My Year of Bold Transition: A Story from East to West
From Elephant Mountain to Manhattan: A Year of Movement Against the Stillness
When my wife and I landed at Taipei Airport after a week in Shanghai — where we visited family and rode the rollercoasters at Disneyland — we were greeted by an unexpected honesty from our taxi driver. Speaking without pretense, he said:
“Taipei will never catch up to Shanghai — not in infrastructure, not in the built environment.”
At first, I wasn’t sure what he meant. But later, as we climbed Elephant Mountain for a view of Taipei 101, his words echoed with clarity. The path leading to the viewpoint — aged concrete, uneven steps, rusted handrails — felt eerily familiar. Not from this trip, but from memory…
I had walked this kind of path and neighborhood before — back in Shanghai, in the late 1980s, just before China opened to the world.
Suddenly, I wasn’t just hiking. I was traveling through time and space.
This was more than a physical observation. It was a metaphor for stagnation.
Taipei, once a beacon of growth and global ambition in the last century when I was in the college, now felt like it had stalled. And not only in concrete and steel — but in spirit. In momentum. In belief…
And that experience made me think:
What if the similar stagnation can be said about the country I live in today?
Yes, Taiwan remains a key player in the global tech supply chain. TSMC stands tall, and its strategic importance between the U.S. and China is undeniable. But its progress appears no longer evenly distributed... And in America, a country I chose to call home 35 years ago, I now see similar cracks. Despite all our advantages, we risk falling behind — especially in AI. More than 50% of AI Researchers are now from China. The AI race has been accelerating after the DeepSeek’s disruption early this year.
But I can’t accept stagnation. Not metaphorically. Not literally. Not as a citizen. Not as a human.
I believe we shall be willing to take the risk of being behind in the race, as long as we still are in motion. Especially if the breakthroughs in AI — whether through OpenAI’s Stargate or Elon’s xAI — can one day help solve the very human challenge of dementia.
I write and live boldly not just to stay relevant — but to stay alive in the most soul-level way.
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One year ago, I arrived in New York City after a cross-country trip that marked the finale of my West Coast chapter. But more importantly, it marked a beginning: a profound exploration of my thoughts, values, and the nature of life’s second stage. That journey gave birth to Being Bold, my weekly newsletter on koffeemocha.com. I wrote then with idealism and uplift, believing that transition could be creative, intentional, and deeply fulfilling.
Now, as I stand one year later, I ask myself: how much of that exploration has been turned into action?
That cross-country trip was a personal remix of hope, clarity, and independence. Compared to my recent trip to Asia — where the contrast between Shanghai’s acceleration and Taipei’s slowdown was striking — it reminded me why I chose to live boldly, not passively.
Koffeemocha, Being Bold, was never just a writing experiment. It was a declaration: that even in retirement, I am still designing, building, and contributing.
In today’s AI-driven world, there is no excuse to be idle or passive just to avoid competition. We are in a moment of existential acceleration. And for me, that means reengaging — not as a former engineer, but as a human being with something to say, something to teach, and something to still build.
I write Koffeemocha to shake mindsets — first and foremost my own.
Yes, at this stage of my life, I think about cognitive decline. I can’t ignore the looming threat of dementia. But I’d rather stay engaged, take risks, and remain in motion than accept the slow fade of stagnation. If AI breakthroughs in its solution arrive in time to help after 15-20 years, I’ll celebrate. But even if they don’t, I will have lived boldly in pursuit of something larger than myself.
Through this past year of writing and reflecting, I’ve reaffirmed a few practical truths:
Rely on yourself, not on political promises or systems in decay.
Choose your field wisely — not all paths offer the same leverage.
Believe you are not average. And act accordingly.
Refuse to follow the crowd, especially when it’s drifting aimlessly.
Vote with your time, attention, and energy, not just your ballot.
You must be your own architect. Design your path forward.
Think like an outlier.
This is what Koffeemocha, Being Bold, means to me. It’s not just a phrase — it’s a lens. A call to design a future worth living, not just for ourselves, but for others who are quietly watching and wondering if they too might still have time.
This is not a time to retire from the world. It is the time to reenter it — bolder, clearer, and more determined than ever.
With gratitude,
Kefei in New York City
July 2025