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 ^^

DAY 494-498

Jan 7 - 11

1) As the year kicks in,  I find that I am no longer able to update my blog as regularly as I have up to this point. In spite of trying my utmost best, the various responsibilities and tasks that I have on my hand even before school reopens is enough to keep me from my favourite past time. However, what I have to skimp on quantity, I will absolutely not when it comes to quality. I'll just have to learn to compile days of activities into one blog post, with plenty of pictures in between :)

2) So I celebrated my birthday on the 8th. My good friend Zi Yan met up with me at the library. I had a couple of things on my agenda on this day, a) find a study table; b) buy some slacks and sweatpants; c) film a short video for my Student Ambassador vlog; d) get a haircut XD; e) celebrate my birthday! So we tackled the most pressing issue first - filming a video of my college, to promote RCSI in my blog for Education in Ireland. Alas, it was not meant to be. The staff on duty mentioned that we needed a "work permit" in order to film at the college. So I would have to email someone at Student Services to obtain permission first. 

3) On to the next bit - celebrating my birthday the only way we knew how - buffet lunch! I thought it'd be fun to have buffet at Jimmy Chung's, which coincidentally was the first meal we had when we were dropped off in Dublin all those years ago ^^. The food was really good, not to mention the myriad of cakes and desserts. After stuffing ourselves silly, it was time to search for a study table. I'm not kidding when I say we literally searched the whole of Dublin 1 (at all the accessory shops and hardware shops) before FINALLY finding a suitable table at Argos. It was two small tables for €22.50 - and at this point, that sounded very reasonable to me. Bought it $$

4) By this time, it was getting dark, so I decided against the pants and haircut, leaving it for another day. I took the bus 27b back to Beaumont - right in front of my new accommodation. Speaking of my new home, it has been lovely so far. Prior to coming here, quite a number of seniors advised me against putting up at Beaumont, as it had absolutely no 'city life' to it. While that may be true, I am perfectly comfortable with living here so far, as everything that I could want is within walking distance. In particular, I am thoroughly impressed with the variety of meal options i.e. frozen meals here. There's a supermarket chain called Iceland here, and they have some top-notch meals at really cheap prices. That's my go to place from now on.

5) Classes begin again on the 15th, this time in Beaumont. While I am happy to be in a new environment, part of me is dreading what might come next. Many have commented that this semester is brutally challenging, so I look forward to it with equal parts excitement and trepidation. That sums up my blog post this time, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks for visiting, and hope to see you in the next one. Cheers!

Thanks buddy for celebrating my birthday with me!!

- at Jimmy Chung's Chinese Buffet

RCSI Library Beaumont - my soon-to-be second home :)

That is a torpedo sized bottle if I've ever seen one XD

Their desserts are par excellence <3<3

Apple crumble with a generous helping of vanilla ice cream

My two study tables :)

Beef bourguignon (a.k.a. beef burgundy) with mash potato

Iceland's very own fish pie

(with large cubes of salmon, haddock, and tiger prawns!)

Ham and leek gratin

Steak chianti ragu