3 Things Learnt

It has been ages since I last updated my blog. Can't imagine the load of work in stored for vet students, this I gotta say! Literally just completed my second semester of my second year with the submission of my Parasitology and Entomology paper yesterday (Sorry, guys. This post was meant to be submitted AGES ago. It has been a month since the paper and my results are already out. So, apologies.) Which means there's like another short semester and one industrial training away from stepping into the operation theater!

*mixed feelings of excitement and fear*

The whole reason must be how I have to gather every piece of knowledge I gained throughout my last 2 years in vet school and try to see things in a different perspective now. However, hopes and dreams are saved for later. I just got to update people who actually read this blog when they somehow click into this when they are Google-ing "UMK Vet".

First of all, I got some inquiries from people from time-to-time, especially after I have decided to blog about my experiences. I realised that many people do not have the basic concept of what to expect when they are entering vet schools. I mean, you hear from others ALL THE TIME about how medical students (human) slogged like mad, being zombies and owls and pandas etc. to complete their 5-year programme. Well, sad to say, being a vet student is much more demanding than being a human medical student. (From the experiences I heard from various sources, that is. Personal experiences from seniors,  75% of my Facebook friends, bloggers who are studying medicine etc.) I guess I should summarise the things that I wished I would've known (or at least, paid more attention to back then *regrets*), for anyone who is just interested or curious about this field.

1. There is ABSOLUTELY no time and space for procrastination.

Whether it is an assignment, studying for quiz and tests etc., no room at all, unless you want to regret for later and you aren't as Asian as me. I admit it, I am quite Asian to the core. But I always end up being average anyway, never the top student. Lol. So, I always have the problem of just sticking to the book/notes and read whatever material I was supposed to without logging into Facebook every once in a while, checking on my Instagram, playing endless zone of Plants Vs. Zombies etc. Current obsession would be Bingo. Yes, the granny's game Bingo. I have you know that this game requires a lot of attention, patience and ability to mind your language when the server does not call out the ONE number you need to daub to get a bingo. I ended up having to install a little app on my phone called "Stay Focused" or something like that, which sort of checks on you at random time to see whether are you studying or something else. It's more effective for people who has a conscience. Hahahahahaha. It worked at first for me, but then after a while I just decided not to turn it on. Which lead on to this regret. *sighs*

2. Time management is of the essence. No joke about that.

I had this experience once with my Immunology assignment - a literature review on the topic "Serological Tests and Its Applications". If somehow Dr. Erki is reading this, thank you for guiding me and giving me the opportunity to write a literature review, but I did have a tough time completing it in time for submission.  >.<

So when I first got the topic, my reaction was "Serological tests? It's kind of a bore." while my other classmates got interesting ones like autoimmune diseases, tumour immunology, vaccine failure etc. Betrayed by my own birth date, 23. -.- Anyway, I was quite pumped up to do this literature review. I got my layout and outlines ready by the first week after the assignment was, well, assigned. Then the tough parts came to me like a pouring rain, with all the other course works piling in: assignments (non-ruminant production), lab reports, pop quizzes, tests, presentations. At one point I was on the verge of just shutting myself out from the world. Like, just do nothing. At all, except breathing perhaps. And lying down. It was pretty overwhelming. If I were to tell any of my seniors what I've gone through, they will probably shrug and smile saying "Been there, done that." And the worse part is, it is not going to get any easier during clinical years.

                                           

True that, Eddard Stark. One of my favourite character in Game of Thrones. Don't bother liking any character, they will die one by one. Except for Daenarys Targaryean. She's is still very much alive and I am loving her so so much. Sorry for the constant diverging from the core topic. (See my problem now?!) I ended up finishing the assignment a day before the submission date, at 5.00am. Well, technically, I got it completed on that day itself. And had to wake up at 8.00am to prepare for class which is at 9.00am. It was mad. Completely. Probably one of the reasons why I had problem completing it late when my other classmates managed to get it done before then was because there are plenty of serological tests to cover on. I ended up submitting a 40+ pages literature review when others are of an average of 20+. It's not something I am doing extra to earn bonus marks. It IS what that is expected from me, to cover the common serological tests and their applications, which are abundant.  So there you go, even without procrastination, bad time management can also contribute to the stress of completing an assignment on time. And also eye bags and dark circles. Forgive me, for I am a girl too.

3. Stay healthy for as long as you can.

Quoted from Christina Perri, we are only human. I particularly fall sick the most often during the hotter months (around mid February to May) and the monsoon season. I am personally prone to oral ulcers due to the lack of water consumed and the tendency of heating lots of heaty stuff. I have just recovered from dengue fever few days back, (am gonna write a short post on that horrible experience of mine) and now here I am at the place where I will be staying for my 2^nd Industrial Training!

