伴

一个人
总在最脆弱时发现
自己多渴望有个伴
一起分享快乐的喜悦
沮丧时有个肩膀依靠
偶尔也想任性
找个人来依赖

不想
生病时一个人躲在被窝
不想
遇到挫折只能独自流泪

而我的那个他
又在哪里？

massive update - Part 2

moving on to the more academic stuff :)

after the excitements of the MDA demo and Interaction Day, it's back to my lecture notes!
there was the usual lectures to attend..
weekly class tests to revise for..
tutorials to be prepared for..
assignments to complete..
oh ya.. a new part time job as librarian~~
and there was RESEARCH!

as i mentioned in the previous post, our timetable "seemed okay.." but in reality... (= =)"'
tutorials were great, we had role-play for nutrition counseling, case studies for MNT, same goes for Food Service and Environmental Issues..
but all these take up a lot of time.
though undeniable, they really helped us a lot in understanding the topic better.
and assignments!! they were really a painful lot.. the amount of effort put in and the amount of marks allocated was super disproportionated!
so much work, yet it carries so little marks. but i guess to make myself feel better, i'd like think that all the hard work is going to make me a better dietitian in future :)

something interesting this semester was the fieldvisit for Foodservice Management.
we visited foodservice outlets under Sodexho Malaysia in KL..
lucky me, i got to visit the biggest of them all, Sodexho Pantai Hospital KL!
there, we got to understand the organization a little better, by observing the whole daily operations behind the scenes ;)
how the food items were received, how were they stored..
the preparation of the ingredients, and the production process..
the ever so hectic yet efficient plating..
it was altogether an unforgettable experience..
special thanks to the Unit Manager -- Mr Mervyn for his hospitality while we were there..

whoever knew hospital meals could look so appealing :)

chef in action

RESEARCH~!!! i got the topic that i wanted most -- Short Term Evaluation of the Impact of Dietary Counseling on Outpatients with Dyslipidemia :)
and the greatest part of it, JiaHuan is my research partner!!
it was such a coincidence, both of us never told each other that we were choosing that topic.. and we ended up doing it simultaneously!
our supervisor is Dr Winnie.. yay~~ looking forward to research!
we started off with literature review of everything that we could lay our hands on that is related to the topic..
systematic reviews, studies, statistics, guidelines, books...
then came a point where we developed our conceptual framework..
and the whole big project of writing the proposal..
sample size calculation.. development of forms and questionnaires..........
thank goodness we had Dr Winnie who is so helpful and dedicated to help us..
it wasn't as smooth-sailing as we expected of course, there was a point where we had to redo half of our proposal.. *urgh.. i don't even wanna remember it..*
but in my opinion, i do think we did a great job with the proposal presentation.. kudos to us XP
now it's up to how we perform in the JC next week.. fingers crossed, i hope we do well..

one last piece of good news.. after the months of working part time..
i got it!!
yes yes YES!!! my very own DSLR -- nikon d90
oh, how i long to experiment more and venture into the world of photography~~
that gives me something to look forward to this sem break!
for now, my dear d90 will just have to wait and lie quietly in its case..

i ♥ d90

massive update - part 1

gosh.. what made my stop blogging i really don't know?
they say it's you who determine how much time you've got.. it's what you make out of the 24 hours that you've got each day..
so what have i been doing with my 24 hours??
let's not think about it yet =)
anyway.. i've got 2 months of my life to blog about!! if this is not a massive update, i don't know what is..
but let me just make an ofiicial announcement here...
Semester 5 ENDED yesterday~~!!
now, it's 2 weeks of study break before the dreaded EOS..

okay, back to some seious business, we started semester 5 with a realization that we're Year 3 students! one more year to graduation!!
at first glance, the timetable seemed okay.. *notice i used the word "seemed"*
we have 6 modules this semester:

Medical Nutrition Therapy
Environmental Issues & Nutrition
Food Service Management II
Research Project in N&D I
Nutrition Counseling & Education
Enterprise Management

little did we know what was in store for us....

well, we got busy as soon as we started the semester...
first up, we got an invitation from MDA to do a cooking demonstration during their conference! check this post for details..
then came the long anticipated Nutrition & Dietetics Interaction Day!

it all started when i received a "detailed" email, describing an interesting idea, an event that would include nutrition & dietetics students from UKM, UPM and IMU..
of course we would love to join, that was my 1st reaction..
therefore, with the support from my batchmates and the blessings of our HOD, Dr Winnie, we accepted the offer..
with that, there was a series of online meetings with representatives of the 3 different universities..
a lot had to be discussed, the date, the venue, the activities.....
but most importantly, we had to come up with a committee first
and somehow, i ended up being the Director of the event????
i simply can't imagine how on earth did i get into that position..
let's just hope i didn't let u guys down.
so, with everything in place, we started the whole process of getting approval, booking the venues, inviting speakers, seeking for sponsorship, booking of items...
sometimes it amazes me how we managed to do all that, i mean, none of us have actually met until 2 weeks before the event..
boy, was i really glad that when i met the committee members from UPM at the entrance of IMU..
and when the committee members from UKM finally arrived at the LRT station...
with our 1st ever "official", face-to-face meeting, most things are starting to fall in place.. with some loose ends to sort out..

low an behold, the big day came!!
to tell the truth, it was a restless night for me, it felt as if my intestines were tied into a big knot, for fear that something would go wrong or if i had overlooked anything..
as the day went on, i felt like i was on a roller coaster ride, up and down, twist and turn...
we had Dr Kang, our Assoc Dean to officiate the event..
then we had ice-breaking, games..
and we managed to invite our very own Ms Tan Yoke Hwa, the President of MDA and Prof Ismail Noor, the Vice President of NSM to come speak to us!
how honoured and lucky of us..
so, i think i'll just skip the little hitches that we've run into throughout the day..

overall i'm glad things went well..
and i do think this is a start of something meaningful, it was really nice getting to know and working with other N&D students..
maybe we should do it again? hahaha... as in Interaction Day - Part 2~~

me and Ms Tan Yoke Hwa, thanks for the informative talk =)


group photo! we love N&D!!!


the committee


the committee.. errrr???


mixture of UKM and IMU.. keep in touch ya..






