Traveling in Taipei 8 / 台北城市生活旅行 8

從小我就對有毛的動物有心裡上的障礙，眾人皆愛的狗和貓成為我多年來的拒絕往來戶，其實應該說，我對這些小動物避之唯恐不及，也壓根沒想要以牠們作為畫中的主角。這個夏天，可能是繪畫多年，終於讓我打開心房，並湧起一股想要畫小貓小狗的慾望。最近在路上行走之際，眼和心都保持極敏銳，一看到有趣的圖像便立刻趨上前，像個狗仔隊記者似的，不分青紅皂白地按下快門，我想，台北市有不少小貓都已聽聞我的惡名。以下就是我貓不似貓的報導。

I had had an inveterate phobia for hairy animals since my birth. For all my life, I had never tried to approach animals like cats and dogs. As a matter of fact, I shied away from them as far as I could. It hardly occurred to me that they can be really interesting major figures for my illustration. This summer, I guess it's art that opened my mind. Somehow a strong desire to draw cats and dogs took hold. Lately as I walk on the roads, my eyes and mind have been extremely sharp. The moment I see an interesting image full of possibilities, I will rush forward and take photos like a paparazzi journalist. I think many cats in Taipei have heard my notoriety. The following pictures are my-not-too-realistic record of cats' lives.

貓之百態

根據我的觀察，貓也有好歹命之分，咖啡店主人的貓，帶有一點法式慵懶，躺在店門口外的紅地毯上打盹，這樣的畫面還真是巴黎呢！而且洋式的富貴貓對鏡頭完全不膽怯，天生一副藝人架勢，看來真是訓練有素。

Lives of various cats in Taipei city

According to my observation, lives of different cats can be as different as heaven and hell. The cat of the cafe's owner is lazy in a very elegant manner. When it lies on the red carpet outside the cafe for a nap, the image is so Parisian. Besides, the cat is totally at ease in front of the camera. It seems born to be a super star. The owner must have spent tons of money and of course, love, on it.

某天下午在家附近的巷口，我瞥見一隻腹部下方長有像地毯邊穗穗的小貓，從呆滯到取出相機的過程不超過30秒，不過我可把正在晃遊的自在貓嚇壞了，牠一溜煙地找地方逃竄，最後只好屈就於車輪下的小空間。為了誘使小貓出來，我第一次費盡吃奶的力氣，對小動物甜言蜜語，但我們始終處於對峙的緊張場面。我想，這隻可憐的貓一定被傷害過‧‧‧

One afternoon near our place, I spotted a very special cat with a ling of hair along its abdomen. I first wondered if I should do anything, but it took me less than 30 seconds to take out my camera. However, my abrupt change of attitude REALLY scared the little darling. It ran away immediately. Seeing no place to go, it hid under the car wheel. To coax it into coming out, this was the first time in my life that I tried to sweet-talk to an animal. It was to no avail and we were frozen with fear and helplessness for a while. I bet this car must have been hurt sometime in its life...

昨日等公車之際，外頭的高溫令人不得不躲到騎樓下，修車廠裡的貓愉快地睡午覺，完全不受周圍的噪音打擾，又是隻好命貓。沒有咖啡店之貓的優雅，牠想必也是出自小康之家，在眾人的寵愛之中生活，看來貓媽媽們也得去廟裡拜拜，祈求自己的寶貝們找到好人家。

While I was waiting for the bus yesterday, the sultry heat outside was so intimidating that I preferred to take shelter in the corridor in front of the shops. The cat in the car factory dozed away happily. It was not bothered by the noise around. This seemed to be another lucky cat. Not as graceful as the cafe cat, it must have grown up with a lot of love as well.

Perhaps cat moms have to go to temples and pray to gods for giving their babies better human families...