Archive for February, 2007

Winds of Change

Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

Some events that have recently transpired over the past week have shaken my faith in the principles of meritocracy and supposed nondiscrimination policy.

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On a different note, after my Bachelor’s degree graduation in June, I’ll be leaving Cambridge, heading south for the City of London next year for my Graduate Clinical Studies. I’m definitely going to miss my undergraduate life and all the friends that I’ve made throughout my three years in Cambridge. It was a really enriching and educational experience. Nowhere in the world can I get the opportunity to study medical science in such a preeminent institution of science like Cambridge. Studying science in Cambridge is not much different from drinking from a guzzler.

Quotes from some of my dear friends.
‘A fish that does not change pond will not grow’

‘It will be a year of growth and new horizons’

Will I miss Cambridge? The university? The colleges? The town? The people? Being a big city-loving person, I look forward to London. Yet, the fond memories of this small town will definitely be cherished. And most importantly, I have with me something that defines all Cambridge graduates – the Cambridge culture: we work like crazyyyyyyyyyyy. Really really crazy. Everyone here does! Cambridge is no place for slackers. (times like this, you just wish you had more slackers to ‘normalize’ the student population)
But one things for sure: I’ve had a very supportive circle of friends here in Cambridge. Medics and nonmedics. And I’m definitely going to miss them. But I guess I have to get used to the notion of moving on and not staying on in one place for too long. As I have always.

‘… it’s ironic how people start to know you better. And grow fond of you. Then suddenly, you’re gone.’

‘… it’s not fair, you know. You can’t just waltz in and out of people’s life, as you please’

It’s not that I like it. Circumstances normally dictate my life in that direction.

Anyway, much to my delight, I will be heading off to the Royal Free & University College Medical School in London for my interview tommorrow. This is THE most selective and most oversubscribed London medical school, affiliated to many fine London teaching hospitals including University College London Hospital – the most technologically advanced hospital in Europe, if not the world. (or so they claim la.. haha) I’ve seen the hospital and it looks very impressive.
I was half expecting them not to call me for an interview. 😛
Wish me luck! 🙂

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A nice quote from Psalms Chapter 37: 24 ‘Though he fall, he shall not utterly be cast down: For the Lord upholdeth him with His hand’
In case you’re wondering, no, I’m not a Christian. But I do sometimes peruse the Bible out of interest. (Yes, I’ve read books of many religions.. out of curiosity and academic interest). What religion do I profess? I am most certainly NOT an atheist or agnostic.

I am a raised Buddhist, yet not too religious in rituals. Somehow or rather, through reading and empirical observations, I know more about other religions , namely Judaism, Christianity and Islam than my own. (and to think that I got the cheek to call myself a Buddhist 😀 )

Personally, I believe more in the importance purity of thoughts and sincerity of actions, and one’s responsibility to do good to other people around him/her, and act accordingly to his/her place in the marvel of God’s creation that is nature. Basically, my personal motto is quite simple -‘Do good and never mean any harm to anyone’.
Might that classify me as a free thinker? I doubt it. But, what happens if one’s own views of life is a combination of ‘cut and paste’ tenets and values from many different religions?

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

Saturday, February 17th, 2007

Dear readers,

Happy Chinese New Year! May this new year of the Boar bring us good health, good luck and prosperity! Here’s to a great year ahead of us!

Regards,

Yours truly.

A full circle

Sunday, February 11th, 2007

This morning (US Eastern Standard Time), the Board of Overseers of Harvard will appoint its 28th president and the first female president in the university’s 371 years of history.

Read more about it here.

Drew Gilpin Faust, currently Dean of Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard, is set to take over the leadership of the world’s richest and, (perhaps arguably) the most powerful university.

Her appointment comes nearly one year after former Harvard President, Lawrence H. Summers (a prominent American economist who’s also ex-Secretary of Treasury during the Clinton administration) was forced to resign due to his clash with many members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and his costly remark during the 2005 National Bureau of Economics Research (NBER) conference that the innate ability or preference of women may be the reason why women are under-represented in high-end science and engineering positions.

Other candidates who’ve been seriously considered by The Harvard Corporation included Thomas Cech (HHMI president), Steve Hyman (Harvard Provost), John Etchemendy (Stanford Provost), and most interestingly, Allison Richards (yes, our dear Vice-Chancellor herself! One wonders if she might have followed the footsteps of Amartya Sen, Nobel laureate and former Master of Trinity College, Cambridge who was lured back to Harvard as Lamont University Professor, citing that Harvard gave him an ‘offer he couldn’t refuse’). Looks like VC Richards is set to stay in Cambridge University till the end of her tenure at 2010.

From Summers’ allegedly sexist remarks, to the appointment of the first female President of a traditionally male-dominated seat of learning, we have come to a full circle of events.

Or have we?

Snow in Cambridge!

Thursday, February 8th, 2007

Today it snowed in Cambridge, and, as reported in the papers, in many parts of England and Wales as well. The unique thing about today’s snowfall is that it was really heavy and, as of now, I can still see snow on the ground from outside my college room. News reports state that this is the heaviest snowfall in the past 10 years or so, with snow going up to as thick as 10 cm in Sennybridge, Brecon Beacons.

As I walked trudged along the snow-covered footpath to this morning’s lectures, I was somewhat reminded of the first time I saw snow back in my first year in the UK in 2004. It then occured to me how long ago that was, and how fleeting all those memories in my first year were.

In 2004, I could still remember that it was at 10 pm at night when it first started snowing. Together with the other Malaysian and Singaporean students in my college, we greeted the snow with the excitement of a 5-year-old kid when given a candy.

Nearly three years has flown by.

And now, I’m in my third year.

Occasionem cognesce!

 

Occasionem Cognosce

Wednesday, February 7th, 2007

I chanced upon a profoundly-striking advice today. (From the internet, no less.)

This is advice that comes from a man who once stood upon the threshold of possibility that we all stand upon today. That advice:

Occasionem Cognosce: “Recognize your opportunity!”

Thus, today begins our own time of opportunity; seize it!

This piece of advice also came from the same man who said: “Two things are always new – youth and the quest for learning”. “Occasionem Cognosce” has also been a motto of the Lowell family, and is proudly displayed on the arms of Lowell House.