Dilly & JD Do Penang – Part 1 June 25, 2008

Friday 20th June 2008

You know, I had it all planned out. Go home, have dinner, get packed, go to bed at 10 and wake up at 6 in the morning in time to get to the office by 7 and head off to Penang. No such thing. Got home, had dinner in front of the TV while watching “The Breakup” and was glued till 1A.M. Just before crashing into bed, I stuffed a few items to wear in the bag and tried to make a mental note of the things I needed to add later on. A couple of hours later, I was aroused from my slumber thanks to the trilling of my handphone alarm which rang promptly at 6. There’s nothing like an ice cold shower to wake you up in the morning, though. And also, just to err on the side of caution, I decided to give JD a call too. You know… just in case. And let me say it’s a good thing I did too. I found out later he’d overslept.

It was still very dark and I was surprised to see how bright and full the moon was. While driving out, I thought to myself, “So this is what going to work at 6:30 in the morning is like.”

I managed to arrive at the office less than 10 minutes before 7am only to find that the others were still not there other than Jack, our intern. So I went upstairs to the office and surprised Will and Audrey (Shaz was down with the shingles) because they were under the impression that I would be on my way already. Yeah. So did I. Soon after, JD arrived and the both of us ended up doing a little talkset with Will to promote our live show in Penang. And then we were off in the Red Sorento.

Had breakfast at the Sungai Buloh R&R at the Kaya Kopitiam while we waited for the other team to catch up (Tim, our Program Manager, Cindy, Malaysian Dreamgirl winner & Marcom Executive and Jerry, Music Executive). Jack & I had the Breakfast Set A which consisted of too-little kaya & butter on a nice thick toast, cold baked beans, a rather salty chicken sausage and 2 eggs sunny side up. JD had for himself Set B which comprised of 2 half-boiled eggs, the same thick toast with kaya (he was disappointed because the kaya wasn’t the nice, thick green kind which he likes). The 2 guys had coffee with milk while I opted for my fave – kopi-o kow.

Finally the other team turned up in the other Sorento and we joined them for a while and then continued our journey soon after. But not without a few snags along the way. While we were pretty ok with gas, the other team not so. In typical RedFM style (drama!), Jerry refused to bow down to the whims of the petrol gods and decided to run along in the Sorento by sheer will-power alone. Of course that didn’t last long. Ended up, JD decided to make a detour to Sungkai / Trolak to look for petrol. Before then, he called up the PLUS to find out where the next Shell station was at. Here’s how the conversation went.

JD : Uh.. hello? Where’s the next station petrol Shell? (yes, his Malay is not so hot. Ironically, his Mat Rempit impressions are pretty spot-on!)

PLUS guy : Stesen yang paling dekat ada kat Tapah

JD : Lagi dekat ada?

PLUS guy : Oh… kena keluar tol plaza lah.

JD : Ok.. kita sekarang dekat tol plaza Sungkai / Trolak.

PLUS guy : Awak sekarang dekat tol plaza Sungkai / Trolak?

JD : Ya. Kita sekarang dekat tol plaza Sungkai / Trolak. Sini ada Shell station ke?

PLUS guy : Mesti Shell ke?

JD : Ya. Mesti Shell.

PLUS guy : Mesti Shell ke? Yang lain tak boleh?

JD : Tak boleh. Mesti Shell. Takpelah. Takpelah!

And that was pretty much how the conversation went. Let me tell you, for me as the passenger, it was painful to hear. Grrrrrr!!

So we passed the toll where JD asked the toll booth girl “Kat sini ada Shell station tak?”. The girl confidently replied “Ada! Belah kanan!” That was good news for sure. So we drove looking for a Shell station… saw a Petronas… a BHP… an Esso.. but no sign of Shell. JD’s BO must’ve been getting to Jack because as we were driving along, he suddenly pointed and went “HAAHH! There’s a Shell!”. It turned out to be a Chinese cemetery. We finally found the elusive petrol station in the little town of Bidor. That toll booth girl was waaaaaaaaaay off.

We all had to go. Badly. So we decided to make our deposits at Sungai Perak R&R. And my word, is it clean, modern and so out of place in the middle of nowhere. We were all so taken aback by the whole look of the place and how amazingly, shockingly clean the public restrooms were that JD had to take a little video of it. They even had sensor activated escalators installed, including ramps for the disabled. See? Boleh pun, Malaysia!

Along the way, from time to time we would do live crosses with Aly back in the KL studio to update her and the listeners at which point we were at in our journey and to invite Penangites to catch us live while we do our show in their neck of the woods.

About an hour or so later from our last stop, we finally crossed the toll to Penang and were at last traveling along the famous Penang Bridge. I think we all felt a little jolt of excitement once we saw the island with its high-rise buildings and hilltops looming in the distance. What was amazing was how you could so clearly see how one side was sunny bright and sunny while on the other end of the island, the clouds were dark and you could see how heavy the rain was. And once we reached Penang itself, the weather went a little crazy. One minute we were cautiously driving in the rain, and as soon as we reached the town, the sun was shining in all its glory. Very surreal.

It was fortunate for us that JD still remembered his way around Penang from all the years he spent there in college and work. We made good time, thanks to him, so much so that we actually had time to go to the hotel (Sunway Hotel), check in our bags, change and go out again just in time to meet up with the other team over at McDonald’s, Green Lane, for our first Red Ryders’ cross in Penang.

The response was actually pretty good and we had a number of participants willingly taking part in the games just to win a few little goodie-bags from us. I don’t know whether it was because they were excited to see us or whether Malaysian Dreamgirl, Cindy, and her short shorts and red patent heels had something to do with it. Whatever it was, it worked.

Here’s the thing. Our first meal in Penang was from McDonald’s. Good grief.

