DAY 1254-1268

Feb 7 - 21

1) Since our last trip to Oxford, normal life has resumed. While we have had Reading Week to take a break from travelling to lessons, it hasn't stopped us from being busy. The next important deadline coming up is the Module 3 Essay, on Neurology in Clinical Practice. I've decided to write my essay on multiple sclerosis, a common disabling disease affecting young adults. The other two options we were given were on dementia and on Parkinson's Disease.

2) I've spent most of the week working out how to plan the essay so that I can get it done before the deadline i.e. Mar 2. While that may seem quite a while away, there are other things on my mind as well, such as the Clinical Presentation coming up. This counts for as many marks as each of the essays that we have been doing, and we have to present it in front of two examiners, who are given time to ask questions. If that's not enough, we also have a statistics exam (on SPSS software) and an abstract paper, in addition to yet another essay (for Module 4 - Research Methods in Clinical Neuroscience). That's quite a lot to prepare for in the next month or so...

3) Despite that, I've endeavoured to spend some time off as well. After lessons last Thursday, some of my friends came over to Louise House (where I'm staying at the moment) for some movie watching. The plan was to get me up to speed on the Lord of the Rings & Harry Potter series, which I've *gasp* not watched (apart from one movie from each franchise). Anyway, we were unable to do so, as Netflix needed a premium subscription, so we decided on the next obvious choice - to watch Japanese anime. Sai recommended "A Silent Voice" (聲の形), a 2016 animated teen drama film. Not going to spoil the plot here (partly because we haven't finished watching haha), but it was getting really interesting when we had to leave. Leave for what, I hear you asking?

4) So the same evening, we went for a talk entitled "Connectomics: Natural vs Artificial Intelligence" - by Moritz Helmstädter, at the UCL Wilkins Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre. It was free admission, and an excuse for me to visit UCL as I've not been yet. The talk itself was entertaining, if a little repetitious, especially as most of it was exploring the concept of synaptic plasticity, which we've had loads of lectures on. Nevertheless, the idea of artificial intelligence, and of machine learning, is quite fascinating.

5) Last Saturday, my cousin Wilson was back in London for the weekend, and so invited me over for lunch and coffee. As we were a stone's throw away from Spitalfields Market (and undecided on where to get lunch), it was there that we went. I had the Turkish chicken lunch meal, which had such huge portions that I had a hard time finishing. We then went for coffee at Nude Coffee Roasters, which have a branch at the market. Afterwards, we had our customary stroll through Uniqlo, aimlessly window-shopping, before returning to the apartment and watching cooking competitions.

6) I stayed over for dinner, working on my essay in the meantime. If you're reading this Wilson, thanks so much for the coffee, dinner, and the hospitality! After a long day, which the weather did nothing to improve (Storm Dennis was in full-swing), I said goodbye and returned home. Nothing much has happened since, so I'll end my edition of this blog here. It has been a long, busy week for me, but that's life in a nutshell I suppose. Thanks very much for visiting, and have a great week ahead. Cheers!

Chilling with my cousin Wilson at Nude Coffee Roasters (as Storm Dennis blew by)

Apparently, I type really fast but make many mistakes - a good balance then

A beautiful day for a movie

Much ado about nothing - literally doing nothing while waiting for the receptionist to return so that we could ask for the keys to the Cinema Room

Watching "A Silent Voice" with friends in the Cinema Room was fun

University College London as it appears at night

Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre - our venue for the night :)

Waiting for the speaker (Dr. Mortiz Helmstädter) to deliver his speech on connectomics

The usual suspects - Malavika, Karen, Myself, Sai (the King's students)

Nope, that's not a psychedelic experience but an artificial recreation of what the central nervous system (CNS) actually looks like :)

The perfect alignment of the hour, minute, and second hand was too much for me not to take a picture XD

UCL Medical School, at night

 Seafood paella with chicken and chorizo

(Reading week has given me more excuse to visit the weekday-only street food stalls nearby)

This is crazy filling and delicious - Spanish omelette with a side of croquettes

Discovered this stall selling burgers and steaks...

Steak et frites - simple, well done, and delicious

Today I tried this - the lamb keema (minced meat) briyani rice - very nice with a strong spicy kick!

DAY 1139-1152

Oct 15 - 28

1) And so, our "reading week" begins. It's the end of Module 1 (on neuroanatomy), and we have a break for a week before Module 2 begins. However, it is not all fun and games as we have to complete and submit out essay (worth half of this module's marks), and also prepare for our exams in December. It feels like we've barely settled in, and yet the first module has come and gone; time really passes by!

