This month’s 2T1 Feature stars our very own Tom Fung! Find out more about him in this interview with our 2T1 Monograph representative Kyle!
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from and what were you doing before pharmacy?
I was born Yarmouth Nova Scotia, and moved to the GTA when I was 1 or 2. I was raised for most of childhood in the Markham and Scarborough area. Did both my Bachelors and M.Sc in Pharmacology at UofT and I come from a family of 3 boys, one twin, one older brother.
What do you like to do for fun, outside of studying?
Spare time is hard to come by these days, I try to keep myself busy with extracurriculars at school, projects and side hustles. I just started a new passion in videography and photography. I had a lot of fun creating the MMI video and from there I kept pursuing it. It’s very satisfying, despite me not being great at it. I also play a lot of volleyball and try to cook as much as I can to destress. When I do cook, I try to stick to one cuisine at a time; for example, for a month, everything I make myself and other people will be that cuisine (ex. Japanese food) and once I feel I’ve got a grasp on it, I move on. The next cuisine that I want to try is Indian food. There’s not much other free time to find between work, class council, clubs, Dragon Boat and intramurals.
What sort of music or TV shows do you like listening/watching?
I think I’m the opposite of a music savant. As much as I like music, I struggle with finding new music, so I tend to go to my friends who know it better. In terms of what I listen to, it ranges: from trap, to indie rock, to korean music: just a little bit of everything. However, I am not a fan of country music.
I try to watch almost everything. I especially like BBC dramas like Luther and Broadchurch and I’m watching a show right now called Bodyguard, which is absolutely phenomenal. I tend to always have some show playing in the background when I’m home. I like to try every TV show at least once. If I fall in love with it, I will binge it, and finish it right away. My guilty pleasure is Terrace House right now, though it’s not usually the type of show that I watch.
If your house was on fire, and you only had time to grab 3 things, what would they be and why?
My cat, I love my cat, he means the world to me. You can replace anything else but not my cat.
My Japanese chef’s knife. It’s one of a kind, it’s one of my prized possessions and has a lot of sentimental value.
My bike. It gets me everywhere, and I put a lot of time and energy into customizing and fixing it up. A lot of dedication, sweat and effort went into it and it would be a shame for it to go to waste.
If you were in a superhero comic, would you rather be a hero or a villain? What abilities/powers would you have?
Definitely a hero, I don’t think I’d ever want to be a villain. I want to be Batman, because I think having superpowers is like cheating. He has to do everything himself, physically driving to locations, and inventing new gadgets, each with a unique purpose to fight his enemies. When he fights crime, he has to do it the old-fashioned way by doing the detective work. I like that he does everything hands-on. It speaks to my work ethic and my love for making creative solutions. (Having money as Batman helps of course).
As someone who’s been at U of T (and by extension, Toronto) for a while, what are some cool spots on campus/downtown that people might not know about?
On campus, the Gerstein Stacks. It’s an area entirely made of glass and metal, no wood, nothing else. When there’s a room with just glass and metal, static electricity just builds up, and whenever you move, something gets shocked. Not a lot of people know it and it’s not the most comfortable place to study, but it’s really interesting because of the physics of it. If you go with someone, you can surprise them with a shock!
In Toronto, I love the Martin Goodman trail. It’s the path that runs along the harbourfront from Poulson Pier to Humber River, where you can just bike, run or go for a leisurely walk. It’s a great place to cruise along as you get to see all sorts of people, the parks and you get to see the whole entire harbour.
Do you think social media overall has changed society for the better or worse? Why?
Oh man, old man rant incoming.
I think social media has created such a unique way of presenting ourselves to society, for both better and worse. It’s a new level of connectivity and I can stay updated on my friends lives and you can keep track of like 100 people’s lives without ever leaving my couch. You can easily message them and stay updated on everything they’re doing.
It empowers us because it gives us the tools to create, and control how we present ourselves and if you wanted to show one side of yourself, you can create an entire social media presence around it. For example, anybody can easily be a food blogger and show off their passion for food. 20 years ago, it was difficult to do. Now you can be working a 9-5 job, and then have social media focusing around your passions.
The downside of it is twofold. There is a loss of connectivity through decreased intimate experiences. With how easy it is to find what people are up to, it makes you complacent in asking what’s going on with people’s life. It’s easy to know what my friend is doing because I can see it on Instagram but I never ask what’s really going on.
There’s also social media anxiety, with captions, with hashtags, even the poses and angles. I never know what to do and these are things that we stress about everyday. On top of this, I also have this anxiety that I have to watch every story and look at every post. Combining this with all the notifications we get through messages, emails, Quercus updates (you folks know which ones I’m talking about), it can be very overwhelming. It’s almost like you have to manage your social media, so it doesn’t overwhelm you.
Overall, I think it’s change society for the better. But there are steps that we can do to mitigate the negatives. First, it’s important to maintain real and intimate experiences with your friends beyond just a poke or a thumbs up on Messenger. And I think it’s important to be mindful when you use social media and think about exactly what it does for you, rather than just mindlessly scrolling through your phone.
Pineapple on pizza?
Aha this reminds me of first year elections. Pineapple on pizza? Hell yeah, 100% yes. Food needs to be balanced and this includes a touch of acidity and sweetness on pizza. Tomato sauce doesn’t add enough and there aren’t many other ingredients like pineapple on pizza that does the job. It’s like, fish and chips without the lemon or, pad thai without the lime. You need it to balance everything out!
edited from the original for clarity
All photo credits to Michelle Yee, 2T1 Pharmakon Rep.