What was I doing when I was 24?

A young friend asked me what I did when I was 24, her age now. If it was a quiz that requires an immediate answer, I would have lost the game. I was stumped for a minute, struggling to remember what seems like ages ago. And then it all came back. In a flash. Of course I remember what I did when I was 24. How can I forget?! Some of the best times of my life took place when I was 24.

I was partying lots and dating lots, of french men. I didn't plan them. It just happened. I was supposed to go to a movie preview of the then European Film Festival but ended up at the cocktail party at Fabrice (Bar None now) instead. There, I became firm friends with a really belle French girl. The rest as they say, is history. Viola, french girl introduced french boy. French boy dated Singapore girl. Then french girl introduced more french boys and Singapore girl went out with more french boys.

With my usual low-key approach, nobody knew much about it until one day when I stepped into the TV station and my ex-colleague Kiren exclaimed, "So, are you going to the house party with X, XX or XXX this Saturday?" !!! Apparently, all three left messages in our (I shared phone with Kiren) answering machine asking me to go to the same party! C'est incredible non?!

Well of course the men, the french men, the dates, the french dates are not the only reason for 24 being the best time of my life. I happened to be doing what I am (was) best at, TV production. So many years and a couple of jobs later, I have still yet to find a job that could give me the same satisfaction and sense of fulfilment. Nor a job that could evoke that much passion in me. I like to think it was more than just youth. I knew that when I took my last walk down Caldecott Hill. That I will never be able to find another job that I would be so passionate about. And I have been right so far.

And of course, some of the best friends I have made were from my TV days. Couped up in our production rooms, we have shared sleepless nights and stressful days eating instant noodles (or not eating), brainstorming for ideas, cursing over bad interviewees, crying over lack of stories, begging each other for extra airtime or to take some of our airtime (and I mean real airtime), mumbling to ourselves as we attempt to write the best script etc etc. Oh, and the hours spent at the music library hoping to find the best background music for that barely 5 sec shot. And the time spent in the editing room, praying the editors can do miracles to the badly taken shots once again. Sleeping at the dirty but cozy couch as we are tired out by the late nite filming and early morning editing. Sneaking out of the editing room to watch the film fest movies downtown. Eating lunch in the form of Malay snacks (we term it BOMB for its round shape) at 3 pm. Ah...I could go on and on.

Those were the BEST times of my life. I never realise it then. I do now. And it seems like yesterday once more.