YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE (EH??)

I am indecisive. I always, always, need other people to help me decide.
Sometimes when I already decided, I still need to ask others' opinion to support me, and tell me that I am right.

So a student called yesterday, asked me to be an accompany officer for their programme in an isolated place.
Deep inside I know that I will go (after been persuaded by boss as well).
But being an indecisive person I am, I told a friend about it.

Ija: Aku susah hati. Macam kena pergi jugak program tu.

Kawan Ija: Berapa ramai yang escort program tu?

Ija: Dari UIA aku sorang la. 

Kawan Ija: Berape lame program tu?

Ija: Khamis sampai Sabtu. Tak ada phone coverage. How am I gonna live? T_T

Kawan Ija: Ok la tu. 3 hari je. Kalau bosan main Hangman. ;)

Monolog Ija: Huh??? (dan kite baru tahu hari ni elektrik kat sana pakai generator. boleh ke nak charge hp nnt? kalau tak tak boleh la main hangman).

Ija: Aku xde semangat la..Tak ada orang yang aku kenal.

Kawan Ija: Firstly, program tu kejap je. Anggap la nak tolong orang. Jangan cepat pikir negatif ... (yadda yadda banyak jugak die bebel). Second, anggap je la program tu nak pergi bercuti, tengok tempat baru, relax2. 

Monolog Ija: Aku nak pergi bercuti ke island. Tamo kampong orang asli. T_T

*dialog been edited here and there, nanti panjang sangat pulak*

So I wake up this morning, already decided. See, kan dah cakap, kadang2 tu memang dah decide, but because of the indecisive trait in me, I need others to rationalize things, and sometimes encourage me. Hehe.

Thanks friend. Budak body builder owe u one.

Feeling2 nak pergi kampung orang asli di pinggir hutan, carik lagu tarzan. You'll never walk alone, eh, You'll be in my heart.

Chow! Kite nak pergi baktisiswa ni. Feeling2 mahasiswa lagi gittewww...

THE HELP REVIEW: FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT

So I watched The Help. When I watched the trailer and read the synopsis, it catches my attention –racial issue between black and white, civil right movement, and fight for justice in America in 1960s. It reminds me of Remember the Titans and A Time to Kill (from the unfair treatment to the black point of view). Well it is not as good as the two movies, but the message is there. 

The Help is adapted from a 2009 novel by Kathryn Stockett of the same name. I didn’t read the novel though (not yet, am looking for it at the moment. Kuantan bookstore is so pathetic!). This is the synopsis taken from websites, as I am so lazy to make my own: 

-The Help stars Emma Stone as Skeeter, Viola Davis as Aibileen and Octavia Spencer as Minny-three very different, extraordinary women in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s, who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk. From their improbable alliance a remarkable sisterhood emerges, instilling all of them with the courage to transcend the lines that define them, and the realization that sometimes those lines are made to be crossed-even if it means bringing everyone in town face-to-face with the changing times (Rotten Tomatoes). 

-An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African-American maid's point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis (IMDb). 

This kind of movie always caught my attention. It gave me goose bump seeing how brave and courageous people can be to fight for their right. Maybe Aibileen Clark it is not as moving or aspiring as Coach Boone in Remember the Titans (played by the legendary Denzel Washington),  but she nailed the character very well. I can see her despair and sorrow whenever the maids were been treated like a non-human whom doesn’t have heart and feeling by their misses. And I love how Minny Jackson has her own way to speak her mind and give lesson to people. Yucks but yeay Minny! And I love ur big round eyes! As for Skeeter, I don’t see her as a strong character, but of course she is nice. OMG I love her hair (so cantik laaa) and her laugh. I never notice u before, Emma. U berlakon cerita ape eh?

The other thing I love about the movie is the set. Jackson is well portrayed as a clean, neat and tidy, and green small town. The house yards are beautiful! And their dresses. Sangat cantik and classy ok. ;)

The only thing I found lacking is how the director illustrates the friendship between Skeeter-Aibileen-Minny. It is not as strong as I imagined it would be. If the director could show a bit more on their true friendship, or how they are willing to sacrifice for each other, it will be perfect. 

