DAY 661 & 662

June 24 & 25

1) It was a terribly hot day today, and I was drenched after my usual walk to the school. On this day, Niamh and I went out for lunch with Nina, who brought us to a nice restaurant in Wenxing Square. You're given a bowl and are allowed to pick as many vegetables or meats that you want, with noodles an optional extra. Get the bowl weighed, pay, and wait for everything to be cooked and served piping hot.

2) It is a different way of ordering food, but absolutely delicious in the end - as you can garnish your bowl with a variety of condiments. Mine cost more expensive than my friends as I had the most meat, but it honestly came to only €3.00, which is a steal for me. And what better way to cool down on a hot day, than a trip to "Cuo Nei Village" for some lovely bubble milk tea! Afterwards, Nina brought us to a supermarket which we didn't know existed in the square.

3) Niamh got her fair share of nuts (and some bananas) while Nina got some bananas and a packet of milk. Then, we walked all the way back to the lab, where I continued with work as usual. That has been my day, and thanks as usual for visiting. Have a lovely week ahead, cheers! :D

"Malatang" - minus the spiciness as I had just recovered and didn't want to provoke another allergic reaction :)

Niamh and her huge box of nuts :)

(If I had to guess I'd say they're all gone by now...)

Zhajiangmian from Family Mart :)

Malatang (without any spice added)

Oh the nostalgia here is real...

(My dad and I used to get loads of this for munching on at night, to have along with our milk tea... :)

Red bean soup (with glutinous balls)

Reading material for research ^^

Bubble milk tea at "Cuo Nei Village" Cafe

DAY 360/361/362/363

Aug 26, 27, 28 & 29

1) The past four days have passed by so fast. Tomorrow is the second last day of "work" for me, and that gives me a couple of days respite before school reopens (5th Sept). Also, this week has been much warmer, so that's a welcome change.

2) On an unrelated note, the Dispensary has opened, selling Starbucks drinks as well as biscuits and snacks! It's a bit sad they opened so early, because that means the end of my free coffee/tea as well! Now I'm just waiting for the renovations in the main building to be completed. It certainly looks promising.

3) For the most part, I'm looking forward to starting with my studies again. Any longer and my knowledge will become rusty, and my study ethic dull. So I guess it's back to burying myself in my work... not! And since nothing exciting or unusual has happened this past four days; nothing new or worth talking about, I'll end on this note. Thanks for reading, and have a nice day. Cheers!

The Dispensary has officially opened!! ^^

Selling Starbucks here too... :)

The work doesn't end

Thankful for cheap and delicious food at Dunnes

AK Henry's has some of the best fish pie I've tried

(plus if you know the servers well you could ask for "lots and lots of chips" XD)

DAY 358/359

Aug 25 & 26

1) As the days count down to a new semester, so too am I closer to finishing my posters/ abstracts. Yesterday I met up with Dr. Griffith to discuss on the progress of my poster, and he brought me down to the tea room where everyone was having some doughnuts. Turns out my friends from Soochow University are returning to China next Thursday, and this was a sort of "farewell" for them. I'll miss you guys!

2) For the most part, I've been in the library - grinding away at my research. There's not much interesting to talk about here; it's same old same old. So I'll be utilising a narrative technique which I hope will keep my blog going: I'll talk a bit about what I've learnt. This is mostly stuff I've read on Facebook - one of the most reliable sites for information after Wikipedia. All jokes aside, here we go.

a) Malaysia managed to hit a home run by getting Indonesia's flag wrong in the SEA games, then getting 8 out of 11 flags wrong in a medal tally broadcast, before finally getting it's own flag wrong. But hey, at least they get a cookie for consistency. Still, we're doing a great job in the games so let's keep fighting!

b) It's McGregor vs Mayweather tonight! Notorious vs Money; Ireland vs USA; UFC Lightweight Champion vs Quintuple Boxing Champion. My thoughts? My heart says Conor, yet my brain says Money May. Either way, the hype is REAL and I can't wait.

c) If the hype falls flat, where do I go next? Why, to Dragon Ball of course! A good way to maintain some semblance of proficiency in Japanese, while simultaneously enjoying one of Akira Toriyama's most cherished works. Dragon Ball Super streams live at around 1:30am, with subtitles about an hour or so afterwards.

d) Most importantly, I've got a pretty good feeling that the so-called "Dispensary" in the new building is going be converted to Starbucks! Or at the very least, it's going to sell Starbucks drinks, amongst other food items. Not too shabby, I must say XD

3) And that's about it. I've exhausted everything I've wanted to say, so on that note, I wish you all a very good weekend ahead. Thanks for reading, goodnight!

