DAY 562-566

Mar 17 - 21

1) As predicted, "the Beast from the East" has returned - dubbed the Mini Beast from the East - over the course of the weekend. Temperatures dipped below zero, with the usual chilly-to-the-bone winds, bringing the wind chill factor and the RealFeel temperature well into the double digits (below zero, that is). Thankfully, conditions have been improving and we've seen sunny weather thus far. Hopefully that will continue for the rest of the week, and indeed, throughout the month. Just when you thought spring should have well and truly come...

2) Last Saturday, Ireland celebrated St. Patrick's Day. The date that St. Patrick's Day falls on is thought to be the date that St. Patrick died and is therefore his feast day; the day is a holy and religious day in the Catholic Church, but more recently has come to celebrate Ireland as a nation too. Unfortunately, the parade didn't pass the streets where I live (I stay at Beaumont, which is quite far out of town) and as it was freezing on that day and some bus routes were diverted, I didn't go into town myself.

3) Things have been picking up since the last blog post. We have our OSCE practical exams coming up, in about a week. These exams are different from the ones we did back in Junior Cycle - these are assessed based on a simple pass-fail system. While some may prefer this as it does not account towards the weighted average at the end of the semester, this also means you cannot afford to fail it, as you would not be able to progress into the next semester. No pressure then...

4) Just two weeks after our OSCEs is our Cardio-Respiratory mid-semesters. And two weeks following that is our final semesters, which end on May 9th. Not a very good time for me to be slacking off. Anyway, that has been a summary of the past couple of days, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks very much for visiting, and have a great day ahead. Cheers!

The night scene in Beaumont

(just to the left is the Northside Shopping Centre)

It just dawned on me that these devices are "Assembled in Malaysia" :)

The photo quality doesn't do it justice here, but that is some really good, authentic Laksa noodles! ^^

My host mother's awesome cheese omelette! :))

DAY 503/504/505

Jan 16, 17 & 18 

1) It's back to business as we started our first semester yesterday at Beaumont. I'm personally very glad that I made the choice to move here, as I do not have to go through the daily hassle of taking a 40-45 min bus ride to class everyday. Anyway, I met up with many of my friends, and we chatted about our holidays during the registration. Shortly afterwards, there was an induction lecture by Prof. Alice Stanton, IC1 Coordinator.

2) We had an hour long break, so my friends and I went to the canteen for some food. The meals here at Beaumont are really cheap and filling. The only downside is you can only pay by cash... Then classes officially started, with Prof. Mary Leader giving the introductory lecture on Pathology. She gave another two lectures in the afternoon, covering 119 slides of the insanely huge 342-slide lecture module - Neoplasms.

3) There are three separate modules this term - Foundation in Pathology, Foundation in Microbiology, and Cardio-Respiratory. Many seniors have previously warned us that the amount of content thought can be overwhelming. Personally, I feel the added burden already. Good thing we have (most) Fridays off then :)

4) Finally, the one thing that was really on my mind yesterday was my results. Although I had put in what I can only call (unashamedly) a Herculean effort, I was well aware that I did not do as I expected in a few of my exams. In particular, I was dreading the outcome of the EBH/PHE paper, which in all fairness, quite a number of my friends felt was difficult too. By noon, all had been revealed, and I am only so thankful that I managed to obtain good grades. While it is way too early to say, replicating those results again this semester will be an absolute nightmare. But at the very least - I can try.

5) That has been a summary of my day-to-day activities, and thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed reading, and have a nice day. Cheers!

IC1 here I come :)

The foyer just in front of our lecture theatre

Our lecture theatre - the Robert Adams Lecture Theatre

"How many of you are coming to Beaumont for the first time?"

"Haha, not me. "

Cafetaria

Fruitcake (eaten), sausage, a tonne of beans and scrambled egg, and an omelette-

all for only €2.80!!

Heartsaver CPR AED Course Certificate :)

Thanks so much Melvin and Melissa for the birthday present! 

It was really thoughtful of you ^^