By now you may have realized that I’m something of a gamer. Not like the people you hear about who play professionally for money, or even the kind who stay up all hours of the night grinding away for the perfect items, though that too was my life, for a time. The games which truly seem to interest me are usually those with the greatest philosophical depth and historical intrigue, even when the history is fake, the intrigues are always the same in most respects where humanity is concerned.
Most fiction is only apt for the reader because it strings along our own human concerns, even if wrapped in alien garb. To this end Zelda, has always been a favorite series of mine, as its childlike themes pitted heavily against adult ones, with an extraordinary mix of music and visuals, created a myth of life and meaning within me which has lived on from the beginning back in the early 90’s, till now.
As I sit here, tears flowing down my face watching the credit’s role on this masterpiece of entertainment, life lessons and the dedication to completion, I cannot help but admit that the idea I had of this game as a child is vastly different than it is now. Before getting anywhere close to the end as a boy, I only knew the mystery, and the horror of the game itself, seeing very little of the many and varied stories locked behind hours of gameplay I was never able to accomplish back then.
Imagine it. Your deeply affected by a memory of something as a child, modeling so much of your worldview on that memory, only to find, decades later, that the memory was only a fragment of a whole you never knew, and now the entire web of connective tissue for that worldview ravels away. Every beginning is just the next step from another end, and I came here to change the script of my past and begin a new future, so even though I feel the weight of that transition weighing heavily upon me, it’s a welcome one, for it can only mean growth from this point forward.
So, like all humans In an overly stressful environment, I found a release valve. Physical exercise. My preferred method? Biking. So, I hired another U-bike and decided to go another direction than before, finding myself in a Jurassic park level geothermal pool astride a mountain with a group of Taiwanese elders no younger than 62. I took off my shoes and socks and dipped my feet in. Immediately I was annoyed by a woman playing a T.V. show on her phone. I held my tongue initially, but when there was a man with a burned leg who wanted in and she told him to fuck off, I told her to fuck off with her phone and she left the pool in a rage while the burned man took her place and everyone smiled.
I continued up the mountain where I found a lovely waterfall with a good amount of water flowing, enough even to swim, but I didn’t feel like riding down the mountain wet. A little further on there was even a chaetae imported from Europe, whose view above the city resembled Europe itself. Going down that massive hill was super-fast and fun, but also dangerous. I was on the highway and clearly not meant to be there. Corvettes, porches and Bently’s blasting past me inches away, as well the horde of cheap cars and trucks. My hands were shaking with sweat and tension when I finally got back to the bottom, and found the bike path along the river again.
At the bottom I found the most highly rated Vegan spot in the area and spent $20 on truffle ramen, lion’s mane tofu burgers, matcha pana cota and grilled veggies, bursting at the seams afterword, very delicious stuff! I still find it hard to believe that the Taiwanese have more Vegan options than most people. I know it’s the capital city and all, but still, I’m impressed. The place is tiny, and inside an old warehouse district famous in Taipei, you would never know it was there unless you were looking. Isn’t that how life is though? Hiding in plain sight, waiting for the curious?
I continued on by U-bike along the coast, watching water-skiers being pulled behind speed boats in the city canal. By the time I finally pushed the bike into one of the many open air locking grids, I didn’t have enough money on my card to pay, so I left the bike there, put money on the card, and came back to pay. 7 hours of fun and exercise in a capital city for $15.60... welcome to Taiwan folks!