After the crossover, we headed to the hotel for the rest of the members to check in and get ready for the live show.

The studio specially built for the outside live broadcast (OB) was located out front in Komtar. It was a rectangular box with large windows in the front, a door atthe side, a console on the inside with all the necessary equipment, and two air-conditioners which were doing a hell of a job freezing our asses off. Without them, the machines would fail. There was even a fancy light set above the console.

Our engineers were already inside trying to make sure that everything was running smoothly. It was all a little hectic, I have to say. This was nothing like how JD & I would normally run our show because everything was so different, though everything on air had to sound the same. Things were a lot more technical and timing was key. We were no longer masters of our own show – we had to hand it to someone else to run it for us. And I guess that’s why things didn’t run as great as we’d have liked it too – right from the very first talk-set. When it didn’t end smoothly because my “on RedFM” overlapped the RedFM ID, my “AIYAAAAA” was heard across national air-waves when I thought the mics were off. Everyone in the room started waving frantically at me. So for the first two hours, there was one blunder after another. I was not a happy camper. And JD could see it in my face and kept trying to cheer me up.

Helmi, our poor sleep-&-food-deprived engineer, was having a hard time opening his mouth and giving us the countdown before switching on the mics. He also seemed incapable of letting us know in words when they were off again, which meant that everyone was keeping mum and holding their breaths because we were all waiting for the green light from him to tell us “OK!”. He managed what I can only describe as a silent karate chop in the air. Luckily Tim stepped in to give us the proper cue and kept reminding Helmi to yell “10!!….. 5 seconds!!…. MIC!!” when the mics were about to go on and “OK!” when the mics were off. We laugh and tease Helmi about his karate-chop move now but at the time…

Another unfortunate boo-boo was when 2 of the engineers were both giving us 2 different instructions at the same time – without realising it until it was too late. And again, it just had to happen during my talkset. The first engineer was trying to make sure that the KL studio’s transition into our Penang studio was timed perfectly for the next talkset. He yelled “10 seconds!” but soon after that – TOO soon, may I add – Helmi yelled “MIC ON!” and signaled me to talk. I did. The first engineer waved frantically for me to stop talking. And then we all heard my voice echoing in the background along with loads of feedback. “And that was… and that was… and that was…”. As soon as it was ok to talk, I said “Whoa… check out the special effects there!” and acted as if nothing had happened. Of course, my voice belied the expression on my face.

The last two hours fared a whole lot better. I guess we were all finally getting the hang of it – at the expense of the show, unfortunately. It was a learning experience for all, that’s what I can say. Thankfully, the day went by very quickly because of how chaotic everything was. We even had time to be interviewed by Sue Chern, a reporter from the Star (North) Metro paper. Here’s the article : http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/6/21/north/21617101&sec=north

We were also still receiving regular calls and smses from our RedFM listeners and the ones from Penang welcomed us and recommended us places to eat. And again, we had lunch courtesy of McDonald’s. At which point I was wondering when we were going to have real, authentic, straight-from-the-streets Penang food.

Finally, the ordeal was over and it was time for us to pack-up and head over to Gurney Drive for another quick games session with the Red Ryders. While they were outside playing games and giving away prizes to the Penangites, I was in one of the Sorentos lying down in the back seat. I suddenly felt exhausted after the show. I think I used up a lot of energy and emotions during those 4 hours….

At long last, it was time to go out and have some REAL food. So Tim, JD and Jerry deliberated on where to go and it was agreed that we would try the food over at the Pulau Tikus market where our die-hard RedFM listener, Jeffrey, along with his wife Carol and two sons, Cornelius and Jefferson, joined us. So in a nutshell, here’s what we ordered : Mee mamak goreng, ikan bakar (pari-pari!! Finally!), popiah, pat poh ping (iced 8 herb drink. Very nice. Tastes a bit like cincau, only better. Very cooling and refreshing), satay, fried hokkien mee and loh bak.

Stuffed to the brim and feeling not unlike a waddling walrus, I went back to the car with the rest of them and we all made a move back to our respective hotel rooms. JD and the gang made plans to go out again to check out the night life but I decided against going. I was beat and needed sleep. It didn’t help that I had only 5 – 6 hours sleep that whole week. Nevertheless, I offered to do Cindy’s make-up and make her look the model that she is for her night out with the boys. I was out like a light by midnight and woke up the next morning feeling thoroughly refreshed and well-rested and ready for a brand new day.

But here’s what actually happened during the night while I was asleep..

Turns out I wasn’t the only one exhausted. JD & Tim were sleeping till nearly midnight while Jerry & Jack were still awake and wondering what the heck happened to Cindy, JD & Tim. So by the time everyone was gathered together and ready to go, it was well past midnight and they headed out to Upper Penang Road – the apparent hotspot of Penang. It turned out it was a real hot night for them – the temperature of the car shot up, indicating the radiator was overheating. Not wanting to risk being stranded, they drove back to the hotel to go and get the other Sorento. Not exactly the best start for a night out to party. But party they did – with no money. Everyone didn’t have enough cash and by that time, none of the ATMs were accessible. So it was up to Misters Visa and Mastercard to save the day. They went to party at Mois – no, this isn’t a typo, it’s the actual spelling – where they played a weird combination of techno-fied R&B, according to JD. They paid for the entrance cover charges (RM35 each) and got their ice-cold Carlsberg beers. And because it was a hot night, they all had 2 each. Including Cindy. Oh DEAR. Turns out the girl is not one for heavy partying or heavy – you call that heavy?? – drinking. Long story short, she stayed happy, high and LOUD looooooooong after they left the club by 2A.M.

