DAY 1216-1230

Dec 31 - Jan 14

1) Happy New Decade 2020! I've been neglecting blog posting recently, and that's because I wanted to focus on my Module 2 (Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience) exams - which finished just today. It wasn't an easy exam; having to write four essays in three hours is certainly a challenge, for me at least. On the bright side, that means we only have four more exams to go, before starting our dissertation. This is probably the most exciting part of the entire course for me, and I cannot wait!

2) It is two weeks too late for this, but I'm going to do it anyway - my decade in review. I literally have nothing else to talk about as I was busy revising for exams, so I figure it'd be nice looking back at my journey in the past decade. It is certainly hard to believe that ten years ago, I was still in Form 2 (secondary school) in SMK Anderson, studying seven compulsory subjects (for our PMR or Lower Secondary Assessment), and wondering when my next game of badminton with my friends was going to be. Things were simpler back then - study a little in the morning, go to school in the afternoon (Form 1 and 2 were afternoon sessions), then come back in the evening and hang out with friends.

3) Form 3 and 4 were my fondest years of high school. I was honestly quite fit, going for evening runs (5km or 10km) in the neighbourhood and playing badminton with my friends on most weekends. As some of my badminton kakis (mates) were school or district players, I could really feel my skills improving as the months and years went by. At the start of Form 4, most of my friends entered the "Science Stream", and I chose 10 subjects - opting to take Accounting Principles ("Prinsip Perakaunan") externally, as our school only offered 9 subjects for our SPM (Malaysian Certificate of Education). Around this time I won the Japanese Language Speech Competition at National Level and therefore represented my country to Tokyo, Japan. It was a dream come true.

4) Form 5 (GCE-O Levels) was a very busy year for me, as I was in charge of many clubs and societies, along with my duties as a prefect. SPM was an arduous journey, as it was spread out over more than a month, and I still remember for the final paper (Biology Paper 3), I really couldn't care anymore about the results; I just wanted it to be over. In the end, while I didn't get that string of full A+ that would have enabled me to apply for a government scholarship, I was still satisfied with my results. After a few weeks in STPM (Form 6 - the Pre-U equivalent), I won a scholarship into Tenby International School's CIE A-Levels programme, as the batch of Cohort 10.

5) My time at Tenby was very well spent. Due to the nature of our course, we had the opportunity to dabble in debates (the Global Perspectives Debates and SIDEO debates at UTP), engage in Model United Nations events, and perform in drama and theatre. I thoroughly cherish the time leading up to my A2 finals; while there was obviously the stress of exams, I somehow feel that this was me at my absolute happiest. I had a very organised schedule, did a lot of activities and sport, had loads of support from my family, my teachers and my friends, and actually enjoyed what I was studying. I fondly remember chatting with my dad at the top of Bkt Kledang (Kledang Hill), discussing what my future plans might be. I had so many ambitions at that time - I was passionate about cars so automotive engineering? I loved debating and public speaking too, so would law be a good choice then? But I also did three sciences at A-Levels and loved drawing anatomy; would medicine be an option?

6) In the end, I went down the path of medicine. As I had missed that year's intake, I needed to wait till next September to apply. In the meantime, I undertook basic first aid training, spent some time in a hospice environment caring for the elderly, gave home tuition and worked as a substitute teacher in Chemistry. Then I started medical school in RCSI, Ireland - and the rest, as they say, is history. Or just take a look at Day 1 of my blog again XD. Anyway, looking back, it is truly amazing how far my friends and I have come since our secondary school (and for many of us, primary school) days. Everyone has forged their own paths, and many more have already graduated and are already working.

7) In summary, I honestly feel that I've grown a lot over the years, not just in academics but more so in independence and maturity - especially living on my own in a foreign country, and learning to cope with and overcoming difficulties alone. These have been difficult but ultimately valuable life lessons that I hope to carry throughout my life.

8) Also, a very big thank you to everyone who wished me on my birthday! It was a delight to read the wonderful messages, even as I was preparing for exams. And while I'm at it, may I wish everyone that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, the very best as we reel in the new decade. Cheers!

The following pictures are from ten years past - each photo a milestone and a fond memory through my life's journey...

Chinese New Year 2010 open house with my family :)

CNY Buffet Lunch - me and my mom at Syuen Hotel (2010)

2012 Japanese Language Speech Contest - anxiously waiting for the results :)

My Accounting guru and friends - this was our first reunion a year after our SPM examination (2014)

(l-r: Victor, Hon Wa, Pn Siti Fauziah, Myself)

Trip to Cameron Highlands - Cohort 9 and 10 Tenby (A-Levels) group photo (2014)

My dad and myself (at the Gaharu Tea Valley in Gopeng, Ipoh) (2015)

Chinese New Year with my family in Kuala Lumpur (2015)

Trip to Qing Xin Ling Leisure and Cultural Village (2015)

(the sign says "We are one family" <3)

29th Annual Dinner of the Perak Malaysian-Japanese Friendship Society (2015)

- with my parents and Fong-sensei, my Japanese Language teacher :)

Family trip to Bukit Tinggi, sponsored by my mom's thriving laundromat business (2016)

Bon Odori Japanese Festival in Shen Jai High School (2016) - 

counting up the months leading to my departure for Ireland

DAY 1200-1215

Dec 15 - 30

1) Apparently I lied when I said that I would be updating my blogposts more frequently. Part of the reason I have been slow in doing so is because there is really nothing much that I've done in the past two weeks - other than lazing around in bed, hiding in my room, and sleeping and waking at erratic times. But on Saturday, my friends (Sai, Malavika, Karen) and I did get up to doing something - namely a visit to Tate Modern, and Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park.

