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 297/ 298

Jun 25 & 26

1) I've been quite busy these past two days. Mostly because I'm packing up to shift houses this Saturday. So yesterday, I met Erika (the exchange student from Hoshi University, Japan) near RCSI and I decided to show her around, as she's only been here for three weeks. So we went on a walking tour to Trinity College Dublin, before walking past the Ha'penny Bridge to Dublin 1. While walking towards the Spire, we made the acquaintance of a fellow student from UCD, Patrick "Paddy" O'Grady.

2) Together, the three of us walked around Dublin 1, passing Penneys and the Ten Thousand World Buffet and The Savoy. As we were about to double back, we met Melvin, who sadly was in a rush to go somewhere. So we continued our way back to the bridge, before walking along the River Liffey to Dublin Castle. That's opposite the Queen of Tarts shop where I bought some lovely pies on my second day here in Dublin. How time flies...

3) But I digress. We found out more about each other, especially Paddy since we had only just met him haha. After spending some time in the St. Stephen's Green Park, it was time for dinner. I brought my friends over to Wok In, and got the beef curry with rice. By this time, it was getting late, so I had to excuse myself to finish my packing at home. That was the gist of my day yesterday :)

4) Today was back to the labs for me. I spent the entire morning and part of the afternoon finishing off the second product (now labelled KC4), only to find out in the end that it wasn't the product that we were looking for! We've now followed two different sets of instructions to synthesize this compound, yet no luck so far. So using Reaxys (a web-based tool for the retrieval of chemistry information and data from published literature), Donal and I found another published article detailing the process. We've set up the experiment as described, and left the intermediate on stirring overnight.

5) Hopefully the product will turn out fine when we finish up tomorrow, as we've run out of the starting material already. Anyway, that's been my day today, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Have a great day, cheers!

Me, Erika, and Paddy at Dublin Castle central square

Posing in front of the Spire

(which is completely overexposed haha)

Having dinner at Wok In ^^

Need to filter ppt tomorrow...

Note to self: When they say add SOCl₂ drop by drop, they really do mean that

(case in point the balloon on the right burst because of the pressure build up due to the sulfur dioxide gas produced - gave me the shock of my life!)

DAY 248 & 249

May 7 & 8

1) The past two days have been very eventful for me. Yesterday was a full day as usual for me in the library, where I studied for the GIHEP paper today. As I had expected, our GIHEP paper was not easy. Many of the questions had more than one possible answer, and the problem lay in choosing the best option. As always, I did my best, so I'll just have to wait and see.

2) Today was a much more exciting day for me though. After our exams, I had to go to Dublin 1 to sort out some documents. Walked back to RCSI, where Zi Yan and I took the LUAS to Dundrum. It's our friend Hong's birthday today, so we went for buffet lunch at a restaurant called Global Cuisine. It was not easy to find the place, as it was in an obscure location at the cineplex, just beside Dundrum Town Centre (the largest shopping mall in Ireland). The food was really good, and at 9.95 euro, much cheaper than Dublin 2.

3) After a wholesome meal, some of us went shopping at Penneys, while the rest of us took the tram home. But that's not the end of our escapade. At night, some of us (Jason, Alvin and me for now) are going to watch Fate of the Furious (a.k.a. Fast and Furious 8), a film which I have been yearning to watch ever since it came out. Now is the best time to watch it, and then binge study the rest of the week for this Saturday's final paper, the HBPS. All in all, it has been a really meaningful day for me, as we near the end of our exams and the holidays are just round the corner. That's all for my two days' worth of blog updates, and thanks for reading. Have a great day, cheers!

The birthday boy Hong :)

That's as candid as we'll ever achieve...

Group photo :))

Dundrum Town Centre

Global Cuisine Buffet Lunch

That's my friend Alvin, who was really keen on being in my blog ^^

Happy days!

DAY 66

Nov 6

1) Today was a great day! Woke up to have some cereal, before chatting with my dad until connection disrupted us again ): Continued my studies for a couple of hours, before meeting up with my friend Khee Heng for lunch. We went to a buffet called the Ten Thousand World Buffet, and as the name suggests, there was a whole smorgasbord of dishes available, the most memorable being the pork ribs and beef with gravy. All for only €8.00!

2) Afterwards, we went to Penneys, just down the block from the buffet, to buy winter clothing. I had to buy a new pair of shoes as well. So we tried on the clothes and after much searching, I ended up paying €10 for a very comfortable winter jacket, and €6 for a nice pair of shoes. Money very well spent I reckon.

3) With shopping done, Khee Heng returned home to Mercer while I still had to go hunting for a portable heater at Argos, St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre. Went there while wearing the jacket, and it felt sooooooo warm, even though I only had one T-shirt beneath it. Managed to find a portable heater for €12 at Argos, and bought it straight away. The nights have been way too cold for me recently.

4) Came back home immediately, to test out my new heater. Works like a charm, if I may say so myself. Will have to catch up a bit with my studies, as I have been really busy this past week. Anyway, off to bury myself in my books again, so I think I'll end here. Enjoy the pics, and hope you continue patronising my blog. Thanks and goodnight, cheers!

 When my mind idles...

The two sides of a story...

Such a lovely view for the eyes!

Buffet Lunch here :)

 Some of the best beef with gravy and pork ribs that I have ever had <3<3<3

And to top it all off, DESSERT!!

€6 pair of shoes, check

Right, left, centre... XD

Molly Malone Statue at Suffolk St, Dublin

Selfie with my new jacket, and Christmas decorations at 

St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre

Getting into the holiday spirit :)