DAY 144

Jan 23

1) Today has been a long day for me. Had to wake up early, gobbled down breakfast because I was running late, and walked briskly just to make it in time for our first lecture. Two more lectures and we had a break for lunch.

2) Went down to the Coffee Doc with most of my friends, where I reheated my chicken tikka masala with rice. It tasted really good in my opinion. We had another lecture at 4pm, so I packed up and went to the library to do some studying. Took a short nap too, since I felt really tired (thanks to my sleeping late the previous night haha)

3) In the evening, we went for our last lecture (on research and volunteer opportunities), and that was it for the day! I'm planning to do some research in the summer, but we'll see how things go. Anyway, returned to the library to study for a bit, before coming back to RCSI later for an event - the RCSI Student Medical Journal (RCSIsmj) Club is organising a talk by Prof David Henshall regarding his research paper on epilepsy. I will be leaving soon after I finish typing this out haha.

4) The rest of the night I plan to study and relax in equal measure, since I feel completely spent and cannot concentrate much. That's all for tonight, and I hope you enjoyed reading. Thanks as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

Nutella, smooth peanut butter and marmalade jam

My lunch :D

Slides on opportunities for research, on our last lecture for today

DAY 141

Jan 20

1) Today has been a great day for me! For starters, my sore throat has subsided substantially, while my flu still remains though. At least I got a good night's sleep haha. Anyway, woke up really early to make it in time for the 8.00am class. Morning lectures are an absolute pain to wake up to, especially during the cold seasons. I guess I have to get accustomed to it then XD

2) Two lectures and an anatomy session later, and we had a break for lunch. Headed to the Coffee Doc, where I had my pizza with some friends. We still had some time afterwards, so I decided to study a little. Had to sit for the next lecture after that, before another short break and a small group tutorial after that. I took the opportunity to go to the library and unpack my stuff. Then I went over to Dunnes to do buy some bread and oranges.

3) Came back to the library, and before long I had to return to the college for one more small group tutorial. In this tutorial, we were assigned into groups of six, and we each have to contribute to a team project which has to be submitted in March. I am very excited to work together in a team ^^ Retuned to the library after that, where I had dinner. Took a short break + a short nap, before continuing to study till the night. I'll be going home soon... Anyway, that's been my day and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

Toast for breakfast (I've finally finished the jam)

Dunnes Pizza for lunch

Baked chicken korma with roast potatoes and mixed veggies on rice

(My dinner)

DAY 34

Oct 5

1) Today was a relatively easy day for me. Woke up early as usual, before going for my usual jog at St. Stephen's Green. I was planning to do more rounds, but after that grueling 15 km run on Sunday, I could only manage 5 km today. I have to start training for the Run in the Dark event this coming November. Anyway, finished my run, had some cereal, before prepping for class.

2) Lecture started at 10 a.m., during which we were briefed on how we would be assessed in our upcoming Mid-Term Quiz. I still cannot believe that barely a month has passed and we are already plagued with exams, quizzes, formative assessments and the like. I guess they were right when they said medical school wouldn't be easy haha. Went to the anatomy room together with friends, and spent some time analysing and discussing what we had been taught.

3) A lecture after that, and it was my favourite time of the day, lunchtime! The queue at AK. Henry's was unusually long, but I suppose everyone was famished too. I had to wait patiently for about 15 minutes for my sandwich (et frites of course). There are so many choices available for sandwiches: you can choose white or brown bread, with mayo, butter or plain, a meat option and two veggie options, toasted or not, and with or without fries. And all for just €3.00! That would explain why the queue for sandwiches is usually the longest compared to the others.

4) Had a really satisfying lunch, before one more lecture for the day! It feels great to end class early, and I did not waste anytime in going to Tesco after that, to get some milk and bread. I still have some peanut butter and nutella, so that should take care of my breakfast from now on. The extra food will come in handy for my training I reckon. By this time, I made up my mind to have an early dinner. Went down to the kitchen to cook rice, steamed some broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, before making some tomato soup. Today's meal was plain and simple, but nonetheless nutritious (or so I hope haha).

