Winding Down 2009

Are you like me, never quite sure how to feel on the final day of the year, which also doubles up as the eve of the first day of a new year? Should I end the year with a sigh or with my fist punching the air?

It's always a bitter sweet affair for me, but I tend to swing towards the sweet. Reminiscing the past year in The Living Room brings mostly smiles (a few snarls sour the taste just slightly) but overall, it's been a wonderful year yet again.

(above: The well-utilised and completely filled-up Living Room diary to record confirmed interviews.)

When I think about all the fabulous conversations we've had on the show, it's heartwarming. When we recall the many guests we've spoken with, it's delightful. When we hear feedback from listeners of the far reaching impact of the interviews, there's a sense of fulfillment. Pam and I have a vision for The Living Room, beyond being just a radio programme to fill the silences on the airwaves, we fully recognise and appreciate the value a powerfully positive and relevant programme can bring to listeners. This understanding has enabled us to pick and choose our topics and guests carefully.

Our final guest today and of 2009 was Korean-American TV talkshow host, news anchor and journalist, May Lee. With two decades of experience in the news business, she's chalked up experience with top media networks like CNN, CNBC, NHK and Oprah Winfrey's women's channel Oxygen.

This fiesty news junkie has come a long way from her student days when she earned the title of being a 'very good listener' because she just wouldn't utter a word in school. Look where her mouth (and mind) have taken her today!

Off air, she had me know that when she was young, her mother wasn't exactly over the moon when her sweet daughter had a low timbre to her voice. Mama Lee tried to have her speak in higher tones, but it didn't work. All's not lost, May's commanding alto voice has gotten due attention on TV!

Since helming her own TV talkshow, The May Lee Show, which was screened on Star World and Hallmark channels, she most recently released her first book titled 'May Lee - Live and In Person' published by John Wiley & Sons. The book is pretty much an autobiography that charts her journey and career from even before her first internship in San Francisco.

If you want to know May at an even more intimate level, we suggest you you pay a visit to her blog.

Pam & I look forward to bidding you a warm welcome into The Living Room in 2010!

Lots more sizzling conversations, witty and insightful blog posts and tweet alerts to listen out for and to read.

From Pam and I, may your year be filled with roses, rainbows and....raspberry jam? Ok, raspberry's not the best word to go with our year-end greeting, but hey...at least it's a sweet end to a sensational year!

Talk to you in 2010!!!