DAY 407/408

Oct 12 & 13

1) Today was our first Card Signing of the semester! Quick recap: card signing is like a viva/oral exam, where an examiner asks each student content on anatomy. Bones, prosections, X-rays, CT scans, the cadavers themselves – anything can be tested, depending on which surgeon prosector you get.

2) Anatomy practical classes last 1.5 hours; our time slot for today was 11.30-1.00pm. I remained in the anatomy room after that, right until our card signing at 2.00pm. It may seem a tad extreme, but I was joined by many students who were eager to run through their anatomical knowledge one more time, just before the test.

3) For our card signing, we got a new examiner (someone who hadn’t taught our group before). She reassured us that everything would be fine, and told us not to panic. And so it began! Eight or nine lectures on the anatomy of the head and neck, each lecture densely packed with info – all condensed into a Q and A session lasting less than 3 minutes.

4) And the best part? Card Signing is worth only 1.25% each! The difference between an A and a B is less than half a percent! So why bother so much? It all comes down to two things: a) the herd mentality, and b) preemptive/ prophylactic planning. When everyone is studying so hard (both in the library and in the anatomy room), it is difficult to lax about and as a consequence, our peers constantly keep us on our toes.

5) What do I mean by prophylactic planning? At the end of the semester, there is a full anatomy practical exam, worth around 12.5%. This is the real reason we go through all the lectures so fervently – to prep for this practical, as well as all the MCQs and SNQs which test the limits of our knowledge. It is not an easy task, but thankfully, with a lot of peer collaboration, as well as student assisted learning (by our seniors), things are not as bleak as they seem.

6) In the end, I did reasonably well for my oral. All the hard work had paid off. And what do we have immediately after card signing? You guessed it - more lessons. Until 5.00pm, to be exact. There just isn't a break, is there? XD Jokes aside, I've spent the remainder of the day finishing up various tasks, and didn't touch any of our lectures tomorrow. That has been my day, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Have a good one, and see you next time. Cheers!

With Panchanit "Ice" Horsaengchai - just before anatomy lessons today

Nothing like a full Irish breakfast to get ye olde noggin' runnin' XD

As if one skeleton wasn't enough...

My illegible notes

DAY 395/396/397/398

Sept 30, Oct 1, 2 & 3

1) Lately I've been slacking off with the blog updates again. Simply put, I've been rather busy preparing for Quiz 1, as well as the upcoming Card Signing next week. As a result, I've been accumulating lots of pics from each day. First and foremost was the recently concluded "Late Night Coffee with MMII", organised by the Malaysian Medics International Ireland. We met up with our friends from UCD and TCD at the Accents Coffee and Tea Lounge. The turnout was much more than I had anticipated, with a really strong showing from Trinity. Anyway, the objective was just to get to know each other, and introduce the committee members of MMII as well as their future plans. We had loads of fun chit-chatting and playing card games, and just indulging in pure shenanigans.

2) On Saturday, it was time for some kickboxing lessons. I've discovered the morning trams come at rather long intervals, which means I have to wait for a long while for the next one to arrive. I arrived for practice a little late as a result. We worked more on our kicks for this session compared to the previous one. After that, it was just a typical day in the library for me. Ditto for Sunday, with the exception of ultimate frisbee practice at 8pm. We went through various drills, including a mock game between ourselves. It was all good fun.

3) Yesterday (Monday) we had classes from 9-5pm - something that none of us like but have gotten somewhat used to. The only problem was Quiz 1 was the next day at 8am. So it was another hectic day to revise the lectures in time for today's quiz. I did not go home last night as I was afraid of missing the tram the next morning (on weekdays, the trams can get extremely packed, and I've missed many a tram due to overcrowding). Instead, I decided to crash at my friends' place. Thankfully, all of my friends live together in the same apartment, which made it easier to stay the night. Did my fair share of studying, before getting a good night's rest on the couch. It was just for a day anyway.

4) Today was Quiz 1 - 8.00am at the Exam Hall. Overall, I found it challenging and some of the questions a little vague. Nevertheless, I've done everything I physically can to prepare so I've no regrets. After all, they're plenty of quizzes and exams after this, so a lot more opportunities to improve. Post-quiz, my friends and I went for a nice Full Irish Breakfast at AK Henry's, before continuing lessons (at 10am!) for the rest of the day. The learning process never stops, so they say... Anyway, that has been my past four days, plus plenty of pictures to make up for the lapse in blog updates. Hope you enjoyed reading, and thank you for tuning in. Stay tuned, and have a good one, cheers :D

RCSI, UCD, Trinity - seniors, peers, juniors alike

(all brought together over a cup of coffee (or 10!))