She didn’t want to leave and so Tim & JD had to trick her by promising her supper. They found a place called Green House where, according to the grapevine, they sell really good dim-sum till the wee hours of the morning but unfortunately, the gang couldn’t get out of the car to go there. Cindy was too loud. She repeatedly yelled “I’M NOT DRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNK!!!! I WANNA EAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT!! I’M OKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!”. And each time she did, she got louder. I don’t know how that’s possible. I’ll just take their word for it.

So once again, they had to trick her so they told her that they don’t serve food, can only tapau. At first she resisted and insisted that she wanted to go down, so Tim & JD had no choice but to get down and tapau food for her instead. They all drove back to Tim’s place where he was staying at the Trader’s Hotel, and she didn’t last long enough to even eat the food they bought for her. She just keeled over in bed and slept. No wonder la I didn’t see her in the bed next to mine when I woke up the next morning…

TO BE CONTINUED….

My Road to Radio or How I Became A DJ June 19, 2008

If you’ve read my previous post, you’d be aware by now that JD & I used to work in the same company together and that he ventured into DJ-ing on RedFM even before I did. Once he got to know me better, he pestered me for months to send in a demo CD to Red. I kind of procrastinated because I wasn’t all that keen on the idea at the time. I think one of the reasons is that I didn’t think I’d be any good.

One day, my best friend who was then working for Astro, told me that one of the DJs at one of the stations was leaving after 10 years of being on air on the midday slot. And so she encouraged me to try and apply for the now-available position. For some reason, I thought, “Yeah ok! I’ll go and take a crack it. Yes or no, at least I tried…”

So I sat down, scripted out what I now know is called a “talk-set”, picked out some songs and recorded my first demo CD at Betarecs Studio. (Thanks Ananth, Raj and Stefan!). I passed it on to my friend who passed it on to the Person-In-Charge who, according to my pissed-off friend, hardly made an attempt to listen to it anyway. She decided to give the CD to another station – let’s call it Station B – at Astro in the meantime…

So after weeks of waiting and no word from the other 2 stations, I finally decided to get a copy of the CD and passed it on to JD who passed it on to Chris Dripin, the then P.I.C of Red FM, and soon after that, I got called in for a few interviews. To cut a long story short, I landed the job. Oh and guess what, Station B called up around the same time and was interested to test me out on air but by that time, it was too late and frankly, I didn’t think my personality fit the profile of their image. It was a bit too…. err… light, for me. Hint hint.

Before that, of course, I had to undergo some kind of training first.

For two days, after my regular office hours, I would rush to the station and sit in with Terry who was doing the 4 – 8 show and he would show me the ropes and explain how everything worked and let me squeak on air from time to time just to ease myself in. I also decided to sit in with JD and Nisha who were doing the Urbanitez show from 8 – 10pm at the time. They explained the workings and mechanics further while I copiously wrote down notes and drew diagrams so I could remember everything.

A 3-month renewable contract was drawn up and I soon found myself going on air for the first time some time in October 2006. JD and Alvin were there to look out for me for the first weekend, thank God! And Alvin was a really good teacher too, I have to say. The night before, I had spent, I think, 6 hours scripting and researching for my first 2 hour show. I can’t remember whether it was from 6 – 8pm or 4 – 6pm. Either way, I spent waaaaaaaaaay too much time on it. But I needed to feel prepared. I was already panicking inside about forgetting what knobs to turn and what buttons to press that I didn’t want to worry about how I’d sound on air, you know?

So that’s basically how I started out for the first 6 – 9 months, doing it part-time over the weekends. Very raw, very nervous but nevertheless very enthusiastic. And remember, I once mentioned in one of my posts that DJ-ing was something I wasn’t even considering going into as a career. I just got a kick out of earning extra dosh! But hey, Life sometimes takes a turn that leads you in the totally opposite direction, sometimes good and other times not necessarily so. In my case? I’d say it was goooooooooooooood. And here I am, a full-time radio DJ and enjoying it tremendously.

I will get into more of this topic when I’ve more time but if you’re interested to try out, RedFM is looking for prospective DJs and is conducting an open audition. Below are the details :

Day & Date : Wednesday, 25th June

Time : Anytime between 10.30am – 6pm

Venue : StarRfm Office
19th Floor, Bangunan AmAssurance
#1, Jalan Lumut, 50400 Kuala Lumpur

Good luck!

We’re Going to Penang! June 19, 2008

JD & I are looking forward to our trip to Penang. The only thing I’m not looking forward to is having to be at the office at 7A.M. Ugh. I’m so not a morning person. Anyways, will most likely be chronicling the trip.

Meantime, we’re in the papers! Check it out :

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/6/19/north/21584759&sec=North

PSAs – Public Service Announcements June 17, 2008

Earlier this year, the DJs were asked to come up with some PSAs to be used on the station. Here are 2 of mine :

Petrol/Car saving PSA (Will was great. He did the whole read in exactly the way I wanted it in just one take. So professional, I tell ya!) - Sample

And here’s the original script :

(Racing track ambience)

VO 1 (Will) – “Gentlemen…. Start your engines!. (SFX of turning the key in ignition / starting the car ready to race…)

(to be read like a race car commentator) –

“And the race begins! There they go… Felari and McLaju… Speeding on the outer zone…. (SFX Speeding) … zooming past the other drivers on a 60km/ph zone… and looks like they’re trying to beat the yellow light and Oh!! It turns red and they’ve slammed on the brakes (SFX brakes) – “Ohhh… dats going to put a lot of wear and tear on those tyres… they’re both revving their engines now.. (SFX Vroom vroom) - and the light turns green for GO and they’re back on track again with McLaju in the lead…! Oooh this looks to be neck to neck…. Is it going to be McLaju or Felari….? Oh this is going to be a hot finish…! Aaaaand… they’ve BOTH lost….. (SFX Rewind) a LOT of petrol!”

VO 2 (Shaz) – Follow the road rules. Be kind to your car. Be kind to your wallet.

