Flying Solo

If you didn't hear Stanley on air with me today, it's because he's not. He is in China! *mumble mumble* The lucky boy is at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, and probably watching Roger Federer whacking balls as we speak! If you didn't know, Stanley is an avid tennis player. He even represents MediaCorp in inter-company tennis tournaments! Don't play play, ok? *wink*

Flying solo wasn't all that unnerving ~ thanks to Justine Moss who was with me, reading the news, doing traffic updates, and just being such GREAT company. Justine's a gem! And she will be with me till Wednesday, and then with Stan on Friday when I go on leave. *does a goofy dance*

So how did I feel going solo on air after just 2 weeks? I guess there's something to be said about being thrown in the deep end. You sink or swim. And because you refuse to sink on 'live' radio, you jolly well learn to doggy paddle. And that's the BEST way to learn sometimes, isn't it?

While Stan was away, I got to chat with Constance Singam, the President of AWARE (Association of Women for Action & Research). It's not the first time I'm meeting Constance ~ I interviewed her mid last year when I was still with Vanilla magazine, writing a mega feature story called "(Her)story of Singapore", which outlined how far the Singapore woman has come.

Uncanny as it seems, this was kinda what we talked about today too... not through the printed word this time, but through radio waves! I guess when a story needs to be told, it will be ~ regardless of medium or platform. And I'm a storyteller at heart.

Constance inspires me by her quiet dedication to the work of representing women here and giving voice to their concerns. She's devoted 20 years of her life. You can find out more about AWARE's fundraising dinner "80 Extraordinary Years: Honouring Hedwig Anuar" (19 Nov @ Grand Hyatt) from their website: www.aware.org.sg. It's open to the public, and tickets are still available. Do come up and say Hi to me if you decide to go!

Also, I found out Constance Singam has a BLOG ~ and she's 72! If I'm not wrong, she learnt to drive when she was 50. It says a lot about her, doesn't it? Check it out: http://connie.sg

Today was special. I met Constance who's 72... and also three 9-year-old boys who talked about their book "Carboxy Wars". Can you believe they wrote and illustrated it? It's been published by Marshall Cavendish and is now being sold (at $8.90) in all major bookstores. So, I say today is "special" because I realise that regardless of whether you're 9 or 72, you can chase your dream, live your passion, and make a difference to others.