RIP OLIVE

I kinda knew it was gonna happen … it’s been a couple of days and my favorite hamster Olive hasn’t looked her usual self.

She’s usually very affectionate, very active (she runs the wheel like she was possessed) and eats a heckuva lot. On Saturday … she seemed a lil under the weather … which happens to hamsters so I wasn’t overly worried. So … to make her comfy … I moved her into her other cage (she has 3) and gave her new bedding, fresh water and a lot of food. Evening came around and it didn’t seem like she touched the food nor the water and she kept changing positions to sleep … she seemed really uncomfortable.

Sunday morning … I wake up … check on her … and she’s asleep … which is odd cos in the morning … she’s usually (as usual) running the wheel. This time … she wasn’t. Her breathing seemed a little shallow and her eyes were closed tight … a little teary. I’m getting a little worried now.

So Sunday’s kept aside for her … my buddy … Olive … my favorite. I take her out of her cage and hold her in my hands (which she loves) and she’s out cold in my warm hands … I hope she’s comfy. “I hope she can sleep this off”.

Monday comes around … and I’m off to work again after a couple of days off and I’m busy with work … running around after that for an event and I’m home late … a little after dinner. I’m exhausted but I check up on her … she’s still asleep … good news is that she managed to drink some of the water I gave her but her food bowl is still full. “I’ll just let her sleep” I thought and went to bed hoping that she’ll be fine tomorrow (Tuesday).

Then Tuesday comes around and as usual … I’m up at 4am … I shower, have a bit of breakfast and check up on her … she’s AWAKE !!! Yay … but she still looks a little groggy … I pet her … and she gave me an approving nod … which is always her signal to me to say “I like that” (I assume). So I’m off to work … with a renewed hope that my best friend … a hamster … might just pull thru and recover from whatever illness she had.

I get home in the afternoon after work … excited to see how she’s doing … and what do I see ? She’s sleeping again … waitaminute … she’s not breathing. I open the cage and pet her … no response. My WORST fear … Olive has passed away. The time we had in the morning was the last time I got to hold her and pet her while she was still alive.

Not realizing how close I’ve gotten to this tiny hamster … I felt a sense of loss I haven’t felt in a long time. When my other hamster Pepper passed on … I was sad … but this time, with Olive, I was literally floored. I can NOT begin to tell you how much I miss Olive … I’ll miss the times she walks on my computer table while I’m happily typing away … or how she comes to me after letting her roam my living room floor … she was more than just a hamster … she was my best friend … and I’m gonna miss her !

ON A BREAK AND AGEING !!!

Been looking forward to this break for a while now … Dilly and I are taking some time off from The Red FM Breakfast Show and thanks to our producer Yin and to Terry for covering for us.


Also … something else happened recently … yesterday … I celebrated my 33rd birthday. I got to celebrate it the way I liked … quietly ! Hehe … I’m not big on birthdays these days. When I was a kid … 33 seemed like such an old age. Now that I’m approaching my mid-30s … it ain’t no biggie. I don’t mind a small do with my family and close friends but having a huge party … I dunno.

I just don’t see the point of celebrating anything that isn’t significant at the moment … for instance … going from 19 to 20 … big deal … 20 to 21 … even bigger deal cos it’s “from a boy to a man” time … then nothing really significant happens between 21 and 29 … except for the fact that you’re in college and you just look for an excuse to party !

When I turned 30 … I thought it was kinda huge … so I celebrated. But then I also got a little freaked out cos I was leaving my 20s behind and it was time to be a “responsible adult” (which hasn’t really happened yet by the way).

So … from now till I’m 40 … I’ll be happy with small birthday celebrations … but (expensive) gifts are always welcome hehehe !!!

Right now … I just wanna enjoy my break and I’ll be back on-air next Monday !

See ya !!

I GOT TO MEET EDDIE JORDAN !!!

Eddie Jordan … the very mention of his name in motor racing brings forth memories of the Formula 1 champions he’s brought into the sport … Aryton Senna … Michael Schumacher. I always thought he never got the respect he deserved especially considering what a great team Jordan Racing was.


So how did I … JD … a fan of the sport get a chance to meet the great Irish racer ?

Well … it’s Formula 1 season and everything in Malaysia around this time revolves around the sport and while it’s a great money spinner for retail outlets but it’s also a great time for organizations to think of the less fortunate … and think of them they did. By “they”, I mean the wonderful folks from the Shangri-La group in Penang (Rasa Sayang, Golden Sands and Traders).


Sulaiman TAR (the Director of Comms for Rasa Sayang) spearheads this charity drive for The Lighthouse in Penang where they offer food and clothing to the under-privileged and homeless on the island. Great job by him and his team in raising funds to help out the folks at Lighthouse but with the F1 race in Sepang rolling around … there’s always an opportunity for a big name to add glamour and exposure to this calling … and in steps the great Eddie Jordan.


He was cool … he was a charmer (as Dilly will attest to) … and along with his band The Robbers … he entertained the crowd with a medley-after-medley of cover songs. They absolutely rocked the crowd and as emcees for the event … Dilly and I got to get up close with the man.

We hope we helped the Shangri-La group in Penang with their fundraising drive for The Lighthouse charity and also thanks so much for having us there as well … and giving me a chance to meet one of my heroes when I was a kid !

2 CHALLENGES DOWN … 2 TO GO

So Aly’s done her horse doo-doo challenge …


and we’ve “haunted” Jeremy !


