I'm up dead early for the air-conditioning renovations that we should have done years ago and it really sucks because I had slept at 5am last night, clearing out my cupboards for some shifting to be done.

I found LOTS of (epically embarrassing) shit dating from way back in secondary school, so I took a memory trip looking through books full of writing both by my classmates and me (haha recall the Blue Book series, for those in the know?).

I found an autograph book that I vaguely recall egging my classmates on to fill. Secondary 4 was a time when everyone was pushing autograph books around and even though the entries are quite cringe-worthy I'm still thankful for this time capsule for a peek back into the past. Some of the entries, though so silly, were written with such earnesty that we must've really thought we were the shit and took ourselves really seriously as we precariously carved out our hopes, dreams and identities.

The general notes and appraisals I received from classmates ranged around being tall, looking dao and having a long face (I was called 马脸 (horse face) by the 'nenek' girls), contributing to the class with the website and class t-shirt designs, and being talented for being able to 'do many things'.

There were all sorts of nonsense my classmates thought I was good at - soccer, art, web design, programming, running, and even drums and dance (haha seriously). Seven-odd years on since then, almost all of those 'talents' never materialized into anything realistic, and some of them were truly just bogus. I suspect I merely had a way of making people think I could do more than I really could.

However, I think that if there was one thing has stuck with me since then, it's that I've always been open to trying, exploring and getting involved in doing new things. I wouldn't even call myself a jack of all trades though I'm definitely master of none, but I loved getting stuck in to all kinds of stuff. It's definitely toned down a lot now as there are some things that are really less embarassing to try only when you're very young, but a prevalent curiosity about things has always resided in me.

This philosophy stems perhaps from believing that everything has its own value and is worth giving a shot. The world is your oyster, just waiting to be discovered by you. :]

I can only hope that the stuff I write in my friends' autograph books are quite cleanly buried!