Chan Weng Kit's Blogspot: January 2023

Jan 6 - 30

1) What better way to start off my first blog post of the year than by attending my own graduation! It has been nearly three years since I left King's - returning at the height of the pandemic to Malaysia to complete the rest of my medical degree. I had promised my friends that I would come back for the class graduation last year, but my finals prevented me from doing so. Instead, I had deferred my graduation to early this year, on the off chance that my application to work in the UK would be approved. The rest, as they say, is history.

2) And so my journey began with a 1.5-hr train ride from Stoke to Euston, London. After checking in to the Wellington Hotel, it was time to become a tourist for the day. I had always wanted to visit some of the famous British museums here in London. As I had already covered the British Museum in the past, today's mission was to visit both the Victoria and Albert Museum ("V&A") and the Natural History Museum. I arrived at the V&A at a quarter to three. Given that both museums close at 17:45, that meant an hour and a half for each museum. From Tipu's Tiger to Darwin's On the Origin of the Species, I had a whale of a time exploring both museums.

3) The next day, it was time to suit up and pretend to look good for graduation. I arrived at the Royal Festival Hall, meeting up with my good friend Sai. He would become my personal photographer for the day, as we trudged up and down the embankment looking for iconic sights to use as backdrops. Along the way, random strangers would pause to congratulate us and even offer to take pictures of the both of us - which I really appreciated. The actual awards ceremony took place all day, with mine in the afternoon. Along with the current graduating class, I was awarded a masters degree in clinical neuroscience - with the epitoge proudly draped across my shoulder.

4) With the official ceremony over, it was time for the unofficial celebrations. We met up with my good friend Maloo at a fancy Italian trattoria - Circolo Popolare (which I can only assume means popular circle). I had a wonderful time properly catching up with everyone over dinner; the food was good, the company sublime. From my friends, I learnt that our classmates had gone on to achieve great things - some became doctors, some continued their medical degree, others started their PhDs, and yet others left to enter various fields in tech / business. It was really interesting to see how diverse our career options were after completing the course at King's.

5) All good things must come to an end. After an uneventful train ride back, I've spent the next two weeks back at work. It's been a while since I was able to sit down and pen something as long as this - as work commitments really drain the life out of me. However, that won't stop me from blogging as often as I can. Many thanks for visiting my blog today, and I wish you all a great week ahead. Cheers!