5) Finished dinner, before coming back to my room to study. My card signing event is next Friday, and it involves a surgeon prosector asking you the various anatomical locations and functions of the body, either by using cadavers or preserved specimens. I am not looking forward to that, but I shall definitely try my best. Surely it can't be that bad, right? Anyway, that is all the time I have for today, and I look forward to relating my cycle of events tomorrow. Thanks for reading, and goodnight!

 I don't think I'll get tired of the sandwiches anytime soon,

although I might run out of captions for it XD

48 Leeson Street Lower,

Dublin 2, Ireland

(The top window, directly above the

left front door, is my apartment)

Simple and hearty, just the way I like it!

DAY 24

Sept 25

1) Today woke up early as usual to jog around St. Stephen's Green. Did 8 full rounds, which should translate to around 10km. The weather is getting colder and colder these days. Even with the Sun fully up, I can't feel the heat. And the winds are becoming stronger too. At least it's not raining. Anyway, came back for breakfast before - you guessed it - studying and revising the week's lectures.

2) For lunch, I heated up a frozen dinner - chicken korma with pilau rice. Tasted really good and hearty after the morning run. In the afternoon, I decided to pay Tesco Baggot a visit and found the prices there to be much (and I mean MUCH) cheaper than at Dunnes. I am definitely going to do my groceries at Tesco from now on!

3) Dinner comes soon enough when you're hungry. I blame the cold weather for it. I cooked pretty much what I will be cooking for a really long time here; rice with minced meat and vegetables. I used up the last of the rice which I brought to Ireland. After this, I will open the basmati rice I bought at Asia Market.

4) Not much transpired after that. Washed up, packed my stuff for tomorrow's lessons, before returning to my *studies*. Tomorrow's class starts at 8.00 a.m. Apparently the seniors weren't telling us everything when they said that class at 8 is only for the JC2 cycle. Thank god I'm an early riser then. Tonight's post is shorter than usual. But anyway, that's all folks! Cheers!

Lunch was delicious!!

One of the more amusing signs I saw on my way to Tesco

Dinner by the MasterChef XD

DAY 22

Sept 23

1) Today has been a quiet day. Woke up early because me and my friends would finally be able to set up our bank transactions, including my standing orders. Met up at 10.00 a.m. and walked to the bank together. What rotten luck! After filling in ALL my particulars, the machine at the kiosk decided to go out of order. I had to wait again at the next kiosk to redo it all over again. Luckily, only one person was there so I didn't have to wait too long. With all the transactions done, there is only one last thing to do: get my GNIB Card, which is like a study permit card.

2) Next up, I had to buy my 10kg sack of rice. Went to Asia Market to purchase the basmati option for €16.50. Last item to purchase was my vegetable source. Lugged the heavy sack to Dunnes (since I had to pass by anyway) and bought freshly prepared mixed vegetables. Finally, I carried everything home, in preparation for lunch. This afternoon, I cooked rice, steamed my vegetables, fried some mince meat before adding the last of my carbonara sauce into it; and voila! Lunch is served :D

3) I spent the better part of the afternoon going through lecture notes, trying to make head or tail of what I was reading. Next week onwards would be brutal; no more free Thursdays and Fridays, plus the introduction of the Clinical Practice module. Just trying to stay abreast with the lecturer isn't easy. There's just too much to study. So I gave up after a while and listened to songs and had my forty winks. Woke up and felt hungry, so went downstairs to prepare dinner.

4) For dinner, I had a frozen meal (the second of my two frozen dinners that went *SPLAT*). It tasted really good AND was easy to clean: two descriptions to make any college student's day. After that, went to RCSI for archery session. It was my first time, yet I managed to hit the inner circle, thrice! But the recoil took its toll on my left arm, as you can see from the pics below. No pain no gain I guess. There was free pizza after the session, and I duly regained the calories I had just shed. What a perfect way to end the day! As usual, walked back home to type this out. Thanks for reading as always, and goodnight!

Mixed vegetables with minced meat carbonara

What's left of my frying pan :{

Archery session in progress

Trying to act like a pro, although I'm obviously not haha

Those are all mineeeeee :D

Chicken ham dinner, bought at Dunnes for €3.25

Free Pizza!

Everything comes at a price... recoil from the bow haha