2) Recently, an annual event called the Great King's Run took place - and so I participated. All staff and students were welcome to join, so I entered the 10km run (there was a choice of 5km or 10km or "fun run"). I suppose I should have anticipated it by now, but the weather on that particular morning was unexpectedly chilly. By that I mean we ran in 7 degrees Celsius weather. For some of us that may be tropical paradise, but not to me haha. Anyway, once the race got going and our bodies heated up, it was quite bearable. Essentially, the route we took was two laps across the bridge over the Thames, with some twists and turns along the way. I was very excited to have finished, and to have made some new friends from Thailand! :)

3) I've also volunteered for a research study which looked at the reliability of brain and spinal fMRI signals during painful stimulation. Basically, we want to find out if pain on one part of the body (i.e. right thumb) can be increased or reduced (or no change) when pain is felt elsewhere on the body (i.e. left thumb). So those who took part were asked to rate the pain felt in the right thumb (with and without pain applied on the left). It was an interesting experiment, and holds potential in investigating the mechanisms of pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies.

4) We've had several phenomenal researchers/doctors come and give us lectures. The lectures that I remember well are the ones on long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LDP), spinal cord injuries, and novel neurovascular stroke therapies. We've also had our Friday neurology meetings; most of the cases discussed are really novel (i.e. "rare") or complex (requiring a lot of MDT meetings). I really enjoy guessing along with my medically-trained friends before the answer (diagnosis and/or management plan) is revealed.

5) I'm really, REALLY grateful that it's Reading Week as it gives me time to finish off my essay and do some much-needed revision. As this is our first module exam, I have absolutely no idea as to the breadth and depth of knowledge tested - so it is always good to prepare well beforehand, just in case. So that'll be it for today's blog update, thanks very much as always for visiting, and have a lovely week ahead. Cheers!

P.S. To all my friends and acquaintances celebrating - Happy Deepavali and may every aspect of your life become as luminous and exciting as the lights flickering on the lamps in this Festival of Lights.

fMRI - not used, but the two devices that I am gripping will apply pressure on my thumbs. Essentially the idea is to see if I perceive pain (i.e. controlled pressure) in my right thumb as a) more painful or b) less painful or c) no different - if pressure is applied to my left thumb at the same time

(I found no difference haha)

Seafood paella - very flavourful, very much worth it :)

I've found this restaurant called Delly's that sells really good Carribean food - that's chicken stew with rice and peas :)

A fantastic sunny day this morning, and a photo of the beautiful Guthrie Clinic @ King's College Hospital

Right next to this clinic is the "Ruskin Wing" - which leads to the ANC lecture theatre where we have our Friday neurology case presentations/discussions

Thursday lunches at the Chaplaincy have most of our class joining :)

Absolutely wonderful lunch with friends

  

Crossing the Thames again - this time for my first "run" this year!

This should provide some context as to how cold it was when I first arrived...

Participant No. 378

I only changed to shorts just before the race began

The crowd gathered as the Sun rose, providing some much needed heat to my otherwise freezing body

While I love the dinosaur costume, part of me was wondering why they didn't bring Reggie the Lion?(that's the official King's mascot) 

Guy with loudspeaker gets everyone hyped and warmed up :)

Made some really cool friends from Thailand :)

The finishing line was pretty much right here XD

Some nice architecture on my way to the Maughan library to get some studying done post-run

The very imposing and grand Royal Courts of Justice

  

If only the Lloyds Bank branch in Camberwell looked half as cool as this!

Lloyds Bank

The archway with the Maughan Library on the left

They take mental health and wellbeing very seriously here

The beautiful staircases of the library

Trying to get some studying done in the Computer Rooms (@ the Maughan Library)

The Law Society

Some really nutritious food today, with steamed fish, vegetables, and potatoes :)

Noodles with tofu (beancurd) black bean sauce for lunch today

More research - more information coming soon... (stay tuned!)

The portion sizes at the IOPPN are really huge :)

Another picture of the research pilot study

The Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences - right next to the IOPPN Main Building

Yes, Halloween is indeed coming (lovely design tho!)

King's College Hospital Ruskin Wing extension

The WEC library looking very empty and quiet this Sunday morning

I absolutely adore the lounge area at the library <3

Trying to eat healthily this time around...

Bought a Pudsey Pin Badge for charity :)

Platanes Building, accommodation at Champion Hill ^^

Panoramic view of the Royal Courts of Justice (every time I type this I always want to type "International Court of Justice" (ICJ)