Patreon Link – March 16th General Update. Consider supporting me here.
Taipei, Taiwan
Some of the spinning world has stabilized on its axis. I have a few scheduled activities among the chaos. Things that I can plan on. Tai chi lessons are at more secure times, both the individual and group ones. I go into the English school at predetermined times. People are starting to recognize me not as a wandering stranger that keeps showing up, but more as part of the team.
I’m using my phone map less.
I’ve gotten comfortable in some parts of town, and so I’m accidentally letting details slip by. I’m pressing myself to keep paying attention. I walked down an alley a few days ago and found an entire subsection of a neighborhood covered with gorgeous murals. Small rocks that made a concrete garden. A circle of benches around a flat, hard floor under streetlights, families and groups of teenagers both floating like happy ghosts.
My body still hurts from the Thai oil massage last week. I think I’m getting another one Tuesday. I have to make a reservation. For a different version. The woman last time – I think she pulled out a nerve ending in one of my toes. I can’t feel it when I poke at it.
I got a message yesterday to come out and have a drink – “let’s find a bar and have a chat.” I haven’t been to any bars in Taiwan – not a single one in almost five months. Karaoke bars don’t count – they are their own universe. I drink on the streets instead. I’ll get a cold beer and a small bottle of whiskey from a 7-11 and wander, happy as a clam.
The woman I met last night – we found a train station halfway between us – she’s not from Taiwan. I’m not from Taiwan. Neither of us knew where any bars were. And so we drank on the street, dusting off a place to sit down and exchange stories of traveling. She been to *many more places than me. We the seekers, we the dreamers.
I’ve had some epiphanies. About people. About money. About stuff. About the presentation of self. I’ve started projects and let them lapse. I’ve learned some things. I’ve let a lot of effort and struggle disappear into the mist. Because the only effort and struggle that really matters now is the effort and struggle that’s happening – now.
I found a shop that sold calligraphy brushes and ink. I bought a few things. Scratched on some paper. The feeling is meditative. Of course it is. I made some outlines of some comics, the one that I started a few years ago now – “Conversation Stops.” I’m not sure if I’m the only one that understands the humor, but every time I look at my old ones, I laugh out loud, so for my audience of one, the time and energy are worth it. And by using a calligraphy brush, there’s a new set of emotions in the mix.
I have a plane ticket out of town on April 19th, returning April 22nd. My passport will reset. I will stay here in Taiwan for another 90 days. And then I’ll head back to the US for a few weeks, and then get back down to Brazil for three months at least, and maybe try Argentina on for size to expand my horizons. Beyond this window, there is Thailand, there is China, there is Vietnam. There is possibility. There is hope.
We the seekers. We the dreamers.
