Credit: Singapore Writers Festival

With her hands set on virtually anything she can dabble in, it’s indeed tough keeping the veteran radio DJ in a box.

Not only does she capture your heart (and ears, for the matter) with her quick wit as well as wacky jokes every weekday morning on Gold 90.5 FM, she has also recently made her presence at the National Day Parade in August and is currently a proud owner of a Western cuisine restaurant, Roundhouse Pizza, Bar & Grill, with her IT professional husband, Wayne Gladwin.

How’s that for not putting your eggs in 1 basket?

You can now catch Ms Everywhere in a slightly different role, and not even an acting one, though she’s won an Asian Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy (2000) for her memorable portrayal of Denise from local sitcom Under One Roofin 1994.

The 40-year-old has hopped onto the writing bandwagon with her book, Memoirs of a DJ: Life in Progress, published last August, and even joined other featured writers at the recent You Can Write Too! program organized by Singapore Writers Festival.

Her sense of humor was deftly translated into the amusing (and not-so-amusing) snippets of her life, detailing candid thoughts in a sidesplitting manner that certainly sent readers chortling.

While many readers were initially taken aback to read the first-hand details of her divorce with ex-DJ Mark Richmond in 2001, most were more than thrilled to savor the intriguing bits about Lopez’s finding of clandestine love notes (that suggested an affair) and a subsequent sneaky stakeout after her husband.

“Through the stories of my dark years—the divorce and all that—it’s to tell everybody in my own way that if somebody can be brave enough to go through something like that and come out of the other side okay, then my job is done,” Lopez explains.

During a particular book-signing session, Lopez recalls a woman in her 40s going up to her in tears, uttering, “Thank you for writing your story. It gave me the courage to accept that my husband is cheating on me.”

It’s pretty obvious now that Lopez, like she hoped, has indeed struck some resonance with her readers (or a reader, at least).

Though she’s had some occasions of “screaming at a reporter for intruding … or asking an insensitive question,” Lopez is insistent that she has never regretted joining the entertainment industry.

“I’ve won shelve decorators … for TV and radio, and I’ve managed to stay (at the) top of my game in radio, even though I’ve been in it for about 20 years. Plus, I’ve published a book that has reached the top of the bestsellers list!”

A veteran DJ, is Lopez optimistic about her chances at the upcoming DJ awards then?

Lopez tells UrbanWire that she has “no expectations” and “Flying Dutchman is (probably) going to be the one (taking) the spotlight a lot more than anybody else”.

And how is Lopez reacting to the loud groans from her fans regarding her recent swop of radio partner from Gold 90.5 FM DJ Joe Augustin to Class 95 FM DJ The Flying Dutchman (also known as Mark Van Cuylenburg)?

“With Joe, I was a lot more subdued. He has a certain sense of … decorum that I had to adhere to … With Flying Dutchman, we’re old friends (and we’ve) worked together. People have noticed that I’m more free and ridiculous. I just feel that I don’t have to tiptoe around anymore,” Lopez quips cheerfully.

Catch Lopez and Flying Dutchman in action as they natter about their partnership here.

UrbanWire feels that if there’s anything to take away from Lopez, it’s definitely her undaunted sprit, despite lemons being thrown her way in her personal life.

Photos courtesy of Lai Hui Min