Remember the Titans is better because it involved sports, and it is a true story not fictional. Its really inspiring to see how people unite by it. A Time to Kill is even better because a father (played by another great actor Samuel L Jackson) is looking for justice for her own daughter that could not be served by the system. But of course all three brought tears to my eyes, tehee…

Lastly, a quote from Aibileen:   

‘You are kind, you are smart, you are important’.

Yes you! ;)

UNCRAVED

Hello love

Couple with a cup of hot coffee on rainy day

One happy fatty kiddo

LOVE IS IN THE AIR HAHA

;) ;) ;)

Cik Dietitian's notes:

The basic ingredients of muffin are sugar, butter/oil, egg, and milk. They are refined sugar, saturated fat and cholesterol. Hence here are some tips to make it healthier:

1. Use vegetable oil such as canola oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, etc instead of palm oil. Those are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), or so called the 'good fat' that could benefits your cardiovascular health by reducing total cholesterol as well as LDL cholesterol (the bad guy cholesterol). Provided that it is taken as recommended -excessive is also not good. They are still fat thus there still calorie in them.

2. Use low fat/non fat buttermilk. Butter is also saturated fat that might raised the LDL cholesterol. If you use milk in your recipe, go for low fat milk.

3. Reduce the amount of sugar used. Simple sugar is also not good for your health, for the obvious reason (malas nak tulis dah sebenarnya =P)

4. Add fiber! You can add almonds (they are MUFA), oats or flaxseeds. You'll get not only crunchier muffin (yup i like the taste of something crunchy in my muffins), but also healthier one. 

Or if you dont have time like me (yeah i know lazy is the right word),  just have them once in a while when u are so craved for it. By once in a while I mean once in 2-3 month, and take 1 muffin per craving episode. Should be fine, no?

CRAVINGS

Dari tengahari teringin, ingat sampai ke malam hilanglah ia
Tapi makin lama makin terbayang, makin ternampak di depan mata
Jangan masuk ke dalam mimpi ya..
Nampaknya misi hari esok adalah mencari si dia

Blueberry muffins my love

Walau yang didamba tiada
Kak Ira datang mengubat duka, Coki2 dibawa
Molek sangat buat pengubat ngantuk, dikala membaca report students
Terima kasih daun keladi Kak Ira

Coki coki lazat sekali

2011: ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

 2 days left to say adios to 2011. 2011, for me, is a unique year. It can be divided into two phase –relaxing phase (up to the point it’s depressing), and ‘back in business’ phase. 

I was struggling to find job during the first phase. Mind u, I quit my first job on November 2010, after only 6 months of working. I was so confident at that time that I won’t be jobless for too long. Yeah silly me. That being said, I never (read: never ever ever ever ever ever –Barney Stinson’s style) regret the decision. The time I quit was the same time as my sister deliver Syauqi (my very first nephew), also my youngest brother involved in pretty serious accident. So I could lend some hand to my parents at home (or that’s what I thought I did –u know, to ease myself, heh). 

CPU Bangi was cool, but HATTM was pfftt. ;)

Anyway not that I didn’t get any offer during the first phase. I did get a few –but turned it down. Yeah I know, dah la tak ada kerja, mengada-ngada pulak nak memilih. In my defense, my 1^st job really thought me to be selective. Haha. Don’t get me wrong, I really learnt a lot from being a catering dietitian. It’s just that I can’t keep up with the work. The job demands me 24-7. They even call me at 2,3 am, also on the weekend. So yeah, I chose to leave. 

Well here are the recaps of the ups and downs in 2011. Check it out!

January

-I supposed to report duty for the Dutchlady job on the 3^rd. The pay was good though. I choose to stay at home instead ;).

-Fizah (my paus-mate) and Radzi wedding. I went to Radzi’s reception in USJ. 

February

-Besties wedding, Nawa. My roommate for 4 years. 

I love it how many of us are not ready in this pix. Love!

Add another year to my age, I am 24! Hey I'm cool with it (tipu).

One of my favorite from SR -chocolate strawberry. Yummeyh! Thanks long.

-Another month of being jobless. On the positive side, my cooks were improving (again, nak sedapkan hati).

March

-Interview in IIUM Kuantan, as clinical dietitian. God knows how nervous I was to be interviewed by dear lecturers –Dr Nik and Sis Fathin. I pass the interview, has to wait for 2^nd interview in Gombak by MSD. Quoted from Dr Nik when he advised me on tips for Gombak’s interview –‘I remember u being a very confident student in class, so I don’t have issue with ur confidence level. Its just that u have to be critical, because MSD love to ask question to test ur critical thinking skill (Nampak sangat budak ni maleh memikir haha).

Gath with these crazy but adooorable girls during interview, in diet kitchen and no less. How nostalgic that was. Love!

April

……………………………………. <--Shows depression. Six months with no jobs. No news from UIA. I seriously thinking about pursuing masters.

May

-Kakya’s wedding. 

-Went to IDP open day. Semangat berkobar-kobar nak sambung study. Dream big, nak pergi oversea. There’s no harm in planning (and dreaming) right?

-The end of May, saw some light at the end of the tunnel (cewah). Went for interview as a part time dietitian in Selayang Hospital (SH). Thanks to a friend Ilman for the info. Alhamdulillah was accepted (at last, sayonara jobless!).

June

-Kick off in SH. Blessed with a chance to work with many great, inspiring, and of course, fun people –Big boss Pn Mages (used to be our visiting lecturer back then), Kak Nora, Kak Elly, Kak Zam, Kak Fizah, June, Ben, TLF, and Ilman. 

Wonderful people

-Miya-Iqbal wedding! I went to Iqbal’s reception at Pontian. It was a day trip with Ilman, Pitat and Alip. And it was crazeyh! Haha. Laughing all the way. Alip asyik buat lawak bangang je sepanjang jalan (ade ke patut panggil aku JAH?).

Kitorang jadi extra dalam photoshoot diorg. Cool.

July

-Start this blog ;)

-My first time in PD. Hooooray! Thanks to my kakak and BIL for the invite to stay at TNB’s guest house with them. Went to Kakfizah’s wedding in PD as well.

Kakfizah yang gorjes.

-Move in to Kak Elly’s house. A very wonderful time with Kak Elly and June. They are the bestest and coolest housemates ever!

Buka puasa bersama2 @ Restoran asam pedas. OMG their bubur lambuk is awesome.

-Finally, interview at IIUM Gombak. However I was really demotivated at that time. The other candidates are the best –Pitat is very experienced, has been working in HKL more than a year already, and the rest; Ramadan, Sakini and Karimah, although they are juniors, I know that they are the best in their batch. So yeah, I just went, feeling down. And was the last to be interviewed. My hope at that time? 10%. Yup only that much. Betul tak tipu. Still, faiza ‘azamta, fatawakkal alallah~

August

-Puasa! Ramadhan kareem.

-4^th Ramadhan: The date that I’ll remember forever. It was the holy month Ramadhan, after Zuhur prayer and mengaji in the surau, I got the call from MSD, was accepted to IIUM. Alhamdulillah.

-It was also my last month in SH. As much as I longing to work in IIUM, I was having second thought about leaving SH. Betul tak tipu. Kakak2 kat SH baik sangat, the working environment was cool. So I say my farewell to SH, that has thought me a lot. :(

Pn Mages ckp, kita buat gaya freestyle laa.. ;)

-Hari raya aidilfitri!

September

-Start off at IIUM. Uish memang berdebar. Only a week after report duty the final year students start their clinical attachment. I was in charged for In-patient, in HTAA. That’s why I am so grateful and blessed for the chance to work in SH, though it was only for a short period. It sorta trained and polished me to be ready to teach students. Thanks SH!

The first group attached with me. Sorry I was still new at that time. I wish for us to start over.

October

Busy jangan kacau ;)

It takes forever to finish checking the logbooks

November

-Busy jugak ;)

-Hari Raya Aidiladha. The first birthday of the cutest little monsters.

