An instance is when she talks about being the anchor for Potret Keluarga. "I was stopped for a while because the producers thought the audience was getting bored (with me). What happened was the opposite. People were calling to ask where Norish was. They wanted me back." In between a flashing smile, she says, "That made me very happy."
She also talks about participating in beauty pageants quite casually, as if it is part of her daily grind. Perhaps they are, since she has represented Singapore in two regional competitions - Miss Asia, and Miss Asean, where she won the Miss Photogenic contest. She has also participated in close to a dozen other local competitions. "So basically, Norish is known in Singapore as a model, a beauty queen, or a TV presenter," she says, quite methodically.
In Malaysia, she has added one more element to her resume - acting. These high-profile jobs seem to remind her of a very busy childhood which had run on a schedule stereotypical of a child who was bred and educated in Singapore.
"I am very much like Michael Jackson. I never really had a childhood - as in having fun and being naughty. I have always tried to be good," she says with a tinge of regret.
I am surprised by the statement. This is a person who had gone camping, learned silat and taekwando, and joined the police cadets all in the name of youthful energy and enthusiasm. She had told me that as a child she had always run free with her passions and interests, willing to make the mistakes and learn from it. I don't understand, I told her. I reminded her what she had said earlier - that she was very naughty as a child and had done many things that would drive her parents up the wall.
She replies quickly. "I always go out to do things for myself. That's why my parents used to say that I am naughty, because I can't wait for things to happen."
Impatient, that's one adjective to describe Norish. At the age of 10, she had sneaked out of the house to take acting lessons in a youth theatre group. For a year, her extra-curricular activity went unnoticed until her father found out. She managed to convince her parents that she really wanted to learn the at of acting, that it really meant a lot to her.
That day, she escaped the wrath of her father's punishment. And today, some thirteen years later, it is her father who tells her: "Do it good, or get down (from the stage)."
She has been doing good. There have been enough job offers to allow her to practice what she deems as most important: being in the position to be selective of the projects that she takes up. The monetary rewards are also coming in. She's reported to be paid a five-figure income in the latest movie, and admits to being part of some very lucrative industries.
Modelling is fun, she says frankly, but the best thing about it is that it is easy money. "You come, you dress up, and you get good pay. Especially TV commercials. Sometimes you wonder why these people pay that amount of money."
But, at the end of the day, Norish just wants to sit back and watch the world go by. She wants to take a little time off, to do other things that she enjoys - painting and singing. Whether the Norish Karman aura will leave her moments of leisure alone will be difficult to say, but she wants to hold on to times when she can let her hair down a little, and indulge in idle talk.
"Maybe I should just cut my hair off, so that it will be as short as yours," she says cheekily. "I am still a tomboy. It is just the hair and the dress. They are like a disguise."
"Don't," I say quickly, suddenly conscious of my freshly cut hair.
She smiles, sits back, grabs my tape recorder. The clock shows that it is five minutes after five, and Norish warns that after five, she becomes automatically laid back. She shoot a sly look at me, and then brings the tape recorder closer to her mouth.
Then she blares off. "We are live on air from Chicago (not the city but the premise)...," she says, pretending to be a deejay.
She takes a short deep breath, then begins crooning a Whitney Houston number. "Everybody's searching for a hero, looking for someone to look up to, never found anyone to fulfill my need. The greatest love...."
She has given her hint, and I knew it was time to sign off.
Minutes later, we say our goodbyes. Norish jumps into her BMW with her friend, Toi. Before the car even backs out, Norish is already on the handphone. Perhaps she has been spotted again, for another major motion picture.
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