DAY 389/390/391

Sept 24, 25 & 26

1) And so begins that marked increase in tempo, signalling that exams draw close. It can be seen in various forms, from the decreasing number of vacant seats in the library, to the amount of new information we're exposed every day, and also the "off days" we have on Thursday and Friday - the proverbial calm before the storm. The exam I'm referring to is actually a quiz - our first quiz to be precise, and on paper, it shouldn't be too hard.

2) But the reality is that life is passing by faster than I would prefer. Barely after being introduced to a whole range of terms in various fields of the health sciences, the next day brings about completely new terminology and suddenly, twenty lectures have been covered! That being said, at least the holidays will come sooner as well.

3) On a more positive note, I went for my first kickboxing lesson on Saturday. I wanted to join last year but somehow never got the chance, so this year I made it a point to show up for practice. Our coach is Eddie, and he met us all at Damer Hall, just beside the Unitarian Church. It was so much fun practicing some punches and kicks, and it certainly brought back good memories of my childhood years practising Taekwondo. I made many friends too, from various parts of the world.

4) That has been my past couple of days summed up, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. I'm rather busy this week in particular, with lots of datelines and projects to complete, so just to inform everyone who is kind enough to patronise my blog XD. Thanks very much for visiting and as always, have a great day. Cheers!

Kickboxing fam :D

The Dispensary has some really nice wraps - for only €3.20!

That's a huge fruitcake if I've ever seen one - at the Dispensary :D

All those gloves for training...

As you can tell, I'm one shy of the BIG one!!

DAY 178

Feb 26

1) Today has been a day of playing catch-up with my studies. Woke up early, had my morning toast and went to the library. I spent the entire morning and the better part of the afternoon working on the five Principal Seminar topics. Finally finished writing everything down, and now the only thing left to do is memorise all of it haha

2) After a short nap, I started working on my group's team project. I finally finished my allocated task, and there is very little left to do before we are finally finished with it. Thank goodness for that, for I'm not someone who multitasks very well. Anyway, by this time it was already evening, so I went to have my dinner at Mercer Cafe.

3) The evening was spent tackling the individual project, which had to be completed soon as well. I still have some way to go before finishing up, but at least I'm getting closer. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish all of this soon, so I can start focusing on studies again. That's all for today's blog update, and tomorrow promises to be more eventful. Thanks for reading, and have a great day. Cheers!

Unitarian Church

Yes, I'm experimenting with signatures...

Batch-cooked pasta ^^

DAY 172

Feb 20

1) Today has been a really busy day for me. To start things off, we had a solid four hour block of lectures, beginning at 8.00am! The agony of waking up for the 8.00am class is real XD Anyway, at noon, we had a brief respite for lunch, and I had some chicken sandwiches with stuffing. There wasn't much time to idle about, as most of us were involved in the Interfaith Celebration event at the Unitarian Church.

2) Many of my friends were ushers, while Khee Heng was the candle bearer. I was chosen to read a text on thanksgiving for the donors, and I was accompanied by three others. By 2.30pm, the event began, with prayers, poems, reflections and choir performances to commemorate the deceased and to show our appreciation to their families for their sacrifice. Professor Clive Lee, Professor of Anatomy, RCSI - was also present to give his address to those present. It was a solemn and emotional gathering, but made all the more memorable with the presence of the surgeon prosectors and family members alike.

3) After the concluding words by Rev Bridget Spain, we were all invited to the College Hall (RCSI) where refreshments were served. Here we got an opportunity to meet up with some of the family members, and many of them thanked us for hosting this event. It gave me immense joy to know that their loved ones voluntarily donated their bodies and that they honoured their wishes. As medical students, I think it is imperative we make the connection that the "cadavers" that we study in the Anatomy Room (every Tues and Fri) are someone's brothers, sisters, spouses or relatives. It just makes us appreciate the greatest gift of them all; the gift of life. And we should never forget that.

4) Immediately after the event, I hurried over to Mercer Library, where my group and I discussed on the Team Project. Fortunately, we are almost done and just have to compile everything and proofread it before submission. Hopefully we'll complete this before our next meeting, which is after Reading Week. At 6.00pm, I was again back at the College, to meet up with the PMC Student Association, to discuss on the performance for International Night. While I still can, I aim to be as active as possible in all sorts of events, before we start doing clinical rotations in hospitals. As expected, the rest of the night will be spent trying to read up on my lessons, in preparation for Card Signing this Friday. That has been my day, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

An important event, made all the more memorable by those present

Toast galore

I have a fancy for stained glass windows ^^

Group selfie time! (After the event)

Cookies so massively BIG...

Everyone's so well dressed! :D

Promoting a Green Campus Initiative

From l-r: Khee Heng, me, Esther, Jason

L-r: Hong, me, Nee Kee, Esther, Stephanie, Khee Heng, Jason

(secretly advertising for Coffee Doc)

DAY 168

Feb 16

1) Today has been another long day. While the actual lecture hours weren't too bad (it was from 10-3 only), what made it horrible was the sheer volume of slides per lecture. The last two lectures for example, had 160+ slides between them! Imagine having to go through each and every one of them in order to pass our exams; it is enough to induce stress in anyone haha.

2) In the afternoon, my friends and I went over to the Unitarian Church, where there was a rehearsal for the Interfaith Celebration the following Monday. I will be reading a short, simple thanksgiving note, while most of my friends are either ushers or candle bearers. Practice took us around an hour, at which point we returned to RCSI. I went to the Anatomy Room, where most of my friends were - desperately trying to brush up on anatomy knowledge before their first Card Signing tomorrow (mine is next Friday ^^).

3) Later in the evening, Khee Heng and I went for ICHAMS 2017 (International Conference for Healthcare and Medical Students). It is a three-day event, with guest speakers and presentations of research projects by various students etc. The first event was Keynote Speaker, Mr. Ray Mc Kiernan, who gave an energy packed talk on "The Resilient Cliniciain - Building Resilience for Sustaining Performance in Clinical Practice". Afterwards, there was a smorgasbord of hors d'oeuvre, truly reflecting the wealth of our school to be honest XD. After a while, Khee Heng left to have dinner and study, while the rest of the group went to Harrys on the Green (a cocktail bar) for a pub quiz. I did not follow, but came back to the Coffee Doc to finish some work. That's all for today, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

ICHAMS 2017 @ RCSI

St. Stephen's Green today!

Unitarian Church

Early dinner today

Albert Lecture Theatre

Fine selection of hors d'oeuvre ^^

DAY 152

Jan 31

1) Today has been a (relatively) hot day. Woke up early as usual, before heading downstairs to make breakfast. Off I went to RCSI for our first lecture on anatomy, before going to Damer Hall for our Gastrointestinal Tutorial. Wendy and I had a really hard time searching for the entrance, since it was quite obscure and we actually passed by without realising it XD.

2) Immediately after that, we had another Anatomy Practical, this time on the knee and ankle joints. Our surgeon prosector was Mr. B.E. Lane, who was a retired gastrointestinal surgeon. We learnt so much from him today. After lessons ended, I took my stuff and went to the library, where I had my lunch.

3) The afternoon was spent sorting out stuff on our Moodle page, and going for the second meeting for the Team Project. A short nap later, and I went to Mercer Cafe to have an early dinner. I've noticed more and more people coming to the library recently. Maybe everyone's so determined to do well this semester. Anyway, I did some study myself too, before calling it a night. Had some light supper, before packing my stuff and walking home. That has been my day, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks very much as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

That's breakfast, lunch and dessert all in one go ^^

Chilling out at the Mercer Cafe

My dinner for tonight - fried chicken with rice and mixed veggies