singzeon.

1 January 2018:

Been a while eh.

It’s been almost four months since I last updated this blog, which is a stark contrast to my previous frequency. Sorry to any of you that have been constantly checking for updates the whole time. To be honest I drafted two posts but never completed them.

And actually, those that follow my Instagram may have realised that my recent posts are more and more pensive, almost like a mini blog entry. Hence, I guess I don’t feel as motivated to do my usual long blog posts, since I am already doing something similar.

But okay, it’s time to update this space. Also I am able to get a little more personal with this blog, since not as many people know about this and hence wouldn’t come and read it. Some also wouldn’t bother to read it even though they know of it.

As usual, I will try my best to stick to talking about whatever I have in mind, but apologies in advance if (or when) I start to go off on tangents and come back only multiple paragraphs later. I guess you can say that is my style, for better or worse . . .?

This post is actually meant to be both a recap of 2017 and an update since my last post, so it is pretty ambitious and let’s hope my enthusiasm doesn’t die off along the way. Being the typical history student, let’s do things chronologically.

~

Starting off in January, my first month post-ORD. I don’t really remember much about it, except that I wasn’t living life productively. Immediate goals were to find a part-time job and learn driving, but I guess I relaxed quite a bit.

Only highlight of the month, though, would be that I attended the interview for the medical school which I currently am in. I don’t know if I previously blogged about it, but I was lucky because the interviewers flew over to Singapore.

Hence the interview format was different from those the locals went through, and in my opinion, it was easier. It was a ‘traditional’ Q&A interview, but I guess along the way the atmosphere was very relaxing and it became more of a chat.

This was obviously to my advantage, since I was able to be more relaxed. It was also when I noticed that I had slight trouble preventing my Singlish from leaking out, since it tends to come out whenever I am casual. Pretty interesting.

The interview asked me about my non-academic interests, one of which I mentioned was typography. To be honest typography is a rather obscure interest, and some people don’t even know what that is. But thankfully that wasn’t the case for my interviewers.

Of course, as per what I read from various places, I am supposed to show how my interests can demonstrate certain qualities that would be beneficial as a medical student / future doctor. And so I did, mentioning things like attention to detail and being meticulous.

I left the interview feeling pretty alright, not fantastic either but definitely not shitty. Apparently I was in for 45 minutes, which does seem longer than usual. Again, this was only because the format was different and more relaxed. The locals had very fixed times to follow.

~

In February I went for another interview, this time I had to fly over to the UK because they didn’t want to fly over to interview Singapore candidates. What was annoying was that apparently they did fly to Malaysia, but Singaporeans just couldn’t tag along.

This was my first trip flying so far away from Singapore, and it was my first experience of the UK. My first impression of it was pretty decent, definitely more picturesque than Singapore due to all the architecture around.

Unlike the previous one, this time I left the interview feeling pretty shitty. I was fairly certain that I wouldn’t get the spot, and true enough I didn’t. It turned out to a blessing in disguise, though, as I would have had to pay an extra £50,000 in total to study there instead.

~

In March I began my first ever proper job (not counting army). I have definitely blogged about this before, so I won’t bother repeating what I mentioned. But overall was that I had a pretty good time there.

I was honestly expecting a repeat of army with toxic relationships and office politics, but thankfully this wasn’t the case. Again, I suppose it being all working adults (mostly middle-aged and above), they were professional and mature enough, unlike NSFs.

It was also in end of March (I think?) that I received my offer to study medicine. Of course I was very elated, but then again having faced multiple failures in the past I was bracing myself for last-minute rejection or something like that.

So I didn’t exactly ‘celebrate’ it. I just dutifully did whatever paperwork I was supposed to do, until finally around middle of the year when my offer became unconditional (i.e. confirmed). Then only I began to feel more assured.

~

I worked till end of July. Again, I would say that the positives definitely outweighed the negatives and I certainly learnt a lot, seeing the ‘back stage’ of healthcare. Now I can better understand the workings of a healthcare organisation.

August was more or less a month of preparation, settling everything that could be done beforehand. I also attended orientation camps to get to know fellow freshmen and meet my seniors from the course and from the university.

In my previous post I think I mentioned about my apprehension towards the camps. Fortunately they were very unfounded. Although I was from a different background from them, I wasn’t outcasted or unwelcomed.

~

In September I made the move from Singapore to Manchester. There are seriously so many things I could talk about (which is why I seriously should’ve blogged before) but I would say overall it’s been a good time.

The weather is definitely much colder, especially now that it’s winter. I don’t really miss the heat (no to sweating profusely and sticky bodies) but the only downside is I can’t just wear a T-shirt, bermudas and slippers. I have to put on at least two layers and wear proper shoes.

In terms of culture there are also differences; generally people are more polite, but this also means sometimes they sound polite but are actually unhappy already. This is of course particularly important, since I’m interacting with patients from time to time.

Due to the large number of PRC students around, there is no lack of Chinese (or Asian) restaurants and shops around. Although I am still very puzzled what exactly is ‘Singapore noodles’, because it resembles nothing in Singapore.

~

In terms of my course, it is kind of a dream come true to be finally studying medicine. But of course, two years of army (i.e. not studying science) has made me even lazier LOL. So the initial start was pretty dredgy.

But of course I can’t really complain, because after all this is what I wanted. So yes I just gotta be less lazy and not waste time and money on this.

~

On to more personal stuff. Obviously being in a new environment, there are new people to meet. Some, of course, are not exactly new – like my fellow freshers that I’ve met before coming over – but still, we barely know each other.

Friendships form. Friendships also go through challenges. And along the way you realise how some people are just not destined to be good friends, simply because of the clash in personality. It’s sad, but not everything is meant to be.

Initially I was feeling slightly worried(?), as I kept mixing only with fellow Singaporeans. I wasn’t ‘diversifying’, as someone said. Funny thing is towards the last two weeks of term or so, I became closer to my flatmates and those from the course.

Which is a good thing, of course. I’ll definitely hope to maintain that and get to know even more people in the year to come. For some reason I still am very introverted when meeting new people, but I am slowly breaking out of it.

~

I guess that’s about it, then . . .? For once my interest stayed long enough to finish another blog post, been a while since that happened. But yes, this was more or less my 2017. I’m not gonna make any new year’s resolutions for 2018, since I know I’ll forget.

But in general, I just hope for more meaningful relationships in the year ahead, a continued strive towards medicine and for the strength to overcome adversities. I also hope to be more patient and understanding and to be less negative.

TTFN.