth it. Currently, I am volunteering at San Jose Clinic, which provides healthcare to the disenfranchised and uninsured. Watching the doctors there, especially the dentists, proceed with their daily work has confirmed my desire to pursue the path towards a degree in dental medicine.

I hope that one day, as a dentist, I can give people the same feeling of happiness and self-confidence that Dr. Stevenson gave me. I experienced it personally with my braces and I can now perceive it visually through the patients at Dental Smiles. My brother has also played a huge part in pursuing a degree in dental medicine. Having been given so much by my parents, he is now giving back to the community and because I have come to look up to him as my role model, I also aspire to do the same. Not only do i desire more than anything for the opportunity to help out people, but I also want the chance to work side-by-side with my brother in a field where we can do our part in making other people's lives a little better.

thanks for reading.

-jdv

Looking at the world through new Eyes

i woke up and to my surprise, the hanging toy monkey in my room is clear to me. i flip the tv on and the channel isn't blurry. did i sleep with my glasses on? am i dreaming?

the feeling is surreal. i can see.

this story begins two nights ago. i was in the middle of my nightly routine, i.e. brushing my teeth, washing my face, flossing, when i proceeded to clean my eyelids to get ready for the big day. i closed my eyes, wiped the eyelids clean, and when i reopened them, i realized that the blur across from me would no longer be a blur soon. my stomach had a knot or two in it due to anticipation and nervousness. sleep did not come easy, but eventually my eyes closed.

the next morning, i woke up tired, hungry, and excited. Tired at the thought of getting only four hours of sleep. Hungry at the thought of not being able to eat for four hours before the surgery. Excited at the thought of never having to depend on glasses again. as the time drew nearer, my heart beat faster. i needed something or someone to calm me down, and then my friends appeared. when laura and pierre came to pick me up, my anxiety clocked out and took its lunch hour break. after much ado about nothing such as getting lost or talking car brakes, we arrived at our (hopefully not my final) destination.

we walked through the tinted double glass doors into what seemed to be a show room right out of pottery barn. lit lamps and tables with untouched magazines in a row graced the room. we were the only ones there, as if everyone else fled this place out of fear. i watched as laura and pierre ate gobstoppers, and it reminded me of how hungry i was. even gobstoppers would have satiated my appetite at this point. the nurses were ready. the big moment had arrived. showtime.

the head nurse walked in from her lunch, put her mcdonald's dollar coke away and greeted me. then, she proceeded to hand me some instructions for after my surgery. she said to me, "sorry, i got the tip of it wet." apparently, the condensation on the coke cup got on her fingers and she rubbed it on the corner of the paper. she kept on talking while i just looked down and tried to fight the laughter. james, this is eye surgery. this is a very serious matter. laura was no help pushing her leg against mine, poking me with her elbow, and fighting the laughter herself. "what, why are you laughing?" she asked. no comment. i just shook my head. "oh, i see. it's the company you brought with you. that's why you're laughing." yep. that's exactly why i was laughing.

a valium later and things were beginning to mellow down. the first part of the procedure: cutting the flap in my cornea, was by far the weirdest sensation i have ever had. the doctor made this metaphor. he compared the flap that was to be created on my cornea to that of a toilet seat. in order to access the area under the cornea, he would have to lift it up as a guy lifts up the toilet seat to urinate. i said to him, there would be no urinating in my eyes, doctor. ok, i'm kidding. i nodded my head and understood. the doctor placed the vacuum over my eyes and that's when things went black.

i'm seein' stars. i can't believe my eyes. i'm seein' stars. oh my starry eyed surprise.

you know when you close your eyes sometimes and you can see shapes or lights? or when you close your eyes really hard that certain shape or light formations start forming and zooming across your black landscape? that's exactly what i saw, except my eyes were being forced open. my eyes felt this slight pain around them as if someone was trying to force a hula hoop around a hippopotamus. finally, the flaps were made and my vision went from bad to worse. i followed the nurse where part two awaited me.

this part was a piece of cake compared to the first one. all i had to do was look at the green blinking light. the doctor carefully lifted the toilet seat of my eye and lined up the laser. look at the green light, james. the green light was surrounded by two stadium lights as if my eye was the playing field of some sporting event. i must not lose focus. the light then turned into a green smudge and the red dots seemed to be overtaking the green light. look at the green light, james. a loud whirring began and an indescribable odor entered the room. a few beeps later and the green light reappeared. the doctor then took what seemed to be like a white-out brush and glazed my eye as if it was a typo he had made while writing a paper. he covered my eye and repeated with the left one. it was finished.

