養病記 An Apple A Day...

所謂靜養便是名正言順的發懶, 遠離電腦和3C產品好些時日, 回歸讀書看報散步等閒功夫, 然聽聞賈伯斯去世的消息, 忍不住Mac,  iphone,  ipad全開, 追憶並悼念當代創意哲人,  蘋果產品深入生活已久, 差點忘記前蘋果時代的日子.  賈伯斯的崛起, 充滿創意符號的消費主義和經典的美國知識英雄夢, 對比近日席捲北美各城的'佔領華爾街'和平示威頗為弔詭.  中國經改先驅鄧小平先生名言: 黑貓白貓, 會抓老鼠的就是好貓.  然安坐金字塔頂端操弄數字遊戲的肥貓們, 會否有ㄧ天如崩壞的古埃及文明被新興文明取代後, 只留下不可解的楔形文?  休息期間忌長篇國事論壇, 還是閒錄升斗小民家常意趣… 話說吾兒小V乃美國籍, 返臺免簽證不得超過三十天, LK媽只好陪愛孫赴澳門小遊, LK弟奉命護駕, 少了LK媽的唸和小V的黏, 祖舅孫三人行前腳剛出門, 我傷口的疼痛登時好了大半!  咬牙將腰封縮緊, 套上布鞋便外出大街小巷覓美食.  喜孜孜拎回滷肉飯, 四神湯, 白切豬心和嘴邊肉配日劇, 真是純臺式的極樂享受啊!

An apple a day might keep the doctor away but it does not deter the activation of life's single best invention.  Steve Jobs has ended his journey on earth and reminded people again, of all the apples
that changed the world including his very own that has been missing a bite.  Other than Eve's paradise lost and Newton's law of universal gravitation, apples also taught many other lessons like…


Secret Code of The Golden Delicious - know the person before you bribe.
I never quite understood why powerful Hera and wise Athena decided to join the silly beauty pageant with Aphrodite though I enjoyed reading both epics Iliad and Odyssey.  Prince Paris is adorable in his own right.  I could totally picture the six pack bedding hero mumbling: Beautiful woman of course, why do I want power or wisdom, eh?

誠品書店附設茶座, 供應Hediard果茶.

Tea break at the Eslite Cafe.

留守空城的幾天心花朵朵開, 可以日日散步到敦南誠品看書, 累了就找茶館咖啡館休息, 沈睡良久的文青血液漸漸沸騰… 不過只能稱類文青真小資, 因為四物烏骨雞等藥膳服用多時, 滋補歸滋補, 滿嘴中藥味忍不住要大啖幾口魔鬼甜食平衡...

午后於明森茶坊來杯玄米抹茶佐宇治金時, 歲月悠然如慢板.

Matcha treats at the MSTea Salon.


咦? 竟然拿余秋雨先生的'行者無疆'配維也納風蘋果派… '行者無疆'提及早逝的莫扎特, 音樂天才生前大抵想不到自己的創作豈止無疆, 還穿越時空… 文化, 永遠是歷史的贏家.

Apple strudel at the Kaffe Amadeus.


敝人放'母親兼兒童節'的數日, 研究所的老同學J 雖由千金小姐晉升商界強人, 難得從不見色忘友, 下班和週末不見她約會, 倒來陪病婦用餐, 從日本料理到泰國菜… 然學生時代建立的友誼, 更是ㄧ道單純美味的佳餚.

Nigiri lunch set at the An Restaurant.

Thai salad at the Crystal Spoon.


十月初秋意漸濃, 又到了火鍋季節, 三天兩頭往家附近的日式涮涮鍋店跑… 臺北還算有季節之分, 寒天吃火鍋的溫暖, 是居住熱帶星洲無法複製的快樂.

Hot pot at the Shaburi.


祖孫仨在臺北L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon喝下午茶, 頓悟母親和我, 此生註定存活於兩個不同的精神世界, 無謂強求.  人性得隴望蜀, 確知我邁過健康難關後, 母親又開始以她最擅長的方式, 來表達對子女的愛… 嘮叨LK弟事業無成(我弟還年輕, 別小看他好嗎? 而且他品性端正善良難道不是對父母最好的回餽?), 自怨自艾父親去世後她坐吃山空(除非人能活到ㄧ百二十歲, 既擁阿里山, 何苦奢求喜馬拉雅峰峰相連到天邊?), 從以前到現在, 饒是我向來成績優秀, 母親往往否定我職場表現, 要我'安於室'相夫教子(LK先生不過是位受薪階級的工程師, 我如果沒有屬於自己的事業, 要拿什麼奉養她? 母親的心態何其矛盾), 更別說是照護與教養小V的方式, 她永不言倦的訓斥和評比(某某表妹孩子帶的多好… 可憐的孫子讓媽媽養的瘦巴巴皮膚敏感), ㄧ點ㄧ點扼殺我對母親這個角色剩餘的尊敬.  當話鋒ㄧ轉, LK媽明示非常希望擁有ㄧ只愛馬仕的凱莉包時, 我心頭暗暗下了個決定, 若攢足這筆錢, 我將以母親的名義捐款給紅十字會幫助索馬利亞飢民.   生命其實很公平, 我沒遺傳到父親的聰明和母親的美貌, 還生就不工作會大病的勞碌命(母親眼裏的'歹命'), 但感謝老天賜與我能屈能伸, 安於淡泊的情懷, ㄧ個人死不了就得好好活下去, 儘管人生如張愛玲所言是'ㄧ襲華美的袍子, 上面爬滿了蝨子.'

Afternoon tea at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon with my mother and son. One of my hidden talents is to come up with the quirkiest revelation at the family gatherings.


What Happened Between McIntosh and Granny Smith - Apples don't fall far from the tree, really?!
My mother and I stand on the opposite poles of humanity. We don't get each other despite the efforts that have been made for the past few years. Not sure if it is the Snow White Syndrome(oh wait, that's stepmother…) or a pure mother and daughter rivalry, I would never know since I only have a son, not a daughter.  My mother always laments how different I am from her(perhaps I was adopted… but I do look very much like my dad and think like him, too :) and ironically this is exactly why I love myself more and more as time goes by.  I believe it is a good thing for children to be different from their parents and wanting to pursue different things in life from their parents or from what their parents want them to pursue. This cultivates independence, courage, and a sense of responsibility toward one's own existence.  Just imagine how boring the farmer's market will look without McIintosh, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Gala... all these varieties!