With Eolann, Judge, Flora, and the other Soochow University summer exchange students :D

The cookies were from the RCSI Alumni Meeting which took place recently

Waste not want not, as they say ^^

Back to Coronation Chicken haha

I've never been to the Tea Room before; glad that I have now :)

DAY 350/351/352/353

Aug 17, 18, 19 & 20

1) Nary a blink of the eye and four days have passed. I've completely forgotten to update my blog, for reasons I know not. All I know is in less than two weeks, one full year will have passed, and many if not all my friends will be back. And of course, along with the familiar faces will be a host of new ones, all eager and bubbling to begin their adventure here in Dublin.

2) As the summer break draws to a close, I am infinitely grateful for the opportunity to do research in different departments, and to work under so many wonderful people. Not forgetting my parents, who have been ever so supportive of my staying back while others left for home, and who even encouraged me when I was undecided between coming back or remaining here.

3) These past few days, I've been hard at work tying up loose ends, so to speak, on the remaining projects and posters. It'd be nice to finish everything before things get busy again. At the same time, I'm well aware that today (Sunday) was the Pre-Departure Orientation for the PMC freshers. I would have loved more than anything else to be there in person to help out, but circumstances dictate otherwise. Nevertheless, I'm offering to help you guys out if you have any trouble/ queries. First question is free as always, subsequently a charge of one question for €1 applies. All jokes aside, just pm me if you have any nagging questions/doubts. Looking forward to meeting all of you soon :D

4) In the meantime, what have I found out these past couple of days? Warning: random, inconsequential facts incoming. a) unknown player Noroma beat JDCR in the Korean Masters (Tekken 7); b) after a long while Dr. Pagalavan has finally updated his blog; c) Dragon Ball Super streams live YouTube every Sunday morning at around 1.30am, with subtitles available about an hour afterwards; d) the New Mercedes Maybach Concept is a 20-foot-long convertible; e) YouTuber "Blackpanthaa" just can't post his last NFS Most Wanted (racing game) video play-through, can he? And on that note, I bid you goodnight. Thanks for reading through my blog, and have a nice day. Cheers!

I've gone from this....   

     

To this.... (and vice versa)

Nothing some ice cream wouldn't cure XD

For the record, I did get my free burrito ^^

DAY 343/344/345

Aug 10, 11 & 12

1) Yet three more days have passed. I've been kept busy by the constant work and research. In particular, reading up about breast cancer and its management. This ties in nicely with my research on breast cancer comorbidities, and helps me to build a stronger understanding of what I'm researching on. It's amazing how the Internet, if utilised properly, can make someone with scant knowledge suddenly appear a lot more knowledgeable.

2) Aside from that, I've started making phone calls to the patients who are part of our research programme (on adverse drug reactions). Primarily the phone call is to make sure they have received our posted questionnaire (which I made haha), but also to assist them if they have difficulty completing the questionnaire. I've probably mentioned this previously, but the intention is to investigate adverse drug effects in patients aged 65 and older, most of them who have recently been discharged from Beaumont Hospital.

3) On top of this, I've started working on my poster for the first research project (the one in the labs). As summer research students under the RSS, we have three tasks: presentation, abstract, and poster. I hope to get all this sorted before school reopens, as I'll be a busy man then. As if I'm not busy enough now haha. Anyway, that's been my update for the past three days, and hopefully you enjoyed reading about it. Have a great week, cheers!

Beaux Lane House - where I work :D

A familiar sight (just opposite the old Mercer Library)

That's what good luck looks like on a Wed

(at Burritos and Blues)

Steak quesadilla with nachos

Lunch Box Deal - pick a main with three sides, only €5.95

(I recently rediscovered this offer at Dunnes)

Seriously, who could resist all of this?

