My life in Taiwan since January 1999 in five-year blocks

SUNDAY, 15 FEBRUARY 2026

January 1999~January 2004: Settle in Taiwan. Identity crisis. Continue writing notes started in 1994. Work on own projects. Existential crisis. Move to second apartment. Produce hundreds of pages of notes and pieces. Visit South Africa four times.

(Abandoned house in my new neighbourhood)

January 2004~January 2009: Write more. Meet my life partner. Start obsessing over “make money from home”. Experience one failure after another. Learn how to self-publish. Quit smoking. Visit South Africa three times.

(New chapter begins)

January 2009~January 2014: Start personal websites. Publish writing. Even more failures with “make money from home”. Get more classes and rebuild finances. Move to new “office”. Visit South Africa three times.

(Boxes move to a new space)

January 2014~January 2019: “Make money from home” shifts to pre-race trading and football betting. Repeated failures and high stress. Spend six days in Kyoto and Osaka. Publish several thematic collections of my writing. Visit South Africa two times.

(Damned pre-race trading)

January 2019~January 2024: Spend six days in Ho Chi Min City (Saigon) in Vietnam. Covid-19. Classes are cancelled; schools close. Revenue drops by 60%. ChatGPT and other Artificial Intelligence commercially available. Publish my first products created with new resources. Travel around the entire island of Taiwan for the first time. Visit South Africa one time.

(Important crossroad in Vietnamese history)

January 2024~January 2029: Utilize various AI resources to produce more products. Visit South Africa twice (so far).

(South African breakfast)

______________________

Deep gratitude as defiance

SATURDAY, 14 FEBRUARY 2026

Deep gratitude as defiance, a form of “Fuck you” to anyone or anything that wants to keep you down.

“What if you are diagnosed with cancer, or even worse, you’ve been suffering from cancer for months?”

Deep gratitude that I’m still alive. I still have a chance to beat it.

“What if you have terminal cancer, with mere weeks to live?”

Deep gratitude that I still have time to get my affairs in order.

“What if you have actually died from the cancer?”

Deep gratitude that the pain is over.

“Okay, what if you’re a man and you’re in a fight and it’s not going well?”

Deep gratitude that I’m still standing.

“What if you’ve actually lost the fight?”

Deep gratitude that I’m still alive.

“What if the other guy actually killed you?”

Deep gratitude that I don’t have to deal with assholes like him anymore.

______________________

Wednesday, 31 December 2025

If this piece were too long, people would think it was written by a machine.

So here follows a short photo story of my existence in 2025 …

2025 began, like just about every year in the past decade, at Kaohsiung’s Love River.

The first day was spent at the remains of an old village in the middle of the industrial area of Kaohsiung.

In February we went to South Africa, for the first time since before the thing that happened in 2020. On the way, we spend a few hours in Hong Kong.

In March we headed in a random direction one Sunday afternoon and then Googled, “Coffee shop near me.”

In April I discovered a fishing village about a thirty-minute drive from our apartment.

In May, I made an appearance in one of Kaohsiung’s top universities to talk to students about the rest of the world – on which I am of course an expert because I come from the rest of the world.

Also in May it was time again to visit Tainan – the oldest city in Taiwan.

In June, we enjoyed Italian food on the campus where I made a short appearance in May, to celebrate turning a year older. Also discovered on the campus: one of Chiang Kai-shek’s many cars.

On the way back we were caught in an ugly downpour and we were left with no choice but to stop for snacks.

Taitung was our choice for a mid-year break.

In August we visited IKEA.

In September, I photographed myself in an empty classroom …

… and we viewed pretty boring art in Kaohsiung’s pretty boring art museum (maybe I should have taped a series of my classroom selfies to an empty wall in an empty room).

In October I photographed at least one old building …

… and discovered an old National Geographic.

In November, I visited my parents, my sisters, and some friends again in South Africa, and took a few dozen photos of food.

And in December we discovered old buildings and an abandoned factory.

… and put together a photo story of 2025.

______________________

You may be right, but you’re not honest

TUESDAY, 10 JUNE 2025

I don’t write much about people’s religious beliefs anymore, but recently a thought occurred about honesty.

A few weeks ago, I heard a story about a man who had quit his job. During a religious gathering, he told everyone present that from then on, he would rely on God for his bread and butter. Shortly after, someone in the congregation stood up and declared that he owned a farm, and that he would leave the management of it to the man who was now unemployed.

“Praise the Lord!” dozens of people exclaimed. God had provided.

An alternative explanation is that it was in the best interest of everyone present that “God would provide.” The man who owned the farm thought: I need someone to manage the farm. If I stand up now and make it known, God will have provided for the man’s needs.

What he might not have thought, but what would still be true: His standing in the faith community would also rise, because he would be seen as an “instrument in God’s hands.”

That’s where honesty comes in.

Suppose a person who identifies as a Christian says, “I see what you mean. Maybe it’s just a case of a group of people wanting certain things to be true, and it’s in their best interest to do things that will give the impression that they are true. I can see how it could be understood that way. Nevertheless, I still choose to believe that God did indeed provide, and that He had worked through the man with the farm.”

If such a person made this statement, the argument would be over. I would have nothing further to add. I would shake the man’s hand, thank him for his honesty, and wish him a good life.

Now suppose such a person who identifies as a Christian takes a different position, insisting that it was indeed God who had provided, and that he refused to see any other possibility.

To this person I would say: “You may be right, but you are not honest.”

______________________

Hope for a good and happy life – even in Gaza

WEDNESDAY, 30 APRIL 2025

Goal: A good and happy life, now. And a comfortable retirement in old age – if one makes it that far.

Isn’t that what everyone hopes for?

“Not people in Gaza,” someone will say. “They just hope for peace, and for the bombs to stop.”

Correct, I will answer. For now, they desperately hope every single day for peace and quiet, and for food and medicine and other supplies to reach them. And to be able to start rebuilding their homes and schools and hospitals and other infrastructure.

But what will they wish for if the psychotic-terrorist European colonial project called Israel is finally defeated in its efforts to wipe out Palestinians and steal their land? What will they hope for when their homes and hospitals and schools and mosques and churches are rebuilt?

They will most likely hope for a good and happy life, and a comfortable retirement in old age, if their lives stretch that far.