The muffins at The Dispensary are simply to die for! 

Triple dark chocolate, and salted caramel <3<3

With Jason - RCSI chap

Good coffee, good banter

Imbibing copious amounts of coffee - a medical student's favourite pasttime :D

With friends from all over (some RCSI, some TCD...)

You've got your wish Vik - you're FEMES now :^)

(Me, Vik, Varman, Jason, Hai Wen)

The World Map at Accents Coffee and Tea Lounge

That is probably the most filling meal you can get at Dunnes (and for only €6.00!)

Ham-stuffed whole baked potato, Asian noodle salad, cous cous, and spiced potato salad :D

"We're supposed to be different!" XD

Spending the night away...

Post Exam Hall blues...

Featuring a slightly blurry image of Ali Rifai of the RCSI SU!

Exam Hall

That is the epitome of a cheap and hearty meal!

(Full Irish Breakfast at AK Henry's - €3.75)

Nothing like a wholesome breakfast to shake off post-quiz stress

Guess what's inside? ^^

Apple, Banana, and Apple! XD

DAY 389/390/391

Sept 24, 25 & 26

1) And so begins that marked increase in tempo, signalling that exams draw close. It can be seen in various forms, from the decreasing number of vacant seats in the library, to the amount of new information we're exposed every day, and also the "off days" we have on Thursday and Friday - the proverbial calm before the storm. The exam I'm referring to is actually a quiz - our first quiz to be precise, and on paper, it shouldn't be too hard.

2) But the reality is that life is passing by faster than I would prefer. Barely after being introduced to a whole range of terms in various fields of the health sciences, the next day brings about completely new terminology and suddenly, twenty lectures have been covered! That being said, at least the holidays will come sooner as well.

3) On a more positive note, I went for my first kickboxing lesson on Saturday. I wanted to join last year but somehow never got the chance, so this year I made it a point to show up for practice. Our coach is Eddie, and he met us all at Damer Hall, just beside the Unitarian Church. It was so much fun practicing some punches and kicks, and it certainly brought back good memories of my childhood years practising Taekwondo. I made many friends too, from various parts of the world.

4) That has been my past couple of days summed up, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. I'm rather busy this week in particular, with lots of datelines and projects to complete, so just to inform everyone who is kind enough to patronise my blog XD. Thanks very much for visiting and as always, have a great day. Cheers!

Kickboxing fam :D

The Dispensary has some really nice wraps - for only €3.20!

That's a huge fruitcake if I've ever seen one - at the Dispensary :D

All those gloves for training...

As you can tell, I'm one shy of the BIG one!!

DAY 381/382

Sept 16 & 17

1) I'm running out of things to say here. It's not easy coming up with details on how your days went by, if all you're doing is spending time in the library. The answer may sound simple: go out for a walk, go out with your friends etc. But being the cold-fearing person that I've gradually become, I far prefer to stay indoors if I can help it. Especially since the weather has taken a turn for the worse. So instead of boring you with how I spent the last two days (honestly I was stuck in front of a computer for most of the time anyways), I'm going to share with you some of my favourite songs - as well as the memories that I associate with them. (I promised to talk about my musical interests in an earlier post, so here goes :D)...

2) Back when I was in kindergarten, I used to enjoy listening to a CD recording of "Greatest Hits -Golden Oldies" that my grandparents had. Not surprisingly, I became fond of some really old tunes - including "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "Only You" by The Platters, "The Tennessee Waltz" by Patty Page, "Love Letters in the Sand" by Pat Boone, etc... I vividly remember singing "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" during an award ceremony at the tender age of five, and not many actually having heard of the song before. To be honest, I never really understood the lyrics until I was older XD

3) I missed a year of school when I was six. Having skipped a year when I was five, I had to wait another year to enter Primary 1 (at age seven). Hence I had loads of time to explore the large collection of CDs that my family had. I listened to everything from The Carpenters, Engelbert Humperdinck, Barry Manilow, Elton John, Bee Gees, The Beatles, John Denver, to name but a few. Sometimes when my dad was free, he'd help me jot down the lyrics so I could practise singing to the tune (this was wayyyyy before we had the Internet, okay?)

