To start from the very beginning, would be right after college. I started the year full of expectations. Expectations and doubts. At that time, my enrollment into MUSC was still uncertain and I was kept on edge over the next few weeks. After I had finally gotten a reply, I was no less than shocked when I found out that due to some errors regarding my application I had failed to secure a spot due to the delays caused.
Thankfully, things managed to get sorted out, and I have Adeline to thank for helping out then. The whole affair was pretty messy as I struggled to set up back up plans should I miss the cut. I don't want to picture the year having walked down a different path. I'm glad to say that in the end, I was offered a spot and I frantically rushed to settle all the necessary procedures. Finally, I was officially a Monash Pharmacy student. :)
Yeah not everything in life works out as you initially expect. Who knew being in university would be so challenging, even as a freshman.
Which begins my first part of the post, life as a university student at Monash.
I can still vividly remember my first day at Monash. Walked in without a clue of what to expect, and found Marcus and Joshua (who would later become my bro) at the administration building. The only other person I knew then was Adeline, we were Pharmacy Buddies then, after I found out she was heading to Monash as well.
Then I began to meet new people, my cohorts, and slowly got to know everyone better before settling down in my group today. :)
On Day 1, I met this girl. I can still clearly remember it cause of her bright yellow shirt. Met her at the hall where she ended up sitting between me and Adeline. So all our conversations flew past her. I never pictured that she would be as how I know her now. It was later on in Semester 2 when she said she wanted to give us all a good impression so we don't all run away. Hahahahah.
Then the next day, I met a few other people. Met this person (who later said I scared her initially) over breakfast. I remembered her from the day before sitting across the table during our lab coat fitting session. Am I really that scary to you? Hahahha, maybe I was then. One of the more bubbly personas among the group. :)
On the day we were scheduled to leave for camp, I was looking for fellow pharmacists within what seemed to be an MBBS crowd. To no avail, I felt lost. Until I spotted what seemed like two familiar faces who proceeded to asking me "Hey are you from Pharmacy ah?" Okay! Found fellow coursemates.
:D
Yeap, camp. :')
Roughly on the second day, I kept running into this guy. He stood out, for a rather obvious reason. The memory is still clear as day in my head, that one moment I looked out of my apartment unit, straight across the hall into the opposite unit, where the door was also kept open. Saw him looking at me, then we both looked away simultaneously. Funny how he's the one who keeps bullying me now. D:
Group 3. My group.
Otherwise known as Pharmily, (: This is our flag which took first place for the flag designing competition.
Of course, there were the events too!
MUPhaS Mingle-Mingle Night. Can't write about this since I took off 15 minutes after the event began. Had dinner plans with my high school gang then. =p
Yep, chemistry. Just love the subject. :D Though everything's on a much higher difficulty now. I'll just skip the studies related posts. I'll bore you all to death. Besides, I think I've written quite a number of posts regarding them throughout the year. I do not wish to relive them. *chuckles*
Being a university student has been a
When you start talking about assignments, I feel glad I took AusMat the year before (not only cause of the awesome people I met then), for it laid the groundwork and gave me the core skills needed to tackle all these tasks. There the the usual essays and oral presentations to be done, be it individual or in a group. I can say I pretty much felt at home, despite the persistence of my constant laziness when it came to actually starting work on those assignments.
Somewhere down the line, I signed up for a First Aid Course. Being a member of the Monash Pharmacy Society, I was offered the chance to participate in it.
I learnt several life skills then, namely CPR and that whole choking manuever. Doubt I still fully recall everything though. Haha. I won't be writing everything again so you may find the full posts here and here.
Towards the end of the year, SEGI's Pharmacy society organized an Intercampus Pharmacy Treasure Hunt.
Met fellow pharmacists to be from other universities, SEGI and Taylor's. :D
Enough about studies, my 2011's had its fair share of events.
Celebrations, reunions, road trips. In some ways, I've done so many new things this year.
Birthday celebrations,
For this girl! My AusMat sister, or mui. :)
Had a celebration together with the whole Ipoh gang. As you can see, the theme was pink. Yes I was in a pink shirt then too. One specially bought for the occasion :D Now that I think about it, I remember people looking over at us as we walked, 3 guys fully decked out in pink. (insert thumbs up here)
Do you see the resemblance? :D
Throughout the year, I've met new people. But I also met some old friends. Those who had flown off to study abroad. Namely one who left without notice. One who vanished, *snap* just like that. No prior notice, no warnings, no goodbye. Yes, (if you're reading this you know who you are) I still remember that one day we all found out. All you gave us was a note, and that was it. Ah yes, I love playing the guilt card. Heh.
We all thought you had gotten abducted. Gahhaa.
Watson coming back down to visit! :D iPhone victim's back at last. I kept playing with her DSLR then. I single-handedly took over 300+ photos that day.
A very memorable event among them,
The free dessert I got then. :) Remember now?