————–

Self Defense PSA (Originally I wanted Audrey to do the read and I and Farah would be the ones providing the background noises. Alvin became the bad guy who we had to “beat up”. In the end, they all said I should do it so… here’s the result. And Alvin did indeed get beaten up by the other two in the VO room, hah!) – Sample

Again, here’s the original script :

VO 1 (Audrey) – (talking while she’s in the middle of beating up someone)

Are you more afraid of going out alone at night nowadays? Does your heart skip a beat when you hear a motorcycle behind you? Do you feel that it’s no longer safe out there anymore? Well, why not take a Self-defence and safety awareness class – they may help you feel more secure. And why not go with a few girl friends. It’ll make it more fun! HAIYAH!!! (Sounds of more girls beating up someone)

VO 2 (Alvin / Helmi) – ADOOOOOIIIII!!!

I’m A One Year Old DJ! June 17, 2008

Whaddya know… today officially marks my one year at Star Rfm where I’ve been a full-time DJ with RedFM. As the old saying goes, how time flies when you’re having fun. And indeed, I am having fun. I love my job! Whenever people ask me how I am, I say “No complaints!” and mean it. So OK, we’re not the No. 1 English station in Malaysia (well… semi-English. That’s about to change though once Digi Best of Asia moves over to Suria FM). In fact, the all-knowing powers-that-be over at AC Nielsen (can you hear the sarcasm?) have unceremoniously dumped us close to the bottom of the heap, if ACN figures are to be believed – which generally they aren’t (I’ll reserve more of my unfavourable comments on Nielsen to myself) – but I’m always of the mind that no matter how far or how hard you fall, it’s how you get up and get on with life that matters.

Thinking back, I never would have thought a high-school dream would come true. Never say “never”, eh? But come true it did and I’m going to enjoy it till one day I wake up and the dream is over. The irony is that when I was doing the weekend shows part-time while still having an 8:30 A.M. to 6 P.M. job at VKL, I had no intention of going full-time. Back then, I was thinking of it as a means of breaking out of the monotony of having a desk job and getting paid by the hour for it. But I guess fate had something else in mind and the timing was right for me to move out of a job I didn’t believe in anymore and pursue a career in the radio broadcasting industry.

I was offered the 12 – 4 P.M. slot by our then consultant from Singapore (an ex-radio presenter herself with Perfect Ten 98.7FM & is currently a presenter/reporter for ESPN STAR Sports) Georgina Chang, who we affectionately called ‘G’, who felt it a waste that I was doing the weekend slots. (Miss u, G!) So after mulling it over, I decided I was ready. Especially after being away for a month-long trip. It’s good to take a break like that every once in a while. Your mind’s a bit more clear-headed and you begin to realise what it is that you want and don’t want. And coming back from that trip, I knew that I didn’t want to continue working where I was and was open to new experiences that I could once again be passionate about. Passionate enough to agree to a pay-cut and less perks.

It certainly wasn’t about the “fame”. I was already doing jingles and such way before I became a DJ and so far, being a DJ hasn’t been the factor in my getting more jobs. But that’s another story. I enjoy being just a familiar voice on air and not a face plastered on every billboard, magazine, newspaper and every other type of media there is out there. Our marketing department, though, may have other plans. Sigh… I’ll enjoy my anonymity while it lasts. And I’m sure it’ll last a long time as I doubt even this blog of mine is going to generate much interest.

Where was I? Oh yes. The 12 – 4 P.M. slot. Well, the great thing about working for Red is that they are pretty flexible and you have a say in how you would like to create and develop your own show. So my idea at the time was to have a show that offered something different – more lifestyle-based, beneficial to the listeners and which had more substance and wasn’t all music and celebrity fluff like what was already out there. A kind of magazine show, so to speak. I was quite overzealous at this point and scripted every single show for a few months – the perfectionist in me. But when I started out, I was trying to squeeze in 10 tips on one topic in one hour in between songs. And I was stressing myself out because of it.

Over the months, the time slot changed and eventually turned into “10 – 3 with Dilly” where each hour had a segment (Office, Parenting (haha!), Food, Health and Money). So every week I had to research, research, research on all manner of things that I thought – and hoped – would be of interest to the listeners. And no, I’m no Dilly-pedia. Not off-air, anyway. Although as a result of doing my health segment, I’ve become a lot more health-conscious, which is a good thing, after all.

I kind of miss it though. I used to have interviews with the ladies of the Women’s Action Society and discuss topics and solutions to rape, domestic abuse, divorce and such. But G deemed it too heavy for a midday show so suggested that I tone it down and leave it to the drive time shows to do such interviews. Sigh… I had such high aspirations to be Oprah On-Air.. oh well.. you can always go and check out their website : http://www.awam.org.my/en/

By then, I had fine-tuned it to one tip per hour, stretched the topic over that week and I didn’t hash out scripts anymore – just pointers on what I needed to talk about. It was a more relaxed show and I was also more relaxed. My delivery also changed and I didn’t sound so stilted. I was able to express myself more naturally and thus more cheerfully. And I guess it worked because I started accumulating regular callers – all men, by the way. Haha! (Shout out to : Andy, Dalbir, Habeeb aka Prince, Joe, Leonard, Mike, Shah, Sham, Steven, Tenny…). Really though, it helps to enjoy the music your station plays. I genuinely love the stuff we play – although there are a few duds here and there. Michael Learns To Rock, anyone? Lemon Tree is another fave. NOT!

Conviction helps too – the belief that your station/company has potential and room to grow and you want to be a part of that growth. I still feel that way and that’s why I’m still here. I’m passionate about my job and as an ex-sales person, it’s mucho importante that one believes in the product they’re trying to sell. If you can’t even convince yourself that you’ve got something worthy to offer, how are you going to convince others? I’d like to think our listeners are intelligent enough to be able to recognise “SELL-OUT!” when they smell it.