4) Fast forward to my primary and lower secondary school years, and these can collectively be called my "gaming years". The days when I was an avid gamer, glued to the TV and with no other purpose in life than to progress further into career mode. Along with these games, however, came music that have stuck in my head even until now. As I was customising my favourite car in Need For Speed Underground 2, "In My Head" by Queens of the Stone Age was playing. Every time I booted the game on, "Riders on the Storm (Remix)" by Snoop Dogg would automatically play (there wasn't even an option to deselect it, so you were forced to listen to it every time you played the game). Not forgetting such classics like "Give It All" by Rise Against, and "The Celebration Song" by Unwritten Law.

5) Then I got Need For Speed Most Wanted, and my default soundtrack changed to "Blinded in Chains" by Avenged Sevenfold, and "In a Hood Near You" by Suni Clay. I remember challenging my friend Jonathan over who could complete the game first (by beating out other "Blacklist" members to be the No. 1 Most Wanted in the fictional city of Rockport). Good times, good times... Then it was to the next racing game - Burnout Paradise; and the theme song for it was "Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses. There was a HUGE collection of classical songs in Burnout Paradise, and I was spoilt for choice when it came to choosing from them. Verdi's "Triumphal March from Aida" and "Nabucco: Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves", Debussy's "Carnival of the Animals: The Aquarium" and "Claire de Lune" - it was a unique experience racing at breakneck speeds and watching crashes unfold in 1920x1080 glory, as classical music played in the background.

6) In lower secondary, I used to go to the Internet Cafe after band practice on Saturdays. I'd begun diversifying from racing and fighting games, and now adventure (platforming) games entered my repertoire. Prince of Persia was right up my list, and I still remember going online to search for the solutions to the puzzles in the game. The Internet Cafe had a whole host of songs which I hadn't heard before. I particularly remember three: "1973" by James Blunt, "Colours of the Rainbow" by DJ Skeptyk, and "Into the Night" by Santana.

7) Around this time, I had my first taste of more modern music. One of my favourite bands that I always listened to was Linkin Park, and such songs as "In The End", "New Divide", "Numb", "Burn It Down", "What I've Done", and "Castle of Glass" became the staple whenever I was studying. I'd joke to myself that I would always be happy in life, because there were only two outcomes if I gave it my all: a) I'd succeed, and I'd be happy, or b) I'd fail, and then I'd just sing "In The End" to make me feel better XD. Indeed, I've failed many times before, and songs like these provided that modicum of comfort that I needed. That would also explain my complete and utter shock upon finding out the recent death of lead singer, Chester Bennington. There were just too many memories associated with this.

8) As I entered my Pre-U studies, I recall diversifying to more modern music. Imagine Dragons, Avicii, Maroon 5, Coldplay, Westlife, Sam Smith, Justin Timberlake, Shawn Mendes - it'd come to the point where I was not selective with the genre, but rather the melody or "hook" of it. I had a playlist of all my favourite songs, and I listened to them while fervently studying for my A-Levels. During my gap year (before coming to uni), I'd stay up late and listen to EDM music - tracks by Alan Walker ("Fade", not "Faded"), Electro-Light ("Fall for Gravity"), Pegboards x MisterWives ("Coffins") started appealing to me.

9) I've completely neglected to mention songs in other languages. Since I was a child, I have always loved watching anime, and one of my all-time favourites was Samurai X (otherwise known as Rurouni Kenshin). I particularly love the 3rd Ending Song - "Heart of Sword" by T.M. Revolution, as well as the 6th Ending Song - "1/3 no Junjou na Kanjou" by Siam Shade. I remember waking up at 6.00 a.m. to watch a rerun of the previous day's two episodes, before going to school! Another anime I enjoyed was Yu Yu Hakusho - a highly acclaimed anime about a spirit detective battling demons in the underworld. One particular song resonates with me - "Taiyou ga mata Kagayaku Toki" by Hiro Takahashi, in that it was the last song I heard before going to Japan as an exchange student, in 2007.

10) Another anime in which I loved the music was Yakitate Japan - an anime about a boy who dreams of becoming the best baker in Japan. Tracks like "Chiisana Uta" by MARIA and "Houki Gumo" by RYTHEM bring back memories of days gone by. Last year, while attempting to binge-watch anime over winter, I came across some lovely Japanese animated movies. The exceptionally tear-jerking "Grave of the Fireflies" had the ending song "Futari", while the visual masterpiece "Sword of the Stranger" had "Ihojin no Yaiba". Perfection.