Feeling really excited about things. I guess I will update more lists and things to expect on my blog soon. It’s gonna be UPU Results Day soon. And I am pretty sure there are going to be people stumbling here after searching about veterinary medicine. Lol. Hi there! See ya in my next post.

xoxo

Veterinary and Me

Today the results of UPU is announced and most of my friends who sat for the 2012 STPM exam is particularly anxious about their university placement. Which brings me back to 16th July 2012 when I was checking for my university placement.

I was in the United Kingdom for my holiday. Waking up at 7.00am that day (UK time), it suddenly struck me that it was the day to check my placement result. I was anxious and I know, once I've logged into the website, my life would change forever.

And so there was, UMK - SARJANA MUDA PERUBATAN VETERINAR. Appearing right in front of my eyes. I admit, I was quite disappointed at that time. A part of me still wish that I would get into the Medicine faculty despite my CGPA from my matriculation. But in other ways, lucky me, for getting the first choice in my list. (Strategy of placing your choices during application - VERY CRUCIAL)

The first semester was quite a struggle. Struggle to fit into the new environment, new study life, new course, new people to meet. EVERYTHING. The orientation was mentally and physically exhausting. Writing this now do brings back memories of me being the freshman walking around the odd campus of Kota Bharu (main campus). I am so glad when the orientation week was over, it was finally time to get down and real for my varsity life.

Time flies like an arrow, (fruit flies like a banana. Haha. Get it?) the first semester was over by the time I knew it. Academically, I didn't achieve as what as I have targeted. Hell, in my book, that was a hard core failure. It was pretty hard for me, not getting the GPA I was aiming. But honestly, veterinary is not an easy course. It requires much much more than just hardwork and good memory power. So I decided to buck up for the coming semesters. It was time to push myself harder into the next level.

The 2nd semester - HECTIC. The courses were much more demanding, especially with subjects such as Nutrition and Biochemistry taking up 4 credit hours each. Student association cramming lots of important faculty events in the mean time. And how could we forget about the constant quizzes and test, assignments and presentations? It was any students' worst nightmare. But with a little push from my previous semester, I would say some improvement have been seen in me. Keeping my fingers crossed, hoping to achieve my goal this time. Yea, the 2nd semester result is yet to be announced.

So here I am now, currently in my 3rd semester (1st short semester) in Padang Tembak, Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bharu, Kelantan. The first year of my semester is ending by the end of this July. What awaits me next is a sheep farm in Setiu, Terengganu for my 1st ever industrial training as a veterinary student. I guess I should keep this blog updated for further references of aspiring veterinarians.

Sorry for keeping this blog post really short. If you have any inquiries about UMK Veterinary course, please feel free to comment below. I would be happy to assist you in any way I am capable of. Until then, cheers.

PS: Piling assignments. I should stop procrastinating.

UMK Veterinary - in my view, in a nutshell

Veterinary. Some say it's an interesting field with good prospect, some say it's a nicer name to call rather than farm doctors. What differentiates me with a human doctor? I guess it's just the qualification and the patients we are treating in the future. 

I'm coming close to the end of my first semester here in University Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) - not a typo for UKM, mind you. Been through many obstacles be it academical or social. Freaking thick books I am having here! Feel kinda bad for not getting some of the original ones (my anatomy textbook costs up to RM1000+ in Amazon.com.uk)

So, my current update:

Name: Dylan Choy

Age: 19

Employer: -none-

Education level: Undergraduate

Education institution: University Malaysia Kelantan (UMK)

Field: Veterinary medicine

Feeling: Contented, determined and currently, bored after completing a Powerpoint presentation. One down, one more to go.

Oh, can't forget about the test mania here. But yet again, I guess all undergraduates for the medical field are like that. (Or are we being fooled here?? O.O)

Classes start on Sunday here, and Friday is like a Sunday. Somehow, starting the week with Sunday makes the whole week seemingly shorter. Huh, maybe it's just me. 

For those who googled UMK Veterinary and came across my blog space, I bid you welcome. This is my first post regarding the veterinary course on my blog. Very unhelpful, yes, I noticed. Will be posting regularly about the nature of the course in my later posts. But, you can always refer to my senior, Aina Meducci and her blog page. Her site has helped me gain more knowledge regarding this course before coming here. 

Till later. 

xoxo

237°

If I Die Young

"If I die young, bury me in satin, lay me down on a bed of roses, sink me in the river at dawn, send me away with the words of a love song."

