DAY 153

Feb 1

1) Today has been a particularly long day for me. Woke up as usual for breakfast, before walking to AIB Bank to carry out some transactions. After that, I went to RCSI, just in time for our first lecture at 10am. We had two lectures before lunch break, one on FUN and the other on HBPS.

2) Had my lunch at the Coffee Doc with my friends. Strangely enough, ALL my friends had pasta today, with the exception of yours truly, who had pizza haha. Aisha was very kind to give each one of us an orange, as she had many from the CNY celebrations a couple days back. Shortly afterwards, it was another three straight lectures until 5.00pm, which included a new module, REGUB (Renal, Endocrine, Genitourinary and Breast) Module. Suffice to say, I wasn't thinking straight after everything was over.

3) Took my stuff to the library, where I soon had dinner. Came back to my desk to immerse myself in  my studies. Our primary focus is Friday's exams, which cover everything we've learnt so far for FUN (Immunology, Anatomy) and HBPS modules. In addition we have the Team Project and Individual Project to complete, with Principal Seminars coming up. Oh well, one step at a time I suppose. That's that for my blog update today, and thanks very much for reading. Cheers!

St. Stephen's Green Park

Toast for breakfast

My lunch today ^^

Dinner at Mercer Cafe

DAY 152

Jan 31

1) Today has been a (relatively) hot day. Woke up early as usual, before heading downstairs to make breakfast. Off I went to RCSI for our first lecture on anatomy, before going to Damer Hall for our Gastrointestinal Tutorial. Wendy and I had a really hard time searching for the entrance, since it was quite obscure and we actually passed by without realising it XD.

2) Immediately after that, we had another Anatomy Practical, this time on the knee and ankle joints. Our surgeon prosector was Mr. B.E. Lane, who was a retired gastrointestinal surgeon. We learnt so much from him today. After lessons ended, I took my stuff and went to the library, where I had my lunch.

3) The afternoon was spent sorting out stuff on our Moodle page, and going for the second meeting for the Team Project. A short nap later, and I went to Mercer Cafe to have an early dinner. I've noticed more and more people coming to the library recently. Maybe everyone's so determined to do well this semester. Anyway, I did some study myself too, before calling it a night. Had some light supper, before packing my stuff and walking home. That has been my day, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks very much as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

That's breakfast, lunch and dessert all in one go ^^

Chilling out at the Mercer Cafe

My dinner for tonight - fried chicken with rice and mixed veggies

DAY 151

Jan 30

1) Today was a dreadful 8-1 class. What made it dreadful was not the duration, but the fact that it was a continuous 5 hours, without any chance for us to catch a breather. That, coupled with the fact that I had to wake up extra early so as not to miss the first lecture - and you would have needed phenomenal brain power not to let your mind drift as the day progressed.

2) Our five lectures were on various modules, from Fundamentals of Biomedicine (FUN2) to HBPS (Health Behaviour and Patient Safety) and Introduction to Clinical Practice (ICP1). We even had a senior student give a talk about a student exchange programme at the RCSI Bahrain Campus over one semester - so in all fairness there was a lot of variety today. As usual, once class finished, I grabbed my stuff and went over to the library, where I have remained since.

3) In the afternoon, I went through the next day's lectures before taking a short nap. It's amazing how a power nap can refresh a person's mind, especially after a long day. And what better place to do it than in the library haha. In my defence, many of the patrons here do this as well. Anyway, grabbed a quick dinner later in the evening, before coming back to my spot for another round of study.

4) It may seem like a dull life for a medical student to lead, holed up in a cubicle "studying one's life away" as they say, but I honestly enjoy it. Of course, I have not neglected my co-curricular activities as well, and I will definitely take part in any interesting events that happen to pass me by. Until then, I'll end on this note. Thanks for reading as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

My typical meal plan (packed for the go XD)

Still have chicken rice (from the PMCSA- CNY celebration)

Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner 

DAY 150

Jan 29

1) Today has been a typical Sunday for me. I woke up early as usual, before making my breakfast and dropping by Mercer Library. Thus began my usual stint of studying, which lasted till around noon. The thing I dislike is I feel that after learning something new, some of my previous knowledge will inadvertently be forgotten. Makes it difficult to retain what I previously learnt XD

2) Come afternoon, I reheated the leftover chicken rice (that I took back yesterday after the CNY event) and it still tasted fine. Took a short nap afterwards, before continuing my second round of studying. The focus now was on anatomy, as our Friday Quiz will cover that as well.

3) Soon, I was joined by Stephanie and Esther, who had come to study at the library too. Not long after that and it was dinner time. Went over to Mercer Cafe and to have my dinner, all the while unwinding while keeping myself occupied by watching YouTube videos.

4) A final bout of study later, and that was it for the night. Had a light supper (I'm a creature of habit haha), before walking back home to Leeson St. That would be a typical day for me, and I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks very much for reading, and have a great day. Cheers!

DAY 149

Jan 28

1) Today was a lovely day for me! I stayed up late yesterday Skype-ing with my parents, so overslept a little bit. Had some breakfast, before walking to the library, only to meet my friends along the way. I decided to abandon my studying (hey, friends come first XD) and help out. The PMC Student Association was hosting a Chinese New Year Celebration at RCSI. It would be my first CNY away from home and I wasn't about to miss out, was I? So Lyana and I helped out with the CNY decorations, before I went to carry the boxes of oranges. By around noon, most of the guests had arrived, and so the event began.

2) Melvin and Jason, acting as the superb MC's of the day, welcomed everyone with the charm and wit that they are famous for. Among some of the events that transpired were the "mandarin oranges eating contest", music performances by the PMCSA members, a Tai Chi demonstration by my good friend Zi Yan, as well as two Lucky Draws. During intermission, everyone was ushered to have lunch in the adjacent Board Room. Chicken rice, accompanied with a smorgasbord of cookies and cakes, and topped off with boxes upon boxes of mandarin oranges, completed our line up of food for the today.

3) The event finished two hours earlier than usual. This may sound a little surprising to some, but I think it's due to the superb planning by our event coordinator this time around - Aisha. We took another hour to clean up, and to pack home some leftovers for the homeless, before keeping the rest for ourselves. Most of my friends left by then, and I came over to the library to put everything down and take a breather. Continued with some studying for the rest of the evening (believe me, when you go to uni you forget the concept of day and time - everyday is a good day to study haha). Had a late dinner since I was proper full from all those oranges, before packing up and returning home.

4) All in all, the CNY celebration was nothing less than an absolute success. Many of the guests thanked us for the effort and a job well done, which made all the hard work worth it. For me, it was about reflecting on how I spent my CNY back at home - going to temples to pray and then visiting our relatives, and contrasting this with spending CNY abroad with my friends, and being reminded that my friends are the pillars of strength that keep me motivated throughout my tenure in Dublin. It has been a long day for me, and I won't lie when I say that I'm sleep deprived, but it has all been worth it. That's the end of my day, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

1Malaysia as can be ^^

My morning toast, with a dash of CNY magic :)

The decorations that we put up

Chicken rice with sambal

And the non-halal counterpart

A delicious assortment of tarts, cookies and pastries <3

The Lion Dance!

The turnout was larger than expected, and a lot better than the previous years :)

The ensemble of performers which belted out a famous Wang Lee Hom classic

- ai yin wei zai xin zhong (爱因为在心中)

Chicken rice, with veggies and sambal

Mandarin orange XD

My fellow partners in crime:

(l-r: Me, Khee Heng, Stephanie, Nee Kee, Esther and Jason)