Qi dan eyin, one year old

-Oh attend Clinical Nutrition Workshop. Cool!

December

-Final rotation, final group, finally…

-IIUM Mosque is finally done. Alhamdulillah. Really brought back memories…

IIUM Kuantan mosque. We grew up in IIUM listening to the sounds of its construction.

Well that’s pretty much the summary of 2011. I even blogged about some of the event, u know, to keep them as memory. It is a challenging year, with the job issue and what not. The most important lesson that I learn was Allah is the ultimate planner. Wa makaru wa makarallah, wallahu khairul makirin. What we can do is to keep on going, keep on praying. Jangan putus asa dengan rahmat Allah. Always remember that Allah knows best. There’s always something in everything.  So 2011, bai bai! Although you were a difficult year, I still love u, u know? 

2012? Azam? New year resolution? I don’t set any specific target. I am just hoping to become better –better Muslim, daughter, sister, friend, dietitian, and employee. Yeah maybe there are certain things that I wanted to achieve and do, hence may Allah ease everything. Semoga diberi yang terbaik. So 2012, bring it on!!!

Jangan malas berdoa

 Love, Ija.

THE STORY OF MY DIETETIC COUNSELING -PART 2

Being a dietitian is not all about dietetic consultation. Sometimes its beyond that. Take today’s case as example. I was covering Kak Aishah in Klinik Sekilau. One of the patient today was a 50 yo Science teacher. She was the 8^th pt, the last pt before lunch hour, newly diagnosed with diabetes mellitus.

So same old same, I asked for her 24 hour diet recall, and the food frequency checklist. To cut the story short, she practices a very good, healthy, well and balanced diet (the one that I myself found it hard to do), all that you can find in the textbook. The portion size is very good, no refined sugar in the diet, lots of veggies (organic some more), healthy cooking methods, healthy lifestyle, exercise regularly, regular medical check up, and she also has an ideal body weight. She claimed that she has always been practicing healthy diet, and has become more conscious on diet ever since her husband was diagnosed with cancer in 2004. She knows all about the anti oxidants, omega 3, unsaturated fat and what not, as she claimed that she read about diet more than she study for her Masters. That’s how conscious she is. That being said, she has a strong family hx of DM, as her mother was diabetic.  

Her question is –what have I done wrong?

It’s a very difficult question. Because she asked that not because she didn’t know the answer, but she asked that out of despair, frustrated, and sad. I could sense that she was heartbroken. It is always easy to counsel diabetic pt based on the guidelines that we have –regular meal time, don’t skip meal, avoid refined sugar, carbohydrate counting, increase fiber and less fat. What if your pt already knows all these stuffs, and what more has been practicing it for long? Do I still nag about all these things? Of course I still did the usual diabetic counseling; despite she already knows most of it, but with justification. Each diabetic guideline that I mentioned to her, comes with the ‘why’. Well I hope that helps. But that’s not all.

Remember I mentioned before that diet consultation is very individual? So I told the pt, that diabetic, is hereditary. When your mother has diabetes, the chance that u might also get it is 25%. At the beginning of the discussion (I rather called it a discussion as she knows a lot) she was very skeptical about genetic issue (despite being a Science teacher she is). For her it is not fair, you know, to get the disease simply because your mother has it, because it is in your DNA.

I’ve learned Developmental Psychology during my first year of study. The Kubler-Ross grief cycle. There are 5 stages of grief, upon knowing bed news. They are Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. I believed that the pt has been on the second stage –she she keeps questioning why, and how does she get diabetes, with all the healthy diet and lifestyle. She said that if it is not for the biochem result in her hand, and the repeating test, and the diagnosis by doctor, she will never believe it. And she is somewhat giving up on healthy lifestyle, as she mentioned that why bother when at the end of the day, she still sick. 