Recently, I can't get this song out of my head. I've never thought what I would want people to do if I do die young. Maybe it's because I don't want to. Maybe it's because I want to go through this life the most I can before leaving. I want to climb the ladder of success, even if it means I'd have to fall several times before reaching the top. I don't wish to be a world renowned neurosurgeon to set my status as "Successful". I just want to go through doing what I like best. Of course, things don't come by easily. I would have to struggle and go through hardships before gaining something so dear. I wanna graduate from med school. I wanna be acknowledged as Dr. Choy. Oh, the fantasy. Comes with the burden of studying med degree for a long 5 years. Gotta go through it, don't I?


I don't want to leave before I lived a happy marriage with my loved one. I want to celebrate the happiness of finding my soul mate, my best friend and my other half. I want to be his happily wedded wife and be a mother to our kids, seeing them being successful. I'd like to see the world with him, making beautiful memories as time past. I want to go through a strong and lasting relationship with him, celebrating wondrous years of anniversaries together. I want to be a role model to my kids in the future, showing them how mum and dad are so lucky to have each other. Arguments, misunderstanding and disagreements are unavoidable. Being the man who loves me with all his heart, he would not let things get through us and just let me slip away. And trust me, my heart would only belong to one person once I've decided to give it away.


But who am I to say I don't want to die so soon? It's never our call, isn't it? Life is cruel when Death can just take someone with Him. Then we would cry and be sadden by his death and his absence in our lives from that moment the person takes in his last breath. 


Life is short. We'll never know when will we just pass on to the next dimension. If I die young, I would want to be cremated. I want my ashes to be sprinkled at the places I've shared precious moments with my love. I would want to leave everlasting words to the people I love, leaving them with precious photographs so that they wouldn't forget about me. Think about the happiest moments we've gone through together and I wouldn't want them to cry. I want people around me to live life to the fullest though I am not there anymore. I just wish they would think of me sometimes. If I die young, it'll be a pity for I've not fulfill my wishes, but hey, we gotta get ready for these things right?

Treasure the ones you love, and make wonderful memories with them. After all, that's the only thing you can bring with you until you are taking your last breath. I love you mum. I love you Darling. I love you my sisters and my brother. My awesome besties, you guys are wonderful. Just want you to know that. :)
Tomorrow, another day I would be thankful to God for my continuous existence. I love my life. So, why not you?


P/S: The Band Perry's song, addictive. Lay me down on a bed of roses, send me away with the words of a love song. :)

2370° - The World's Downside Up

Do you remember the last time somebody told you to think a situation from a different angle? Or maybe "putting yourself in the shoes of others"? No protractor needed, no shoes are shared in this post (what more socks? Ewww). Well, at least not literally. ;D

I definitely remembered mine. People who loves me always says that to me. Occasionally, I was being shouted for the same reason. You know how a huge hypocrites we humans are? We tell people to do things which we think it's right, yet most of the time, we ourselves fail to do so. But I know, they did that because they love me a lot. :)

Seeing things from a different angle is something you would learn to pick up as time goes by. The human brain is great enough to make analytical decisions sometimes we, the owner of it can't comprehend. Sometimes, the environment triggers our brain to think out of a box we call "Ourselves". People living on the sideways with nothing but the clothes hanging on their bodies. Can't imagine yourself in such situations, can you? Neither could I. In fact, I barely think about anything or anyone else that are so closely related to life itself. Taking things for granted, another trait of the most intellectual being on Earth.

The situations we went through, the experiences, no matter bitter or sweet, marks the maturity milestone of our lives. No doubt, these make us stronger and resistant to the pain when troubles come without warning. My primary factor in growing up mentally, spiritually and emotionally, came from the people that live around me, no matter near or far: my family and my loved one.

While strolling on a sandy beach, leaving your footprints along the trail, you couldn't help but to admire how far you've traveled even if it's a short walk. In a split second, right in front of your eyes, the waves of the ragging sea swept the shore, dragging the little sand granules along with them. Leaving nothing, no sign of your walk. You blame the moon for dragging the waves by it's 1/6 gravitational strength (compared to Earth's), wiping off any sign of existence of your walk, and think why are my footprints gone? It was such a breath-taking sight looking at such marvelous achievement. An outcome of my great journey from one end of the beach to the other. Gone, with the waves.

(1) Oh well, I guess I just have to start all over again. Sigh, step one, step two...
(2) Gah! What's the point? The waves are just gonna sweep them right off the shore again anyway.

I chose: (3) Let the waves have my foot steps. Let them bring along the sand to the ocean bed. Who knows? The granules of sand might spare a plankton's life from the big fishes. It's not a big deal, really. Just the thought of having an unusual perspective makes you feel special. So what if there are millions of people having the same thought as you somewhere opposite the surface of the Earth? At least you know, option (3) was never in your mind before and your brain is looking from a different point of view. At this time, smile to yourself, looking at that smooth, untouched sand and walk away. "I'll be back for you someday." 

