DAY 247

May 6

1) So far, so good. I've covered as many lectures as possible, but I know I won't be able to finish them by tonight. Ideally, I wanted to have tomorrow as a sort of revision day, where I consolidate everything I learnt so far. However, that would not be possible. So I'm going to finish as much as I can tonight, and then continue with the remainder tomorrow. And then if I still have time, I'll do some revision (of my revision haha).

2) It's just two days more till my exam, which means I really have nothing much to add. Everyone I know is studying in the library, and it really helps seeing them here, as it goes to show that everyone is in the same boat. I have some bittersweet news to share, but I'll just wait until after the exam. You know, just to keep the suspense going... Thanks for reading, and have a great day. Cheers!

Flowers in the spring time <3

My breakfast

DAY 244 & 245

May 3 & 4

1) I've taken the liberty to combine two blogs into one again. In all fairness, I was busy studying my derriere off yesterday. I had to commit all 40 lectures of REGUB to memory; and I'm not exaggerating when I say that I did not budge from my cubicle yesterday. I even got up very early today to do some last minute revision and cramming haha.

2) But of course, this pales in comparison to what some of my friends did. But how much more intense could their studying be, I hear you ask? Well, one of my friends did not get ANY sleep at all - he just decided to pull an all-nighter. And the only thing on all of my friends' minds after our exams today? Sleep. I admit I was one of them as well.

3) In the end, I found this paper to be harder than the previous one, but that is probably because I had more time to study for that. After this, we have only two more papers, and we're done :D The next paper, GIHEP, is four days' away. So at least there's more time to study. C'est la vie I guess... On the plus side, today was absolutely balmy, and is the first time in a long while that I've been able to walk out with a single layer. I still brought my jacket, because I've found a country whose weather is just as fickle as London's.

4) Coming to Ireland, I've learnt a valuable lesson - that nothing takes precedence over my own happiness. If it means that I don't do as well as my friends, or that I achieve less than my peers, then so be it. At least I'm happy with the way things are. So on that note, I'll end today's (and yesterday's) blog update. Thanks for visiting, and have a nice day. Cheers!

So many flags... ^^

Finally decided to treat myself to a Subway

(I needed a new bottle anyway XD)

DAY 238 & 239

Apr 27/28

1) I have been a bit busy preparing for my Anatomy Practical today, which explains why I didn't update my blog yesterday. Nothing much happened yesterday that was of interest, other than that I was studying for pretty much the entire day. Today's practical exam would be of paramount importance, since it contributed a significant amount to the FUN2, GIHEP and REGUB modules.

2) In addition to that, the anatomy stuff we covered here would also be asked in the MCQ paper for all three modules. So it was really important to make sure I went through all the lectures. For this, I came to RCSI earlier than usual and continued revising, just before the exam. At 9.00am, our group was called in, and I was sent to one of the tables.

3) There were two prosectors, and they had been allocated 4 minutes each to cover all three modules (FUN2, GIHEP, and REGUB). It all passed by so fast, and before I knew it, I was out the door and making my way to the Coffee Doc to grab my bags. Part of me is a little upset, as I knew I could have done better, but at that point in time that was the best I could do. Nothing else but to focus on the next exam - which is our FUN2 exam, on May 2nd.

4) I returned to the library and had a short nap. I woke up feeling much better, and started going through the lectures for REGUB and FUN2. These are the next two exams, and only two days apart of each other. There isn't much time left to revise, so I have to allocate my time wisely. After these two exams, there would only be two left - GIHEP and HBPS. And then - bliss! But of course, I shall take things one step at a time. I'll end on that note, and thanks for reading. Have a nice day, cheers!

No caption needed

My dinner today :D

DAY 237

Apr 26

1) Today has been yet another long day for me in the library. I came extra early to study, but I quickly discovered that having more time isn't of much use if you cannot concentrate. So I took some time off in between periods of study, and that seemed to help me learn better.

2) I've reverted to studying Anatomy rather than the REGUB lectures, since we will have our Anatomy Practicals (the equivalent of the final exam for Card Signing haha) in two days. I took the opportunity to look through my own notes too, to speed up my learning.

3) In the evening, I dropped by Dunnes Stores to pick up some groceries. Many exams are looming ahead, so I think it's good to stock up so I'm not distracted during the exam period. I want to write more, but sadly I have neither the content (nor the time) to do so haha. But after exams, they'll definitely be some really interesting things coming up. Stay tuned... and thanks for reading. Have a nice day, cheers!

