DAY 434/435/436

Nov 8, 9 & 10

1) Towards the end of the semester, there has been a greater emphasis on my studies, which unfortunately means less interesting activities to write about in my blog. Continuing on from the previous blog update, we had our JC3 Outbreak Quiz, which was rescheduled due to Hurricane Ophelia. It was an hour test, which required lots of calculations, and some critical thinking. We received our results that very day too!

2) After the quiz, it was time to prepare for our Card Signing - the (hopefully) last card signing we'll ever have. After this, it will just be our Anatomy Practical Finals that we will have to worry about. I say 'just' but that is 13.16% and 12.5% respectively right there, for the Neuroscience module. Anyway, Card Signing (for Group B) was today. As usual, we all filed into the Anatomy Room at sharp 2pm, and started shortly after. Our examiner was Mr. Blayney, retired Consultant ENT Surgeon.

3) To cut a long story short, I didn't quite manage an A. All those lapses in concentration started to take its toll on me, so that I felt I deserved what I got. To be honest, I'm just so very glad that it's over, because I can now concentrate on my next task - Quiz 2. This is the last major "Quiz" before our End of Semester Exams in early December. But it couldn't come at a worse time - a) three days after Card Signing, and b) my visit to UK will hinder my studying.

4) As I mentioned, I'll be flying to UK tomorrow for the UKEC's First Introductory Event of 2017/2018. Basically, we will have a side event in the form of Coffee and Conversations with UKEC - gathering student participants from the various universities to give their opinions on "What Constitutes a Constitution?" Also, the whole of Saturday and Sunday would be the first meeting with everyone, which will help us establish contacts and get to know who we'll be collaborating with. A lot to ruminate about, but also a lot of exciting new events to look forward to.

5) At the end of the day, we have less than a month to go before our exams begin. After that, I'm looking forward to a long and well-deserved break. More details on my holiday plans coming soon. Until then, thanks very much for tuning in, and have a great day. Cheers!

Christmas is coming ^^

As I was blissfully tucking into Boojum at the Dispensary...

Along came the Fire Alarm, sending everyone out of the New Academic Building...

As you can imagine, not everyone was happy to be chased out in the middle of their activities...

(but I definitely agree it is better to be safe than sorry)

DAY 431/432/433

Nov 5, 6 & 7

1) After a very busy couple of days, things have settled down a bit. But not for long, as we have the first of many quizzes/tests this week. Tomorrow is the JC3 Outbreak Quiz, an hour long quiz on some statistics using Excel. On Thursday, our group (Group B) has our Card Signing 2, which I have had no chance to prepare due to the myriad of activities I have been involved in lately. Finally, next Thursday is our Quiz 2, which includes everything we've studied since Quiz 1.

2) Anatomy Class today was quite interesting, as we were covering the lectures on the eye. We got Mr Quinlan as our surgeon prosector, and he went through the lecture, testing us on our knowledge. Although it may sound really gross (and indeed I felt the same initially), we had the opportunity to remove the eyeball from a prosected specimen, by first removing the muscles attaching the eye. By using an aptly called "bone nibbler", my friend Stavros picked away at the pieces of bone that contained the eye in the socket.

3) Once that was done, we switched roles, and I worked around the eye - cutting away at the muscles that held it in place, with a scissors. It took me a LOT longer than I had expected, but at last we managed to remove the eyeball. It was the first time I had actually seen the eyeball, including its contents - the lens, aqueous humour, vitreous humour etc. You know the saying "to sneeze your eyeballs out"? After today, I highly doubt that is actually possible. Indeed, the Mythbusters have proven that it is possible to sneeze with your eyes open, and your eyeballs definitely do NOT pop out XD

4) Apparently there is a train strike tomorrow, affecting all Intercity, National Rail, and DART services. Although no mention of the LUAS was made, I really am not taking any chances. I've decided to put up at my friends' place for the night, so that I won't be late for my exams tomorrow. Anyway, that has been a summary of my day(s), and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks for reading, and have a nice day. Cheers!

Spending the night at an undisclosed location

Free Cake

(Don't ask where it came from, just know it's free XD)

Looks delish (I didn't try it though)

What I expect to be calculating tomorrow

Free Tesco muffins (from MUNC Event)

DAY 210

Mar 30

1) Today has been much of the same as the previous days. I got up early as usual, had my breakfast, before packing up to go to the library. For some reason, the library is more packed than usual. Perhaps due to tomorrow's Card Signing? Today was all about anatomy in preparation for the test.

2) Morning passed soon enough, and it was afternoon. I went over to my friend's apartment, where many of us were practising for Card Signing. So we shared as much information as we could with each other, and in two hours we had covered many chapters. That left me feeling a bit more confident, and a bit better prepared haha.

