Voices airing over the radio stations have the ability to mesmerize you with their words, their intonations, and their choices of songs. These voices work day and night to keep you entertained, provide you with the latest news, and keep you updated on the latest hits of songs genres in town.

Aji has been a broadcast DJ for a total of 12 years to date since 1997, and has previously worked for Radio Singapore International (RSI). Being a Mass Communications graduate from University of Indonesia, Aji had not planned to be a DJ after graduation nor did he kick start his career as a radio DJ right away upon entering the radio broadcast industry in Jakarta, Indonesia. He was appointed as a Scriptwriter, and later moved on to become a producer, then a radio director and so on, at various radio stations before becoming a producer presenter for RSI in 2004.

Aji enjoys being able to reach out to many people and at the same time having a personal relationship with his listeners. He says, “For me, radio is very personal but yet, it’s not just limited to one person. I reach out to them, and we share a lot of things together. They send me feedback, and I share that feedback with other people as well. At the same time, they can enrich me too.”

Every job bound to have some requirements that the employee has to be equipped with before securing the job. For those aspiring DJs out there who plan to go into this industry, the requirement needed varies depends on the radio station that you plan to work for. However, according to Aji, there are also some basic requirements. Firstly, is to have a pleasant voice, as listeners can’t see you but they can hear you, Secondly, be an extrovert and thirdly, you must also have good materials to talk about.

But again, a good voice and personality could be great basics to own, but getting a deal at the radio stations still have to depend on each station’s requirements before they decide if you fit their bill. Or perhaps, if you’re someone who yearns to be in the industry but may not have the necessary prerequisites, you can also enlist yourselves in training schools that can help you to develop your talents for the career path.

Understanding the situation and type of radio information that you’re conveying is also important. “If you are interested in radio news, you have to be someone who has a keen interest in news, and the way you deliver the information would have to be more serious. However, for entertainment radio, the DJ has to put themselves into the shoes their listeners and identify the wants of these listeners. DJs can also help radio stations to differentiate one from another”, Aji explained. “What is my advantage? Why am I different than my competitor? There may be about a few radio stations focusing on career women between ages 25 to 45. So if they’re fighting at the same line, what do they get to offer to the listeners? Their DJs must understand this,” Aji added. Personality of the DJ that fits the personality of their radio stations would be able to help market the station to different audience segments and therefore differentiate themselves from others.

Being a radio DJ would also mean to gain respect from your listeners. Only when they respect you, would these people want to hear from you. Therefore, a DJ must also beware of what they say through the broadcast, and be responsible of the things they say. Unlike your own friends where you have no restrictions to what you can joke about, a DJ has to be responsible for their radio station and their listeners. Having hear someone on air and hearing face-to-face are two very different thing, and it is very easy for people to misinterpret what the DJ is saying. Therefore, all DJs have to exercise prudence in this area.

As veteran in the radio broadcasting industry, Aji’s shares that his most memorable experience would be reporting for the second bombing in Bali, Indonesia. He was on holiday in Solo when he received orders from the head office to cover that event in Bali. As Aji reached, he was one of the few journalists that arrived first at the scene. It was a tragedy, but for someone working in the media line, Aji takes great satisfaction from this work as he was able to beat other media competitors to the scene. However, being there early would mean more challenging as he had to get himself acquainted the situation and unravel the causes of the whole situation before anybody else without any others to consult.

For those aspiring DJs out there, never give up and continue to live up your dreams, because when there’s a will, there’s a way. If you have any questions for Aji regarding being a DJ in the radio industry, you can contact him at ajirokhadi@hotmail.com.

Click on the picture to listen to the audio interview

Touching Hearts Changing Lives,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

That’s right! Even though the competition has ended, friendships continue…
Dinner on Saturday night with fellow gorgeous  gals at Canele’s (recommended by Juanni). Although Merry has a ridiculous schedule, she still managed to make time for us! and… she brought us a copy of her book which I’ve read and really is inspiring! I love people who dream big and take risks. We’ve only got one life, make the most of it. What steps are you taking today to make your dreams a reality? I can only say with certainty that God continues to lead the way for me… doors that were once slammed in my face are now opening up for me. OK, so back to the date with my mates! Tres awesome catching up with them and we still haven’t got our laksa or our coffee fix! Another date soon I say =)

I believe everyone now is already in the Christmas shopping mood.
It is proven by how many people were spotted at Orchard Road, Singapore last weekend. It’s just mad.

I know shopping might be fun (especially for most women out there), and this festive season will give more valid reasons to spend more. Some of the reasons that are probably on top of your head right now:

1. It’s a once a year thing, must buy presents for my loved ones
2. Good bargain, discount everywhere. If not now, then I’ll miss the good deal
3. It’s ok to spend a bit more this month, anyway I’ll get my bonus soon.

