DAY 1351-1367

May 14 - 30

1) As the end of the month approaches, I realise that I am blogging even more infrequently than usual. There are of course a few reasons for this. The first, is I am obviously quite busy trying to complete my thesis experiments and write up in time. The second reason, perhaps the real reason, is that there just isn't much to blog about. Before the lockdown, I could move freely and about, so there were plenty of opportunities to plan trips or just hangout with friends - which obviously makes good content.

2) Instead, I am going to talk about an important decision I made, which turned out really well for me. Before beginning my Masters programme last September, I was contemplating which of my two laptops I should bring with me. At first, I thought of bringing only one, since two would be quite cumbersome to lug around in my knapsack (I wasn't planning on keeping them as checked baggage for fear of damage). In the end, my dad convinced me to bring both along anyway, just in case something happened to either one. And so I did.

3) Throughout the semester, I was using only one laptop (my trusty old MacBook from medical school) to do all assignments and essays. It felt like I had brought along my other laptop for naught. But then, I started my current project which requires downloading of MATLAB - a computer programme commonly used in engineering, science, and economics. Only then did I discover that my MacBook had insufficient space (i.e. MATLAB requires around 40GB of hard-disk space). Even if I deleted a lot of unwanted stuff, it would not be remotely enough to download MATLAB.

4) I was obviously at a loss, until I realised that I had brought my second laptop with me. Thankfully, this one was practically empty to begin with, so I had around 1000GB to play around;  more than enough to download the required software. I currently have MATLAB installed in this laptop, while I use my old MacBook for other tasks and functions. It feels great to be able to use two laptops for the purpose of my experiments, as it makes analysis much more convenient and efficient.

5) If there is something I have learnt from this, it is that sometimes things seem to work out in the end. When I got my new laptop, I was a bit worried that it would be a waste of money, as my MacBook was still working, albeit with some overheating issues. Not once did I think that I would end up requiring both in order to finish off my studies here in UK.

6) And on that note, it is time to continue finishing up my project. Thanks very much for tuning in, and stay safe and stay healthy. Cheers!

My Acer laptop of two years, being used to type this very blog post :)

DAY 275

Jun 3

1) Today has been a largely uneventful day, thanks mostly due to my own tardiness. I woke up late as usual, and went down for breakfast. Continued to tidy up my room as much as possible, until lunch time.

2) In the afternoon, I went over to the library to meet my friends. We took some time to calculate how much to pay each other for our long holiday together. Glad to say that everything is officially sorted out. My friends stayed back at the library, while I went over to Argos (at St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre) to buy a portable hard drive.

3) My dad had recommended me a cheap 1TB hard drive for €64, so that was what I got. I've used it to store all the photos and videos from the trip, in order to free up space in my Mac. As it was still drizzling outside, I decided against going for my run today. Perhaps tomorrow then... XD

4) I had my dinner at Boojum again. Returned to my apartment for the rest of the night. I discovered (quite by accident) that the 2nd season of the "Attack on Titan" anime had already been uploaded. Cue binge watching haha. In all seriousness, I've finished half of it already so I need to start rationing or I'd finish too early. Anyway, that was my rather boring day, but I hope you enjoyed reading about it anyway. Have a nice day, cheers!

At Boojum today ^^

DAY 132

Jan 11

1) Today has been another typical day for me. I got up at around 9.00am, had my breakfast and packed my stuff to go to the library. I was listening to songs for a while, and after that I called Zi Yan, who had my laptop from the previous night. If you recall, I accidentally splashed water on the keyboard and now the keys were all jumbled up.

2) THANK GOD the keys were working again! It would have been such a headache to report this to the Student, Academic and Regulatory Affairs (SARA) office at RCSI. Thanked my lucky stars (not to mention Zi Yan of course) and had a very enjoyable lunch.

3) In the afternoon, I was talking with my dad for a while. Then I watched a classic Japanese movie, called "Night on the Galactic Railroad", a very thought-provoking, if rather strange, animated film. After that, I had my usual "power nap", before waking up and surfing the Internet.

4) For dinner, I had my usual "oyakodon" rice, before looking through anatomy for the next semester. I covered most of the bones already, from the pelvis to all the leg bones. I still have a lot more to read up on though haha. Had some cookies, an orange and some coffee for supper, before calling it a day. Packed my stuff up, and returned home to cap another day in paradise (so to speak ^^) for me. Thanks for reading and have a great day, cheers!

Toast is great! #toast4lyfe

Dunnes pizza for lunch 

(I'll mix it up tomorrow I promise ^^)

My very own oyakodon

That's the stuff we do as medical students haha

DAY 131

Jan 10

1) Today has been a really trying day for me. I woke up late as usual (becoming a bad habit now you see XD), had my breakfast before hopping over to the library. Surfed the net as usual, and in the afternoon I had pizza for lunch.

2) Took a short nap afterwards, then woke up and finished yet another animated film from Studio Ghibli, the classic "Tonari no Totoro". I've but one more movie to finish, and that would be Night on the Galactic Railroad. During the evening, I had my reheated "oyakodon" for dinner, before doing some reading on anatomy of the lower limbs.

3) It was around this time that disaster struck. I accidentally splashed some water on my laptop! I couldn't believe it. It wasn't even the usual water, but rather condensed water on the lid of the container which I microwaved! And after that, my laptop keys were completely haywire, spewing out symbols and signs when I typed with them. I won't lie, I panicked quite a bit since my laptop was an integral part of my work and all my files and documents were in there.

4) I quickly called my friend Zi Yan over, and he advised me to shut it down immediately, and leave it open overnight to dry. I left it in his possession for the night, and went home without it. Back at home, I cooked five pasta meals to last me the whole week. Keeping my fingers crossed that my laptop will survive... Anyways, that's my blog update and I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day, cheers!

Toast for my breakfast ^^

Pizza for lunch

My home cooked "oyakodon" XD

Batch cooking pasta :)