Tuesday 29 July 2008

Unemployed

It's already the last week of July, and although i've applied to quite a number of jobs, i remain unemployed; who said getting a degree would open up doors into the work place eh?

Not only that, but i question myself as to which box i should be ticking in future application forms.. as i am clearly no longer a student, but nor do i feel comfortable calling myself a biochemist working in the field of science (as i clearly am not), and in the face of reality i am just an unemployed graduate with no job and no secure future plans, other than wishing to apply for medical school once again (a box for this does not normally exist).

Being bored at home with little money to spend, i've resorted to being in charge of cleaning the house and i guess this makes the day go by slightly quicker, the simpsons at 6pm, and watching people arguing over silly matters on big brother at 9/10pm often helps a little too. Though i really ought to be revising or at least practising for my UKCAT exam which is coming up on monday.

I know i moan a lot about the UKCAT, but i really do hate the amount of importance placed on it, perhaps i am bias because i don't think i am suited to doing well in those tests, and particularly not the AR section which for me is perhaps the hardest section. Well i only have 6 days left to do the ukcat and find out what sort of score i'll be bringing forward with my application to medical school this October; and if indeed it does go badly, then i will have to do the even more dreaded Gamsat this September.

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A bit random, but i've recently added a statistics widget to my blogger with an option to display the type of key words people have typed in google to reach my blog, and i find it quite funny or interesting to read the sort of things people have typed and ended up on my blog:

i.e
"Could i drink a lot of soya in 1 day"

i guess i can see how google may have associated that to my blog, but i don't think my blog has been very useful to the person typing that question into google.

Wednesday 9 July 2008

UKCAT 2008

i have reluctantly made a booking to sit the UKCAT on august 4th... !

i hate how much importance is placed on the UKCAT.....

its not even that much of a fair test, as everyone gets given different questions..(!) and i really can't understand how the £60 a go price can be justified - especially as they knocked out 2 of the 5 sections last year..and all they have set up is a computer, a dodgy mouse, a giant calculator (one of those i had in year 3), and a print out of the score sheet at the end of it....

..... and throughout the entire experience, the centre staff are just sitting down with a mug of tea and a biccie.

Although i didn't really excel in the BMAT test last year either, but i still think the BMAT is far fairer test of academic capabilities in comparrison to the UKCAT..which is just silly!

Ok... even with all the moaning.. i will still have to sit this test, and have to start reading through the UKCAT book again this year... and just have everything crossed i don't end up with a low score!

but in terms of good purchases.... I'm sold... epMotion is the way to go!!


official site: http://www.eppendorf.com/int/hawkpopup.php?contentid=13#epmmp3

A friend of mine whos currently doing the extramural year at novartis decided to send me this clip.. which had obviously been sent round...

OK..i'm quite sad for liking it, but i thought it was quite funny.. !!
... and with the prospects of 3 research projects which needs doing next year.. i'm going to make sure i find a lab with epMotion!

But on a serious note..

im not really sure if i should do the MRes or to just find a job for the year.. preferably something health related so i can boost my medical school application prospects next year...and of course earning an income would be good too!

Its quite a hard choice.. on one hand doing the MRes at IC will give me more ticks in the academic box, and i quite like doing research so i think i'll enjoy the year.. but on the other hand, with a degree in hand i already tick the academic box...so perhaps gaining more hands on work as an HCA might be better.. ......anyone with any advice ??

Thursday 3 July 2008

Tofu BSc (Hons) ^.^

Had a quick lunch ... ok it wasn't much of a lunch... a plate of chicken wings and nachos between 5 and the rest of the lunch was really just alcohol to numb the fear of results day!

In fact, the few drinks took longer than had expected, and by the time we got to the Franklin Wilkins building, the exam results had already been released, and there were groups of people outside the building either bearing a smile or a frown..
.................this sort of made it even worse for me, as people already knew their results, whilst i was still trying to hike up the flight of stairs to the academic centre (i do wonder how long it's going to take for me to complete the race for life: 5km run i signed up for... as i am extremely unfit, and my lungs scream at the thought of running after the bus..let alone 5km!).

I was pleasently surprised with my results for bioinformatics (this was for me one of the hardest courses ive taken at kcl in terms of having to learn a lot in a short space of time, and applying it!), cancer (i seriously thought i had messed up the 2nd essay question), and protein (i thought i had messed up the 3rd essay question in section B).

I was then not so pleasently surprised by my mark for my dissertation (i thought, well more like i seriously wanted a first for it, but ended up at 1% short of the mark..grrrr)

..and well finally... aging, and free radicals in human disease were.. well expectedly bad! Akk im just happy i managed to survive the dreaded free rad module!

So yay, i passed my degree, and with First class honours, which brought a huge smile to my face, and well..it pretty much stayed there even in my sleep!! Couldn't quite believe my luck... an overall 'i-score' of 69.42 average, and the viva to give me the extra 0.58 marks i needed! ... all i have to say is... thank god kcl uses an "i-score" system !!

The rest of the day was just spent at Guy's campus where a small reception party was held, and my friends made use of the free drinks available, and i said good bye to a few lecturers and proffessors... and unlike the typical drinking frenzy you see in films or on tv... my celebrations with friends was just a nice hearty meal at a japanese restraunt and a drink in a cafe to end the evening.

Now, with a degree in hand.... what next (whilst re-applying for the 3rd time to medical school this october >.<).........
........
to work as an hca?
to get a graduate job?
to go ahead and do the MRes?
to travel?

hmm well before i plan what i get up to next year... i better book a time and place to sit the UKCAT, and start reading that dreaded book again... i really hated the abstract section last year, and was so glad it got scapped; but to my dismay..its back again AKKkkkkkkkkk!!

Tuesday 1 July 2008

1 day away!

Had to settle for a nice lunch with a friend, as our plans to go to the kcl shop and get hold of the kcl monopoly board was a failure today, as we arrived at 2.05pm, and the shop had closed at 2pm!! Akkk! Though after lunch we managed to finished the day off by wondering off to the science museum and the natural history museum at south kensington.

The science museum did seem a lot better when i was younger..whether its because ive grown old now, or just its less intersting now, with the less funding they get these days.. im not sure.

The natural history museum on the other hand was actually quite good, and i really enjoyed strolling through their different themed rooms, and taking random photos with my friend; unsure if its just a girl's thing, but i particulary like the room with the different stones and crystals on display! ^.^


back onto the 1 day left until results topic... although i always like to mention how quickly 3 years have seem, but it really has seem as if the past 3 years have just flown past in a blink of an eye, and from tomorrow onwards i can call myself a graduate!

Results can go either way, and not much i can do about it now, other than to wait and see.. and of course to go in a collect them.. !

MSc/MRes applications have been slightly better than my medical school applications this year, and have an unconditional offer for the MSc course at kcl, which sorts of put my heart at rest, as in the worst circumstances i still have something to do next year..but with the fees set at almost 5k... im not sure if its really a plausable option! I have a MSc interview next month at ucl, which should be intersting.. as after having a chit chat with my friends.. im not really too sure whether i would like to do the course at ic or the one at ucl.. i guess the important factor here is cost, and really if it would increase my employability for the years to follow, as i keep trying to get into medicine.

Summer plans..well are just to relax at the moment, but am looking to apply for some voluntary work, not only for the summer, but hopefully something long term i can keep doing next year, and keep myself busy at times...so am currently looking at either hospitals or elderly care homes in my local area, or perhaps one near my uni next year.