* * * S p e c i a l * D e d i c a t i o n * * *

1. XinYing: how do i live without u??? hahahaha.. u rock as a secretary!! i'd never be able to do this if u hadn't helped me..

2. WenYi: thanks for agreeing to help when i asked u ya.. so touched when u agreed.. great job with the program

3. JyeDin: u didn't even have the chance to say no, coz we volunteered u :P but great job okay?

4. Jaron: u got involved again =) i always do that to u.. but i hope u had a great time.. great job as emcee..

5. KaiJia: i love you!! thanks for taking charge of the notice boards, u & your team mates did a really great job..

6. LiXian: thanks so so much for everything, the catering, the badges, the souvenirs.. i really appreciate it..

7. Keh Len & William: i was really glad that u guys decided to invite us in the 1st place, u guys are really great to work with.. i hope we do have the chance to work together in future..

8. Jeremy and John: the two Js who are room mates! the so called "budak" and "mr emo".. had a great time working with u guys, hope we meet again!

9. MinLi and Faizal: my cute friends from UPM, see u guys soon, maybe next time we can go visit ur uni?

10. any many many more.. the rest of the committee members, ND108, IMU Student Services, MDA, NSM, participants from UKM and UPM...

"thanks for the great opportunity and beautiful memories!"

Cooking Demonstration @ MDA Scientific Conference 2010

well, since i've already written the article once, no point of me to describe it all over again right? =)
okay, it show's how lazy i am these days..
well here goes...

===== article to be featured in the coming issue of IMU Newsletter =====

It was some time during our semester break when this exciting piece of news landed on our laps. Having read the article of our batch, ND1/08’s Healthy Lunch Craze project, the Malaysian Dietitians’ Association (MDA) decided to invite our batch to do a cooking demonstration during the Malaysian Dietitians’ Association Scientific Conference 2010 and the 16th AGM. Held annually at the Crowne Plaza Mutiara Hotel, Kuala Lumpur; the MDA Scientific Conference is one of the highlights in the Dietetics field.

Then came the big decision, to accept or not to accept the invitation. The invitation was a very rare opportunity, and it is really an honour to be able to do a cooking demonstration during the MDA Scientific Conference. Yet, it would mean extra burden and workload on our part. A lot of preparation is needed before the actual cooking demonstration. After weighing pros and cons, we decided to take up the challenge.

This year’s MDA Scientific Conference theme is “Managing Diabetes: Updates for Dietetic Professionals”. Therefore, when developing the recipe, we tried to cater to the theme; aiming to develop the perfect recipe that diabetic patients can enjoy. To start off, we planned to present a recipe that is suitable for a snack. With that in mind, we started going through recipe books and websites for ideas. Finally we decided to modify one of our recipes from the Healthy Lunch Craze project to a diabetic-friendly recipe.

The perfect snack that we had in mind should be suitable for not just suitable for diabetic patients, but can also serve as a healthy, nutritious snack for the general public. Therefore, we listed a few criterias that we hope our recipe can achieve: the complete package, low in carbohydrate, low in fat, high in fibre, micronutrient-densed and low in Glycaemic Index. Most importantly, to show that a combination of nutrition and taste is possible! With anticipation, the experimenting starts, determining the right amount of dough to make the tortilla, developing the perfect salsa… there’s just so much to be done before the actual demonstration.

Before we knew it, it was already 13th of August, the BIG day! Loaded with the pre-prepared ingredients, cooking utensils, recipe handouts, we started setting up our booth in the exhibition area. Proudly, we found out that we were the only university students that were invited to do a cooking demonstration, other companies and institutions involved in the cooking demonstrations were: Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Swiss Concept Sdn Bhd and Nestle Products Sdn Bhd. Dressed smartly in our caps and aprons, we started our cooking demonstration, attracting the attention of the crowd. Many were impressed with the innovative recipe and presentation of our Grilled Chicken Mini Wrapz.

In the midst of our cooking demonstration, a wave of crowd approached our booth, with flash lights flashing, cameras clicking.. it was the Minister of Health, Dato’ Liow Tiong Lai himself, and the President of the Malaysia Dietitians’ Association, also the Director of the Allied Health Division, Ms Tan Yoke Hwa. The VIP procession was approaching our booth! Smiling confidently, we explained the concept of our recipe and also demonstrated the preparation of the Mini Wrapz. Our recipe modification received a great feedback by the Minister, who is in favor of the promotion of healthy eating. He was also very proud to see students, who will be future dietitians involved in such activities.

This opportunity was really an unforgettable experience for all of us. To be involved in such a meaningful event was really very inspiring. Not only did we have the chance to apply our knowledge of nutrition and dietetics, we also got the experience of presentation and communication to the public. Armed with all the acknowledging smiles and compliments from the audience, we would like shout out: We’re PROUD to be IMU Nutrition and Dietetics students!

========== end ==========

once again, i'm very grateful for my trusty partners whom have worked with me again to make this a success..
special thanks to SimLing, KaiJia, ChonXiang, SuMay, JiaHuan..
i have to admit, we really did a great job rite? ;)

grilled chicken mini wrapz

take care...

get well soon, my lil' brother..