The Decode Diary

[FULL] Ep 2: A Day In The Life of a Makeup Artist based in Singapore - Janine

I never had the chance to speak to a makeup artist, let alone the chance to know what a day in the life of a makeup artist is like. It seems there is a lot more than I expect, from having to wash and dry a HUNDRED over brushes in a night to being treated unfairly despite being a junior in the industry. The pressure and suppression a makeup artist has to endure is probably one of the most understated in the industry, likely because they are expected to show up and just complete the job. I sat down with Janine, a freelance makeup artist based in Singapore, who shared with me how her day looks like when she has a gig to attend to. How do they price their work? Have they ever done makeup in an unsafe environment? Listen on to find out. Instagram: Janine - @janine.mkup Ray - @ray_low28 The Decode Diary - @thedecodediary

[FULL] 2024 Recap | Learning About Misogyny, Cancer, Starting A Business, Property Investments And More!

41 conversations in a year! I want to do this again, but my gut tells me to have more in-depth conversations to maximize my learning out of each story. Let me know what story you wish I would tell or make! "Resisting judgements" is a line I came up with that I think fits The Decode Diary very well. There may or may not be an agenda with a story, but it remains the top priority to let the story flow till the end before a conclusion is made. It simply preserves the genuinity of the story! Do you agree? Follow me on Instagram: @ray_low28 @thedecodediary

[FULL] Farah: “I Cry A Lot Because It Is Really Exhausting”, Handling More Than 10 Patients All At Once As A Surgical Nurse, Offering Kindness To Total Strangers

As far as I can remember, I have never spoken to a nurse before, of course excluding the times I woke up in the middle of the night to get my blood drawn when I was at the hospital. But I didn’t speak to the nurses either, it wasn’t a conversation. In this episode, I sat down with Farah to learn the stories behind a nurse and all the kindness a nurse would offer to any random stranger, something even I struggle to do when times are bad. Think about nurses. The conversation helped me understand a few things. First and foremost, the empathy and kindness a nurse can offer to any stranger is unmatched and it melts my heart to see and hear any stories from a nurse taking care of their patients. They really take care of their patients as if they were their kids. But also, the issue of short-staffing never seems to get solved and the longer the problem sits, the more underappreciated these nurses go. The same goes to doctors and all healthcare providers. I hope conversations like this get heard and together, we can sit down and take the next step to solve a problem. Step by step.  Listen on to know what nurses go through in their shift. Timeline: [00:00] What does a surgical nurse do? [05:41] A day in the life of Farah [08:38] What kind of decisions do nurses make? [10:05] Her early days of becoming a nurse [12:54] The career prospects of a nurse [19:07] The working hours of a surgical nurse [20:26] All about vital signs [22:16] False alarms from nurses [24:49] Things that happened in the ward that she would never tell [26:30] Teamwork in wards [27:43] Short-staffing in hospitals [31:48] Advice to future nurses [34:26] Difficult patients [37:51] A bad day in the life of a nurse [44:18] Room for errors [48:56] How would AI or technology help nurses? [50:37] Wards during Covid [59:28] The most rewarding part of the job [01:07:11] Does it ever get boring? [01:09:49] Ethical dilemma Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com and https://www.epidemicsound.com/

[FULL] Jia Yie: “Simple Giving, Simple Love, Simple Life, Love Life, Love Nature”, How She Runs A Sustainable GreenLife Project Founded By TuMa