11) Going back to my Chinese ancestry, there are too many Chinese songs (both old and new) that I enjoy. Classics from Teresa Teng immediately flood my memory, including "I Only Care About You"  (我只在乎你), The Moon Represents My Heart" (月亮代表我的心), "Small Town Story" (小城故事), "Tian mi mi" (甜蜜蜜) and "When Will You Return?" (何日君再来). Also, "Nim Can Jan" (念亲恩) by 陈百强 (Danny Chan), "San Nian" (三年) by 李香蘭 (Li Xiang Lan), "Huang Hun"(黃昏) by 周傳雄 (Steve Chou), "Fairy Tale" (童話) by 光良 (Guang Liang), "Qi Shi Ni Bu Dong Wo De Xin"(其實你不懂我的心) by 童安格 (Angus Tung) - I could literally go on and on. I'd wake up on weekends to the tune of many of these songs playing, and I guess over time I've associated them with all the good memories of the past. Talk about classical conditioning XD

12) Any other songs in different languages that I enjoy? Definitely - Warisan (Sudirman Arshad), Pergi Saja (Geisha), Danza Kuduro (Lucenzo), Bewafa (Imran Khan) etc. I think it was Captain Nemo from "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" who said, "great art and music live forever". Certainly I'd like to think that, along with food, art and music break down cultural barriers and connect people together. Music continues to play an integral part in my life - whether listening to songs as I study, or when I board the LUAS back home at night; music follows me wherever I go.

13) I've gone way longer than any of my previous blogs in narrating my life story, and with it, my love for music. I hope I've given you some insight into my personal life, and maybe you may have some favourite songs of your own, which you'd like to share! Anyway, that has been my blog update (and a very long one at that), and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Have a nice day, cheers!

Three more stamps to go at Boojums - till free T-shirt XD

Dicey's Before...

Dicey's After....

DAY 376/377

Sept 11 & 12

1) I find myself in a constant state of decision making. It feels as though I am an amateur juggler - constantly balancing between study and friends. Today was no exception. I had three lectures to cover by tomorrow, and I hadn't finished a single one. Yet I'm also aware that there are so many awesome events for Fresher's Week, and so many opportunities to socialise and make new friends; especially the first years. So after deep contemplation, I made up my mind that friends were more important, and went for the Drama Soc Game Night.

2) Held at the third floor of the new academic building, there was no shortage of short skits and fun games. From Anirudh "Rudy" Gautam and Maya's short skit on "Crowd-Funding", to Rudy's martial art skills in tandem with Maya's rendition of "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" - everyone had a really good time. Next, we were divided into different groups, and played Mafia - a party game consisting of an informed minority - the mafia, and an uninformed majority, the innocents. At the start of the game, each player is secretly assigned a role. The game has two alternating phases: night, during which the mafia may covertly "murder" an innocent, and day, in which surviving players debate the identities of the mafia and vote to eliminate a suspect. Play continues until all of the mafia have been eliminated or until the mafia outnumbers the innocents. That's basically the gist of it. And guess what - the civilians a.k.a. me won! Who woulda thunk XD

3) Yet another game we played was the "Winking Game", where one person (the police) stood in the centre of a human circle, and another person was the "winker". Whoever the winker blinked at had to sit down, and as more and more people sat down, the police had to figure out the identity of the "winker". It was hilarious watching some of the antics of our friends, and we were many rounds into the game, when pizza arrived. The games could wait - pizzas are priority, pizza is life :D So we crowded over the boxes upon boxes of pizzas, stuffing ourselves silly with piping hot food. Coming to Ireland has taught me many things, none more so than that the bond of friendship is worth its weight in gold. Or a slice of pizza XD

4) After a long, long day at the library, I packed my things and took the LUAS back home. I specifically brought my winter jacket today after yesterday night's merciless winds turned me to a human popsicle. Yet today was so much warmer, and very little winds too as I walked back the long route home. Anyway, that has been my day(s) in a nutshell, and I hope you enjoyed reading about them. Until next time, take care and good night. Cheers!

Group pic (huge turnout, huge success guys!)

PC: Drama Soc 2017 :^)

"The future's so bright I gotta wear shades" - Dayo ^^

Pizza party at the third floor

 The best group eva :)

And this is why I think it's him...

