After the heightened worry of the day before, yesterday felt a little calmer. Not that things were much better. My possibility of return to Pakistan has been blocked as the government has put in a requirement that all travellers be formally cleared of coronavirus in the day before travelling, which is just closing borders without actually closing them. Cases continue to rise, the economy continues to crash, my meagre investments are unlikely to ever recover. But there is only so long one can stay in a state of despair, especially when work goes on as usual. Though I think it will dry up very soon, and Taiwan’s feeling of relative normalcy will change as cases here, too, begin to go up.
In the afternoon the GF and I went down to Xinbeitou for coffee and cake at Sheme, our favourite place, and a palate cleanser for the heart. Afterwards I went to another nice cafe, Solo Singer, where there was a rack of clothes for sale by a local designer and I bought a very vivid orangey-yellow t-shirt in the light cotton that they do so well around here.
And so we continue.
And I continue to read The Mirror and the Light. Slowly, as I am so absorbed by news and work, but enjoying it when I can, plus it makes a good read when brushing one’s teeth. It is very good, and if she wins the Booker again I daresay it’ll be well deserved. I’m still only a couple of hundred pages in, but it is making me think of how today business leaders and people with power are spoken of the way Mantel’s characters speak of kings, as though they are a breed apart.