Saturday, March 28, 2009

adults II / 大人 II

大人不敢大聲說,我想要當垃圾車叔叔,大人不敢每天說,我的夢想是買垃圾車回收車,大人只敢膽怯地躲在角落,擔心自己的理想是否太幼稚,一邊看著夢想越飄越遠。

Adults do not have the guts to think out loud: I want to be a garbage truck man! Nor do they have the courage to repeat every day: My dream is to buy a garbage truck and recycle truck! Adults would hide in the corner, worried if their ideals are too childish, watching their dreams drift away...

我不要當這樣的大人,希望我愛的你,也不要‧‧‧

I don't want to be such an adult. And you, whom I love so much, won't either...

Saturday, March 14, 2009

adults / 大人

「刺蝟的優雅」中一位13歲的小主角說,人總是目標遠大,把希望放在那遙遠的星辰,但最後不免被困在金魚缸裡,而且其實大人根本不知道自己追求的是什麼。我只能說,她完完全全把大人看破了。

In the novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog, a thirteen-year-old character makes the following remarks: We aim for the stars, but find ourselves like goldfish in a bowl. In fact, the adults don't know what they are after. I can only say, she totally sees through us...

雖然大人的尊嚴蕩然無存,但我想到小表弟曾經說,大人真好,想去哪就去哪,沒有心智的成熟,起碼我有行動的自由。

Though my dignity as adult is no different from the dust on the ground, I think of a quote from my little cousin, "It's so nice to be adults because you can go anywhere..." Well, even without mental maturity, I have the liberty, to move around...

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Kyoto for today / 今天去京都

通常剛結束一段旅行,我沒有辦法回憶途中的細節,因為距離太近了。旅行對我來說,是用來回憶的,或者是作為逃離現實生活的避風港。2009年的春天,我無法自拔地懷念起去年夏天拜訪的京都,我又拿出和京都相關的書籍,像沙漠中缺水的旅者,帶著渴望閱讀有關這個古城的字字句句,因此得到一點溫柔的慰藉。原本讓我有這般幻想的城市是巴黎,但是現在京都取代了她,讓我心神嚮往。

I am incapable of looking back on a trip right after it's over. To recall what's happened on the journey, I need some distance. Traveling, for me, is to reminisce or to escape to from reality. In spring 2009, I can't help falling for Kyoto, the city I visited last summer. Thus, I dig out the books related to it and devour words about the city like a traveler thirsting for water on the desert. I am looking for some tender comfort. It's interesting that the city that gave me such fantasies used to be Paris, but now Kyoto has completely replaced it and captured my heart.

春天的嵐山竹林不知風景是否如夏日般的翠綠,湯豆腐有著春天般新鮮的氣息?不管怎麼去的,今天的旅行目的是京都!

I wonder if the bamboo woods in Arashiyama in spring are as lush as in summer, and the tofu soup tastes of fresh spring? However I travel, today the destination is Kyoto!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

traveling by food / 旅行到不了的地方就用食物吧!

上週末在Spookie的網頁上偶然發現這句話,結果隔兩天又在某班的書庫發現,這原來是本書的書名!雖然我沒有時間詳讀內容,這幾個字倒是給我ㄧ些想法。反正目前橫豎也走不了,不如利用味覺進行時空的穿梭。

Last weekend I found the sentence "Places we can't get to can be reached by food." It was coincidental that I found a book with exactly the same title on the bookshelf of a classroom. I didn't have time to peruse the book, but it did kind of inspire me. I figure since I can't go anywhere at present, I may as well travel in space and time with the help of my memory of tastes.

這個週一早上起來的時候,想到每天起床時,天還是黑的,家裡靜悄悄的,大家都還沉浸在美夢當中,而此時能夠給我撫慰的,就是美好的早餐了,即使是簡單的土司和平凡的荷包蛋,卻能讓一天的開始變得美麗。

It occurred to me this past Monday when I get up, the sky is still dark. The whole apartment is deadly silent, with everyone still nestled in their dreams. At this moment, only the breakfast can soothe my tiring body and soul. Even plain toast and eggs can work magic and make my day.


話說荷包蛋,之前在美國的某個早晨,我還在昏睡之際,突然從門縫飄來一陣荷包蛋加醬油的動人香氣,當下我立刻有飢腸轆轆之感,原來是隔壁戶的大陸同胞,在我對面的廚房開心地準備早餐,本來我還在作夢,一下子卻被竄入的鄉愁整個搖醒。啊,一顆單純的荷包蛋居然能引發我如此眾多聯想,果然連回不去的過去都可以用食物到達啊!

Speaking of sunny-sided up, I recall another story. During my stay in Rochester, N.Y., one morning there wafted the beautiful smell of sunny-side up dipped in soy sauce through the door slit. It struck me awoke, and my hunger as well. The criminal was my next-door neighbor, a Chinese student. He seemed to have fun preparing breakfast in the small kitchen across from my room. I had been dreaming, but all at once my homesickness shook me out of sleep. Ah, a simple sunny-side up so inspires me. It's true that the past, which we can't return to, can be relived with the help of food!

Monday, March 09, 2009

funeral / 超完美告別

很久以前就想好我要的喪禮形式,不過我都沒有機會和最親近的家人朋友說,今天上課又提到喪禮這個字,心想我ㄧ定要趁機告訴大家,免得哪天我來不及說就離開,如果我的靈魂只能看著自己被用不喜歡的方式送走,我想我必會捶胸頓足啊!

