I did something today that I don't do very often. I did not take a camera with me when I went out. I didn't forget it, it was on purpose. Today I was just not in the mood to carry all of my photo gear with me. Photography has a lot of tools required to get the job done. Sometimes you just don't want any of that. So today I did not record any video, did not take any photos, and felt like I was missing my right arm. It felt so weird not to have a camera on me.
I have not been posting a lot of my Taiwan photos to my blog because a lot of them are going elsewhere and I don't have the time to write a full blog post each day. I tried that while in Japan and I felt I was more focused on the blog than I was just seeing Japan. That isn't to say that I don't like blogging, I just need to find the right balance. I think I have done that this trip. I have been taking photos, other than today, and you can view them on my flickr page here. Photography is something that will not stop even if everything else does. I want to use my flickr page more. I used to use it all the time and then I started to neglect it after a while. Please take a look at it from time to time and you may see photos there that will never go on this blog.
I have also been working on a website for the blog and my photography for some time. I am simply not happy with the work I have to showcase on the site. Either I am too overcritical of my work (which is highly likely) or I don't have enough of a cohesive portfolio. I don't know which it is but I have revised over and over to no avail. Once I finally do have something I am happy with though this blog will be updated with my new site info.
Anyways about today. Today I just simply wanted to walk around unhindered by camera gear. I really didn't do much but I did go to a night market, there are many here, and in this market I saw an elderly lady selling gum. Not from a stall, she was just sat on a chair with two wicker bowls filled with small packs of gum. I really wish I hadn't seen her because I can't stop thinking about her. This lady wasn't homeless, you could tell, she was just simply trying to earn an income for herself. Two things crossed my mind. One, she can't be making that much money from just selling gum. Perhaps a little pocket money but not enough to support herself. Second, I thought about my own grandmother. There is no way I would allow my grandmother to feel she needed to sell gum on the street in order to support herself. If she wanted to make a little extra cash then okay, and perhaps that is what this lady was doing, I have no idea.
You know what? She is more than likely someone's mom. I could never allow my mother do that to make ends meet. My mom, however, has a long way to go until she reaches that age. So maybe it is a good idea to kick her out to the curb with a box of gum now so she gets practice for the future... Just kidding Mom!
I don't know what the lady was doing. Perhaps she really was just doing it to stay busy and get out of the house. I can understand that. But if not, there is no way I could live with myself knowing my mother or grandmother was forced to do that. There is no shame in any sort of legitimate work, big or small, but after a certain age you should gain the privilege of sitting back and enjoying life.
Well this post went all sorts of directions didn't it? I just can't get that poor lady out of my head. I couldn't just pass her by either, so I bought some gum, though I wish I could have done more.
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