SHE could not hold down a job because getting up at 9.30am was difficult.
She quit another when she was told she couldn't paint her nails while on the phone.
But Miss Pearlyn Koh, 23, soon found a job that suits her - one which many Singaporeans would find unthinkable.
Her every waking moment, which can be up to 14 hours, is streamed online "live" as part of a reality TV show.
Everything is filmed, even when she parades around in her bedroom in bra and panties.
The only part that is not filmed is when she goes to the bathroom.
Miss Koh films herself with a webcam when at home in a flat in north-east Singapore and a cameraman follows her when she goes out.
Said Miss Koh, a former FHM model : "It's not a big deal. Showing my bra and panties is no different from wearing a bikini on the beach."
While her privacy seems to have gone out the window, people hoping to catch Miss Koh in more intimate moments will be disappointed.
"I will not be having sex or taking the webcam to the shower with me. That would be crossing the line," Miss Koh said during an interview with The New Paper on Sunday at her home.
The show, which will last a month, was launched last Friday on an online entertainment portal, and has garnered 52,219 views since it started.
The portal is run by production house Munkysuperstar Pictures, the same people behind the widely- slammed reality show S Factor and online series Bored In Bikini.
Both Miss Koh and the show's producers declined to reveal how much she would be paid.
Miss Koh, who was casually dressed in T-shirt and shorts, with no make-up on during the interview, said she was asked to audition for the show in June.
Only 10 candidates were short-listed to audition.
Miss Koh was eventually chosen because of her "extroverted personality, self-confidence" and the fact that she "loves the attention", said Miss Gillian Tan, 30, director of Munkysuperstar Pictures.
Miss Koh agreed to be on the show as she had no full-time job.
She graduated with a diploma in mass communications from Ngee Ann Polytechnic two years ago and says she has not been able to hold down a proper job.
Said Miss Koh: "I tried working in sales and even trained as a broker, but I couldn't wake up to go to work at 9.30am every morning.
"I always got fired because I refused to follow rules if they did not make sense to me."
She claimed she worked at an advertising sales company last year for three weeks and was able to sell $60,000 worth of advertising space, but was asked to leave as she refused to stop applying nail polish while speaking to clients over the phone.
"I don't think I am rebellious, but I only follow rules if they make sense to me. People may think I have no boundaries just because I can do things most people won't. But it doesn't mean I have no limits."
Off limits
"For example, I will not answer questions on my bra size or whether or not I am a virgin. People can talk but I don't need to fuel such discussions."
Miss Koh said being on the live Internet show suits her fine.
"If you are dumb enough to sign up to do this kind of show, you basically have no privacy.
"I am basically doing nothing and I don't even know why people would want to watch. Maybe it's a sick fascination," she said.
"I think I have a healthy sense of self-confidence but it doesn' tmeanI don't have my insecurities."
While Miss Koh may seem blase about the whole thing, her family does not share her view. The New Paper on Sunday understands they are upset with her and worry about the example she is setting for her 11-year-old sister.
They also fear the embarrassment it will bring, especially if the show is seen by relatives and friends.
Her friends don't seem to mind, said Miss Koh.
They initially thought it was crazy and were uncomfortable with what she was doing, especially when she turned up with a cameraman in tow.
But Miss Koh claims they have now gotten used to it.
She said: "Being in front of the camera all the time doesn't affect my life. It doesn't stop me from doing things. I do it because it is fun, I get constant company and attention, and I like to do new things."
But it has not been all smooth sailing.
Some netizens have been less than kind.
So far, she has been called a Vietnamese...(expletive) and asked to remove her bra. And there were several who asked her to sleep with them.
Fortunately, Miss Koh has the ability to ban these people from her site as she has moderator status.
Said Miss Koh: "As long as I can justify my own actions, it doesn't bother what people say about me. If people want to call me ugly, I don't care because I know I am not. They are free to think what they want."
She added: "I hope those who follow my show will be able to see that underneath my noisy, boisterous and overbearing self, I can be a nice person after all."
She does not regard herself as a celebrity.
"Girls appear on the Internet all the time and promote themselves, then disappear. What I really enjoy is chatting with my fans," she said.
What are her plans when the show ends?
"I will be devastated when it ends. I have grown so used to the constant attention. I try not to think about the show ending," she said.
But she is toying with the idea of moving into mainstream broadcast television.
"I don't actually have any concrete plans, but I am open to learning and new experiences."
SHE may be enjoying the attention, but psychiatrists and career consultants that The New Paper on Sunday spoke to said that Ms Pearlyn Koh's stint might have ramifications on her career and psychological mindset.
Mr Amit Puri, managing consultant of career management consultancy Sandbox Advisors, said: "If it's going to be a client-facing role, employers will be concerned about her reputation.
"They won't want someone with anything but a good image to be representing them. From a client's point of view, there's also a question of credibility."
Mr Daniel Koh, a psychologist at Insights Mind Centre, said: "The comments goading her on are a negative way of encouragement. She may learn that in order to get more attention, she has to carry out similar antics.
"This will also affect her social interactions as people will pre-judge her after they watch the videos."
Dr Brian Yeo, consultant psychiatrist at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, said that if the aim is to get publicity from a commercial angle, it's a smart move.
"...But this is the wrong way to get attention. It decreases your employability because you can forget about looking for other jobs.
"There's also a question of whether she's in control of her actions. It might be due to history or some issue that she needs to reassure herself and prove to others now that she is attractive or popular," he said.
He added that there's also a risk of her having to outdo herself each time with bolder acts.
"To maintain the viewers' attention, she will need to increase the shock factor after a while."
Entertaining or disturbing?
Pure entertainment. That's what the show is all about, said Ms Gillian Tan, 30, director of Munkysuperstar Pictures, which produced it.
Said Ms Tan, who has 10 years of experience in producing reality TV shows: "Most reality TV shows are controlled, planned and edited.
"This is the first timeweare airing a reality show which is unedited. It is completely real and unstaged. The show is like the diary of a girl streamed live online."
But unedited does not mean there is completely no form of censorship.
Said MsTan: "There are limits when it comes to the show's content. There will be no nudity and no racial or political slurs. We have also told Pearlyn to cut down on the use of profanities."
On Miss Koh appearing on the live channel in her T-shirt and panties, Ms Tan said that didn't cross any line as there was no nudity.
She said it was no different from wearing a bikini at the beach. "There will be conservative people who disapprove, as well as people who make lewd requests," said Ms Tan.
"But the purpose of the show is to entertain, not to offend any sensibilities.
If people do not like the show, they will stop watching after a while as it is not their cup of tea."
Undergraduate Derrick Ho, 22, is one of those who don't think much of the show.
He said: "There are more opportunities and platforms for young people to present themselves to the world with social networking sites. But I find it disturbing that people would sacrifice their privacy just to get the attention they crave so badly."
But Mr Derek Yue, 23, a navy specialist, disagreed.
He said: "I find it refreshing that she dares to be herself on a live show and show people what her life is like.
"I don't think it is offensive for her to appear in a T-shirt and panties because there is a lot more pornography available on the Internet which is worse."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