The Kubler-Ross Grief Cycle -image googled

At the end of the session, I did tell her something else –to bersabar, and having diabetes doesn’t mean the end of the world. She can always continue practicing healthy lifestyle, take control of the disease, don’t let it ruin you, physiologically and emotionally. And that was not me as a dietitian talking –that was me as a human being, trying to put myself in her shoes. Its difficult, really. I just hope that she will reach the end stage of the grieving process, which is the ACCEPTENCE phase, make peace with the disease, and yeah, control it.

Sometimes its hard to explain things with Science. As a Muslim, we have to have faith in Qada’ and Qadar. When Allah said kun, fayakun. No one can stop it from happening. And we must believe that there is always something in everything. Setiap perkara yang terjadi ada hikmahnya. La yukallifullahu nafsan illa wus’aha. May Allah grant us with good health, amin.

CERITA PMR 9A

I sit for PMR in 2001. It was 10 years back. 10 years! Really, how fast time flies. Kalau beranak tu anak kite dah 10 tahun dah, darjah 4. See how long ago it is. The memory of taking PMR is still there (somewhere in my brain), but somehow it has become hazy. Oh memory please don’t go away.

My lower form was in Ma’ahad As-Sultan Ahmad Shah Ad-Dini. Siqah kan nama? It is a sekolah agama under JAIP. Sekolah agama ni ada 2 jenis –under Jabatan Agama Islam Negeri (kain hijau) and also Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama (SMKA, kain biru). The different is sekolah agama kain hijau took all the ‘religious courses’ (subjek agama) in Arabic; Quran, Hadis, Nahu, Tauhid, Feqah, Sirah Nabawiyyah, Tafsir, etc (could not recall la). 

Serius rindu nak jejak kaki ke sini. -Pic from Maahad website

Back  to the PMR story. Today was the announcement of the result for PMR 2011. Tengok berita see all the happy faces mula la layan blues teringat zaman kite dulu kan. My result? It was excellent! Haha. Hey its true I got 9A for my PMR 2001. When I saw in the news  those that get straight A’s I was telling them (or telling the TV, or…telling myself actually) hey aku pon straight A jugak lol! *Immatured! I know*. Anyway it is their moment kan, so lets not steal their thunder. Let them enjoy and be happy about it. We have ours before, so cukup2 la tu. Sekarang tak rasa apa2 pon dapat 9A itu. ;)

But I was the best student for my school back then (haha tak habes lagi cerita berlagak aku nih). Masa nak amik result pagi tu dah ready nak gi amik ngan abah ni. Dalam kereta kawan abah pakcik Muzahid (his daughter and son are my friend Mardhiah Hanis and Syafiq. Syafiq kawan before kite lompat kelas, Mardhiah kawan after lompat kelas –they are only one year apart) called and spilled the beans. Ish tak surprise langsung. So I went to school already knowing my result. Sampai sekolah the school clerk tried to crack a joke saying I got 9E. Ye la tu. Of course I was so happy at that time. Though I was telling myself be cool, jangan riya’, but more or less ada jugak rasa bangga itu. Astaghfirullah. 

Reminiscing all these memories tiba2 tergerak nak tengok website Ma’ahad itu. Guess what I found? Tadaaa… haha. See I don’t lie.  

From the list, Habib also went to Kisas, stay for STAM in Kisas, then further study in Middle East (kalau tak salah). Nuar lost contact, Udi (Fadhilah), Fizah and Sarida all taking Laws in IIUM, Ainul IRK IIUM, Izzate pon lost contact. Haa list kat atas tu for year 2002 Muhammad Syafiq Muzahid (yes it’s the Syafiq anak pakcik Muzahid I mentioned earlier) amik architecture, IIUM jugak. *Eh sapik ko dapat D subjek apa hah? Hehe*. Eh budak Ma’ahad ni suke betol masuk UIA ye.

Though PMR seems unimportant now, but I am so grateful for what I got because of it. I was accepted to a very wonderful school (not to say that Ma’ahad is not wonderful. Both schools are great in their own way) because of it. Therefore, despite knowing that they are not reading this, my du’a goes to all my teachers in Ma’ahad, for all the thoughts of the wonderful 3 years. May Allah bless all of u. Amin.