DAY 1733-1745

Jun 1-13

1) This week has been a particularly rough one for me. To start off, I had an eczema flare-up for the past week, which really affected my concentration and sleep. Besides, there was a sudden complete black-out in my apartment. Also, my internet wi-fi decided to give up on me when I needed it badly, and finally, my phone decided not to charge properly. When taken individually, these seem like quite trivial matters (which indeed they are), but when you consider that most of us medical students at RUMC are already at the brink of anxiety and depression having to study for exams they have no idea how to prepare for, then it is easy to see how this may be the straw that breaks the camel's back. 

2) Regardless, the week has ended on a particularly high-note: my article on motor neuron hyperexcitability, which I co-authored with Dr. James Bashford (my supervisor from my MSc course) has been published! I still remember writing sections of this paper during my two-weeks quarantine in Tune Hotel, KL shortly after my return from UK. There was no chair to use in my hotel room, so I had my laptop propped up on two spare pillows as I hunched over, reading papers and making notes for the article. And today, just shy of a year later, this very article has been published in Clinical Neurophysiology, a high-impact peer-reviewed medical journal. 

3) In other news, Malaysia has extended its nationwide lockdown for yet another two weeks. Infection rates have indeed been dropping, with yesterday recording just 5,793 cases (compared to 9,020 cases a week ago), and the highest number of recoveries, at 8,334 discharged. For us medical students, this means more online lectures and self-directed learning. I have also registered for and received my appointment date for the COVID-19 vaccination next week (June 21). Compared to many countries, Malaysia has been slow in mass vaccination with only 4% of the population being fully vaccinated, but things look to be speeding up. My grandfather recently had his second dose, and has had no symptoms whatsoever. 

4) That's all for this edition of my blog. Thanks very much for visiting as always, and have a great week ahead. Cheers! :)

P.S. If you are interested, here is the link to the journal article:   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2021.03.053

Title: Demystifying the spontaneous phenomena of motor hyperexcitability

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2021.03.053

Saying goodbye to Ice: senior turned classmate turned senior again

Safe trip back to Thailand! :D

Thanks for the birthday cake Rach!

Hope you had a great one :D

DAY 1607-1622

 Jan 26 - Feb 10

1) It has been a good while now since my last post. Usually, I would have quite a lot of interesting material to share on my blog after such a long period of time. However, due to the fact that we are all in lockdown, and clinical sessions have not yet resumed, there is nothing really exciting going on in my life right now.  Meanwhile, we have received news that clinical teaching will resume on the 22nd, which gives us some time to relax revise.

2) I have been spending the past week revising data from my previous dissertation. It has been a long week for me, having to sift through and conduct further analyses on what seemed to be lines of never-ending data. Thankfully, I have managed to complete the bulk of the analyses, and I shall now wait to discuss the next steps with my supervisor. 

3) At the start of the new year, a lot of us would been led to believe that we would witness a sense of normalcy from the current COVID-19 pandemic. That has very clearly not been the case. While numbers have been dropping in most countries, it is clear that mass vaccination will take a while to implement, and even longer to build up immunity in the general population i.e. herd immunity. This could take anywhere from months to a year. Therefore, it is important to maintain social distancing, practice good hygiene, wear a mask, and obey local public health guidelines. 

4) Having said that, the situation in local shopping complexes and other small businesses is really quite depressing. Just the other day, I walked to Gurney Plaza to get some groceries and stock up for Chinese New Year. Around 80% of non-food outlets were closed, and of the food outlets, no dine-in was permitted, with takeaway being the only option. For added measure, all the chairs and tables in these outlets had been tied up to prevent any dine-in customers. In general, the whole complex looked empty, safe for the  Grab/Food Panda delivery drivers who were queuing to pick up items for home deliveries. 

5) It is quite clear now that I would not be returning home for CNY. There is just too much uncertainty with when I might come back for clinics. At the very least, I will be fully occupied with things to do throughout this continued lockdown - mostly revision if I'm honest haha. That's about it for this edition of my blog. Hopefully there will be more exciting posts in the weeks to come. Have a great week ahead, and stay safe and healthy. Cheers!

Beautiful Chinese New Year decorations @ Gurney Plaza :)

Too bad there were so few visitors to admire the lovely decorations...