DAY 452/453/454

Nov 26, 27 & 28

1) One year has whizzed by so fast. I vividly remember volunteering to help out for the PMCSA Farewell Dinner last year - serving our catered food to the many guests. This is part of a tradition we have of saying goodbye to the third years who are transitioning back to Penang for their clinical years. And this year, it was time to bid farewell to our a-year-ahead seniors. I did not volunteer for the event, instead I attended as a guest.

2) This year, there were two distinct changes. (1) The addition of a photo booth for everyone, and (2) ample and delicious food. Last year's Dinner ran into some issues due to miscommunication with the caterers, so that we had less food than expected. Thankfully, this was well accounted for this year. Anyway, to kick things off, we had some opening remarks from the VIPs, followed by the ex-President of PMCSA 2016/17. Next up on our agenda was the presentation of the certificates to the third-year leavers. Everyone got up on stage for a quick group photo afterwards.

3) Then it was time for our three-course dinner. Lamb meatballs on bruschetta as entrees, with chicken and pasta for mains. And what better way to finish than with some lovely comfort food - chocolate brownies with vanilla ice cream. As we tucked into our food, we were greeted with an array of performances. First up was "The Rolled Up Genes", which performed three songs, followed by our very own Zi Yan, whose rendition of "Viva La Vida" left many of us awestruck. Addy and Jong serenaded everyone with a heartfelt duet of Wang Lee Hom's, with many more performances in between.

4) We still had two surprises left in store. First up was the prizes ceremony. We had a multitude of awards, from "Most Involved" to "Library Bookworm", and even "Most Adorable Couple"(!) And for the finale, a 15 minute long video from us, wishing them a safe journey and every possible success back home. It was a fantastic way to wrap up what was certainly "A Night in Paris" (the theme of the event). I'm sure next year will fly by as well, and before I know it, it will be our turn to have to say goodbye to our lecturers and friends.

5) That has been the highlight of my day, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Have a lovely week ahead, and thanks for visiting. Cheers!

Group photo with the third years

A Night in Paris

in honour of PMC RCSI Class of 2020

The decor was on point tonight

Exam Hall was the venue for the night

With Giovanni, first year med

With some of our volunteer first med friends

Our table

Went around taking photos with each table... :)

Going round taking pics at each table was so much fun! ^^

A "hot mess", but a very delicious hot mess at that :))

Brownies with ice cream

With Zi Yan and Acap

To many more years of happiness!

DAY 215

Apr 4

1) Today has been a really tiring day for me. I got up really early, so that I could revise just a bit more for the histology quiz at 8.00am. The problem with me is, somehow I cannot function normally in the morning. That means everything I studied the previous night will go down the drain, lost after my sleep. So to compensate for that, I need to revisit my notes just before the exam.

2) The test itself was challenging, but doable. I felt the initial questions were quite hard, while the later sections (REGUB) were a bit easier. All in all, it was a 45 minute paper with 30 questions. So few questions, yet so much time invested to absorb every minute detail. After the paper, it was time to reward myself, so I went to AK Henry's for a Full Irish breakfast. This is fast becoming a trend for me haha...

3) After that, we were free until 2pm, at which point we would have our Healthcare Symposia. So I took my stuff to the library, and it was time to sleep(!) Not the best way to establish a sleep pattern I admit, but since I'm only doing it for exams, it should be fine. Woke up in time for lunch, and after some dilly-dallying, it was back to RCSI for the Healthcare Symposia, which was on sickle cell disease.

4) Two women, both from Nigeria, came forward to talk about their experience with sickle cell anaemia in the family, and the associated stigma. One of them brought her daughter, who had the disease. It was really touching to hear about their plight, and to see how much they wanted to advocate for change and awareness. Next, we had one more lecture, before lessons ended!

5) Back at the lounge, there were doughnuts and pizza served, as well as a photo booth where we could get our photos taken. All of this was courtesy from team RSU, who are running for the next Student Union. Besides, there were tonnes of activities; everything from henna painting, to Twister, chess, card games, and even two PS4s! I didn't stick around for long though, but came back to take my belongings at the Coffee Doc.

6) Returned to the library, where *surprise surprise* another team, "ReSUrgence", had set up a stall at the library entrance, giving away free energy drinks. Grabbed my fair share of it, before returning to my spot to type this out. I'm spending the rest of the evening here, probably going to finish off my ICP Portfolio. Yes, there really is no end to the work, is there? But I'll admit, it's been really fun so far. Looking forward to more activities, and stay tuned for more... Thanks very much for reading, and have a great day. Cheers!

Shenanigans with my friends, courtesy of RSU 

(I like how they had enough space for a fourth photo, but instead chose to dedicate that slot for the team logo ^^)

Nothing like a Full Irish to brighten one's day ^^

Two doughnuts, along with some random pics from the photo booth XD

My two doughnuts ft. Melvin's two half-eaten doughnuts (L) and Melissa's doughnut (R)

Really intricate chess pieces, if I may say so myself

Nxf6# makes for a really beautiful mate for white (this was a friendly game between me and my friend, who shall remain anonymous for now - as friendships have been broken by lesser deeds XD)

Two cans of Red Bull, courtesy of team "ReSUrgence"