Saturday, September 3, 2011

That dirty little four letter word......WORK

Day 3: Tell us about your J-O-B

Work?  On a Saturday??
Well thankfully I'm not actually working today, makes talking about it a bit more bearable!

As you already know, or maybe you don't, I'm a dental hygienist.
Yep.  That's me.  The mean lady at the dentist who picks and prods at your teeth and yells at you for not flossing.  At least, that WAS me.  For seven years.  When I worked in private practice.
These days I do a more non-traditional job and I love it!
I work for a Health Center on a dental program for kids called Pro*ject Rea.dy Smil*e.
Everyday I go out to Preschools and Early Education Centers throughout the KC Metro and do dental screenings on kids 6 weeks through 6 years of age.
I also get to do presentations about brushing your teeth and eating healthy foods along with my trusty sidekick Allie the Alligator.
He tends to steal the show most days.  Kids LOVE him!  And I love getting to work with kids all day.
Never a dull moment when they're involved!

Here's my "home base" aka the trailer where my office is.
Lovely isn't it?  They recently painted it grey....which I think makes it look a bit like a prison.
Irony at it's best.  I kid.  Sort of.
Since I'm in Outreach and don't spend a ton of time at the center I was annexed to the little building.
Not for long though!!
Here's the NEW building that we should be moving into by the end of the year!

Here's my desk where I do all the boring, not fun paperwork stuff.
Yes it's a mess.  Yes that's a tooth brushing monkey on the shelf.  And yes I have two computers.
The laptop is the one they got me so I could schedule appointments off site, but it's also the one that occasionally lets me surf the web.  Sometimes.  If the wireless card feels like working.

So that's it.  What I do Mon-Fri from 8-5.  Long term I wouldn't mind going back into private practice.  Especially if I could find a spot in a pediatric office like the one I was at back in Ohio.  Even better if it was only part time so I could spend a little bit more time with this guy!  He's a full time job for sure!

Happy Saturday friends!  Don't forget, if you want to join in on 30 days of fun, go link up with Katie!
 

9 comments:

Gina said...

I didn't know what you did for a living! Sounds like an awesome job. :)

Emily said...

Allie the alligators teeth kinda freak me out haha

Beach Bum & Baby said...

Ok, LOVE your new space, Love Allie the alligator. DO NOT LOVE HOW HUGE JAMIE LOOKS IN THAT PICTURE. He looks like a Kindergarten-er!

Sheesh. Stop feeding him or something. Espresso in his sippy? Something girl, these kids are going to be driving by next year at this rate. It's too much for me to handle! :)

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend. I'm off to start the 30 day challenge. I love reading your posts!!! xoxo

Crazy Shenanigans-JMO said...

Apart from the gray prison like building, your job seems like a lot of fun! I remember either the same program or a similar one coming to my school when I was young!

Kelsey @ Seattle Smith's said...

I always wanted to be a dental hygentist :)

Unknown said...

Very cool. I never knew what you did except that you worked full time. Sounds like a fun job at least.

Chardonnay said...

This post comes at a perfect time for me because I've actually been thinking about leaving my job in public relations and going back to school for dental hygiene.

I like the idea of helping people, and it sounds really interesting. Sounds like you enjoy it?

It's scary to leave the career I always thought I wanted, but I don't like it anymore! I need something that I love, but I don't know exactly what that is. Your position actually sounds ideal!!

Marina said...

I think that your job sounds fun and interesting.. I was a journalist for a few years.. Now I don't even know what I am.. I call myself a freelancer, but I think that freelancers earn better money then I do :D

Jax said...

I didnt know you traveled to schools, etc! That's super cool!