The FINAL one, for the month of September, translated…
Ying Ni: for the last three topics, I’d talked, incessantly, and now, we’re talking about life, and this time, I guess, I’ll just, pull up a stool, and just, listen then.
My life is relatively boring, without the gourmet dining experiences or the travels naturally, also without the shopping sprees, most of my clothes, I’d bought, before my shop opened up, and my newer clothes were hand-me-downs from friends who no longer fitted in their clothes. Every day, I’d gone from home, book store, and the animal hospital, and the most joyous time I had was, trekking along that riverside pass, looking at the never-ending Guanying Mountain along with the reflections of the mountain and the clouds onto the river, the night heron stood, steady on the driftwood, that flowed out toward the mouth of the river where it’d entered, into the oceans………all of these, more than ordinary scenes had, healed me, several times on end.
a photo of the wrtier here…
the woman, owner and server of her own small cafe…
Comparing to you, your life is very fulfilling and rich! I don’t know where to start inquiring you about it, what do you want to talk about, your stage is ready!
Ke-Hsiang Liu: if I’m not planning a trip, my life in Taichung is so schedules and ordinary like that of a monk’s.
I’d start writing my drafts in the mornings, at noon, I’d often rode my bicycle to my mother’s to have lunch with her, sometimes, I’d made my way to the marketplaces, to pick up her favorite vegetables and fruits. After lunch, I’d, headed home to sketch. Plants, animals, recently, I’d fallen in love with the humpback whales, I’d kept trying to catch its mystique through my own sketches. I’d needed a huge sheet to draw, it would take me about two days, to finish the picture of a whale, then, it’s done.
There are so many vegetation growing in the summertime, and if I get tired of drawing, I’d head out to my little garden, to do some work there. It was, a small lanai on a fourth floor, about ten square feet, it’d become, this platform on which I’d interacted, with the natural world. Even though I’d kept this small place for no more than a year’s time, there were, a lot of animals who’d made their appearances. And, if I’d observed the goings-on of my own small garden, I can become a writer of a book on gardening already.
When you have a small patch of land you are in charge of, everything is different, the angle to which you viewed things, your mindset.
The beans I normally loved, now became, most hated by me. I’d not known the speed of growth of it, the fuzzy coat was very hard to break, and as I’d trimmed, it’d, hurt my skin. As it’d flowered in the autumn, I’d decided, to bid it goodbye.
Liu, who’s sitting outdoors somewhere, tapping into his own inspiration, photo found online…
In the evenings, I’d spent thirty to forty minutes running. From before, I’d gone to the track fields, but the air was awful, and now, I’d, moved indoors. Running fills me with confidence, and it’d helped me rid of a ton of upsets. Keeping up with my physique, and helps me stay positive. With my physical ability in check, writing, drawing, and gardening all became, easier to do.
Ying Ni: I truly envy the monk you’d become! What I’d envied the most, was the green thumb part, because I’m a black thumb, whatever I’d planted, it’d all, die, even if I wasn’t the one who killed it, the cats would love to help too, and so, I’d replaced the majority of my potted plants with kitty litter now.
My life is, selling books, wrapping the books up, checking out my customers, and I’d also needed to take care of my fan base and my blog, edit the books that my shop sold, to make a little extra cash, I’d also, taken on writing, then, making the drinks for all of my guests, carrying on in conversations with the visitors, and what not.
But actually, the heaviest of my workload involves taking care of my twenty plus cats. I’d often joked, that I’m actually not owning a bookstore, but a cat shop, the store manager and I are responsible for different departments (or the workers), the finances were independent we’d carried on in our separate areas, unfamiliar with what exactly each other does at work.
Cleaning out the kitty litter, buying dry and can food for my cats, it’s all smaller matters, if my cats got sick, I’d needed to spend a whole lot more time on them. For instance, in order to get some of the cats with urinary tract problems to drink more water, I’d used an assortment of measures, I’d even had to scoop up the water into my hands, and BEGGED them to drink. Or, to feed the ailing cat that’s fearful of humans, I’d needed to pretend, that I wasn’t doing anything, and then, place down her food at the corner she’s about to turn, then, retract to that distant corner, and to peek, to make her feel, that she’d discovered the foods herself, then, she’d eat, at the same time, I’d had to, stop the other cats from going after her food.
Let alone neutering and spaying the new cats, there are just, too many cats in my bookstore, if I wanted to catch the news ones, there’s no chance I’ll be able to use a cage, because the ones that were caught, would usually be the ones who had no sense, and NEVER the one I wanted to catch! For this, I’d learned, the tricks and trades of catching cats………but, up to here, I guess, I should, shut up, because if I’m talking about cats, it will take me 5,000 more characters.
Ke-Hsiang Liu: let me mention dogs for a bit then.
