Autograph Book

So unlike most times when I would be leaving a place, I am not asking people to write in my autograph book (yes, I am that old to have such a book). It is not because I don't like people writing in that anymore, but that it becomes increasingly socially unacceptable for the practice to continue. That coupled with the ``hi-bye'' relationships that I have with most of the college/university populace, it makes it even more silly to get people to write into that book of mine.

And I think I probably didn't bring it over either, since I have more or less planned not to get this done ahead of time.

But why an autograph book? Many who know what I am talking about will think that it is populated by all kinds of ``nonsense'' which mean nothing say 20 years from when it was written. Yes, I am referring to the myriad of ``personal'' information like one's favourite dog/cat/camel/llama/colour and other mundane things like that. Well, actually, my book has few if not none of those crap. Most of the writings in the book are inspiring in some sense, and sometimes when I feel really down, those words are among the most uplifting that I can get my hands on. I'm probably one of the few people left from that era who has kept a ``proper'' autograph book that I am proud to show to people whom I trust.

And of course, I digressed too much. The question, ``why an autograph book'' can be seen as a means in which I literally obtain feedback from people. It does sound rather strange, doesn't it, soliciting feedback from people about my state of affairs. But it is rather interesting, since sometimes the people write something that is much different from what they act, and through these words one can sometimes tell who is indeed a friend and who is just pretending to be a ``friend''.

Oh the vagaries of life! Reading the articles in the book brings back so many random memories about the people, most of which I have not seen since then. Like memories go, some are good, some are bad. The few that are truly interesting are from [surprise surprise] my teachers back in the day. I guess their words are more delightful to read because they have seen much of the world as compared to the bunch of us who were still young students then, and thus have a wealth of wisdom that is not easily found among my peers. One trend that I do realise is that as time goes on and the people whom I request [politely] to write in my book get older, their words get more meaningful and personal, almost as though through magic my peers have decided to shed their exterior persona projected upon the world and to communicate with me on a personal level.

Life can be a pain if you choose to live without any support at all, be it friends or family. If you are that one person living in this world by yourself, perhaps you might realise this truth sooner so that you won't fall into the abyss of oblivion where your sanity decides to take a long hike down 20,000 leagues under the sea.