DAY 1243-1248

Jan 27 - Feb 1

1) The last week has been a fun one. For starters, my friends and I planned our first real outing (the destination will be revealed in the next blog!) Also, I got my long overdue haircut at the London School of Barbering (LSB). For a broke international student such as myself, the concept of getting "free cuts" by student barbers (supervised by educators) is extremely appealing to me. After all, I'm not a fussy person; I just need a clean and tidy hairstyle and I'll be good to go.

2) So it was last Friday that I took the opportunity (right after our "How to Write an Abstract" session) to head over to Farringdon for my free haircut. Upon entering, I noticed just how busy the barbershop was - rows upon rows of customers and barbers scurrying about removing hair. I registered myself and waited for my turn. Fortunately I didn't have to wait long - just 10 minutes before I was called.

3) I was introduced to Frankie, a student barber. He asked me what sort of hairstyle I was looking for, and so the whole process started. In the end, I got the sides removed with clippers, and the top with scissors. It looked short, simple, and tidy. Intermittently, the educator came over to supervise and offer suggestions on how to touch up my hair. It was really interesting listening to their conversation and learning a few barber "terms" myself. LSB offers a range of different services, from free haircuts by student barbers, to £3-6 haircuts by qualified barbers, and finally £20 haircuts by the educators themselves. So there's a choice for everyone. I, for one, am impressed, and will likely come back.

4) Last Wednesday was not a good day for me. Everything didn't go to plan. I had originally planned to meet up with Sai for the AKC (Associateship of King's College) lecture at the Waterloo Campus (they have screenings at different venues throughout the week), but I went instead to Guy's Campus! Next, I couldn't find the bus stop from Waterloo to Strand, got told off for trying to take the stairs up at the underground, couldn't find my Oyster Card once I boarded the bus, and finally overshot my stop and had to literally run to Strand Campus as I was already late. Thankfully, the screening went fine, I finished the quiz, and took a nice leisurely stroll back to Louise House - with some nice photos to boot!

5) So that'll be it for this edition of my blog. Look forward to my next edition, where I'll reveal where my friends and I are going, and for lots of photos as per usual. Thanks for visiting my blog as always, and have a nice day. Cheers!

Group photo in front of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience (IoPPN)

L-R: Simmy, Malavika, Sanika, Myself, Karen, Sai

Behold the smallest (!) library in the world

Planning our next big project - @ the KCL Student Union

From l-r: Myself, Sanika, Malavika, Sai, Karen, Meghna

Cancer Centre at Guy's Hospital

The Shard, at 310m, is the tallest building in the UK, and the sixth tallest in Europe

 Shepherd's House

Guy's Hospital - taken at New Hunt House Library, Guy's Campus, KCL

Tower Bridge in the distance

The National Gallery @ Trafalgar Square

Nelson's Column

Equestrian Statue of George IV, Trafalgar Square

Didn't expect to see Tourism Malaysia smack in the middle of Trafalgar Square!

Prince George, Duke of Cambridge,

Commander-in-Chief of the British Army (1856-1895)

The Horse Guards

The Monument to the Women of World War 2, sculpted by John W. Mills

Abraham Lincoln himself in London!

Parliament Square

Westminster Abbey in the daytime (noon to be precise)

Pic before getting a haircut

 Pretty flower bed

Attended five minutes of the Neuromuscular Disease Symposium at the Foetal Medicine Research Institute

Passing the London Nautical School

Love how the right and left buildings curve inwards

As it says on the glass window - FREE haircuts and shaves :)

That's what I'm going for today

The London School of Barbering - first customer

The busy atmosphere at the LSB

Voila - new hairstyle!

Now just one more thing left for me to do...

Rafflesia (Malaysia's national flower) spotted at a flower shop

 

Before haircut - long messy hair, slovenly appearance...

(BEFORE)

Got my hair cut, and clean-shaven -

I feel like a million bucks!

(AFTER)

DAY 1153-1161

Oct 29 - Nov 6

1) Another week has flown past - and reading week is now over. We've submitted our Module 1 Essay, and what better way to commemorate that than by a "post-module 1 essay gathering" at The Montagu Pyke. It was my first time at a Wetherspoons, and honestly, it was much larger than I expected. I wasn't sure what to order, until Geoff recommended the "Ultimate Burger" - a big burger with grilled chicken, maple-cured bacon, Monterey Jack cheese, and pepper sauce - all topped with fries, onion rings, and a drink - for just £8.90! I normally don't spend that much for a meal, but it was truly worth it in my opinion.

