i smiled today at 3:01 PM


"Have you read today's paper yet?" Naz asked me after shaking my hand and introducing himself (and also asking me to "briefly" tell him about myself).

"Errr, no". Was my humble and honest reply.

I don't really read the newspaper that much, I have to admit. It is so much easier to go online to read the news. But even so, I don't do that every day. Tsk tsk tsk.

"Don't worry, I'll get it for you". And Naz walked out of the little freezing room and came back in less than a minute.

"Here. Find any two news articles, then talk about them later when we audition you." He smiles, then walks out.

I didn't even have time to read the headlines, when suddenly they called my name and escorted me into NTV7's The Breakfast Show studio. The real one. The one you see on TV. The new set they made, with the real kitchen, that reading corner and the beautiful living room.

So I had to quickly blaze through any article I could find. But OH NO! He said TWO articles. So I flipped the page, and AHA! No problem. Can! Naz did also say that it won't be so much about the content but more on how I present myself during the audition.

After pinning the microphone on my shirt, and fixing up the ear piece, and then the usual testing-testing-one-two-three-check-check, Naz and I quickly had a little chat before the cameras rolled.

"Are you local" he asked. I explained my heritage. He was astonished.

Then I got straight to the point, and asked him "how will this go?"

And he explained it all to me, and helped me understand what I needed to do. Which was to just chit chat with him. Talk about what we needed to talk about. Introduce ourselves. Listen to the caller's question, answer the question. Wrap up. And go with the flow.

Then the 10-second countdown began.

And I was already smiling at the camera. I wasn't nervous. I was having fun actually. It felt nice being in front of the camera, with the producer's voice in the ear piece, and the text on the screen behind the camera (dunno what the real name or term is for that thing).

He introduced himself, then introduced me, and then we started talking and having fun, as though we were really live on air hosting The Breakfast Show - The Show Worth Waking Up For!

So we talked about the Nurin case. How we felt about the DNA tests, and so on. And we talked about our responsibilities as citizens to report any suspicions of child abuse to authorities. Yes, it was fun. Then someone called in to the show (fake call, of course) and challenged me on a statement I mentioned earlier in the "show". Ahhh, a test? Well, I answered the question swiftly and did it effortlessly. The caller was Suzzy from Mars (that's what it said on the screen). But I recognized the producer's voice.

And then we continued chit chatting for a while.

Then in the ear piece was the producer's instructions: break on your cue!.

So we talked a bit, then Naz called for the break, and we said we'll be right back after the break.

Of course there was no break. It was over. The audition was over.

If you ever go to NTV7, please ask someone who has been there before how to get there, because it is not easy to find.

Will keep you updated on what they say when they call back, in 2 to 3 weeks.

Your feel good friend,
Dom