My first batch came out looking like roasted insects. Was it too much time in the oven or was the honey scorching the culprit? I gave a batch for Dad to try. Not bad, he says! Does it taste burnt? No.... it's.... OK. Is it spicy enough? It's OK, he says. Great! Positive reinforcement! Onto the next batch, then!
The second batch came out much better looking and with a punch of confidence, I added more spiciness! No bland nuts for dear ole Dad! I packaged it nicely in the original container (from Costco). Just when I was putting the lid on, my son walks into the kitchen. "Is that for Gung Gung (Grandpa)?" "Sure is!", I answered.
"Can you put my name on it as well?" "What?!" "But what if I make a nice personalized label for it. That way, it will be a joint project!" "Well, OK, fine."
One of the things I find amusing on the internet are photos of DIY Pintrest Fails. Sometimes, I wonder if the fails are done horribly on purpose. I mean, there's NO WAY that that cake can look that messed up, right?
Here is my newest article for Weekly Biz Japanese Newspaper. Not that there are dentists out there looking on the internet for "Dental DIY" projects, but if you've been a dentist long enough, it makes you wonder sometimes.... For your reading pleasure!
It
Looks So Quick and Easy
One of my daughter’s favorite things to do is “DIY” projects. It
stands for “Do It Yourself”. Her bedroom
is always a collection of 10 different projects that she is in the middle of
doing. Next to her chair is a scarf that she is knitting me. It’s been 3 months
and the scarf is only 2 feet long. There is also T-shirt that she is painting
for her brother. I’m afraid that by the time she’s finished, he would have
outgrown that size. She gets all her ideas on the internet.
There are plenty of
people posting things that they have done themselves that came out gorgeous and
perfect. They show the instructions step by step and it looks so quick and
easy. After a 5 minute video, the project is finished! Beautiful! It could be baking
a cake, it could be knitting a sweater, or it could be making a pair of
earrings, or even painting your kitchen table. Everything is “SUGOI!” (meaning Great! or Amazing! in Japanese) after the
video.
In reality, that is not true. A lot of my daughter’s DIY
projects have been unsuccessful. A
patient came to my office and wanted to improve her smile. She had gotten
veneers, which are porcelain pieces bonded to the fronts of her teeth. They
change the color, shape and size of her teeth. They are supposed to make her
smile beautiful but instead she said it made her look like a horse. The veneers
looked too thick, too white and too big. She had paid a lot of money as well.
“The dentist said it would be the quickest and easiest way to improve my smile.”
She said sadly. “But I’m thinking this was a big expensive mistake! Please tell
me you can fix it! My friend speaks very highly of you and your office!”
As many photos of perfect DIY projects there are on the
internet, there are even more FAILED photos from people who were not prepared or
not experienced enough to do the projects. When looking for a dental office,
don’t necessarily look for the cheapest dental office; don’t necessarily look
for the closest dental office, but look for the dentist with the most
experience and the dentist that certainly knows what they’re doing. A good way
to start is by asking friends and co-workers which dental office they go to and
why. Make sure these are friends and co-workers that take care of their teeth
on a regular basis, going for checkups and cleanings and not just for emergency
visits.
As for that patient, we were able to remove those ugly
veneers and make her some that were beautiful and natural looking. After 2 visits, she was able to leave happy
and smiling. Sugoi! Now, if I can get my daughter to finish up knitting my
scarf before winter is over, I can say “Sugoi!” again!
