DAY 1243-1248

Jan 27 - Feb 1

1) The last week has been a fun one. For starters, my friends and I planned our first real outing (the destination will be revealed in the next blog!) Also, I got my long overdue haircut at the London School of Barbering (LSB). For a broke international student such as myself, the concept of getting "free cuts" by student barbers (supervised by educators) is extremely appealing to me. After all, I'm not a fussy person; I just need a clean and tidy hairstyle and I'll be good to go.

2) So it was last Friday that I took the opportunity (right after our "How to Write an Abstract" session) to head over to Farringdon for my free haircut. Upon entering, I noticed just how busy the barbershop was - rows upon rows of customers and barbers scurrying about removing hair. I registered myself and waited for my turn. Fortunately I didn't have to wait long - just 10 minutes before I was called.

3) I was introduced to Frankie, a student barber. He asked me what sort of hairstyle I was looking for, and so the whole process started. In the end, I got the sides removed with clippers, and the top with scissors. It looked short, simple, and tidy. Intermittently, the educator came over to supervise and offer suggestions on how to touch up my hair. It was really interesting listening to their conversation and learning a few barber "terms" myself. LSB offers a range of different services, from free haircuts by student barbers, to £3-6 haircuts by qualified barbers, and finally £20 haircuts by the educators themselves. So there's a choice for everyone. I, for one, am impressed, and will likely come back.

4) Last Wednesday was not a good day for me. Everything didn't go to plan. I had originally planned to meet up with Sai for the AKC (Associateship of King's College) lecture at the Waterloo Campus (they have screenings at different venues throughout the week), but I went instead to Guy's Campus! Next, I couldn't find the bus stop from Waterloo to Strand, got told off for trying to take the stairs up at the underground, couldn't find my Oyster Card once I boarded the bus, and finally overshot my stop and had to literally run to Strand Campus as I was already late. Thankfully, the screening went fine, I finished the quiz, and took a nice leisurely stroll back to Louise House - with some nice photos to boot!

5) So that'll be it for this edition of my blog. Look forward to my next edition, where I'll reveal where my friends and I are going, and for lots of photos as per usual. Thanks for visiting my blog as always, and have a nice day. Cheers!

Group photo in front of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience (IoPPN)

L-R: Simmy, Malavika, Sanika, Myself, Karen, Sai

Behold the smallest (!) library in the world

Planning our next big project - @ the KCL Student Union

From l-r: Myself, Sanika, Malavika, Sai, Karen, Meghna

Cancer Centre at Guy's Hospital

The Shard, at 310m, is the tallest building in the UK, and the sixth tallest in Europe

 Shepherd's House

Guy's Hospital - taken at New Hunt House Library, Guy's Campus, KCL

Tower Bridge in the distance

The National Gallery @ Trafalgar Square

Nelson's Column

Equestrian Statue of George IV, Trafalgar Square

Didn't expect to see Tourism Malaysia smack in the middle of Trafalgar Square!

Prince George, Duke of Cambridge,

Commander-in-Chief of the British Army (1856-1895)

The Horse Guards

The Monument to the Women of World War 2, sculpted by John W. Mills

Abraham Lincoln himself in London!

Parliament Square

Westminster Abbey in the daytime (noon to be precise)

Pic before getting a haircut

 Pretty flower bed

Attended five minutes of the Neuromuscular Disease Symposium at the Foetal Medicine Research Institute

Passing the London Nautical School

Love how the right and left buildings curve inwards

As it says on the glass window - FREE haircuts and shaves :)

That's what I'm going for today

The London School of Barbering - first customer

The busy atmosphere at the LSB

Voila - new hairstyle!

Now just one more thing left for me to do...

Rafflesia (Malaysia's national flower) spotted at a flower shop

 

Before haircut - long messy hair, slovenly appearance...

(BEFORE)

Got my hair cut, and clean-shaven -

I feel like a million bucks!

(AFTER)

DAY 228

Apr 17

1) Today has been a long day for me in the library. I have run out of stories to tell, of experiences to talk about, so I'll just narrate the day's events. I was supposed to go for a haircut this morning, but little did I know almost all the major stores and shopping complexes were closed today! Even Dunnes Stores - where I wanted to do my groceries, was closed. I presume it's due to yesterday's Easter celebrations. So no haircut today then. I think I learnt how to write "shop closed" in Irish though. It's siopa druidte. At least that's what the sign said, if I remember correctly XD

2) I came back to the library, where I proceeded to finally book a room to staying with a host family. None of this is definite yet, and I'm praying this is not a scam either. But still it had to be done quickly since summer is coming, and I don't have much time left until my exams. Had lunch at the Mercer Cafe (it still hasn't been cleaned yet!), before taking a short nap in the afternoon.

3) The rest of the day was, as you can imagine, me trying to study. Today's focus was more on the OSCEs, which includes History Taking, Cardiovascular and Respiratory, and Gastrointestinal Examination. A lot to remember, not to mention a lot to recall, as we had studied Cardio and Resp. in the previous semester. Hopefully, we'll find some time to do a couple of mocks before the actual exam, to get a feel of what it's like. That's the end of my not-so-exciting day, but as the saying goes, "like a rainbow after the rain, there's always a good thing after the pain". I'll be counting on that haha. Thanks for reading as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

Spotted outside Mercer Medical Centre

Finally opened up a new tin of raspberry jam

My first Boojum in ages :D