I remember how, during my weekend slot, I’d come in to the studio to do my show, my fingers, ice-cold and trembling, attempting to work the console. That was how nervous I was. My heart would be racing and every talk-set ended with me heaving a big sigh of relief after the mic was off. It felt like I was doing my first show solo all over again. That’s the disadvantage of doing a weekend belt like that – you don’t have the time to build enough confidence and you don’t learn as much as you would doing the show day to day. Something I learnt, realised and was told of once I joined full-time. Previously I’d be panicking so much that I would need to be in the studio at least half an hour before my show to prepare myself mentally. Now, I saunter in, cool as a cucumber at 10 minutes past the hour.

I’m quite blessed though, I feel, because in less than a year, I’ve been moved to the evening drive time. This week is my third week doing the show together with JD, my ex-colleague in VKL and my colleague in Red FM. Our BrainFreeze segment has generated a lot of response via the phone lines and SMS, so we’re admittedly feeling quite chuffed about that. So far, we’ve been receiving encouraging feedback from the listeners who’ve called us to say “Keep up the good work!” and to let us know that we make a good team. It helps that JD & I were already familiar with each other as colleagues and friends, so on-air – and off-air – chemistry (the platonic kind, mind you!) is genuine.

However, in the beginning, the news that I was going to replace Terry’s slot from 4 – 8 P.M. sent me reeling. Not with delirious, jump-for-joooooyyy type emotion but more like a feeling of panic and dread. I didn’t feel I was ready to leave the 10 – 3 slot because I knew that I still hadn’t perfected the show. There was still so much more to do! It was my baby and I had yet to see it grow up and mature properly. As far as I was concerned, it was still a tottering toddler.

The other factor was that I was afraid of upsetting Terry’s army of adoring fans. Yes. I was mortally terrified at the thought of his listeners calling me up and demanding how dare I take over their beloved DJ’s slot, that I’d be crap and they would organise a massive gathering of protest. So far my fears have gone unfounded… so far…

And finally, the fact that my new time-belt was going to be during Drive-Time meant that there were going to be more listeners. I was honestly content with the mid-morning slot because I knew that traditionally, there aren’t as many listeners tuning in. The ones that usually are turn out to be sales execs and managers and people driving out for meetings. There would also be the odd few who were listening in through their tinny hand-phone speakers at work if they weren’t allowed radios. So I’d squirm with discomfort whenever my friends and colleagues tried to make me feel better by saying “Congratulations!! You’re on Prime Time!! More listeners!!” Yeah. More listeners who’d listen to me screw up on air. *CRINGE*

As I said, it’s our 3^rd week doing the All New Red Evening Drive with Dilly & JD and I’m in high spirits. When I was initially told the news that JD was going to be my partner-in-crime on air, I was delighted. Ecstatic, even. Wish we could air the stuff that goes on off-air, but it would be too much for the sensitive ears of the MCMC. They’d have a field day. As it is, I’ve mentioned the words vodka and anal as in “If you’re as anal as I am…” on air when it turns out I wasn’t supposed to. So no choice but to keep it all “Umum! Umum!”, so says that notification right before the movie starts.

My only worry is that I don’t have a back-up plan. I usually have a back-up plan and right nowI don’t have one. I can see myself doing this for another 4 years or so but who knows? I may even do it for more. But it all boils down to Passion. I always believe that once you lose the enthusiasm.. the heart.. in your work, it’s time to move on. No point in putting up and sticking to a job you don’t enjoy or believe in anymore and not be able to give your 101% in it. You’re shortchanging not only yourself but also the company that hired you. So.. in my case, I guess I’ll do this for as long as the raging fire inside me still burns. Guess that means you’ll still be hearing me on air for a while saying “Keep it locked on to the Red Evening Drive with me, Dilly, and JD… only on RedFM!”

Locked out June 15, 2008

Despite going to bed at 4:30 in the morning after an impromptu trip to Melaka, I woke up 6 hours later looking forward to a new day. Decided to go next door to my apartment (which is currently still undergoing renovation, albeit excruciatingly slow) to take a shower using the recently installed water-shower heaters. After I was done, went back next door to Cousin Sue’s apartment and I remember distinctly the thought that flashed through my mind as my hand reached for the doorknob, “What if the door’s locked?”. A split second later, I found out it was. Damn the Laws of Attraction! So there I was, in a t-shirt, a towel round my waist and another wrapped around my head, locked out of my own (well, Sue’s) residence. I couldn’t believe my bad luck. Thankfully, the spare bedroom in my place is being used as the temporary store room so I had my box full of clothes and underwear to change into there so it wasn’t like I was in a completely Bridget Jones type of predicament, although I was thinking to myself how very much like her I felt at that point. I could just imagine an entry in her diary to go along the lines of “Sunday, June 16th. 10:30A.M. Exceptionally bad start to the day. Locked myself outside flat in towels, no bra, no knickers and worse, no cigarettes.” To be honest, I found the whole thing quite funny and even managed to laugh at myself over this pickle I’d gotten myself into.

So OK, I thought. How to get out of this predicament? I went to the windows and peered out to see how accessible it was. Fortunately for me, but unfortunately for me at the time, I have grilled windows. Funny how when you say it, it sounds perfectly acceptable, but looking at it now in print… “grilled windows”. Hmm… Anyway, I was seriously, SERIOUSLY, contemplating climbing out onto the ledge of my living room window and moving gingerly along the walls outside and climbing into the one open window back into Sue’s unit next door. Alas, I chickened out. Not so much because I was worried that I would slip, fall and break my neck, but for the simple fact that our units directly faced other people’s apartments and already at 11 something, neighbours were already milling about and I didn’t want to run the risk of someone casually looking out their window and falling off their chair in shock from seeing some crazed, barefooted young woman in a red tee and black pants who looked about ready to commit suicide. (I should say it would’ve been more a case of a young woman looking to do a crazy, suicidal commitment.)

