2.2
taipei, again
I still remember the exact moment this trip happened. I was sitting on the comfortably carpeted floor in Dua’s Houston apartment, watching him apply novel technologies to complete his math homework. I, of course, had some work, but I was also a bachelor (of arts) and thus figured I could take a small break, or two, which would add up to the duration of the weekend.1
I started scrolling through my string of regular websites, eventually stumbling onto a friend’s blog, eventually seeing the words “trip to Taiwan”. I knew it wasn’t my usual crowd — which, given the selection process, was probably not a good thing — as evidenced by things I had previously been rejected for. Still, out of boredom more than anything, I wrote the application in about ten minutes, then Dua and I embarked on the night.
A few weeks later, I got to stage 2. There’s more stages to this? This time, the application could not be done in an unfocused ten minutes — scrap paper was called for. While in Sofia’s gracious hands & Clinton home, in between making an apple cobbler and feasting on vegan truffle “cheese”, I sat down and used precisely one sheet of scrap paper; quantitative skills again exemplified.2
I found out about stage 3 during exam week. I raised my eyebrows, tried to explain what rationality was to my friend Noah, then signed up for an interview where I, again, used one sheet of scrap paper. I watched my friend Aria clean Cobb 411, regretted not thinking of the things I was saying about forty minutes earlier, then Ricky picked me up to go to Greensboro. I heard back following a couple of days full of plot twists, enough days to make me forget about the application, enough twists that Aria and I were in my local Metro shopping for Raymond’s surprise New Year’s/birthday party when I found out.
The last couple of weeks have been underwritten by this trip. I’ve had to create make-up assignments, try to explain what rationality was a few more times, and also book a bunch of flights. Only a few other things are notable since I’ve landed. I forgot how much I missed Taiwan; I had to fly around 24 hours to get here; I’ve had a disgusting amount of caffeine in trying to adjust my jetlag; food is really good; my Mandarin is really bad; I’m doing a better job of just wandering around and trying things (last time I tried to optimise, which is somewhat futile; I also was scared, given my Mandarin). Less scared now, language just as lacking.
on agency, the dark arts, and paperclips