2) We first met at the Tate Modern, a modern art gallery which is part of the Tate Group (together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, and Tate Online). Its location is really special too, as it is housed in the former Bankside Power Station, which was at risk of demolition for many years. Another fun fact - just this year, the Tate Modern overtook the British Museum as the most visited attraction in UK! As Captain Nemo (of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea fame) said - great art and music live forever. After meeting up at the second floor, we proceeded scrutinising the free artworks on the second, third, and fourth floor.

3) As I walked through each gallery, I was reminded by an orchestral piece by Mussorgsky, "Pictures at an Exhibition", which as the name suggests, portrays a visitor walking through an art display whilst background music shifts the mood according to each art piece. While looking at each piece, it became clear to me that art, as with most things in life - is subjective. Before reading the descriptions behind each painting, it was anyone's guess what the artist's intention or motive was, but it nevertheless encouraged us to think and reflect.

4) I personally appreciate realistic (or hyperrealistic) paintings, which would unfortunately not feature heavily in the art that we saw. Still, it was still really fun to read each description and understand the story behind each piece. Perhaps one day I'll actually take the time to study the many art styles and become a collector myself. One day..

5) When we had finished all three levels of free paintings, we headed to the top floor (on level 10) for a beautiful panoramic view of the night sky. It was getting late, so after some nice photos, we made plans for our second stop - Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park. At this point, I was feeling really hungry, so we stopped by to have some German sausages. There were so many rides and challenges, that Sai decided to give it a go at balloon popping and hoops. In the end, he won a cute little plush toy for his hard work. As we approached the Bavarian Village, we saw that stalls and attractions were beginning to close. Soon, we were ushered to the exit - thus ending our lovely night out.

6) It was a genuine delight coming out to do some sightseeing with friends, and hopefully we'll get some other cool stuff done in the future. But for now, it's time to contemplate my next challenge - preparing adequately for our Module 2 exams. That's all for this edition of my blog, thanks very much for visiting, and have a lovely week ahead. And in case I forget - Happy New Year 2020! Cheers! :)

From l-r: Sai, Karen, Myself, Malavika @ Hyde Park Winter Wonderland

My Christmas lunch was seafood paella - frozen food as the whole of Camberwell (and I can imagine, the rest of the city) came to a halt

 By the pier, just before nightfall

With Sai - friend and photographer :)

Tate Modern - Free and Open to All

  

Lots of people on a Saturday evening!

Fun Fact - this used to be the Bankside Power Station, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed the Battersea Power Station

View of St. Paul's Cathedral over the river, contrasting greatly with the modern Millennium Bridge leading to it

Ground Floor of the Tate Modern

(also called the Turbine Hall)

This is a piece by Kara Walker - an American contemporary artist and sculptor

(the public sculpture depicts a black boy up to his chest in a lake of his own tears in an open conch shell, a pearl in an oyster, drowning)

  

Only the second, third, and fourth floors (out of ten floors) had free exhibits, and this was the first one we went into

Walking past the various paintings gave us the opportunity to reflect on each one of them, before reading the backstory behind them

All subsequent paintings have a description (see the picture below for each)

Pectus excavatum 

(strangely called "Pigeon-Chested Man"(which, in medical terms, is the exact opposite of this i.e. pectus carinatum))

I didn't know at first but these are actually chess pieces!

More abstract art :)

Lobster telephone - an art-piece by Salvador Dali, 

apparently demonstrating an analogy between food and sex!

 Deification of a Solider

Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna in the centre

Proptosis on the far right picture

I now know what industry to get into should I need a career change...

What was your first thought when looking at this?

Apparently, these are maggots and that black sculpture on the left is a shard of lightning

Group photo in a mirror, photobombed by angry kid XD

If only I had this much time in my life to be philosophical...

I'm sure there's lots of story behind all of these, but in their absence a shopping list would probably prompt more thinking and reflection

My mathematical equivalent would be infinity + my stress for exams = infinity

I don't know why but we decided on a "candid" photo so here goes...

That's a better group photo :)

KMK is our deceptively elegant group name

Tower of coloured lights brighter than my future

Everything is going to be...

Going to be alright - yeay!

The Shard was lit up with all sorts of colours that literally projected to the night sky

  

A different entrance to the Tate Modern

My smug face as we took the Tube to our next destination

Next stop - Hyde Park's Winter Wonderland!

I will never understand why we all decided to pose according to the poster XD

Impromptu group photo cuz why not?

Entrance to Winter Wonderland

As you can see - it was jam-packed with tourists and locals alike

Stopped by for some good 'ol Frankfurters with fried onions

Traditional German sausages

Absolutely famished at this point!

Ring Over The Battle - we used to call them "hoops"

Some really fun challenges to be had - including tossing hoops or dunking basketballs to win huge oversized plush toys

Beautiful Xmas tree whose colours matched my clothes :D

Literally getting closer to God

Chinatown in Winter Wonderland

Cute little pup won by our dear friend Sai

Not a victory sign, not even a failed attempt at a Vulcan salute (Star Trek), but rather the monetary cost of the cute plush toy (and nope, it wasn't £2)

We made it to the Bavarian Village just as the event was closing ):

A very photogenic passer-by

Malavika's social skills helping us make new friends - the guy in red shall forever be remembered as the "Tornado King" - for he serves tornado chips