So it was for that reason that I decided not to be a stunt-woman for the day. Although it would’ve made for a kick-ass story on this blog and for when people visit me, “See? That’s the ledge where the pigeon landed on my head and almost blinded me but I managed to grab on to one of the windows which swung me around to the other side and miraculously I fell head first through the window into safety….” or something akin to that. But no. I scrapped the idea. It was good while it lasted though.

So I thought, well, now is a better time as any for me to start cleaning around here. I know… booooriiinnnng. Well, tough noogies cos that’s what I did anyways. Wiped the kitchen clean of dust, cleaned the bathrooms a little and later decided to repaint the wall in the corridor. I have a mini feature wall in the corridor, replacing what used to be a doorway. The contractors did such an awful job with the finishing that I had to tell them to just do the whole thing all over again and smooth it over with plaster. Which they did, so finally I found time – like I had a choice, right? – to repaint it with Dulux Pentalite Turkish Brown. I thought I could while away the time by pottering about the house but then, my stomach growled. Which is when I started looking out that window again…

What I ended up doing eventually was, I looked for someone who’s handphone I could borrow and I found him, sitting in one of the apartment’s show units. So I called Big Buddy who in turn called Sue who didn’t pick up so he called Mad (Sue’s bf) who didn’t pick up… so he asked me to wait for him to come by in 45 mins, which is when I actually decided to work on the wall. To cut a long story short, Mad headed to the nearby Kota Damansara Starbucks at 2:30pm, so BB got the extra key from him and had it duplicated for me, we had lunch at one of my fave kopitiams (today it was Pappa’s) for some chicken porridge, roti bakar, 2 soft-boiled eggs and 2 iced chams, please. And then we went back to my cousin’s apartment where I was thrilled to finally be able to get back into the house by means of the new key. By this time, it was already 4 in the afternoon. Again my schedule got screwed up today, this time by my own carelessness. Tsk. Silly Dilly.

At least I was able to go for my Sunday jog/brisk walk at the Taman Tun park. Today was a record of sorts for BB and I. 2 hours, man! Usually our rounds last an average of 1.5 hours or so. It was a good workout. Very pleased, I must say. And as usual, the highlight of the day was to reward ourselves with a bar of Tropicana ice-cream for a job well-done. Altogether, this weekend has been quite something, despite being rather unproductive. Looking forward to what next week has to offer!

Lessons learnt the hard way :

1. Best to have that extra EXTRA key hidden away somewhere accessible just in case you find yourself locked out accidentally. Apparently, Cousin Sue had that experience while chasing after Tom, Cat #2, who abruptly ran out the front door.. she actually DID have to go on the ledge from my apartment to hers!

2. If you’ve got grilles on your windows, make sure one of them can be opened. All but my livingroom grilles have the ability to open. And unfortunately, the living room windows were the closest ones to the unit next door and those were the ones I could have climbed out from, if not for the grilles.

3. Don’t underestimate the power of negative thoughts. They just might come true.

Melaka June 15, 2008

Am in Melaka now. On a whim. I certainly didn’t wake up this morning thinking that I’d be gorging on ikan bakar for supper in another state later that night. But here I am, sipping an iced kopitiam at a café in the Hotel Equatorial, surrounded by football fans watching the UEFA EURO 2008 game between Spain and Sweden. I may just join them before long seeing as how they don’t have free Wi-Fi here. Yes, I brought my laptop. In fact, we scoped out the Wi-Fi-available McDonald’s, but the tables were already taken up by early-bird football fans, which is why we ended up at the hotel cafe instead.

And why AM I here? Was feeling a bit cranky due to a few incidents earlier in the day – aircon contractors came at 4:30pm instead of the appointed noon time which messed up my entire day’s schedule; Friend A forgot that she had dinner plans with me; Friend B asked me to come and go for casting at the last minute in Desa Sri Hartamas and I decided to go, only to find that when I got there, I couldn’t get hold of her because, I found out later, she had forgotten to switch off her silent mode. The casting was also supposed to end at 6 – I was there at 5:35pm. I left feeling quite peeved 15 minutes later, downing my sorrows in a Slurpee, but not before having a conversation with my Big Buddy. He was going to Melaka with 2 other mutual friends and would I want to come along? Well, after 5 minutes of thinking about it I told myself, why not? It’s not like I had anything terribly exciting to do later. I could clean the bathrooms in my new place another day, you know? It’s not every day I get to go to Melaka. So by 7pm we were on our way.

Spain – 1, Sweden – 0

So am considering doing this more often and having a more spontaneous attitude to life. And lookee what I found : Germaine Greer – “The essence of pleasure is spontaneity.” How apt! You know, I feel the weight of regret that I can’t see my best-friend-in-Jeddah getting married in India. She had a whole traveling itinerary set up for the guests and will be paying for accommodation and food.

Here. Check it out : http://www.lekshmyanddinesh.weddingwindow.com

I know I would have loved to go on a backwater tour and explore Kerala. Despite knowing that my current financial commitments and situation doesn’t permit me to make such a trip and timing wise it’s too close to the Sweeps, I feel that I’m missing out on such a wonderful opportunity to travel to that other part of the world that I’ve never been to before. Suddenly I feel the need to be that much more adventurous. Sigh.. never mind. I’ve another friend who also happens to plan to hold her wedding ceremony in Kerala as well so I’m definitely going to make it a point to go. If I tell her this, Mama’s probably going to go “Hmph!”, an incredulous, one syllable retort which basically translates into..

Ooh! Sweden – 1!

.. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard! As if I’m going to let you go gallivanting to India alone!” That was her response, in essence, when I casually brought up Lakshmy’s wedding invitation and where the wedding venue was going to be. So if and when I do go, as with the Bali trip, I’ll tell her once I’ve come back. Some people reacted skeptically to that when I told them but they just don’t know my mom. The logic behind all this is that I would rather my mom not worry about me so that I can go and enjoy my trip guilt-free without worrying about her worrying about me so that once I’m back safe and sound, she has no reason to be worried about me anymore. No, seriously.

Melaka has changed much since the last time I was here about 2 years ago. I don’t remember the trishaws blaring feng-tao techno music from their speakers, for one. Thankfully they had the good sense to switch off their confounding “music” once the game started. Were they really decked up so gaudily, too? Those plastic flowers are such an eye-sore! And since when were their umbrellas sponsored by Maxis? Wah Wey also pointed out a sign on a touristy type of restaurant that said “Restoran Makanan Tradisional…. NEWTON”. Yeeessss. Nothing says traditional food like “Newton”.

And speaking of food, I was looking forward to the unplanned drive to Melaka when Big Buddy said he’d take us to eat ikan bakar. I was feeling hungry and a packet of Chickadees, a bar of Twix and a bottle of water was not going to satiate my appetite in the car by any means. Made me hungrier got lah.

So after much aimless driving and many frantic phone calls to a Melakan friend later, we finally ended up at an ikan bakar place in Serkam. They were out of ikan pari so we had to make do with ikan kerapu. No complaints from my side – though Wah Wey and Debbie were rather disappointed. Nevertheless, we ordered 2 of the ikan kerapu to be cooked in sambal and the other in something called “tiga rasa” which, to my disappointment, just tasted to me like fish in sweet and sour sauce. Nothing special about that. The kangkung belacan we ordered lacked salt so to compensate, I ordered more of the kicap-cili padi-lime juice-sliced onions dip to add to my rice.

Granted, it wasn’t the best ikan bakar I’ve had but then again, I haven’t had ikan bakar in quite a while. Big Buddy was extremely upset and disappointed with the food and wanted to pay for the whole meal (RM50.32) but we insisted on splitting the bill. So the food may have not been that great but it wasn’t that bad either, I suppose. I mean, I still managed to polish off my meal sehingga menjilat jari. But at least we now know that Warung Ikan Bakar Serkam is not really a makan place to be recommended.

Note to self : The next time I make another impromptu trip here, I want to make it a point to visit the Aik Cheong coffee factory. Ooh and try some of that famous Asam Pedas Melaka. Mmmmm….!

Whaddya know.. the Spaniards won 2 – 1 at the 92^nd minute. Ole! (If the score were the other way around, I would’ve said “Ikea won! Skål!”).

Time to head back home….

Juno June 13, 2008

It took me long enough but I finally watched it. “Watched what?” you ask. Juno. A story about a 16 year old suddenly faced with an unplanned pregnancy and how she and the people around her deal with it. I finally got to see what the hullabaloo was all about. I loved it. If I could wax lyrical about it, I would, but with my limited grasp of vocabulary, the most I can say is that it was a delightful piece of craftsmanship on celluloid. Freaking awesome. Not in a blockbuster, roller-coaster kind of way but it left me with a feeling similar to when I’ve done a couple of rounds of casual walking through my favourite park. I had the same feeling while watching The Royal Tenenbaums many years back. It had that same subtle feeling to it, which suddenly left me with a feeling of nostalgia, somehow.

The music also had a role to play in making this indie movie unique, working to bring the mood of the particular scene together. The band featured are called The Moldy Peaches, an indie group recommended by Ellen Page, who played the title character. Diablo Cody, who wrote the screenplay, had this to say about the film :

“You can look at it as a film that celebrates life and celebrates childbirth, or you can look at it as a film about a liberated young girl who makes a choice to continue being liberated. Or you can look at it as some kind of twisted love story, you know, a meditation on maturity.”

I felt it had a great script (although I know nuts about scriptwriting) but the thing about scripts is you need to give it to someone who can deliver it, right? Well, Ellen Page delivered it with aplomb. I adored her quirkiness and the gems that she spewed forth..! She was born for the role. Can’t imagine anyone else doing it any better.

It was also refreshing to see Jennifer Garner – who played the adoptive mom-to-be, Vanessa – in a not-so-in-your-face role. The whole movie was not-so-in-your-face. Although her face did look a little gaunt in some scenes but that’s beside the point. After Alias, Elektra (I was curious!) and The Kingdom, it’s just nice to see her do something… well.. normal, despite the fact that her character seemed like she was an obsessive-compulsive and was a bit of a queen-control but she thankfully developed into someone much more likable in the end. In fact I read that she had actually taken a pay-cut to make sure the film didn’t exceed its budget. Wow.

And J.K. Simmons melted me as the supportive dad. I can scarcely believe that he’s the same person who portrayed J. Jonah Jameson exactly the way I’d imagined him to be in the Spiderman movies. Well, that’s good actin’ for ya!

There were no bad guys in the story despite Mark’s, Vanessa’s husband (played by Jason Bateman), decision to leave her. You couldn’t exactly hate him for it because you knew.. this was life. And timing. He just wasn’t as ready to be a parent as Vanessa. And I felt his words “A baby’s not going to solve anything…” rang painfully true, especially for a couple who didn’t love each other anymore.

My only point of skepticism came when the scene showed how calmly and matter-of-fact the parents took the news of the unplanned pregnancy. They were so cavalier about the whole thing that you can’t help but think, “Are they for real?”. I know if I told my parents I was pregnant, my dad would probably give me a tight slap across my right cheek, my mom would burst into tears and I may very well be disowned. Who knows?

