DAY 576-583

Mar 31 - Apr 7

1) As we approach the last month of our semester, the race has well and truly begun. The race to finish the rest of the syllabus, to get some revision done, and to brace oneself for the onslaught of sleepless nights ahead. At least that's the plan. On the bright side, in another month's time we'll be practically finished with our exams save for one final one on the 9th. Then it's three months of holiday beckoning us with open arms.

2) I've found this semester to have been a significant change compared to the previous semesters. A shift of focus from anatomy and embryology (the "normal" human body) to pathology and microbiology (the "abnormal" human body). It has taken a while to adapt, but hopefully things will fall into place when I sit for the upcoming exams. As it is, the effects of the new semester have already left its mark - I'm well aware of the relatively fewer blog updates I now do compared to the previous semesters. I just have been stretched with various commitments and refuse to compromise my health.

3) Speaking of health, I'm off to Manchester this Saturday to run the Greater Manchester Marathon 2018 in aid of the Children Adventure Farm Trust - a registered charity that provides holidays and activities for terminally ill, chronically sick, disabled and disadvantaged children from all over the Northwest of England. I've been collecting donations both in person and on-line, so for those who are interested I'll be putting the link just below:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/weng-kit-chan

Every little is much appreciated, thanks! :)

4) On Easter Eve, I came back home to find a lovely card, along with a package of chocolate eggs and a huge chocolate bunny! My host family had very kindly slipped it there while I was out. In return, I decided to surprise them with a card of my own, which I strategically placed on the dining table with some chocolate eggs as paperweights. Picking up the mechanical pencil to draw - rather than write lines upon lines of drug names - felt strangely cathartic after such a long time. Suffice to say, my host family were very happy with the card, and it now occupies a space on top of the shelf in the living room.

That has been the gist of the past week. Wish me luck for the upcoming marathon - I'll definitely need it! Here's hoping the weather doesn't get overly cold... thanks for visiting my blog and have a lovely weekend ahead. Cheers!

My Easter Greetings Card to Emma and family :)

Easter Greetings! ^^

Came back on Saturday to find this on my pillow! :)

Chocolate egg

My studiesssssssssssssss

Canteen food two days in a row, 

as I couldn't use the microwaves in the student lounge...

Emma made this LOVELY meal for me for Easter! <3<3

They look soooo cute :)

Chocolate bunny

From 3-D to 2-D

DAY 227

Apr 16

1) Happy Easter everybody! Most of the shops and shopping complexes in Dublin were closed today, and I forgot about that when I went to do my grocery shopping. And what better way to spend a holiday than by studying, right? Thankfully, the library was still operating, with usual opening and closing hours.

2) Today I'll share with you my experience with scammers. So I am in the process of booking an apartment for when my lease ends this summer. Most students use daft.ie for this purpose, and I used it too. One particular ad caught my attention, a €520/mth apartment for rent, in Dublin 2! Now the saying goes, if it's too good to be true, it probably is. But in this case, it wasn't absurdly cheap; just really cheap and good location.

3) So I messaged the owner, and I didn't get a reply for two days. Contrary to what you may think, I actually thought it was NOT a scam because they didn't reply instantly - usually scammers would reply you straight away since they want the money ASAP. But this was different, or so I thought. Fast forward till today, and I received an email apologising for the late reply, plus they shared some of their personal details with me.

4) At this point, I already had my reservations. Firstly, the original ad had been removed from daft.ie. Secondly, some sections of the email had perfect English while others were mediocre, with the ending asking me "not to let them down". Thirdly, they were asking me for my particulars, including a photo if I had one! All in the name of issuing a receipt and drafting out a lease, apparently. More like trying to identify me so you can target my friends too, I say.

5) Now all the warning bells were ringing. I continued digging deeper. I searched the name of the fool who claimed to be working as a doctor at a hospital. At first, I was a bit stumbled when the name and hospital matched, but it didn't take long to figure out they could just use the identity of someone else. Then I took paragraphs of the contents of the email and searched on the web. Turns out the content was from an Airbnb website, which explains where the perfect English came from.

6) So that was that. I never replied to the email, and that's the end of the matter. The moral of the story: if it's too good to be true, it usually is. And always double and triple check. Never give your personal details to anyone. EVER.

7) And to the scammer if you somehow managed to track my blog: People like you are the reason parents who send their children overseas to study have nightmares. You prey on gullible students, who have little to no experience dealing with situations like this; you are a cancer to society, and you take away whatever little hope we have left for humanity. All I know is retribution awaits, and it will come, especially when you least expect it. I won't wish it upon you, for that is sinful, but if and when it comes, you shan't have my sympathy.

8) That's the end of my little experience. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time it has happened. A couple of weeks earlier, my friend had a similar experience, and he was fortunate to identify the scammer before any sort of deal could be made. So to all future students coming to Dublin to study, I implore you to be careful, and be weary of such advertisements online. Take care, and have a great holiday, cheers! (EXCEPT MR./MRS./MS. SCAMMER ^^)

Flowers calm me down when I'm upset ^^

*Someone* decided they'd just make off with my leg XD

(10/10 for effort, RIP grammar)