July 31st, seventh song off “Calendar”
Artwork by Eli Wengrin
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I am in Hong Kong right now. I’ve been here every July for the past four years. Each year, I notice how much different it feels to be here than it did the year before. This is due to both an external and an internal change that has taken place in the course of a year. Hong Kong is slowly being annexed by mainland China, and I am slowly moving through life towards death.

These changes are slow and creeping; imperceptible on a day-to-day basis, but glaringly obvious when taken in year long chunks. Being in Hong Kong is my yearly interlude. It is an environment entirely removed from the rest of the year, which gives me a short break to see how life could be if I were living a different life. For the month of July, I am sleeping in my Hong Kong dorm, working at my Hong Kong job, and socializing with my Hong Kong friends.

Yet this break from my “real life” is likely more important to my sense of reality than the rest of the year, and that is because, rather than being disposable, interludes are essential. I would encourage anyone to take a break from their usual selves and to try being somebody else for a while. Change is an essential part of life; we often ignore or do not notice the changes happening within and around us, but we cannot escape this change. So let’s not hide from change.

Let’s take an interlude, step outside of our lives, let a different personality take charge for a while (like how High Sunn has taken charge of this Interlude, singing and playing lead guitar) and stare change straight in the face.