It seems our goal in life is to put more distance between us and every other human being.
Lived in an apartment most of time so far. Childhood apartment in Nanyou/Zhanjiang, 5th floor, the sea breeze, view of the hospital and the rice fields. 2 bedrooms, 1 dining, plus kitchen and bathroom, all subsidized by CNOOC. Personally didn't know how great the neighborhood was in comparison to the other crappy districts, it didn't matter. My parents' goal in life was to get to somewhere better.
Grandparents' house, transit point. three generation under one roof and 3 floors, which only two have living spaces. Spaces didn't mattered because we have friends and family. Being a kid didn't require a lot of spaces back then. But now, with 3 kids and 3 families living in just 4 bedrooms, you can just feel the tension grinding down the kid's emotional development.
Irving, 1994, second floor, loud air conditioners on first floor makes a quiet night of sleep a luxury. A downgrade from 3rd world first class to first world 3rd estate. Another apartment closer to high school, but what did it mattered? High school for many was not the infinite American possibilities in Friday Night Lights.
Being stuck, from generation to generation, in lower middle class is the wellspring of our nightmares.