(Hope the pizza makes up for it XD)

Deciding who to lynch as the mafia is harder than medical school itself XD

Drama Soc Game Night :D

DAY 372/373

Sept 7 & 8

1) For the longest time, I thought that meiosis (germline division) consisted of meiosis I and II, and that meiosis I was just prophase I, metaphase I, anaphase I, telophase I and subsequently cytokinesis. Today I learnt that prophase I could be further subdivided into five phases; namely Leptotene, Zygotene, Pachytene, Diplotene, and Diakinesis. I find this really intriguing since we've learnt this chapter of cell division since secondary school, but never once have I come across these terms. The other reason I'm writing on this is so that I can remember the lectures better. That's the ulterior motive actually... ^^

2) Lectures at 8.00am are a real pain for me, seeing as I'm now living at Dundrum. Worse still, oftentimes the LUAS Tram is full, so we have to wait for the next tram before boarding. That means I have to allocate upwards of an hour to arrive in time. And worse still, our lecturer for that specific 8.00am slot yesterday couldn't make it either... It was a bit of a letdown as I really missed Mr. Koenig's lectures. That being said, I had at least more time to prepare for the following lectures...

3) Back-to-school week is over. So a week has passed since our return to RCSI, and a couple of things have changed. Firstly, we've had many lectures at the new "Desmond Auditorium", and they've been great thus far. One downside is many of us have not received locker allocations yet, which means we can't store our stuff e.g. lab coats, change of clothes etc. This is a touch inconvenient as many of us would not want to keep our lab coats (filled with the lingering odour of preservatives and preserved tissue) in our bags.

4) Also, they are currently doing work on the Anatomy Room roofs, which means anatomy practicals have shifted to the Exam Hall, temporarily. To be honest, I prefer the layout in the Exam Hall as it is much larger, hence more space to move about. On the bright side, we've had loads of activities planned for Fresher's Week. Some of them include the Pink Party (RCSI Cancer Soc - get your tickets from me, Raveena, or Claire please ^^), the Amazing Race (PMC Student Association), White Party, Ballad Session and Pub Crawl. The Pink Party this year will be held at DTwo Club/Bar/Garden, and tickets cost only €5, with the proceeds going to charity (most likely Breast Cancer Ireland). There's free entry to DTwo till late, so make sure to come and join in the fun! :D

That's all for my blog updates, and I hope you enjoyed reading. Thanks for popping by, and have a great weekend. Cheers!

2nd Med (the cover makes a great colouring page XD)

The relocated Anatomy Practicals

(in the Exam Hall)

Arancini (stuffed rice balls) with fries and peas,

 at AK Henry's

Lasagna from Dunnes for dinner, while I contemplate life...

DAY 366/367/368

Sep 1, 2 & 3

1) The past three days have been really exciting. In addition to all my friends returning, I've made many new friends coming to Ireland for the first time. On Saturday evening, Zi Yan and I went over to the airport to pick up Talal, who hails all the way from Pakistan. We took a taxi back to RCSI, before showing him to his residence at Mercer Court. I must admit, the sight of the lounge, kitchen and the corridors brought back a wave of nostalgia - when I went over to Mercer whenever the library was closed during winter time. Bittersweet memories, but intense memories all the same. We went for dinner at Super Miss Sue, before returning home.

2) Today we met up with the other first years at Mercer. We split into two groups - one would go to Zaika, while the other opted for The Noodle House. As The Noodle House was closed, we decided to for Subway instead. We basically occupied the entire shop as it was quite small. After lunch, we returned to the college first, before splitting into yet smaller groups. We then brought our friends over to Penney's, to get some pillows and duvets. We passed by the Asian Market and took a short tour inside too. Coming back, we went to the St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, and we introduced them to Argos (one stop shop), Boots (pharmacy), and Dunnes supermarket.

3) After a long day out, Zi Yan and I took the students who lived in New Mill back home, to unload their stuff. It's my first time visiting New Mill myself, and I can safely say it looks amazing. Too bad it's not as close as the other two on-campus accommodations, but I'm sure they'll manage just fine. Anyway, we had to rush back to make it in time for the 5.00pm orientation session at the new building. Let's just say we made it in the nick of time. Zi Yan left soon enough, while I had to withdraw money and get my dinner. Stayed in the library until late, before taking the LUAS back home. That has been my day, and hopefully you found it interesting. Thanks very much for visiting, and have a great day. Cheers!

New faces amidst some familiar faces;

Welcome to Dublin! :D

Waiting at the airport

With Talal and Zi Yan, at SMS

New Mill looks really impressive