I have two dog friends, one lived in a certain florist shop at the Fifth market place, called, Ox, a grandfather aged bulldog. He has no more than two teeth left in his mouth, his tongue seemed to have lost elasticity, just hangs out of his mouth. He’d loved hitching a ride on his owner’s motorcycle, but would often get thrown out onto the pavement. But gladly, his owner rode very slowly, plus, Ox’s skin is very thick too, like he had no sense of pain perception. Every time I’d gone shopping, as I’d passed by there, I’d always, looked for him.
There was another one, that lived in the mountains of Shenkeng, a place where I go, to learn how to farm. Panther lives there. The villages strays are all very ferocious, but he was a local breed that lacked confidence. As my friend said he was going to microchip him, he’d become so frightened, he’d gone into the house to hide. After the microchip’s injected into him, he’d run away for three days because he felt defeated. And now, everybody showed him kindness, and, slowly, his self-confidence, returned.
Having this sort of partners in life, it’d added to the happiness. Awhile ago, Nan-Jun Yang passed away, I’d gone to the hospital to visit him, we sat, and reminisced the days we lived together in the mountains, and the most exciting part was, our friends in a certain tribe and their animals. Counting them all up, we’d had a ton of friend, of varied kinds.
We firmly believed, that having someone we can miss in our old age, and having blessings sent to us from them, is a wonderful life lived. As we got older, we’d headed off to travel, we’re no longer focused on the scenes, or the foods, but to visit with all our old friends.
Ying Ni: for the past decade, I’d not traveled far, I’d gone to the eastern part or the southern portions for these mini-trips, being easily fatigued, I was, tried! Either that I’d had motion sickness on the ride over, and threw up, or that I’d had stomach troubles, or that after I’d taken a lot of medications, I couldn’t, sleep at all in the nights. And what’s worse was, after each time I’d come home, my cats would go missing or show up dead, it’d, chilled me! Ever since, I’d lost my drive to travel, and up to now, I’m actually, enjoying this sort of life in one place.
Later on, I’d asked myself: could all of this be a conspiracy? Maybe, there’s something that’s unseen, hoping, to trap me here, in this place, so I’d come, to live here? He’d made me poor and ailing, not too intelligent either, and I don’t have ANY sense of direction too! And, in the many restrictions, I’d become, like a cat, only move around and about, in my own territories; I’d also turned into a plant, I suppose, rooted myself down to this place, became a volunteer and friend of the bookstore, and cats. They’d become, my focus, and, I’d experienced my own life through them, and turned all of it, into, poetry.
I’d once dreamed, wasn’t sure if it was God or Buddha, he’d told me he was going to give me a chance, to have a better life, and I’d told him, that I wasn’t willing. Because, this, is my life. for this, I was often reminded of “Restrictions, are the proofs of love from God”, by Simone Weil.
So, although at the very start, you’d wondered about whether or not you’d made the right choices, but, it’s just in your nature, to want to have stability, to want to live with little to no up and down, and that’s fine, because we all want a steady and stable life for ourselves…
Ke-Hsiang Liu: Whew! I originally thought, that this, would be an easy topic to discuss, and now, all of a sudden, each and every word became harder to come out. At least, to this point, I’d put off this draft for four, five days, and I’d not come up with a perfect ending.
On life, it’s really, harder than tending a vegetable garden, and making sure that the weeds don’t take up the gardens. Life is truly, difficult, it’s not because of the shortage or the simplicities of materialism, it’s just, hard to find the right way to describe it in the cities, to give ourselves more happiness.
Returning back to my mode of enjoying the mini-trips, on the weekends, I’d made my way out of the city I live in. a few days ago, I’d taken the trains to Ji-Ji, found a farmer’s market locally. I’m truly glad, that Ji-Ji has a place like this, allowing the tourists and locals to share exchange, to interact more. The memories I have of Ji-Ji stood still as the pottery bakes and the green tunnels. I’d bought a ton of vegetables there, but what excited me the most was meeting up with rat squash, along with the owner of the stand who’d sold such an item. I’d bought five rat squash total, it’s a brand new kind of vegetable that grew for the summer season, and it might be a mutation of the snake squash.
On the way home, I’d bumped into a friend, and gave him two of the squashes I’d bought. That very evening, I’d peeled the skin off one and cooked it, it’d tasted crispier than the loofa, I was more than excited. Fearing I might finish all I bought in one setting, I’d taken the time in the night, to do a sketch of it, imagined what the plant looked like when it flowered. Three hours later, my drawing was done, and, it’d left me with this refreshed feeling, that I’d, come to know the plant and the fruit it’d produced. The very next day, I’d tossed the seeds into my own garden, hoping that it can, grow, and that next summer, I shall have the squashes to eat.
This habit of journeying carried me for a decade, I’d often bought a ton of weird vegetables and fruits home to examine, to sketch, and cook too. And if I saw an animal, then, I’d searched for the photos online, to compare. I love this process of picking things out, and sketching them. If I can live the rest of my life like this, I will be grateful to God.
So, you’d found a lifestyle you’re perfectly fitted with, and, you welcome those changes, but are not looking for them, because you’re comfortable, right where you are, with your established routines and all!
Life, the Obstacle Course 