You may have spotted me in last Saturday’s edition of The New Paper (2 Feb, 2013).
TNP is running a contest to help 2 male celebs score dates for the upcoming Valentines’ Day. I wrote in, hoping to meet Mike Kasem, whom I found totally hilarious as the Child Whisperer, ‘Caesar Milano’, in the Random Island series:
[source]
And meet him I did! 
There were supposed to be three ladies at the photoshoot but one of them (the SIA girl) couldn’t make it. So it was pretty awkward. I was at the venue with a lady named Serene. She is 43, I’m 26. I felt she was a little wary of me – perhaps she saw me as competition. But hey, how can I possibly fight with her over Mike? They have my blessings! LOL. I just want a photo ok?
Here’s Serene and Mike:
I suspect the TNP reporter told Serene to come in this bright red outfit. Said reporter told me to come in something pink and ‘fun’.
But it was terribly difficult to be photographed without exposing oneself, methinks:
But I guess it was Mike who really got the shorter end of the stick. He had to pose topless and his discomfort was evident, though he remained professional and humorous throughout:
He must be visiting the gym very often. 6-pack abs, ladies!
Anyway, meeting Mike was nothing short of a nice experience. He was entertaining and witty and… I can’t believe he doesn’t already have a date for V-Day!!!
But what I had trouble getting used to was being interviewed by a reporter from The New Paper – it’s my first “feature” ever. So if you are like me, and need some tips with handling interview requests from TNP, here’s a guide.
How To Handle a TNP Reporter:
1) Learn to say NO… ten times or more. Mike and I both agreed that the TNP reporter who spoke to us is someone who gets straight to the point and asks very direct and probing questions. She is also someone who doesn’t accept ‘no’ for an answer.
She wanted Mike to be topless among greenery. According to her, it should be like an “Adam and Eve” scene, with Mike emerging from behind the erm, bushes.
Mike insisted that it was a “gay” thing to do. She insisted it was a brilliant idea, even when her colleague and I both agreed that it would seem very gay indeed. Mike had to reject her multiple times before she relented.
Also, I’d already figured that she’d ask me to remove my jacket. I said no when she asked. I’m only going to reveal my… teeth!
I was also told that only photos would be required but when I arrived, I was told there was a video segment. 
I.Should.Have.Said.NO. But I didn’t so… oh well.
2) Provide the “juicy” headline or he/she will conjure one for you. Mine’s the giving up of a 114K job and becoming a full-time blogger. What’s yours?
3) Be prepared to have “words put into your mouth”. You will read the articles and think “BUT I DIDN’T SAY THAT!”
It IS The New Paper, after all.
The reporter wrote that “she (referring to me) said Kasem remains her favorite comedian”. I never said any such nonsense. My favorite comedian is Michelle Chong, whom I have previously interviewed for this blog.
4) Do not entertain calls from them at inconvenient times. I received a call close to midnight, requesting for a phone interview. When a person is tired, he is more likely to say something he’ll end up regretting later. Thankfully, I kept my wits about me. And delivered the ‘juicy’ headline that I wanted to have published.
5) This might be the best tip of all: Stay away from TNP reporters! Unless, of course, you think that being featured on TNP is of great benefit to you. Then by all means. I don’t think the article increased my blog hits very much – they refused to publish my blog url. 
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If anything, it was a memorable experience. I hope Mike finds an awesome V-Day date. I have already turned down the reporter’s next ‘brilliant idea’ of a group date:
