On the first day of a 14-day quarantine here in Taichung, my 3rd and final quarantine of 2020 in Taiwan, I find it a very fitting time to start this project, Arc 28.
Arc 28 is my attempt to document my life. As i just turned 41 last month, i want to be able to remember what i was thinking and going through by the time i have nothing but memories to go by. (Hopefully Medium will still be around by then.)
To start though, what better time to walk down the memory lane as i am sitting here alone with my Madonna playlist blasting in the background? (Like A Prayer from the Rebel Heart Tour playing at this moment.)
I was born in Taipei, Taiwan in 1978. My parents started a trading company when i was 1 year old. We were living in a one bedroom apartment. Home was the bedroom, the living room was the office.
I don’t remember much about those early days except this one memory:
On Sunday nights, Mom and Dad and i would be watching this Hong Kong TV show about a handsome, flirtatious kung-fu master (楚留香) whose lethal weapon is a Chinese fan. I remember jumping off the edge of the bed, during commercial breaks, imitating his killer moves. I even got my parents to buy me a Chinese fan with his name printed on it.
In those early years, i also spent a lot of time with my maternal grandmother while my parents were working. I still have a lot of vivid memories of those times.
Me lying on the floor in Grandma’s apartment in the afternoon, watching the sunlight moving across the room. It felt still and moving at the same time.
Grandma was washing laundry in a little stream by her old house in the country, while i was playing in the stream.
I covered my eyes with a hand towel to avoid water into my eyes, as Grandma washed my hair.
Mom and dad came to Grandma’s for dinner after work and we all watched TV together.
Alright, that’s all for today. I am getting sleepy now as my jet leg is kicking in…