It was that day. K I look dam odd. Anyway, yeah. Birthday lunch at Tony Roma's! Thanks Dave for lunch, though you were never there. Hahhaa. I was super touched that day. Not for lunch but for what happened right after classes ended. Thinking about it makes me kinda mushy inside, I love all of you so much! :)) I was literally stumped there and then, glued to my chair in class. It took me awhile to figure out what on earth was going on, then it hit me. Don't think I've laughed so hard in my life, especially at the end where two people I had completely not expected showed up. :') <3
Second part of the celebration, a few days prior.
A symbol of our 2010 year. Snowflakes with the Ipoh gang. :)
It stands as the best week of 2011. :D Takes me back to the year before where I had a similar event. Though I think the shock value then was greater. I remember having a grin plastered on my face throughout the entire night. :')
Then, there was,
Birthday surprise for JLs at Frames Cafe. Got Jhii to help with the planning without knowing it was also for her. ;D Coincidentally, it was right after our final paper of Semester One as well. Took quite a while to set everything up. Cupcakes from Wondermilk. ;)
Which brings us to our next point, Genting!
For the record, this year was the first time I set foot in Genting in my 19 years of life. D: #truestory
The first trip there was with my high school classmates. It was an eye opening experience for me, got to feel the
Then, a week later,
A second trip there with my colleagues!
I think I've had enough of Genting for a year. But I don't mind going again in the coming year. There are some things I've yet to try there. Hah!
Speaking of firsts,
First time I went to sing k with the gang, heck first time in my life! :O What happened that night should never see the light of day. LOL.
Coming back to trips,
Planned an escapade to food paradise during the middle of the year, finally a road trip! Somewhat. The trip down to Penang was rather eventful. Split into two groups and decided to meet up at Penang itself. Each took a different route. Jamie, Jean and I took the train while Adeline, Joshua, Dave and Jhii took the bus. Both had our minor setbacks and both had people who almost missed their transportation.
Meeting up then.
We were joined by Chern for our second day. :D
Having said that, I miss the food at Penang! Even the public transportation there was awesome. It could very well be just me or Penang just came across as paradise. Everything there was awesome. The people, the sights, the sounds. Then again, everything feels better in the company of friends. :)
Speaking of trips, I made another trip at the end of the year. This time I flew solo, or rather only on the journey itself. Went down to Ipoh to meet the Ipoh-ians there. Had 3 food-filled days with Marcus and Joshua, and dim sum with Jamie too. The amount of food I ate there was just..
Awesome beef noodles is awesome. All it took was one bite for me to just wolf the whole bowl down.
If Snowflakes was the symbol of 2010, then (in my opinion), for 2011 it would be:
BEE KAY TEE. :D a.k.a. Bak Kut Teh
Of course, with every year, there are the concerts!
Going to Maroon 5's concert was the first time I spent actual cash to attend one. Having said that, I probably come across as cheapskate. But hey, tickets cost a lot to me. Almost every concert before, I managed to get free tickets, be it offered by friends or through my dad. Heh. In a way, it was a milestone.
And of course,
The one who talked me into spending $, Jose!
Once again, I found myself at MTV World Stage. The only other time I went was back in '09 when it was held at Sunway Lagoon. This year it was at i-City.
I remember the arduous task of getting my hands on those tickets. I spent several days at the site clicking open random luggage bags. When I finally won tickets, I felt over the moon.. until I saw what they really were; 2 TGV movie passes. BAHSHFAIJS The disappointment I felt at the time. :/
Then, Shi Lin told me about being able to redeem tickets by buying some Celcom number. It just so happens that they stopped by Sunway College then. Without a second's hesitation I told her to get it for me. That reminds me, I have a celcom number lying around somewhere in the house I had never bothered to open. I only got it for the sake of the tickets. Redeeming them was a whole nother story. I travelled down to Pavillion literally the day after I got the vouchers, via LRT. A few days before that, went down to Pavillion with Adeline and some other friends so luckily she was there to lead the way (and hence I didn't get lost too).
2011 also marks the first time I worked.
Found myself a student helper's position through Aly. Spent the entire week preparing for the Pharmacy Board Meeting. The paperwork was overwhelming to say the least. Luckily, Blondiee was there too. So it felt more like going to uni to hang out, rather than work. :D
Punch, punch, punch.
Miscellaneous events?
I attended Alpha sessions every so and so Saturday at Whispering Hope. Mun's and Joshua's church. Went for the monthly LifeGen's too at Jean's church.
All in all, it's been a very eventful year. It could even rival '10 which I had considered the best year yet. (: Hah! Twists and turns, ups and downs, but..
The best part of 2011? The people I met. I think I'll just let this part speak of itself.
Fully instagrammed;
A gleaming shadow,
Tower over me,
Everlasting friendships,
Now and forever.
Even picked up a new hobby. :)When you put all the little pieces together, you see the big picture.
In short, awesome people are awesome. (:
Maybe an individualized description is in order. Hah.
Here's to an awesome 2011, and looking forward to an even better 2012. (: Cheers. I love you guys.
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