Are those valid reasons? Well, could be.

But while you are doing all those shopping and hunting for good bargains, let’s not forget that whatever money that you spent is your hard-earned money. Why have fun spending money at Christmas and realized in New Year that you are in debt and worried for not having enough money?

While we are spending money this festive season, let's remember that there are many people who are working very hard earning it.

I believe the most important thing in managing our finances is to simply do a proper planning. Most people overspend because they never do any planning. They buy things at the spur of the moment.

Today, I would like to challenge you to do this very simple exercise. It will be fun, and yet it will also help you to have more control over your money during this period of time.

Step 1:
Decide how much budget you want to set aside (Theoretically, budgeting will take much more comprehensive steps, I’ll share it in my other posts next time. For this post, I’ll just simplify it). Whatever amount of budget that you decide, make sure that the amount is not more than what you have. Do NOT use credit card to pay, unless you have the money to pay it back at the end of the month.

Step 2:
Write down on a piece of paper the list of people whom you want to buy Christmas gifts for.
 

Step 3:
Write down how much money you want to spend on each person.

Step 4:
Do a reality check! If the total list is more than your allocated budget, then you have 2 choices:
            a. Eliminate some of the names on your list
            b. Reduce the amount that you want to spend on each person

Step 5:
Once you have your final list, write down a couple of gift ideas for each person
This is the fun part, because now you can explore and search for the best deal in town to make sure that you give the best gift and yet is still within your budget.

Step 6:
Now that you have your list completed, the most difficult part is when you go out and make that purchase. Surely you’ll be tempted to buy more stuff. You must stick with your list and do not give in to impulse purchases.

If you can follow all the 6 simple steps above, I’m sure you can still do all your Christmas shopping without feeling guilty.

On the other hand, if you don’t really have any budget to be spent, don’t force yourself.
You can give something that is handmade or you can simply give the gift of time, e.g. spend a day with your loved ones. These gifts are often more meaningful than material goods.

Don’t forget the real meaning of Christmas. It isn’t about the gifts but the spirit of togetherness.
And that’s something money can’t buy.

Touching Hearts Changing Lives,

Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

I love December !

For me December is a month full of joy, peace, love and miracles
And in this special month, I would like you to spend a few minutes to talk about a very special person in our lives.

It’s none other than our parents. Some one who have raised us up for many years.

I recently watched this short video. The story line is simple and yet it managed to move me.

click on the picture to watch the video

How many times we take our parents for granted?

They show us unconditional love, no matter what we do, no matter how bad we are, no matter how ungrateful we get. 
Our parents ALWAYS there  for us.
But unfortunately, sometimes we didn’t even realised that. We didn’t even remember what have our parents done for us.

They surely have done great things for us, given us comfort, security, support, love and many others.
But how would we repay them?

Well, in my opinion, we’ll never be able to repay them, but least thing that we can do is to be grateful.
Showing gratitude to our parents for everything they have done to us in the past as well as in the present brings happiness to them. Even if their upbringing is less than perfect, we still owe our life to them.

Another thing that we can also do is to give them respect and love. It brings great happiness to parents to see that they are respected by their kids. There’s no amount of money that can equal to receiving respect. It is priceless and it surely will make them happy and proud.

Apart from those two that I mentioned above, probably in this Special month of December you can do something ’special’ for your parents.

Here are some ideas:
1. Bring them to their favorite restaurant and order their favorite dishes.
2. Pledge certain % of your bonus this year to be spent for them.
3. Surprise them with a nice bouquet of flowers send right to their doorsteps.
4. Buy gift certificate to their favorite mall.
5. Subscribe to their favorite TV cable.
6. Go for short holiday trip with them
7. Buy them a massage chair  
8. Give them air tickets or an holiday package to an exotic location
9. Buy a digital photo album and upload hundreds of your photos with them.
10. Bring them to the place that they never been before (e.g. Dinner at Singapore flyer, Watch gold class movie, Having brunch at 5 star hotels, etc)

Those are just a few ideas.
Of course there are also many other things that you can do to make them happy and yet it doesn’t cost you any single cents.

Here’s a few example:
1. Write a poem for them
2. Don’t answer back and correct them when you wanted to.
3. Do your house chores (washing dishes, etc)  without being asked.
4. Say ”I love you!” while smiling into their eyes at least twice a day.
5. Gave acknowledgments like,  “Mom, I’m so lucky to have you. You’re the best mom ever!”
6. Spend time with them while listening to their opinions and stories from their life.
7. Surprise them with a nice dinner, all cooked by you.
8. Give them a nice and warm hug before they go to sleep.
9. Give them a call and ask how they are especially if you don’t see them everyday or you live far from them
10. Give them a grandchild

 Last year I did the no. 10  =) and my parents are definitely very happy =) hahaha…

Mom, Dad and Vern

In front of ION Orchad

See how happy they are

Hopefully by now you have some ideas in your mind on what to do for your parents.
Do it for them, they definitely will be surprise and will appreciate that =)

Touching Hearts Changing Lives,

Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

The theme of the event was “The Rainbow Journey”

Me in ACTION !