Dunnes Stores :D

Pasta for lunch

DAY 236

Apr 25

1) Today has been another full day at the library. Made my way to the library right after breakfast, and here I am studying. It's been a long day going through the REGUB lectures, and still tons more to go through.

2) My afternoon was spent napping and just taking some short breaks in between the studying. For a brief moment, hail began to fall. And just as quickly as it had come, it just disappeared- replaced by a sheet of rain which barely lasted five minutes. This was followed by clear, sunny weather. And we complain about the weather in Malaysia...

3) Evening came and went. After a while, I realise that if you pen yourself up for too long in a particular area, you lose all sense of time. And since the sky turns dark only at about eight or nine, very often I completely lose track of what time it is. I suppose it's no surprise that I constantly have to check not just the time, but the date as well. Anyway, that was my day today, and thanks for reading. Have a nice day, cheers!

Hail - disappeared almost as suddenly as it appeared ^^

DAY 234

Apr 23

1) Today has been a long day for me. I came to the library right after breakfast. At half past ten, I went over to RCSI to have a mock OSCE practice with my friends. We wanted to use the Physiotherapy room but unfortunately it was locked, so we found Tutorial Room 5 and used it. Unfortunately, there was only one physio bed for us to use, so we took turns.

2) In about three hours, we covered all the possible questions for each of the three systems (GI, Cardio, and Resp). There's just so much to remember for each individual task, and even in those three hours, we had completely ignored the second part of our OSCE - the History Taking part. Since college closes at three, we decided against coming back after lunch, and instead practise on our own.

3) I came back to the library, where I had a short nap as I was exhausted. Woke up refreshed, and began browsing through my notes again. At this point, I think it's safe to say everyone knows their notes inside out; it's just a matter of not freezing up and blurting out something absolutely ridiculous haha. I shall go back earlier tonight so that I will be fresh for tomorrow's exam. So on that note, I'll end my blog for today. Thanks for reading, and have a great day ahead. Cheers!

I see this gate more often than I see my apartment XD

DAY 233

Apr 22

1) Today was a rather unexciting day. I've come to the library after breakfast -as I usually do, and I've been here for the entire day. As our OSCE exams are in two days' time, that's been what I've been doing for the most part. Plus a bit of procrastinating here and there of course...

2) In the afternoon, I had a short chat with my parents. They encouraged me to cheer up, as exams were about to start (and therefore end soon haha) and soon summer would come. Then, my friends and I would be free to take a long deserved trip. But I had to finish my exams first of course.

3) The rest of the night was just me and my notes. I've to start leaving the library earlier, so that I can get enough sleep to function the next day. Time's ticking - perhaps it's best I continue with my business. That's all for today, and thanks for reading. Have a great day, cheers!

Ducks in St. Stephen's Green

My batch-cooked lunch

DAY 230

Apr 19

1) Today has been a long day in the library. As exams approach ever so closer, I'm afraid there is not much activity going on for me, other than me trying to study whatever I can. Thus, I envision my blogs getting shorter for the exam period.

2) As for my day today, it was well spent in the library. I came over to the library before 9.00am, and I've stayed there since. Of course, I'm not studying all the time, rather, doing all that needs to be done there. Things I've noticed so far - the library's getting more crowded. There are now more waste disposal bins lying around. I think they learned their lesson from the Easter Day clean up haha.

3) In the evening, I went over to Dunnes to get more groceries for the week. I was up all night cooking yesterday, which is why I was feeling quite sleepy in the afternoon. At least I have meals for the rest of the week. The last thing I want to do is worry about what to have during exam periods. In just four days, our first exams will commence, which will mark the beginning of a long, long race to the finish (our exams end May 13th). At the very least, we end our semester earlier compared to our friends at UCD.

4) But they start their exams a lot later than us too. So I guess it evens out a little bit. I frequently wonder how I'd find life in UCD? Especially the syllabus and the projects involved. Anyway, that's all for my blog today. I've to get cracking with my studies haha. Thanks very much for reading, and have a great day. Cheers!

Mercer Library - my first home in Dublin

The product of my late night cooking yesterday

My dinner - chicken fillet roll  ^^