The English version is tranlate by ChatGPT, I will fix it later.

“You really slow, you know?”

“Well, my bike is old, and it’s a bit of issue…”

“Why didn’t you say so?”

“Well…”

This happened during a certain occasion when I was working outside the store with my former manager. I can’t recall the specifics of the job or whether we were assisting in delivering board games to customers. What I do remember is that my motorcycle was moving at a snail’s pace. It was an old hand-me-down from my grandmother, and pushing it to exceed 50 kilometers per hour was a real challenge. On regular city bridges and steep slopes, it emitted a rumbling and sputtering noise from the exhaust pipe, trying its hardest to ascend the hill with its gas-guzzling effort, laboring on until it crossed the peak of the bridge.

At that moment, the former manager and I embarked on our journey back to the store. His motorcycle swiftly made its way, while mine sluggishly kept pace beside it on the road. I speculated that he might have presumed I had vanished, clueless about my whereabouts. Upon my arrival at the store, he suddenly inquired about what had happened earlier, with a slightly stern tone but an underlying concern in his voice.

The former manager, affectionately known as “Hou Hou,” was a somewhat plump individual, approximately a year or two older than me. He sported an unconventional youthful white hue of hair that didn’t match his age. His hairstyle featured elevated sides, with streaks of silver intertwined amid the black strands atop his head. His typical facial expression tended to be more serious, lacking a smile, which initially made me a tad apprehensive and unsure of how to interact with him. However, this demeanor didn’t extend to our board game sessions. When he smiled during those moments, it resonated deeply within.

“Are you done?”

I hesitated for a moment and replied, “Yes…”

The interviewer wore a serious expression and said, “You missed a rule in what you just explained. You didn’t mention…”

I had already forgotten which rule I had missed at that moment. If I remember correctly, it was a board game called “Bang!”, and I had been explaining its game rule for about 15 minutes to pass the interview. Despite feeling nervous mixed with excitement, I was conceited that after a week of preparation, I had performed exceptionally well, and there wouldn’t be any issues to be concerned about.

Well, just as I was feeling proud of myself, the interviewer began to criticize and pointed out two specific rules that I had missed.

“Drop it,” I told myself after undergoing such a rigorous interview.

I pondered, “After all, all I wanted was a part-time job. I wished to continue nurturing my passion for music and have the time to play my guitar every day. If applying for a part-time position requires such meticulous attention to detail in the rules, I really don’t know why I would want to work here…”

Maybe, is the place conveniently close to home? Or maybe, it is because of my interest in games? Regardless, I was simply hoping to continue playing my guitar, enjoy more leisure time, and combine my previous year’s experience in restaurant service with my love for games. I wanted to maintain my carefree life with a modest income.

As I grappled with the immense pressure from the interviewers and tried to calm my emotions over the course of a week, something unexpected happened.

“If life is a proof question, you yourself are the best answer.” Taiwanese author Hou Wen-Yong

Last night, in order to write this new blog post, I looked back at the records of my previous blog websites. The first blog post started in 2006, and I couldn’t help but think that back then, I hadn’t even graduated from college yet. I wrote words back then that seem somewhat similar to my current state of mind, and I had the same questions I started with.

Why write a blog?

The reasons for writing a blog back then were a bit unclear. Was it because of the high popularity of the “wretch” blog website at the time, which I admired and wanted to join, hoping to become in the spotlight? Or was it because there were no social media networks back then, and I wanted to say somethings that I didn’t want too many people to know. Yup, I did want some others to understand me, so I used the blog as the windows of minds. I’m not quite sure which reason it was.

Regardless of the reasons for starting back then, or simply not wanting to face my youthful self, I began on a new journey.