All in September...crazy weather during crazy times...
One week we're looking at an apocalypse.  Then it was raining hard.  Then beautiful weather with temperature up in the 90's-100's.  Climate change is undeniable.  But this was from all the fires in CA.  We were surrounded by them, both in the north and south sides.  Some patients lost their homes.  Some had to evacuate.  We were on standby.  Our electricity did go out, but that was nearing the end of our day.  The building was shutdown from Thursday through Monday.  Rolling blackouts over the weekend was better than during a weekday. 
California has suffered much in such a short period of time: COVID-19 and fires.  We lost millions of acres of land.  Our air was polluted but the rain came and helped clear a lot for us in the valley.  This brought hope.  We will survive  and we will move forward, in any direction it takes us.  If you studied our past, we will know our bright future is inevitable.  

This Labor Day weekend, my family and I were supposed to go down to Mt. Zion for a hike.  But with temperatures in the 100's, we figured it was safer to stay home.  We wanted to hike closer to home but everything was either booked or needed advance RSVP.  So home, we stayed...after I went into work to finish a few things.  Those few things took me 2 half-days to achieve.  
As I was working, my husband found an old movie on Plex, "House of Flying Daggers".  It's a kung fu movie with a love triangle twist.  One of my childhood crush was in it.  I watched as I worked on my daughter.  It brought back so many memories of loving this guy, Andy Lau.  I had his face above my bed along with Prince and Michael Jackson.  Today's kids like K-Pop.  Back then in my neighborhood, it was Chinese movie stars and dramas.  I can't name you one Vietnamese movie star that I like.  I don't know any.
I watched his movies in Chinese, reading the English subtitles.  I listened to his songs, not understanding a single word but I like his voice.  I had a taste for a wide range of music varieties.   I love music.  It gives me the world that I cannot afford to be in.  I didn't have a genre that I gravitate towards.  It was whatever at the moment to make me sway. I even listened to ballroom music because my uncle was teaching me Tango and Cha-cha.  He was also teaching me algebra in 5th grade so I had to be obedient.  
Back to Andy, I googled him and found out his most popular song is one of my favorite Chinese songs.  I don't know any Chinese so I thank Google for the English translation.  My childhood days were relived through YouTube.  How he managed to stay about the same in over 30 years is beyond me.  I know they said Asians aged well but come on...30+ years.  Maybe it's my googling eyes for him.  His songs are ageless.  During my grocery trip to an Asian supermarket, I heard his song.  I sang along as much as I could down the aisles, only to realized the people around me were doing the same.  There was even a black lady who was singing along as well.  I told you, back in the days in my 'hood, he was all the rage.  Oh, "The Days We Spent Together"....he just doesn't know it yet.

Sometimes you just got to have a little fun.  We were getting ready to do a case when Bob had a funny idea of how to prank my poor nephew.  Bob and Sunshine thought they were so funny.  My nephew is a handsome young man who played along very well.  If you check our Facebook page, you will understand the prank.  Then he couldn't stop laughing.  It kinda ruined the prank, no?  I don't think he was supposed to have that much fun being the victim of our joke.  I think he left the office even thinking I was cool aunt...or at least I had a cool team.

Sometimes I get little surprises and I get wary.  Needless to say, this week was different.  I got plenty of surprises and they were all great.  This young patient gave me permission to show her picture and name but I decided to keep both private for now.  I just wanted to share her thoughtfulness in her own handwriting, because nowadays, most kids communicate through email or text.  It definitely warmed my heart.  I have great patients.
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After two plus months of Shelter-in-Place, we are finally back at work in full force.  I miss all my patients.  I miss the daily routine of using my mind for more than just cooking and cleaning.  The intellectual challenge is stressful at times but sooo welcome now.  I actually only stopped working for about 2 weeks.  The first month of SiP was extremely busy.  We had to get all the cases done and crowns cemented in rapid time within restricted days and hours.  As president of NCAGD (general dentists group), I had to sort out the daily changing policies and orders of the state, counties and CDC.  There were so much confusion and panic.  I met regularly with dental CPA's, attorneys, dental leaders, and dental board members to get our information straight.  Obviously, there were also a lot of assumptions and power struggles that had to be reconciled.  I know, disappointing.

Now, we are back and many changes we have made.  You will see sneeze guards, more medical grade air purifiers to clean the air at a faster rate, UVC lights to sanitize our PPEs and rooms, pulse oximeters and questionnaires to assess risk of COVID-19.  Everyone is required to have face covering upon entering the office.  With all the N95 and surgical masks along with the face shields,  our faces have dents, our oxygen levels went down while our body temperature went up.  How can they say this is keeping us healthy?  We all know what can happen when someone say," I can't breathe..."
I think it's a hoot to see patients in face masks.  I used to think Vietnamese people were funny for always wearing a face mask driving their mopeds around the city.  Now I think you're crazy if you don't wear one outside your home.  It has become my norm.
I am really glad to be back.   I miss the interactions with other humans.  I look forward to seeing everyone, welcoming news of matrimonies, babies, graduations, new homes, etc.  You are my dental family.  Welcome back.  

We were getting ready to go in for surgery.  Bob was bopping her head behind me.  That's the look of happiness, people.