Niki Cheong

Nuffnang Featured Blogger for the month of September

Howdy, folks!

This is Niki Cheong – your average journalist, columnist, performer, social media advocate and this Featured Blogger post, I suppose, seals my fate as a blogger.

Except that I started blogging in 2003 (at least that was the earliest post I could find through my archives) so I’m not exactly a newbie. I did take a long hiatus at the end of 2005 and only resumed blogging in 2008, though.
Today, I blog at nikicheong.com and I don’t smell another break anytime soon.

Thanks to JasonMumbles for this picture of me (despite the fact I look bloody tired!).

When I first started my blog, I used it as an outlet to vent on a variety of issues, and I was pretty outspoken on issues of politics. My dad (yes, the old fuddy) was blogging at the same time then and writing on similar issues! As the years have gone by (and age catching up), I have mellowed a little. However, rantings still feature rather prominently on my blog.

I also blog on a lot of other things these days including many events that I have been privileged enough to be invited to. The nature of my job (plus some really good friends) allows me to attend these events and meet new people (oh, not to mention celebrities!), for which I am very grateful.

I also tend to blog a bit about travelling, which I absolutely love, love, love! Over the past couple of years, I have been lucky enough to visit different parts of the world that I have never been to before for work and pleasure. I have used the opportunity to chronicle my trips on my blog as well. Among some of the places I’ve been to and things I’ve seen include the poverty stricken areas of Laos, the beautiful resorts of Bali, the amazing skyscape of Hong Kong and the drunken crowd at Big Day Out in Perth among others.

Outside of the blogosphere, I work for The Star (Malaysia’s #1 English daily, btw) and feature in the fortnightly column The Bangsar Boy, a name many people have come to associate me with. Well, almost as much as I have been associated to my fondness for hats.

I work with a great bunch of people, and their creativity and spirit keeps me going back to work each day.

My colleagues (from left), Melody L Goh, Ivy Soon, Ian Yee, Nasa Maria Entaban and Sharmila Nair.Yes, and David Beckham too.
My work (and especially The Bangsar Boy column) allows me to talk about myself (can you tell I love myself a lot?) and also issues that are close to my heart. I feel strongly about giving people a voice and consider myself to be a huge advocate of youth and HIV/AIDS.

I am also pretty crazy over social media – LinkedIn, Poken, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr are among some of the tools I use (click on the links to get to my profiles). I also love running and have taken part in several races since last year, something I document well on my blog.

I have also dabbled in the performing arts since 1998 in various capacities, although I have mostly appeared on stage over the past few years. Some of the bigger productions I’ve been involved in include The Fastest Clock in the Universe, A Christmas Carol, From the Page and onto the Floor and most recently, in the first week of the Short+Sweet Theatre festival.

All these experiences, and more, are captured in my blog and I hope that you find something for you on there. I really blog for myself, but it never hurts to be able to connect with people.

I am grateful to Nuffnang (and Tim) for this opportunity to be its Featured Blogger for September. This month holds great importance to me; I turn 30 on the 22nd! It’s a milestone!

This is a great platform for me to once again step into the local blogosphere radar as I have lurked on the fringes for a long time. In fact, until the past couple of months, the last bloggers event I attended was the PPS 2nd Anniversary Party in 2005 where I met many of the people who are now play a major role in the Malaysian blogosphere.
Happy to be back. :D

Niki Cheong

p/s I apologise if this isn’t as interesting as the other Featured Blogger’s profile. It’s hard to take the journalist out of me!