DAY 630-642

May 24 - Jun 5

1) For the past couple of weeks, I've been quite free - not burdened by exams or studying. But other things have taken up my time. For example, I've had to travel to Ballsbridge (Dublin 4) multiple times in order to make a visa application to China. It has not been an easy process, but in the end we managed to obtain our visas.

2) Also, it appears that since coming back from my Europe trip with my parents, I've come down with a rather nasty cough. As I have had a chest infection a year ago, I wasn't taking any chances and went to see a doctor quite promptly. Luckily, it was not an infection and I was given some cough syrup (Exputex). It's still lingering a bit though; hopefully it'll clear off soon enough...

3) On June 5, the official opening of the No. 26 Building, York Street (the new academic building) took place. RCSI warmly welcomed Michael R. Bloomberg (WHO Ambassador of Noncommunicable Diseases as well as ex-Mayor of New York), The Lord Darzi of Denham (one of the world's leading surgeons and Labour politician), Pat Kenny (veteran Irish broadcaster), and an ensemble of over 500 distinguished guests.

4) Some of us had volunteered to be a part of this momentous occasion, as Student Ambassadors of the college. Our role was to assist the guests in whatever possible, and to to show them around the college. On that day, all floors were open for our guests, and I was assigned to the fifth floor. So me and some friends showed the guests around this floor, into the wet lab (for surgical procedures). A technician was on hand that day to explain the different equipment and apparatus in further detail than we could. All in all, it was a very successful event, not to mention a hugely memorable one too!

5) I'm off to Suzhou, China in literally an hour after this is published. As I understand, there is something called "The Great Firewall (of China)" which is enforced within China to regulate the internet domestically. This means no YouTube, Google, Facebook, Whatsapp etc. I've bought a VPN as a sort of roundabout way to counter this, but if for whatever reason no more blog posts for the next two months (that's how long I'll be in China - I'm coming back Aug 3) then at least you know why.

That's basically it for today's update. Thanks very much for tuning in, and happy summer break. Cheers!

 The Embassy of China in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4

Letter of Admission ^^

 On the Dart to Sandymount, where it's an 8-minute walk to the Embassy

the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI)

Preparations ahead of the big day :)

 This really cool box is actually a set of VR glasses, that when connected to your smartphone gives a guided walking tour of the new building ^^

The turnout was so great that some guests were left standing!

(and Desmond Auditorium seats at least 540)

 Professor John Hyland, President of RCSI - gives his opening speech

 Mr. Bloomberg was interviewed by Pat Kenny

 The Lord Darzi with his closing remarks

The official unveiling of the building by Mr. Bloomberg

DAY 455/456/457

Nov 29 & 30 and Dec 1

1) It is now barely a week more till our end-of-semester exams. The library and all study areas are packed to the brim, with many students staying back till after midnight to revise. On a positive note, there have been a couple of revision lectures, designed to help us consolidate everything we've learnt so far. One such lecture we attended today was the anatomy revision session. All the students from Group B (my group) were separated to four tables, each with an Anatomy Demonstrator. Mr Lane would facilitate our lessons, and he wasted no time in revising many of the lectures we had covered, including some high-yield questions.

2) These days have become less and less exciting for me, as there are no more activities to attend, nor events to go to; as everyone is busy with the upcoming exams. As a result, my daily routine involves me commuting to RCSI in the morning, and basically staying till nighttime. I usually go home well before midnight, as the LUAS doesn't operate too long after that, and because it can get really chilly walking back from the station.

3) Also, it seems that after a string of bad luck, I've finally gotten lucky again. I am of course referring to the "Buy a Burrito, Flip a Coin" challenge at Burritos and Blues. Every Wednesday, when you buy a burrito, you get to choose heads or tails for the challenge. Guess correctly, and it's a free burrito. I was three for three when I went alone, then after going out with friends I was stuck at none out of two, and now that I went alone again, I'm one for one. I wonder if there's a pattern here?

3) In a way, this winter feels somewhat colder than the last, and try as I might, I have not gotten used to the cold yet. On the other hand, some of my friends back home are complaining of how hot it is, especially during the afternoons. I guess it's hard to satisfy everyone XD. Anyway, that has been the past couple of days here, and thank you for visiting my blog. Have a nice weekend ahead, cheers!

It looks like a scene from a sci-fi movie, but it's actually the staircase to the upper levels...

Ciabatta sandwiches really hit the spot!

AK Henry's €3.50 sandwich deals 

(I'm not getting paid to write this XD)

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

DAY 317

Jul 15

1) Today I was privileged to take part in a Virtual Reality 360° Operation Study as a volunteer for a research project. The Principal Investigator was none other than Dr. Cuan Harrington, the surgeon trainee who was in charge of the Surgical Laporoscopy projects which we continuously engaged in previously. Anyway, this study aims to compare and contrast the effectiveness of 3D environments and 2D environments in medical/surgical education.

2) The best part? We got to test out some really cool VR Headsets, complete with a 10 minute video of a cholecystectomy (surgical removal of gallbladder) being performed. I started off watching the 2D version (on a 75in TV no less!), and four times during the video, a prompt would require me to answer a simple question on a piece of paper, before the video continued. At the end of the video, there was a short MCQ paper to access the information that I had been given.

3) Then it was the fun part - testing out the Samsung Gear VR Headsets. These were connected to the Samsung smartphone, and provided the user with an immersive virtual environment. It was a bit surreal in the beginning, since you physically look up down left and right to view the environment, just like in real life. The same method of evaluation was used, and after finishing the MCQ paper, there was an additional survey on comparing the two methods for the purpose of research. In my opinion, I stated that while the 3D environment was much more visually stimulating and ultimately more fun, surprisingly enough, I found the 2D conventional method of video to be more useful for studying.

4) The main complaint I had was the 3D environment required some time to adjust, and sometimes rotating the head was difficult in real time, when you didn't know where to focus on. The 2D video, on the other hand, had everything on one screen, so it was easy to know where to look. My suggestion for the next step in this research was to procure the use of the Oculus Rift (much more powerful in comparison) and incorporate physical movement i.e. walking into the research. This would allow the full spectrum of the virtual environment to be explored and accessed for it's efficacy as a teaching tool.

5) After a fascinating experience, I spent the rest of the night in the library (since I was already here). The following week promises to be packed with fun activities as well, and I can't wait for it. Thanks for visiting my blog, and have a lovely weekend ahead. Cheers! :D

Gemma and Athena, research students working on this project, 

of which me and Zi Yan were lucky to be volunteers ^^

Dundrum Town Centre this morning

75" Flat Screen TV - that's more than enough to satisfy my video game needs XD

2D experience before moving on to the next room for the 3D one...

The Samsung Gear VR Headsets used :)) 

DAY 305/306

Jul 3 & 4

1) On Monday, the new academic building finally opened its doors for us! Admittedly, only two floors were officially open while the rest are to be public only once the next school term starts (in September). Of course, that didn't stop me and many of my friends from snooping around haha. We went up and down all floors, marvelling at how new and fresh everything looks. For starters, the building is massive; five floors up and another four down.

2) The top two floors are used for surgical training (RCSI houses the National Surgical Training Centre), while the next two floors contain the library and computer room. The Ground Floor contains the aptly named "Dispensary" - which provides complimentary Nescafe/tea for the next couple months or so. Also on this floor is the lounge, where visitors can gather to converse and socialise over a cuppa. A floor down and we reach the auditorium, which can house up to 540 students. I just wonder if we'll have many (if any at all) lectures here next semester.

3) The second level below Ground Floor acts as a backstage to the auditorium, for props and stagehands I presume. One level further down and it's the gym - complete with rows of weights and gym machines. There's even a separate Women's Only Gym right beside. Lastly, the fourth level underground. This contains the sports complex, the size of four badminton courts and/ or a full basketball court. After spending some time there, we were kindly ushered out by a security guard as the place was off-limits...

4) My personal opinion of the new academic building is that it's wonderful! Finally, we have something tangible (physical) to showcase to visitors, to complement our academic prowess haha. Jokes aside, the space available has been very well utilised, and the facilities are top notch to say the least. There's more than ample space to take a break, and the environment is thoroughly conducive for studying. Perhaps a little too conducive...

5) Up till today, we've done ten experiments in the lab, with more to come. I'll finish my research by the end of this month, however, and after that I'll be expected to summarise my research in the form of an abstract. The prospect of presenting my research findings sounds very exciting to me, and I'm looking forward to it. Anyway, that is the end of my blog update, and a big thank you for visiting. Have a lovely day, cheers!

Hanging out with my friends at the new "Dispensary" on the Ground Floor!

(l-r: Echin, Me, Cass, Charmi, Raymond, SianWon)

Everything looks so fresh and updated <3 <3

The stairs to the auditorium

One could almost sleep here XD

The auditorium at level -1

Look at all the gym equipment!

The basketball court

Complimentary beverage at the Dispensary

Me, Zi Yan, Joshua hanging out for a cuppa

The first floor of the library

National Surgical & Clinical Skills Centre

The equipment looks familiar haha

Spiral staircase

Nobel Peace Prize...

Or bilateral trade?

Tripartite then :)

It wasn't an easy picture to take... ^^

For when you need motivation when doing squats...