1 Jan has merely started for 3 hours, and I received an email from the Cheetah Conservation Fund:

“Dumo is adorable! We would love to use him as a mascot!…”
I’ll skip the rest which mainly consisted of the formalities and paperwork we need to go through and all the copyright issues and stuff. After exams I’ll have to be sending in a few full-resolution jpg files of Dumo.

This all started 2 days ago when I wrote my list of new year’s resolution:
1. Renovate my Travel Blog
2. A 90km/h pitch
3. A second pitch (Perhaps a curveball/slider: So far I can only do fastball)
4. Play the piano or cello more often
5. Publicize Dumo the Cheetah
6. Speak better *Latin american* Spanish
7. Sleep earlier
8. Be less sulky
9. Appreciate what i have
10. Spend less time on facebook – uh oh I better stop here.

I thought I had to give myself a kick and make at least one of them happen. So I picked resolution #5.
5. Publicize Dumo the Cheetah
I thought, hmm, what’s the best way to publicize a species which doesn’t even exist here in HK? So I went to the website of Cheetah Conservation Fund, an international charitable organization sort of like world wildlife fund (WWF) but focusing mainly on cheetahs, and sent them an email,

“Hello I am an amateur cartoonist in Hong Kong. The Cheetah has been my favorite animal of all time and I have done various volunteering work in Africa about conservation of cheetahs. After seeing your website, I was wondering if a cartoon mascot of a cheetah would help your organization? I’ve been drawing a cartoon cheetah named Dumo for quite a while now, it hasn’t been publicised elsewhere. Just wondering if you would consider adding a mascot for your organization’s website, products and events?”

Didn’t hold that much high hopes for CCF is afterall a big international organization, who’s most likely going to ignore Dumo, a Hong Kong born ordinary cheetah. But. within 24 hours of sending an email to CCF,
TA-DA.
I almost bumped my head jumping up to the ceiling with joy.

Dumo is going to be famous!

Cheetahs, my favorite animal, is the world’s fastest land animal; a unique and the most specialized member of the cat family and can reach speeds of 120 kmph in 4 seconds. It is also the most endangered cat in Africa and would become extinct by 2025 if we don’t do anything about it. The Cheetah Conservation Fund (www.cheetah.org) is an internationally recognised centre of excellence in research and education on cheetahs and their eco-systems, working in the conservation and management of the world’s cheetahs. I’m glad Dumo can finally be of some help for his fellow species!

It means so much to me. Somehow I quite understand how my parents feel when I get into medical school.

Dumo on the red carpet!