This is my first time recording the episode very, very close to nature. As a nature lover and a scout during my high school days, camping is one of the most common activities we would do and being outdoors just makes sense to me. But not to many kids and parents. GreenLife Project is a green project started by TuMa, whom unfortunately wasn’t available on the recording day, with the ultimate mission of living simply with nature and contributing back in whatever ways she can. A near-death experience led TuMa to realize the importance of living life simply. Speaking with her assistant, Jia Yie helped me realize that living simply is something we all think we can do, but when it means you have to leave every single piece of item in your possession to be free in nature again, many would doubt the decision.  Seeing the positive feedback from this project comforts me a lot, mainly because it is unusual to see nowadays that kids are enjoying being outdoors and in the sun. Without too much of a capitalist’s vision, I hope that this mission goes on so more kids get to play with nature without the worries of tomorrow. Timeline: [00:00] What is GreenLife project? [04:12] The origin of TuMaWu [05:54] What was Jia Yie’s upbringing like? [07:50] Core mission of GreenLife project for the kids [13:29] Simple Giving, Simple Living, Simple Life [16:10] Balancing the need for traditional and modern education [18:23] Turns out kids are smarter when they are with nature [21:22] Kids at Green Education [24:30] Day in a life at GreenLife camp [25:22] How Jia Yie calms crying kids at camps [26:40] How GreenLife project teaches kids not to be afraid of failures [30:42] Her own encounter of failures [33:17] Her one failure that taught her how to run this sustainable business [38:23] Day 2 of the camp [47:15] The rewarding parts of being a GreenPro mentor [49:50] How she responds to “Nature is not the best educator” [54:30] Parents are not allowed to visit [57:48] Do mentors/volunteers have certifications? [01:01:07] How do they ensure financial sustainability operating as a non-profit? [01:05:48] Plans to scale up GreenLife project Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com and https://www.epidemicsound.com/ More information on GreenLife project: https://m.facebook.com/GLP630/

[FULL] Jing Wen: "Sugar Does Not Feed Cancer Cells", The Sweet Debate Of What To Eat When You Are Diagnosed With Cancer

As someone who has family members diagnosed with cancer, I am deeply concerned about this topic. For whatever reason, the idea of sticking to a healthy diet, having a fixed sleep routine and working out to keep my joints and muscles active have appealed largely in the past year for me. 10 months have passed, I’m not entirely sure about the results, and talking to a dietician/nutritionist is the only way to find out if I have been eating healthy.  There have been noises about sugar feeding cancer cells and I want to find out if it is the truth. In fact, there is a twist to this. Also, why do cancer patients lose weight during their treatment? How can we help them increase their food intake to a regular level? Can they eat anything and everything? What about anti-cancer diets? Do they exist? Join me as I speak to Jing Wen, a nutritionist in Singapore, working for a non-profit cancer nutrition center, who happens to know what a cancer fighter should eat. If you stay longer, I also showed her my medical health report to see if I’m really healthy. Timeline: [00:00] What does she do and why does she do what she does [01:45] I thought everyone should have the same diet, why customize? [04:18] Do cancer fighters change their diet overnight? [06:44] The difference between the advice given from a dietitian/nutritionist and a medical doctor [09:37] Healthy grocery shopping with the healthy choice label and nutrigrade labels [14:20] 3-in-1 coffee in Singapore is healthier than in Malaysia? [17:38] Nutrigrade labels - is this referring to the sugar content only? [22:39] Can we tell if we are at risk of cancer by looking at these numbers? [25:31] How often should we get screened for cancer? [28:01] Should we get screened multiple times at once to avoid false positives? [29:26] Who are some of the people that consult her for diet advice except cancer fighters? [31:02] The things she tells cancer fighters BEFORE the treatment? [32:24] What about DURING the treatment? [35:40] Maintaining the BMI throughout the treatment [38:08] So she says we can eat anything during the treatment… [40:41] Changing our diet going into the treatment to increase our blood cell count [43:23] Tackling nausea and vomiting during treatment [47:55] What to do about declining weight during the treatment? [51:12] Anti-cancer diets [54:04] Keep them happy or healthy during treatment? [55:57] Post-treatment diet/nutrition [57:03] What happens if the cancer fighters have diabetes too? [57:43] Is my diet risk-free of cancer? [01:02:59] Any signs of over intake of protein? [01:03:37] My health lab report [01:07:24] Misconceptions about cancer nutrition Sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com and https://www.epidemicsound.com/