3) In the evening, I was at it again, busy studying for pretty much the rest of the night. I did take some breaks off though, to relax and unwind. Exam periods may not be the most exciting times of my life, but they definitely are important. Hopefully that's enough motivation to keep me going. That sums up my day today, and thanks for reading as always. Have a great day, cheers!

That's a College Ball ticket ^^

(In the end, I decided not to go since none of my close friends were going - I sold the tic)

So I decided to cook yesterday night...

And here's my food for the rest of the week :)

Pasta carbonara

DAY 209

Mar 29

1) Today has been a long day for me. I woke up early, had my breakfast, before proceeding to the library like I always do. Literally spent the whole morning studying away, covering the Histology section which is worth so many marks.

2) During the afternoon, I had a short nap to clear my head, and woke up feeling refreshed. Time for another round of studying. It's amazing how everything except studying becomes interesting when you study for long periods of time. Either that or it's just me. Anyway, I went again to Dunnes to buy some ingredients for cooking. I'm planning to cook some pasta tonight, to last me throughout the week.

3) Today's weather was amazing. Finally, it was really WARM, as in you-can-walk-outside-with-just-a-T-shirt warm. Unfortunately, rain is predicted in the following days to come. But if the weather remains as fine as it is, I'm definitely not complaining haha. Spent the rest of the day trying to study, which is not easy when your brain is saturated with info. I have to go home a bit earlier to cook, and perhaps do my laundry. So I'll end on this note. Thanks for reading as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

Dunnes Stores today :D

Breakfast as usual

Slightly skewed apple ^^

DAY 207

Mar 27

1) Today has been another beautiful day for me - at the library. Granted, exams are fast approaching so there really is not much left to do other than study for the end-of-semester exams. I only recently found out that our Histology quiz is worth a LOT more than I expected - it's 15% for REGUB, 10% for GIHEP and 5% for FUN2! And the best part; I've barely started touching it...

2) My afternoon and would be spent covering as much as I could, but it isn't easy considering we have Anatomy card signing just four days before our histology. Card signing is only worth 2.5%, so being the rational person that I am, I decided to take a gamble and NOT study for it until the very last minute. Hopefully that gamble pays off, and it's not like I have a choice otherwise.

3) In the evening, there was a talk organised by the RCSI Cardiovascular Society, called Life of A Cardiologist. RCSI's very own Dr. Dermot Kenny was presenting, so I had to attend. Presentation started at 7.00pm at the Albert Lecture Theatre, and was followed by a cheese and wine reception. A very interesting speech indeed, where we learnt a bit more on why he chose cardiology as a specialty, how he went about it, and his research on ischemic heart disease. I thoroughly appreciate the myriad opportunities we get to attend such talks, as they will ultimately be our guide to choosing our postgraduate options.

4) Afterwards, it was back to the library, where I spent a short time studying, before calling it a day. Packed my stuff up, and headed straight home. That caps the end of my day, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Have a great day, cheers!

Dr. Dermot Kenny's lecture, on how he came from medical student to professor XD

Dr. Dermot Kenny,

Professor of Cardiovascular Biology

DAY 204

Mar 24

1) Today has been an awesome day! For most of us PMCSA members, there was only one thing in our minds; International Night 2017! So much so that we skipped the first part of anatomy lessons today in order to practice one last time at the venue itself - the Olympia Theatre. Still, we made sure to go for the Anatomy practicals after that, as Card Signing is next week XD

2) We came back in the afternoon to do another run through and to size up the competition haha. It's friendly competition anyway, from CIMSA (the Canadian Society), PIBS (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) and many others. It was really fun seeing everyone bring a part of their culture and identity on stage.

3) Fast forward to the evening, and it was the moment of truth. The event started at around 7.30pm, with none other than our performance! Everyone went out there, and gave it our absolute best! It was over in less than 15 minutes. All that hard work and effort, condensed into that 15 minutes of fame. Then came the surprise... the other teams were taking extremely long to finish; on average they took around half an hour to almost 45 minutes! This allowed them the opportunity to showcase a lot more songs.

4) After about an hour and a half, we finally reached a brief intermission. Then it was time for the next half, performances from the Irish Society, MESA (Middle East Student's Association) and CAS (Caribbean-African Society). Every single performance was of the highest calibre, and simply astonishing considering we are all medical students with tonnes of assignments and exams to worry about. Anyway, after the last performance, the judges were given some time to decide on the winners.

5) Finally, the results were out. And we came in third place! I won't lie, it was a bittersweet victory for us as most of us thought our performance was worthy of the top two. But I suppose that's just how things are. It's still a great achievement though. Second place went to CAS and the overall champions were PIBS! Truly a night to remember, and personally I was extremely satisfied with our team's performance. I really felt we gave it our best and we can only get better from this. That's the end of my day today, and thanks for reading. Have a great day, cheers!