It was a very simple theme, and yet it has a very deep meaning behind it.
Life is often hard, it can bring you so much pain.
But to truly appreciate the rainbow, we must first endure the rain.

I really cannot guarantee your success, but I can guarantee that there will be obstacles in pursuing your success.
I personally experienced it many times. In the process of becoming what I am today, I faced many ‘heavy rains’.
From struggling to survive with just $10/week in Singapore, lost my life savings in stock market, facing rejections after rejections in my early career in sales, and many others. But what keeps me going is because I know that after all these rains (sometimes can be even monsoon season) I’ll be able to see my ‘rainbow’.

Success is measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life, but by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed.

 
I believe you have heard many stories of successful people who went thru ups and downs before they reach their success.
One of the good examples that I want to share today is J.K Rowling. I’m sure you know who she is. She is the highest-earning woman in Britain, thanks to her ‘Harry Potter – series’.

When J.K Rowling was young, she gave up her dream of writing novels to study something more practical. Nonetheless, she ended up as an unemployed single mom. She suffered through a period of poverty and depression while she struggled to earn a living and take care of her daughter. But during this rock-bottom time, she realized she still had a wonderful daughter, an old typewriter, and an idea that would become the foundation for rebuilding her life. It was during this difficult time that she finally completed Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which was renamed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the U.S. edition. Within 5 years, she managed to bring herself out from poverty to become a Multi-Millionaire. Amazing !

I hope the story that I shared can give you an inspiration.
That no matter how big the obstacle that you are currently facing, no matter how tough your life right now and how heavy is your ‘rain’ now, You must not forget that there is a beautiful rainbow, waiting for you at the end.

Here’s some photos that was taken during my seminar in Jakarta

Interacting with some of the participants

Receiving a token of appreciation

Closing Ceremony (can you spot me in the picture? hahaha... =) )

Autograph session

A book that everyone MUST read !! =) "A Gift From A Friend" by Merry Riana

Touching Hearts Changing Lives,

Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

Have you ever dreamt of producing your own film, pitching your own story, and conveying the burning message you have to thousands of people? Being a producer may not be as difficult as you think, unless you’re looking at producing a long haul drama series or a big hits movie. With the current modern technology, anyone can easily produce a short video anytime.

Satisfying the hunger for creative arts, Aaron has always involved himself in the creative process since young, grabbing any opportunities in school, and learning from the people and resources around him. He once aspired to be a musician, an actor. But fate or chance, he lands himself in the film making industry. To date, he has already been in this industry for 7 years, and he is still flaming his passion for film making with the never-ending process of learning and testing new grounds.

Filming process usually requires the whole production team tons of hard work. Ideally, the shooting process inclusive of pre- and post-production, it takes at least one to two months per episode of the film. However, that occurs for TV productions or movies. If you’re one of those aspiring film makers, making your own video and posting it up through online channels such as YouTube may fulfill your desire for film making a little.

This has also allowed film making to be more accessible. Cost of production becomes cheaper, and more user friendly, and the creative process can now flow more freely, which in turn empower film makers and even viewers to a certain extent. “People can broadcast their work, without waiting for an executive in a suit to give them the green light, and viewers can also decide for themselves what they like and don’t like. So if they don’t like it, they can just click on something else” Aaron said.

Film makers can now test out their ideas, be a little more experimental in their production, and there is no commercial pressure in terms of appealing to the sponsors or niche group of audiences. You’ll be surprised when you realize that this kind of freedom emancipates much more innovation and exciting ideas among people. Through an online medium, you’ll also get to obtain immediate response from the viewers, and you need not wait for it to be up on theatre screens or broadcast on television to know that you’re doing something that people likes.

Advanced equipments or technology can assist in the creative process in a certain way, but the essence of making a great film truly comes from a solid story behind it – a story that touch on the pulse of human condition and universal struggles. “Equipments are just story telling tools. A film maker with a very compelling story to share can produce something extraordinary with just a camera, and maybe the creative use of existing light sources, and some basic editing equipment” says Aaron. Equipments may assist film makers to a certain extent, but qualities such as passion, commitment, dedication, a good eye for visuals, and the ability to observe, listen and tell a story cannot be substituted by even the best equipment in the world.