Coronation chicken, 

with a portion of noodle salad, broccoli with feta, and spiced potato salad

DAY 340/341/342

Aug 7, 8 & 9

1) It feels like everyone has gone away. All three Principal Investigators (Dr. Griffith, Prof. Bennett, Dr. Cahir), my host family (they're gone on holiday for the week), most of my friends etc. Of course, this is but temporary, since everyone will return when the next semester begins in September. Most of them anyway, as some of my friends are going to Bahrain for an exchange student programme with RCSI-Bahrain.

2) For the most part, I'm preoccupied with my own work at Beaux Lane House. Today I've finally finished packing all the questionnaires to be sent to patients, and after this I'll be calling them up to check if they have received it, and if they required assistance in filling out the questionnaires. Also, I've been reading up a bit on breast cancer, in line with my research on how certain drugs (aspirin, statins) may affect outcomes and quality of life in breast cancer patients. It's all a new experience for me, moving from lab work to statistics and literature reviews.

3) On Monday, after having buffet at Ten Thousand World (believe me, this is only my second buffet in like six months, as it was a Bank Holiday), I was walking back when I passed a stand allowing passersby to dress up like a leprechaun - complete with walking stick and beer! Gave the man in charge a small donation, and got someone to take a pic XD It's little things like this that add dimension to my otherwise mundane lifestyle, and I thoroughly appreciate them. There have been many other instances of random acts of kindness that really moved me, and I plan to write about them next time (when I have nothing to write for my blog!)

4) In twenty three days, I will have stayed in Dublin for one whole year, and the next academic year will begin. Until then, I hope to complete more fruitful research, and to make full use of the time here to do something worthwhile. That has been my blog update, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Have a great week ahead (I'm getting more generous with the well wishes I think haha), cheers!

Work space for now...

With San Kim (3rd year med student) on his last day of the job... :'(

"Leprechaun Yourself"

Sláinte! (Cheers! equivalent)

Paperwork...

DAY 337/338/339

Aug 4, 5 & 6

1) The past days have gotten colder. The weather has become a lot more erratic, as you can see from the pictures below. I've been on my second project for about a week now. Both my Principal Investigators will be busy the following week, leaving me to sort things out for myself. Hopefully I'll be able to make enough progress to justify having me over for the month haha.

2) Knowing that some of you reading this blog are coming over to Dublin next month, I've taken some interesting pics of Dublin in general, as I went for buffet at Dublin 1 last Saturday. Trace my footsteps as I walked from Buffet 79 (Dublin 1) all the way back to RCSI (Dublin 2).

3) I've run out of things to write about, as I'm stuck in the library most of the day - lost in the virtual world as I peer into the computer screen for a variety of reasons. If there's one thing you should do (I'm referring to those coming to Dublin in Sept), it's to study hard and enjoy at the same time, because you're in for one heck of a ride. That's all for my blog update, be sure to scroll down, and I'll see you in the next blog update. Have a nice day, cheers!

Dublin on a beautiful, sunny day :)

Buffet 79 (located at Moore Street)

The Spire (originally The Millennium Spire, 

until they realised it wasn't going to be completed by the new millennium)

Fun fact: the previous year (2015) they shone lights at the Spire to make it look like a blue lightsaber, in anticipation of the upcoming Star Wars movie...

O'Connell Monument, the memorial to Daniel O'Connell, the 19th century nationalist leader, by sculptor John Henry Foley, which stands at the entrance to the street named after him.

What a lovely day for a walk

(all that's about to change though)

Lots of tourists cross the O'Connell Bridge 

(that joins most of Dublin 1 from Dublin 2)

The River Liffey

Street art

Trinity College Dublin

(keep in mind the sunny weather...)

This it Grafton Street 

(arguably one of the busiest streets in Dublin and a main tourist attraction)

And barely two minutes after my passing TCD, the weather has taken a turn for the worse...

Gotta love the weather... NOT ^^

St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre

(most of the RCSI students would come here to buy groceries at Dunnes (downstairs))

The entrance to St. Stephen's Green, a large park right in front of RCSI

(In particular, that is Fusiliers' Arch is a monument which forms part of the Grafton Street entrance to St Stephen's Green park, in Dublin, Ireland. Erected in 1907, it was dedicated to the officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted men of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who fought and died in the Second Boer War (1899-1902).

The LUAS (tram service) is so convenient as it stops at St. Stephen's Green, literally right in front of the College