The whole movie, I felt, lacked commercialism and that was what appealed to me. I felt drawn into the plot right till the very end. And I cried. I thought I wouldn’t and I didn’t see it coming, but when they showed the hospital scene with Juno’s dad stroking her hair and telling her that one day, she would be back there, I just couldn’t hold back the waterworks. And from then on it was poignant scene after poignant scene. Sigh… What a pleasant walk through the park, that was.

So if you’re only into thrillers and action movies and blockbusters, then this is not the film for you – I know that there are people out there who thought it a royal waste of time. Ok so I haven’t properly explained the whole story but that’s because I’d suggest you experience the film for yourself. I’m no expert movie reviewer but the ones who are still have to conclude in the end whether they liked the movie or not. And I liked it. ‘Nuff said.

Venturing into writing May 11, 2008

Back when I was a youngster in the Continental School in Jeddah (now apparently known as the British International School of Jeddah), I was a keen writer. I loved our English lessons and I enjoyed essay-writing because back then, I’d get high marks for my creative writing and illustrations. Little gold stars and everything! Words, ideas and phrases just came to me so easily then. I aspired to be the next Judy Blume or Enid Blyton and was very fond of Roald Dahl. I was also an avid reader, borrowing an endless number of books from the school library and from friends and polishing them off as if they were the last remnants of my favourite ice-cream at the bottom of the cup (think Baskin Robbins’ Butter Pecan flavour. Yummo!).

Alas, all that came to an end when my parents sent me back to Malaysia to complete my high school years in a sekolah kebangsaan. I was confused as to why my parents would want to send me away and was visibly upset, as you can imagine because:

1) I was forced to be apart from my family (which, I believe, was how I was first subjected into dealing with long-distance relationships in a way

2) I was already in 8^th grade (Form 2) at the time but I had no choice but to leave and start my Form 1 all over again and

3) I had to live with my dreaded (late) grandmother in JB. She was the personification of the infamous large, overbearing, fierce, cane-wielding, hair-in-a-bun grandmother in Lat’s cartoons. Remember her?

And that was when, I suspect, my English began to deteriorate. (I do realize though that that’s no real excuse as I know a lot of people who speak and write excellent English despite the fact that they’ve never stepped foot out of the country.) Also I think the reason behind my “Makcik-ness” whenever I speak Malay is from having been and grown up around a lot of elderly people that whole time. Johor, pulak tu.. molek , sepatu, gerobok and the very Johorean “HEH??” were soon words that I became accustomed to over the years.

School wasn’t a very conducive environment for creativity, though. Instead, I experienced my first “tension” moment, where all that mattered were passing your exams and getting the highest marks. Everything was being taught parrot-fashion and students were too meek to say anything. Your teachers were not your friends – at least not my BM, Maths and History teachers, anyway. Is it any wonder they became my least favourite subjects? I dreaded going to school – it was a culture shock for me. Take for example, the whole Arts vs Economics vs Science streams. The heck?? Never agreed with it then. Still don’t agree with it now. I’m eternally thankful, though, that my essential growing up years were in an international environment as opposed to the other way around. Pros and cons, but I won’t get into that here.

I did try to be active in school, however… my English teacher convinced me to enter elocution contests and be in the debate team where we managed to reach the finals (although we didn’t win) and I and a handful of like-minded classmates decided to initiate our first English school magazine.

The 1119 Paper was the closest I got to the standard of English I was more accustomed to in my early years. I was the only Malay girl in my school to take it but I was thoroughly upset with myself when I got a grade 2 despite the fact that it was the highest grade in my school and my principal was thrilled with me. Nevertheless, I was bitterly disappointed because another girl in a rival school managed to get a grade 1. Bugger! You know, there’s always this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that if I had had a chance to stay on and complete my education back in Jeddah, I would’ve accomplished so much more… I’ll never know now but (sigh) I’ve long accepted the fact that here is where I am now and I have to make the most of it and not wallow in self-pity… well… maybe just a little…

Over the years, though, I wrote less and less save for a few poems here and there. (My last one was a maelstrom of depression and despair so am not going to be featuring that here anytime soon) I also didn’t read as much as I used to but that habit picked up again later, thankfully. And eventually, I stopped writing altogether. Then, came RedFM…

I started off a segment on my show called “Dine With Dilly”, where I was assigned the delightful duty of dining at various restaurants for free, talk about it on my show and give away meal-vouchers. I know I’m doing a good job when I get a random call from a listener who exclaims “Dilllllyyyy!!! You’re making us hungrrryyyy!!” Those who know me well know how much I love to eat and that I eat much. Terry calls me the Little Big Eater. I guess that sums it up nicely. I’m trying to eat less. Really. But I digress.

Turns out, due to a deal with KL Lifestyle, I was also supposed to do a write-up for each food review. I balked at the prospect of having to write articles for a magazine. I hadn’t written in yonks and felt as rusty as my cousin’s Tiara’s air-con compressor which hadn’t been serviced in ages! But I took it up as a personal challenge and decided to go for it. I’m my own worst critic though so with each article, I needed a second opinion and “engaged” the wonderful editing skills of Will Quah. Below are the results (cringe)…. I’m no writer and I’m painfully aware of it. Tried my best, nonetheless. Didn’t manage to get all the clippings though… missing about 4 or 5 more.. must have a word with Marcomm…

I’m featured! April 22, 2008

My first feature! Women’s Weekly did a write-up on myself, Sheela and Audrey for their March issue – about self-confidence. They very nicely shaved off a year off my actual age, haha! Back then, my show was still on at 12pm so I had to be the first to be done up. Venue was Indrani Spa, Starhill Gallery. I specifically asked for a long-sleeved top because I knew if my mom ever caught sight of me in a magazine in anything short-sleeved or, heaven forbid, sleeveless, I would never hear the end of it. Trust me. You don’t know my mom.