Aaron’s suggestions to all budding film makers out there, is to never stop learning and absorbing information. Be really passionate, committed, and humble, be prepared for a lot of hard work, and have a never-say-die attitude no matter what happens. And because of this attitude that Aaron holds on to all these years, film making has helped him experience things that many other don’t have a chance to experience, and these years of hard work have expanded his horizons, allowed him to meet a broad spectrum of different kinds of people in life.

Having seen all kinds of people from all walks of life, Aaron’s definition of gorgeous person “means someone who is passionate about life, and what they do, someone who believes in their own potential and the potential of others, in making a difference to the world,” Aaron defines.

For anyone who is interested in knowing more about Aaron or has got any burning questions to ask him, you could email him at tanmienshawn@gmail.com.

click on the picture to listen to the audio interview

And if you want to have a piece of Aaron’s works, well, you came to the right place. Here’s the music video of Ming Bridges’ rendition of the Christmas song “Let it snow” that was done by Aaron himself. You’ll see Ming skiing around Singapore, how interesting ! =)

click on the picture to watch the full video

Touching Hearts Changing Lives,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

Hello friends!

if everything goes well, i’ll post up some of my covers here! woohoo!

Best regards,

Hanz

It’s been a while. Firstly, CONGRATS to our gorgeous winners Annabel and Adrian!! It’s true, they are stunning and do have the G-factor =) and Adrian tried really hard to pull an Aussie accent, so I will give him some credit for making it sound malaysianish-cockney british.. haha. It was close!

Here are some pics from the night at ZOUK…

The Female staff, stylists, choreographers, stage crew and zouk staff worked extremely hard behind the scenes. Though everyone rocked up, enjoyed the show, had a few drinks and basically had a great time overall, we really owed it to these guys for making it happen. 

Thought this lamp was pretty snazzy…

 Extremely down-to-earth person despite her success and status. Just a beautiful person inside and out

Grace, we still gotta get our coffee fix haha.
Juanni, was it Katong that had great laksa?

Bunch of posers haha. We’re all looking out for our friends in the crowd actually.

Quiz time for the top 5 girls… I had all the “Why do you think you’re gorgeous” and “what do you think gorgeous means to you” kinda questions prepared in my head. The question they asked me was somewhere along the lines of “the differences between Melbourne and Singapore.” HAHA. I could’ve said the way Singapore is so CLEAN, the transport system is so CONVENIENT and it’s a very FINE place indeed. My answer was Singapore’s rich cuisine… and laksa.

The 50 Gorgeous

The GORGEOUS WINNERS: Adrian and Annabel!!

My gorgeous Melbourne Uni gal-pals, Carmen and Dawn.

My super awesome hot cousins, Debbie and Mich. Mich has a baby girl (Janielle) and she’s still so slim and HOT!

Deb and Mich: Here we are at Zouk!
Auds: But I didn’t win anything… =(

My godmother and my dad who came to support despite the “loud music.” Thanks!!

My undying supporters… (I forced them to come haha. jk, they wanted to see hot people)

We later convened for supper at the local hawker centre for prawn noodles (highly recommended by my uncle but he didn’t order it for himself!). I’m the random with stage makeup haha.

It was really fun getting to know everyone and we’re all keeping in contact! Shall post more about our dates with each other outside of the Female fashion shows hehe.

And a special shoutout to my mum (back in Aus) who couldn’t make it due to church commitments, and to my beautiful 91 year old grandma who raised me in my early years, for being my two MOST GORGEOUS persons =)

Blessings xoxo

* Pics courtesy of my aunty’s Canon camera and Female Magazine’s Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/#/femalesingapore?ref=ts)

I’ve just been browsing through the videos at RAZORTV when I stumbled upon a particular video that has really made my day.

It was one of the videos on the day of the Grand Finals @ Zouk.
This video featured the Interview with the Overall Winner, Annabel Tan, after the event.

In the video, the RAZORTV journalist, Bryan De Silva, asked Annabel this particular question:
“Besides yourself, who do you think could have won this competition?”

To my amazement, Annabel actually answered: ‘Merry Riana’.
And then she continued to share how she was inspired by me.

As I’ve mentioned, watching the video had really make my day.
Here is the link to that wonderful video:

http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/lifestyle/39710.html

I would like to really thank Annabel for her kind friendship.
She truly deserves to win the title of the Most Gorgeous Female 2009.
Because not only is she good-looking and smart, but she also has a big heart.

This photo was taken behind the scene, just before the results were announced. We were both posing with our number tag, but the photographer decided to just took a close up picture of us. hahahah.. =)

Once again:
Congratulations Annabel!

Touching Hearts Changing Lives,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg

The final was a blast. It was certainly a great experience for me. I’m just so glad to know more new friends. Congratulations to the winners and a big thank you to Female, sponsors, the rest of 49 Gorgeous People, and everyone involved in organizing this event.

Here are some pictures taken with my camera before the event started.

Read the rest of this entry »