I've long decided the kind of funeral for myself, but I still haven't got a chance to announce it to my family and closest friends. Today in class the word "funeral" was mentioned again. I think it's time for me to say something. If I have to go one day without time for leaving any word, I guess my soul can't but watch myself sent away in a manner I do not approve of. I will die again of another major heart attack for sure!

請各位親愛的家人朋友在我往生之前,帶著我在世時寄給你的手繪信件,一同來參加我的喪禮,我想要回顧過去的自己,回憶我在信裡說了甚麼樣愚蠢的話,所以,請勿隨意拋棄我的信件!這可是你到時候的入場邀請!

I'd like to ask all my dear friends and family to come to my funeral before I die. Please bring my hand-drawn mail. I want to look back on my past selves and recall the stupid things I once said. Well, all these lead to a very important reminder--don't ever throw away my mail! It is your invitation card to my second last ceremony in the world.

等我離開之後,我只想要有個安靜的告別方式,請把我留下的圖畫,在某間小小的咖啡館裡,舉辦一場很簡單很低調的展覽,喜歡哪件作品的人,可以登記下來,等到展覽告一段落之後,那就是你的財產了,至於其他的,請把它們和我一起火葬,我想這樣我就可以安心地走開。

After I leave, all I ask for is a quiet way to say goodbye. Please exhibit my drawings in a small cafe. I prefer a simple and low-key exhibit. If you are interested in any of the works, you can leave your contact number and email. When everything draws to an end, it will become yours. As for the remaining ones, please burn them up. I think I'll be good to go then.

還有,我希望大家留十分之九給笑聲,十分之一給眼淚就好,最後抱著ㄧ句話離開:真高興認識這傢伙,希望她在另一個世界裡繼續作夢。

Last but not least, I hope everyone leave nine-tenths of time for laughter, only one-tenth of time for tears. And at the end you'll say, it's nice meeting this woman. I hope she goes on dreaming in another world...

Saturday, March 07, 2009

LIFE / 生活

下雨的星期六,我花了四個小時以上寫一封信,因為不是為了任何目的,心裡感到很平靜。生活不是應該就用這樣的步調嗎?

On the rainy Saturday, I spent more than four hours writing a letter. I wrote purely for the sake of wanting to write, so I felt quite calm and happy. Isn't life supposed to be so slow and relaxing?

Monday, March 02, 2009

glowing fragments / 閃亮的片段

因為太想去旅行,卻又脫身不了,我開始回憶之前旅行的片段,除了讀旅行間寫下的札記之外,我也一併翻閱旅行沿路收集的票券、傳單,果然想起許多不該忘記的細節。

I am so obsessed with traveling, but I can't get away. So I've started to think back on many fragments of my previous trip. Apart from reading my journals, I also thumbed through the ticket stubs and pamphlets collected along the way. Details which I've left behind come back to me and bring my numbed nerves to life.

去年在大阪國際美術館參觀時,主秀是莫迪格里安尼的作品,從法國空運到日本的真跡,吸引了不少人,我一直很喜歡他筆下那些有點憂鬱、卻又無限優雅的人物,最後在紀念品區也完全淪陷,其實我的房間裡還放了一大張他的炭筆複製畫。但是那次更感動我的,其實是大阪出生、現旅居柏林的裝置藝術家塩田千春的一件大作品。大廳裡充斥著來自日本各地的鞋子,每隻鞋子都有自己的故事,我在札記裡寫下的是,有位女士的父母七年前過世了,他把鞋子捐給這個展覽,當作是紀念,這世界上每天那麼多人離開,我們也都習慣冷漠和遺忘,但是這兩隻鞋子七年後卻在某個展覽感動到ㄧ些人,這就是這個作品讓我很喜歡的原因吧。

Last summer when I visited the National Museum of Art, Osaka, the main highlight was the works by Modigliani exported from France. It attracted quite a few art lovers. I've always found his blue and terribly elegant figures irresistible. I lost my tiny bits of self-control in the souvenir shop. I've placed a copy of his charcoal painting of a ballerina in my room. However, what moved me more on that visit, was a large-scale work by an artist named Chiharu Shiota born in Osaka and now living in Berlin. The hall was hung with shoes from all over Japan. Every shoe has its own story. I recorded one in my journal. A lady's parents passed away seven years ago. She donated their shoes to the exhibition in memory of them. I couldn't help thinking, so many people in this world just go away without making any sound every day. Most of us are used to forgetting and being indifferent. But these two shoes moved some people in an exhibition seven years later. That's why I am so crazy about this piece of work.

塩田的介紹裡是這麼形容她的,她的作品裡透露著對死亡的害怕和對生命充滿活力,無獨有偶,去大阪之前,在台北的當代美術館看到的一件作品介紹,一位將近三十歲的藝術家也是這樣介紹自己,說他多麼想抓住每個時刻,用各種方式記錄當下,深怕有一天再也沒有機會如此創作。

Shiota was introduced in the following way: Her works reveal a fear of death and the vigor of life. Coincidentally, last June I read about a similar self-introduction of an artist about 30 years old in Museum of Modern Art, Taipei. He said he was often overwhelmed by the desire to seize every moment and record it in every way. He is afraid that he won't have any chance to do that one day.

當時的我,也像他們充滿著熱血,想到死亡,視野裡像飄來一片烏雲。現在的我,是不想了還是豁達了呢?

I was like them last summer, full of passion. The idea of death darkened part of my sky like a gray cloud. Then what am I at this moment? Did I stop thinking or did I see things through?