Olympia Theatre

Our final brief by Ms Tanya

Empty seats, soon to be filled in the evening

From l-r: Kuhan, Khee Heng, Zi Yan, me

Pre-performance selfie ^^

The Canadian Students Society (CIMSA) in action!

The traditional hula dance

The eventual winners - PIBS!

The final performance of the night and second place winners - the Caribbean-African Society (CAS)!

DAY 203

Mar 23

1) Today has been a nice day for me, as I managed to get many things done. In the morning, we sat for our Quiz 2, which comprised three modules -HBPS, GIHEP, and REGUB. I found the questions challenging, partly because I didn't have enough time to prepare. At least that's settled for now, and I don't have to worry about it any longer. Now the next important date is Card Signing 2, in just 8 days' time.

2) I finally finished taking my medicine. Somehow I feel really tired and sleepy after taking it, so it is good that I don't have to take it anymore (touchwood). Took my stuff to the library, where I have been reviewing today's lectures. A short nap in between did me wonders, and I woke up refreshed. I continued studying into the evening.

3) At around six, I returned to RCSI, where my friends and I are practising really hard for the International Night 2017, held tomorrow at the Olympia Theatre! Today is our last chance for rehearsal, although we may have some time to practice on location tomorrow before the actual performance. This promises to be loads of fun, and I can't wait to see how our performance turns out, as well as watch the other performances. I'm sure they'll be spectacular! Anyway, that's the rest of my day in a nutshell, so I'll be ending on this note. Thanks for reading as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

Free pizzas after our final practice together! ^^

A full Irish breakfast - a rare treat at AK Henry's after our second quiz

Fried rice for lunch

DAY 197

Mar 17

1) Today is St. Patrick's Day. While almost everyone was busy parading through the streets in commemoration of St. Patrick (the foremost patron saint of Ireland), your truly was busy at home, recuperating. Some of my friends did go out and told me the winds today were very strong.

2) I've spent the entire day at my friend's apartment, and throughout the whole day I've been really unproductive. I found out quickly that the medicine I take does have some side effects, primarily fatigue. Every time I finish taking it, I end up lazing on the couch, unwilling to move. Anyway, I did try to get some work done, and revise some of the Anatomy topics ahead of our next Card Signing.

3) In the evening, I tried my best to study as well, but it didn't go as planned. After a while, my mind would wander off. So after a couple more futile attempts, I decided to take a break and listen to some relaxing songs instead. That's the end of my day today, and thanks for reading as always. Cheers!

A beautiful shot of St. Stephen's Green in the morning

Dinner as usual ^^

DAY 172

Feb 20

1) Today has been a really busy day for me. To start things off, we had a solid four hour block of lectures, beginning at 8.00am! The agony of waking up for the 8.00am class is real XD Anyway, at noon, we had a brief respite for lunch, and I had some chicken sandwiches with stuffing. There wasn't much time to idle about, as most of us were involved in the Interfaith Celebration event at the Unitarian Church.

2) Many of my friends were ushers, while Khee Heng was the candle bearer. I was chosen to read a text on thanksgiving for the donors, and I was accompanied by three others. By 2.30pm, the event began, with prayers, poems, reflections and choir performances to commemorate the deceased and to show our appreciation to their families for their sacrifice. Professor Clive Lee, Professor of Anatomy, RCSI - was also present to give his address to those present. It was a solemn and emotional gathering, but made all the more memorable with the presence of the surgeon prosectors and family members alike.

3) After the concluding words by Rev Bridget Spain, we were all invited to the College Hall (RCSI) where refreshments were served. Here we got an opportunity to meet up with some of the family members, and many of them thanked us for hosting this event. It gave me immense joy to know that their loved ones voluntarily donated their bodies and that they honoured their wishes. As medical students, I think it is imperative we make the connection that the "cadavers" that we study in the Anatomy Room (every Tues and Fri) are someone's brothers, sisters, spouses or relatives. It just makes us appreciate the greatest gift of them all; the gift of life. And we should never forget that.

4) Immediately after the event, I hurried over to Mercer Library, where my group and I discussed on the Team Project. Fortunately, we are almost done and just have to compile everything and proofread it before submission. Hopefully we'll complete this before our next meeting, which is after Reading Week. At 6.00pm, I was again back at the College, to meet up with the PMC Student Association, to discuss on the performance for International Night. While I still can, I aim to be as active as possible in all sorts of events, before we start doing clinical rotations in hospitals. As expected, the rest of the night will be spent trying to read up on my lessons, in preparation for Card Signing this Friday. That has been my day, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

An important event, made all the more memorable by those present

Toast galore

I have a fancy for stained glass windows ^^

Group selfie time! (After the event)

Cookies so massively BIG...

Everyone's so well dressed! :D

Promoting a Green Campus Initiative

From l-r: Khee Heng, me, Esther, Jason

L-r: Hong, me, Nee Kee, Esther, Stephanie, Khee Heng, Jason

(secretly advertising for Coffee Doc)