So who’s next and what shall we do to ‘em ?

It has been decided by the powers that be (the listeners) that Nisha will be the next to face the 40 Minute Forfeit challenge and what’s better for Red FM’s Queen Of Hearts than to go for a blind date ?

Excellent suggestion from a listener and things just kinda rolled into place naturally with Dilly’s cousin suggesting her “friend” as the date.

OK … so now … what needs to go down ? So much to plan … so much to do … where to do it … when ?

And then there’s Terry’s challenge … what should we do to the little man ?

We’re taking in suggestions.

ANOTHER FEATHER TO MY CAP … FEEL LIKE A PEACOCK !

I can now (kinda) call myself … a video editor.

Well … a director/producer/scriptwriter and now also … a video editor.

After having 2 days (straight) trying to figure out how to put together a simple 5 minute video (which ballooned into a 9 minute video) … I finally did it (albeit missing hours of sleep) !

After all those years of watching my (now former) colleagues at Vision Four, Double Vision and Channel [V] … sitting and absorbing everything they did like a sponge on Final Cut Pro and other video editing software … I managed to eke out a pretty respectable video ! So YAY to me !

If you’re reading this and you either work for Adobe, Apple or DigiDesign … just want you to know I love your hardware and software and will be using ‘em in my further works … HINT HINT HINT !!! (if you didn’t get that hint … all I’m saying is that if you wanna use me as your poster child for your marketing or advertising … do email me at jdredfm@gmail.com … would love to hear from you hehe)

All joking aside … I have to admit that this was a fun experience mucking in the process instead of just saying what I wanted in a video and hoping the editor gets my vision. This way … whatever I imagine … I can achieve (so to speak) … so James Cameron … if you’re looking for someone with vision and know-how (limited they may be at the moment) … gimme a call when you’re doing Avatar 2 !

Hey … check out the vid on red.fm ... and before you judge … remember … this was my first project. They will get better ! PEACE !

GETTING DOWN AND DIRTY AGAIN

In case you haven’t heard … Dilly and myself will be embarking on another adventure … this time … we’re getting all the Red FM jocks involved as well.

We’re doing Red FM’s 40 Minute Forfeits and this time around … we’re not the ones doing the challenges ! Finally !!! Some payback !

Let’s see … previously we did the Space Shot ride in Genting …


... that was for Dilly (who screamed her a** off by the way) … and then it was my turn with the G-Force-X ride at Sunway Lagoon (it’s basically a reverse bungee where you’re launched upwards in a ball and you bounce around for hours … well … it seemed like hours to me anyway) …



... then we both had to do the last 2 challenges together.

First came the climb (yes … climb) up KL Tower … all 2000 over steps … TIRING YO !!!


… and then the “invasion”. Yup … Dilly and I had to do the colonic irrigation challenge … we had to get water pumped up our ... well ... you know !


So we’ve decided that … NO ! We will NOT be subjected to this torture … so we’re gonna get the other jocks to do it !

It has been decided that Challenge #1 would be for Aly … our resident supermodel. She’s elegant and we heard that she’s quite a horse rider. It was an amazing twist of fate when her sister Cheryl called up and suggested that we get Aly to clean up horse stables ! Sounds like a plan to me ! … and apparently it sounded good to you too so thank you for voting for this challenge over Dilly’s “get her to dress up like a baby and walk around KL” challenge.

So off we go to a stable with loads of horse doo-doo for the lovely Alison Victor to clean. Where exactly ? You gotta keep tuning in to Red FM to find out how it goes or log on to red.fm to watch the video of the “dirty deed”.


Lots more challenges coming up tho so keep following my blog posts to find out what they are and keep tuning in to find out who’s our next victim !

WHAT’S YOUR SPORT IN THE WINTER OLYMPICS ?

If you yelled out CURLING … man do you need help !


Unfortunately … I have to admit that … I enjoy watching curling as well … WHY ? No idea !

If you’ve never heard of curling … it’s a winter sport that is kinda like lawnbowling … but on ice. The difference is that you’ve got 1 person who slides the stone towards the target (or to knock the opponent’s stones as far away from the target as possible) and the other members of the team polish the path of the stone to increase its speed by “smoothening” the route.

It’s not the MOST exciting sport to watch but it’s interesting cos it does require skill and teamwork.

So what else have I been watching this Winter Olympics currently being held in Vancouver ?

Well … you can’t beat ice-hockey ! You can’t beat watching the skills on the ice, the speed and control that these athletes demonstrate is the ONLY reason why I watch this sport … well … I guess not the ONLY reason !


In ice hockey … strong-arm tactics are expected and players from both sides body-check (crash into) each other in a bid to win the puck. It’s fast paced … there’s always a threat of tempers boiling over and a fight could break out right on the ice and because the rink is surrounded by a protective clear (and hard) screen … if you’re a spectator right on the sidelines … you can catch all the action (and possibly some blood spatter) close-up ! Exciting huh !

Of course … there are other staples that you HAVE to watch during the Olympics like figure skating, speed skating, the slaloms, snowboarding action and also the luge and bobsledding.


… and speaking of luge … a tragedy occurred right before the start of this Olympics when Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died during a training accident. There’s still some controversy over whether to shut down the luge track or not but as they say … the Games go on. If you watched the video … you’ll know how disturbing it was.

What other sports did I miss for the Winter Olympics that you found exciting to watch ? Tell me about it … I wanna hear from you.