I bought Kong Guan Biscuits

A loose doodle of various Kong Guan biscuits. These loose drawings don't take much time to do, but they're a lot of fun to include. Perhaps I should draw more of these.

Yesterday, I bought some Kong Guan biscuits, the family bag kind with twenty-seven little packets, somewhat on a whim. I made my mom buy them the other day to treat my students after a very chaotic peer-review session. I didn't think much of it at the time. This isn't the sort of snack I'd gravitate towards.

I gave one to my fellow TA. He said he liked a specific one a lot, the one that (to me, quite frankly) looks like a knock-off Oreo, but has a slightly different taste (I think it tastes a bit better). Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we had to end class early, so I thought I'd loiter around to hang out with him.

There were six biscuit packets left in the big bag. He looked happy when he got to take the rest back, so that made me feel like I'd done a good deed. Also, it's incredibly fun to ragebait him. He's fully aware of this, but falls for the ragebait anyway.

Perhaps I was somewhat moved by this memory, and that's why I bought a pack of it for my snack stash. I felt oddly excited when I went home. It's not really because of a crush in hindsight. It's the excitement of making a new friend and hoping you'll see them again.

There were only 2 packets of this  at the grocery store, when there'd usually be a lot more. Glad to see that it's in hot demand and that I'm not too late to snag one of my own!

I was talking to my other TA-colleague and she asked me about my thesis. I talked about it. I was referencing nostalgia and she brought up the idea of food. She said this is why hawkers are a thing, for people to eat the food they used to eat and to therefore feel connected to a memory in a world where the places you used to go to as a kid are all gone.

Logically, I see where she's coming from and it's relevant for my thesis. That said, I only felt that way after I looked at these biscuits and really asked why in God's good earth did I buy this alongside all my bargain vegetables... When I was just supposed to get salmon, broccoli and Nutella...

I mentioned my students, my lovely students, and there's a memory the day before on Friday that made me very happy in hindsight.

After the tutorial, I hung around to answer some questions about the feedback I gave. Honestly, I was expecting more interrogations but I guess these kids are quite thick-skinned. Anyway, as I answered questions, a group of girls said goodbye to me, giving a finger-heart as they left. 

I think they're loyal to me, for some reason. Back in the day, I didn't have very many friends. To see this level of affection from students made me happy.

It's a confusing mess of memories, but I look at these biscuits and think, "Wow, isn't it nice to be surrounded by nice people who genuinely like you?" 

I get existential thoughts that tell me these feelings won't last. People will move on and forget me by the third month. Whatever I do here won't mean anything beyond that. I won't have that lasting impact I secretly craved for.

Yet, even knowing that, I look at these biscuits and I feel happy. It's okay to love people even when I know full well they'll leave one day. I'm trying to embrace that. Life is meant to be happy. Even something as solid as the earth, the ground I stand on, moves and changes.

More biscuits!

I got a haircut on Saturday, which was why I left my house. I'd never do so otherwise. Anyway, this is a scene of a little market of sorts in the mall where they sell street food. I was tempted by the tiramisus and big chunks of Taiwainese-style fried chicken but alas, I was locked in.