Sometimes, our effort don't guarantee us the outcome we hoped for. The only way of being truly happy, is to know being a better person inside. And trust me, if you are able to see that, your world would be a better place, though the world we are living in is like the uncertain movement of particles - topsy-turvey, upside down. Oh, and one more thing. Avoid doing the smiling-at-yourself thing in public. You wouldn't know who would dial the number to a nearby asylum. XD

P/S: Sin 2370° = -0.5 ;)

A for Apple

When something you've been trying to avoid yet anticipating for it (we all have gone through this irony, admit it.) is around the corner, it's normal to feel depressed I guess. Let's put it into a simple situation, being made complicated by yours truly:

There you have in front of you, 2 apples. One apple is the kind where you have liked your whole life, say Granny Smith? 

The second one is the kind of apple where you know it's existance and you heard that this apple tastes good, though you've never actually took a bite out of it, because you're doubting everybody's words. 

One fine day, you took a bite out of that the second apple, and find it quite delightful, crunchy and juicy. So now, apple No.2 is also one of your favourite apple, alongside apple No.1. And since you've bitten this apple, soon you find that apple No.1 is not as succulent as the former, not as crunchy as the first one. And soon, with time, your taste bud changes. And apple No.1 became your second choice.

What happens when people judge you due to the change? Since you've been proclaiming the first apple would be your one and only choice, people thinks you are a total hypocrite. "So NOW you think that's the best? What's next? Apples are the worst fruit in the world?"

Picking and deciding on your favourite apple is child's play, but when it comes to your future career pathway, it's no joke at all. One wrong turning and you'll be stuck in a hell of a traffic jam. I mean, a MAJOR one. So what if you changed your mind? So what if you want to be a police instead of a fire fighter? Or a scuba diver instead of a life guard? In the end, life is yours alone. Are those people going to be the ones suffering when you realised your mistake? Are those people going to be stuck in the traffic jam with you? Oh, trust me. They'll be the ones you see speeding at 130km/h at the opposite one way lane of the highway, cruising and reaching their final destination. And the worst part? They don't care to give you a lift. "Oh, too bad. You're stuck. Well, you gotta live with it don't you? After all, it's YOUR choice." See what I mean?

Life's too short to bother about other people's opinion. After all, they're just suggestions. Live with who and what you are deep within, discovering your true potentials and the things that make you happy matters. Too bad, not everybody sees things as how you see it, but give them a sight they'll never forget: when you are overtaking them at the other side of the highway with your new Ferrari, Lamborghini or whatever you want to. 2km from that, you'll be greeted by an exit sign towards your destination - success and happiness. So, start your engines, pick the right turn, pay the toll if you have to, and watch out for the sign. It's not too far from where you are right now. Be sure to check your signal lights are working, and most of all, drive safe. ;)

P/S: An apple a day, keeps the doctor away. If the doctor is hot, the "flu" is here to stay. :P 

Thought of the Day

When I was in Standard 6, people once told me UPSR determines your future - the secondary school you are entering.
When I was in Form 3, people once told me PMR determines the field of your career.
When I was in Form 5, people told me SPM IS the key to your future. 11A+ and you are good to go.
Now, in Matriculation, a lecturer told me, Matrics is crucial. Get a 4.0 and you're on the right path.

Bottom line: You'll always be striving for a better life but there's never an ending to that.

People around you are constantly lying to you about how's life going to be easier after you've achieved something. Well, reality check. It definitely doesn't work that way. Sure, you'll feel like you're on top of the world, flying high with the seagulls (I love seagulls). All it takes to bring you down, believe it or not, are just words. Imagine people telling you, "You SHOULD get that. If you don't, something must be wrong with you." Suddenly, everything felt so meaningless. Suddenly, you feel like the seagulls are laughing back at you with their annoying laughs like in "Finding Nemo" and watching you fall down rock bottom. 

The best remedy to that is your self-esteem. If you don't have one, too bad for you. Forever will you be trapped in the lowly hole of self-pity and the Realms of Tragedy. Yes, YOU would be the tragedy. Learn how to pick up the pieces and move forward. Let's face it, life has never been easy for anyone. I mean, everyone. The Earth is just another training ground for us to be better beings, somewhere as I think God sends us because we are not worthy enough to be with Him in heaven, or even to reincarnate. Trust me, never believe the thoughts of being immortal is awesome. Somehow, some day, you would want to die. And leaving the world won't seem like a bad option.

Though life always bring us down, the sun rise of tomorrow always bring us hope, looking forward to greet the new day. Personally, I feel that's the only reason we are going on with life everyday. Will tomorrow's sun rise be better than today? Is tomorrow's sunset going to create another memory for me?

That, is truly the reason of being alive. Embrace it. ;)