2) As the night went on, people became friendlier, and things made less and less sense (not to me, I'm a teatotaller haha). But what's most important is we all had a great time. It was honestly such a relief to be done with essays, and to celebrate the end of module 1. We will begin module 2 in two days, and then the cycle repeats. After Montagu, everyone else left to club, while I took the bus back. Unfortunately, I needed to be up early the next morning...

3) So I've been taking part in another type of research (as a volunteer participant), involving EEG (electroencephalography). I won't go into details as of yet, but suffice to say it involves cognitive performance and measuring brain wave activity using EEG. I've had three sessions so far with Dr. Brodmann, and it's been a very interesting experience. I've learnt so much about EEG and stuff, even though I'm not actually doing the research myself. It'll also be interesting to find out the results of the research later next year :)

4) I've also attended my first night shift with neurosurgery shadowing at King's College Hospital. It was truly eye-opening to watch the senior house officers and core surgical trainees work through each case with relative ease, and to spot diagnose lesions and pathologies almost instantaneously. I went to OT to observe a ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunt being inserted by the specialist registrar; it was really good that I had read up a bit on this before I attended so that I wasn't totally clueless. All in all, the whole team was very friendly and approachable, and always tried to include me in their discussions/findings. I spent the whole night (literally until 6am the next morning) shadowing them, and then it was straight home to bed for me XD

5) Other exciting events that transpired throughout the week are the visit to the Vascular Biology Lab at the Franklin-Wilkins Building, courtesy of Prof. Giovanni Mann, who came to give us a lecture on neurovascular stroke and his research. We had a first-hand opportunity to see his many labs and meet his many students, as well as discuss on the feasibility of conducting an MSc research project under him. Besides this enriching visit, I also took a tour round Borough Market (yes - I'll call that as an exciting event) with my friends Sai and Malavika. It was completely unplanned for; initially we were going to Guy's Campus to study (and Sai was going for kendo practice), but along the way we decided to stop by the market. To be honest, it looks very warm and friendly, with loads of good food from all across the world. I was pleasantly surprised to find "traditional chicken laksa" (a Malaysian favourite) on one of the menus!

6) Overall, it has been an exciting (if a little hectic) week for me. The reason I'm updating my blog a little earlier this time (I usually do it once a fortnight) is because there's more activities to come - so stay tuned! As always, thanks very much for visiting my blog, and have a lovely week ahead. Cheers!

With Dr. Katja Brodmann - on EEG research

 Post Module 1 Essay Celebration with friends @ The Montagu Pyke

From l-r: Heather, Alex, Abdi, Meghna, Myself, Geoff, Asher, Sanika, Malavika, Simran, Tomiwa, Amba, Antonis, Sai, Caterina, Olivia, Jerry

With the wiring to measure brain activity so complex, 

can you imagine how complex the wiring of the brain is?

To all arachnophobes out there I'm really sorry to show you this...

This is really scary

A nice meal of pork chops at the IOPPN canteen

With Prof. Mann after a day tour of his labs :)

Prof. Mann is Professor of Vascular Biology at King's College London,

President-Elect of the Society of Free Radical Research-International (SFRRI)

Malavika's response when I asked why we're here in Borough Market instead of Guy's Campus

Photo credits: Sai Kham Thaw

Photo credits: Malavika

Borough Market looked really warm and inviting with all the small lights dotting each stall

Seafood paella looked absolutely heavenly!

They even had traditional chicken laksa 

(although how traditional it is I'll never know as I didn't try it haha; it looked really authentic tho)

The smell of mushrooms reminded me of the forest for some reason - very earthy haha

The Shard in the distance

It was really an unplanned trip to Borough Market while on the way to Guy's Campus

London Bridge Station

A less obstructed view of the Shard

Guy's Campus, just before nightfall

Bought takeaway at Leon

Sicilian meatballs served with rice

That red car used to be my dream car as a child - Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano :)

Neurosurgery shadowing at King's College Hospital

With Dr. Rhannon

This is literally me after a full night shift till morning

(went back at around 6.00am the next day)

- now imagine those who have to do this repeatedly for a living

Vegetarian option - beans with rice, served with tortilla chips, sour cream, guacamole, and pico de gallo

On the bus with the doctor himself :)

The Ultimate Burger @ Montagu Pyke,

as recommended by my good friend Geoff :)

Waiting for everyone to not go off one-by-one to the toilet was a pain XD

 There's still much for me to learn

Also, in case it wasn't already clear - we're all in the same class (Clinical Neuroscience MSc)

Myself, Abdi, and Meghna

(Everyone's so happy :)

The bar was a lot larger than it appeared outside

The exterior