Noticing It Early

End of a long hot day in Taiwan. Right now I'm just super tired — could honestly go to sleep right this second. I didn't sleep that much on the plane, and if you go by the previous time zone, it's already way past my bedtime.

Today I ran around to a bunch of places trying to renew my Taiwanese healthcare card. If I don't renew it every two years, I get removed from the census. And of course — I missed it by about a month. So that was the day. I had to go to the same type of office twice, once with my dad and again later by myself after I'd actually gathered all the required documents. A lot of errands, a lot of moving around. Lots of sun.

But also — lots of good food, hehe. And so cheap here too. Got two boba today, a beef noodle soup (pretty good actually), some sandwiches and drinks from 7-Eleven, plus a bunch of savory street snacks — scallion pancake eggs, veggie buns, all the things. So good.

When I was at one of the stations getting stuff done, I overheard a woman at another booth talking about how her husband had been abusing her and treating her really badly. That was rough. Apparently he doesn't work, his temper goes off, and he kicks doors and hits her. Poor woman. I just stood there listening and felt really bad for her.

There were also a lot of kind strangers along the way. One girl picked up my wallet and handed it back to me after I almost left it on the metro. Another girl my age, working at the Amnesty International booth, stopped me and walked me through everything they're working on — they were looking for donations. I actually wanted to give, but they needed a Taiwanese phone number to confirm the card purchase immediately, and I don't have one anymore lol. So that didn't work out.

I also met the auntie taking care of my grandma — her name is Lily, she's 39, pretty chill. Grandma is being taken good care of. Thank you. I had some conversations with her and Lily, even showed them Jordan and talked a bit about him.

But it's pretty clear now that my grandma is reaching a point where her brain isn't really engaged anymore. She's actively deteriorating. She forgot who I was a few times, and asked me how old I am multiple times in the same conversation, like the previous answer hadn't landed. I think this is what Alzheimer's actually looks like.

I saw a sign on the BART the other day, before flying out, about preventing Alzheimer's. It said the brain needs engagement — including social engagement — to stay healthy. And honestly, social engagement is the thing I feel like I lack the most in my current life right now. But — at least I'm noticing it early. That's something.

Anyway. Goodnight for now. I'm getting so sleepyyy.