DAY 241

Apr 30

1) Today has been another full day in the library. At this point, I'm seeing all my friends at the library at one point or the other; most of them are there with me throughout the day. Even the Mercer Cafe has become a place for discussion of exam questions... As for me, lunch and dinner is when I completely disengage from my studies, and I'm not about to change that.

2) Today's focus was primarily on FUN2, as we only have till tomorrow to finish study. Granted, the earlier lectures were easier to revise because we used many of them in our Principal Seminars presentations. But still, that doesn't make it any easier to memorise the litany of drug names, mechanism of action, and side effects.

3) Anyway, I continued pushing- stopping for short breaks and naps. At least I managed to finish cooking yesterday night, so I have food for the week. It would be too much of a hassle to cook smack in the middle of the exam period, so it's better I get it over with. After our paper on Tuesday, followed by REGUB on Thursday, we'll be left with only GIHEP and HBPS. All of this can't come soon enough, as I have other things planned during the holidays... But for now, it's back to studying. I'll end on this note, and thanks for reading as always. Have a nice day, cheers!

RCSI

My lunch today ^^

DAY 186

Mar 6

1) Today has been a really cold day. As I was walking to RCSI in the morning, my cheeks were freezing, especially when the wind blew. And blew the wind did, which made me wonder when spring would come. According to the weather forecast, the temperature in Dublin for the next couple of weeks are not expected to change. I can't wait for the time when I can wear a T-shirt and shorts again, but I guess I am in for a long wait then haha.

2) Today's lessons were not particularly long, but this was to facilitate the Principal Seminars, which start today. Mine is tomorrow, and I've been busy trying to finish my presentation within the time limit. There's just so much to talk about, and not a lot of time to present it all. Anyway, after our lessons, I packed my stuff and went to the library as usual.

3) Had my usual lunch and afternoon nap, before studying for tomorrow's lectures on Anatomy. Towards the evening, I continued practising on the five topics for the Principal Seminars. On a side note, it just struck me how fast this semester is passing us by. We are less than a month and a half away from our first exam (OSCE - Objective Structured Clinical Exam), which is on the 22nd next month. Anyway, time to pick up the pace as they say. That's all for my blog today, and I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

Mercer Library

(my second home)

Breakfast

Rice with mince meat, onions, mushrooms and egg

DAY 138

Jan 17

1) Today was another long day for me! Woke up early to have my toast, and then went straight to RCSI to leave my containers and jacket at the Coffee Doc. We had one lecture, followed by a small group tutorial where we did Gastrointestinal (GI) History-Taking, followed by Anatomy Practicals in the Anatomy Room. We focused primarily on the lower limbs today, including the muscles, vessels and anatomical landmarks in the region.

2) By 1.00pm, everyone was famished. I went down to Coffee Doc, to heat up my rice for lunch. Tasted great as always, that or I was really hungry. We had to seat through another two lectures after that, and I could not be more relieved after lessons ended. Went outside the lecture theatre to collect our class jackets :D

3) Made my way to Mercer Library. The good news is we have the next two days off, which gives me time to catch a breather before the next barrage of assignments. Had dinner a little while later, before reviewing the day's lectures as well the next lectures this Friday. A bit of relaxing and some supper later, and I was packing my stuff to go back home. That's all for my blog update today, and I hope you enjoyed reading. Thank you for reading as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

My breakfast toast

Lunch (dinner was the same as well XD)

DAY 38

Oct 9

1) Today was a BEAUTIFUL day! Excellent for outdoor sport, which is exactly what I did. Went to the tennis courts at Trinity College Dublin, where I had my first taste of tennis. Thankfully, everyone was eager to help me, especially the coach Christine. Turns out tennis is harder than it looks, because the ball is travelling slower than say, a shuttlecock, and the court is much larger. Really fun experience though, and I made many friends from various countries.

2) I felt lazy to cook again so I went to RCSI, thinking one of the cafeterias would be open. Unfortunately, neither AK. Henry's nor Coffee Doc were open, so I had no choice but to go home to cook. Rice as usual for lunch then.

3) During the afternoon, took a short nap, before waking up to study. I still cannot fathom why they have not uploaded the lecture slides for one of the modules, which will be presented tomorrow. That means I cannot study ahead of the lecture, which is really frustrating. Here's hoping they will soon.

4) My stomach rumbling was a sign that I had to cook dinner. Made some tagliatelle with mince meat and veggies, and had a praline for dessert. After a nice meal, went back up to my room to continue "studying" a.k.a. surfing the net and whiling my time away. Anyways, that's all that happened for me today, and I wish you all a very pleasant evening. Cheers!

Horse-drawn carriage,

a common sight here in Dublin

Meteor, my mobile service provider

Tennis buddies, L-R:

Me (MAS), Nirmal (CAN), Niall (IRL), Andrew (IRL)

The Tennis Club of RCSI

With the coach, Christine

Lunch as usual haha

A random "All things blue" pic haha

DAY 33

Oct 4

1) Today I woke up extra early, so I could have breakfast before going to class. As usual, lectures starting at 8 a.m. are annoying, but at least tomorrow it starts at 10 a.m. We have anatomy practical sessions every Tuesday and Friday, which is very frequent compared to other universities. In fact, some schools have decided to do away with cadavers and use plastinated models or slides to teach anatomy. I can't comment on that, but I personally think that the intrinsic skills that we acquire by using a real cadaver - who generously donated their bodies that we medical students may research upon, are more than enough reason to continue with this method.

2) Our surgeon prosector today was Paul J Farrell, BSc, MB, MCh (NUI), FRCS, FRCSI, FRACS. He was extremely kind and jovial in manner, and even related to us stories of his children who ended up smoking, despite him as a doctor trying his best to prevent them from doing so. Anyway, anatomy was on the thorax, with some revision involved, since my group's first card-signing is due next Friday. Time to get prepared then haha.

3) Lunch was at AK. Henry's as usual, before another two lectures to end the day at 4 p.m. By the end of the day, most of us were mentally drained, and some even dozed off during lectures! I did my best to keep awake, and luckily I had finished studying the modules the night before. Went back home after lessons, made a quick dinner, and signed up for the Run in the Dark, a 5km or 10km race for charity (research for a cure for spinal cord disease). I chose the 10km option. Hopefully I will be fully prepared for my first run in Ireland. That's all for tonight, and thanks very much for reading. Have a great night!

The sandwiches at AK. Henry's are really really good...

But they can't lay a finger on MY cooking haha

My registration for the Run in the Dark

Event starts 16th Nov 2016 (8.00 p.m.)