Update 1 - Peeking Through the Cracks
Preface
It has been 2 weeks since strict quarantine ended. I have been in pseudo-isolation in the two weeks since.This post will cover how I am feeling after 4 weeks of isolation and how I've spent this time. Some ups, many downs, and a dose of uncertainty.
Intro
During those first two weeks of quarantine I was hit with a morale-crushing news update: Taiwan had experienced a COVID-19 outbreak for the first time since the global pandemic began. This news came just a few days before I left my hotel room.For someone who has packed up their life and moved across the world to a country free from the pandemic, this was not welcome news. As the 10 days of quarantine had begun to drive me to a state of near-insanity, this news hit me hard. I felt that the sacrifices I made in moving here were potentially no longer worth the consequences.
Exploring Taiwan
I've been doing some walks and runs around the area, taking in what I can. I live in a technology district, so it is littered with roads and buildings. There is some nature around, you just have to look for it. I found a cloud of bats that live under a bridge nearby -- they come out to feed on the bugs at sunset. I enjoy standing in the middle of their feeding frenzy and watching them fly by within inches of my body. It's all in hopes that I'll be known to the locals as "batman."
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| Mouse with Wings |
I have been able to get out on one lone adventure during the weekend and explore the area on a bike.
What I experienced on my ride:
- A big sculpture next to a lake
- A buddhist temple with impeccable art
- An oddly spherical goldfish
- A mom & pop beef-noodle restaurant that supplied me with the best food I've had since my arrival to Taiwan
- A pack of stray dogs, fighting over my beef noodle soup
[not pictured] - Culture shock in the grocery store
- A warm deluge of rain
Activities
During the first two weeks of quarantine, I was able to spend some time building my blog/personal website and working on some art assets to add some flare. This project gave me plenty to do and kept me basically fully occupied over the course of that timeframe.
My first order of business was designing a logo and ico image for the website.
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| Logo Draft #1 | Logo Draft #2 | Logo Complete |
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| Completed .ico vector file |
After hours and hours of research and troubleshooting, I was able to build the site from a template I happened across.
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| The website I built: https://wmauz677.github.io/documentation/ |
Chess
I have decided to take a few chess lessons and see if that is something I would be interested in pursuing at a higher level. I enjoy the game and it gives me something to do while I can't interact with people.
The State of My Mind
I am not feeling any better about the situation here 2 weeks later as I write this from my stale dorm room, eyes strained from non-stop screen-time. At this point, life has lost much of its vibrance and I am having difficulty working up the motivation to complete my personal work. Foresight is what keeps me going, clinging on to the idea that I am building my career and that the situation will soon get better.I don't yet have any friends here, as I am not allowed to interact with more than 2 other people at the same time. I'm not allowed to hang out in the common areas, nor invite people in for a get-together. Restaurants do not have in-person dining and I live in fear that the company will crack down on me for breaking protocol. I do not see an end in sight for my self-isolation.
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift: that is why it's called the present.
Kung Fu Panda
I have been living in a state of constant distraction to keep my mind away from the present. I do not do this consciously, as I have been taught to live in the moment by all my spiritual studies. I know that happiness comes from within, though putting that into practice is a completely different animal.
Drought burns basins to dust
Light rain is a dew of mockery
Receive without complaint
Work with fate.
365 Tao - Acceptance
All I can do now is move forward and work with the cards that I was dealt. Fate has a funny way of doing things and there is no way for me to know if this was the right decision or not, so I may as well make the most of it. I believe that I will return to myself soon, though it is quite tough right now.