now that i had finally finished the surgery, i could eat. thankfully, laura and pierre had picked up some barbecue for me. as we all know, barbecue is probably one of the cleanest foods to eat. and by cleanest, i mean messiest. mix in a moving car and a blind person and you have the perfect recipe for getting more food around the mouth rather than in. surprisingly, laura did a great job guiding the airplane made of turkey, brisket, and potato salad. i felt like i was in one of those taste tests. i had no idea what to expect, what texture the food would be, what size the bite would be. nothing. i'm pretty sure i had sauce all over my face, but laura reassured me that i was clean. then, i did the dumbest thing and lunged my head forward as a hungry hungry hippo would do right into a forkful of barbecue sauce. can't win'em all, i guess.

i got home and the numbing drops wore off. my eyes began to feel like tiny hearts and with every beat, a minor throb to the brain. i immediately took the sleeping pill and soon, my eyelids felt like they had miniature weights hanging off of them. they closed and i fell into a slumber.

i woke up and to my surprise, the hanging toy monkey in my room is clear to me. i flip the tv on and the channel isn't blurry. did i sleep with my glasses on? am i dreaming?

the feeling is surreal. i can see.

thanks for reading.

-jdv

Goo-goo for GaGa

nowadays, people, places, and things are revolving around gaga.

yeah, i'll admit it. i may have a slight gaga fixation. let's face it. she's super crazy, but i absolutely dig it. who isn't crazy? am i right? what's there not to like? ridiculous fashion sense. check. singing/dancing ability. check. confidence in who she is. super check.

here is a little insight from gaga herself:

“A girl’s got to use what she’s given and I’m not going to make a guy drool the way a Britney video does. So I take it to extremes. I don’t say I dress sexily on stage - what I do is so extreme. It’s meant to make guys think: ‘I don’t know if this is sexy or just weird.’”

you couldn't have said it better, my fair lady.

so, she'll be coming to town in the summer and i already can't wait for her concert. i've only heard amazing things about it. getting tickets was no easy task, however. let me tell you how stressful it actually was.

on second thought, retelling what happened probably will make me feel stressed again since her concerts sold out in about -5 minutes. long story short, i was able to get little monster vip tickets for the monday show. but i still am not satisfied. i want backstage passes. i want to meet her. i want the world on a silver platter.

gaga, i will meet you.

thanks for reading.

-jdv

Passion Play

i love the phantom of the opera and the title of this blog is an excerpt from a line in the movie. but this blog will not be about the phantom of the opera, sadly. we can save that for a rainy day.

no, this blog is about passion. not the lustful kind of passion. not passion fruit. not the Passion (of the Christ). just passion.

people will do everything in their power to do whatever in the world it is that they are passionate about. yes, this sounds cliche and non mind-blowing, but i realized this about myself. case in point: lady gaga (future blog topic? you betcha) is coming to town and i must've searched for information on ticket sales every day until an exact sale date was announced. once i heard a date and pre-sale date, i asked around to get a pre-sale code and got it. unfortunately, i didn't get pre-sale tix but i skipped work a little bit just to try to get some tix at the exact time and date that they went on sale to the general public. everything in my power to get tix.

people will make time for what or who they feel is important to them. i think back to when new friends episodes were premiering on thursdays. at that time, the Godsend gift of DVR was not available. however, it probably would not have mattered. it didn't matter if i was in the middle of homework, writing a paper, or practicing piano. once it started, i could be found glued to my couch for that next half hour. all other things did not matter. no communication with other people (except perhaps during commercials if you were lucky) was allowed. to say i was passionate about the tv show is an understatement.

an alcoholic will find a way to have a drink. a drug addict will do anything to get his/her hands on the next fix. an Olympic swimmer will eat insane amounts of food and swim all day. a marathon runner will wake up extremely early to train and squeeze in a morning run. why? simply because it is their passion. be it good or bad, it does not matter. to them, it's always good.

what are you passionate about? family? friends? work? significant other? my only advice: keep it all in a happy balance.

thanks for reading.

-jdv

Eye of the Tiger

all eyes are on tiger this week as he plays in his first tournament since his absence from golf

i'm tired of the endless berating of tiger woods. tigergate? seriously, come on. the man has apologized already. he said sorry to his wife, family, friends, fans, and sponsors. he's gone to rehab. what more can he do? we've already symbolically crucified him as a public figure. we've run his story across every magazine headline, every newspaper front page, and at the top of every news cast. he's been the punch line to many comedians' jokes. he's been the conversation piece at parties. enough is enough.

i'm not trying to say that he doesn't deserve all of the media attention. on the contrary. that's the price to being famous. fame gave him the title as one of the best golfers and led him to become a household name. you can't bite the hand that feeds you. fame is not a switch you can turn off and on. that's the price for having your life under a microscope. one has to deal with the clicking cameras, pesterous paparazzi, and all things that encompass the media monster.

will he be able to put his game face on, put his personal problems aside, and focus on the game of golf? i, along with the nation, am wondering the same thing. tiger's eyes are eyeing another championship. hopefully, that's all they are looking at, for elin's sake.

thanks for reading.

-jdv