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Tuesday, December 17, 2013

On The Bund 相逢在上海,灘

2013 is coming to an end with the final farewell to my beloved grandma.  In the midst of consuming grief, I am reminded by my favorite character from Harry Potter, Professor Dumbledore:

“Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”


向來欣賞格友V文筆影像, 讀她網誌Measurement會心微笑, 緣起緣滅自有定數, 我也是個不執著的人.  有心有緣, 人生往往何處不相逢.
My first christmas present this year, an Alex And Ani phoenix wrap.  Thank you, Dr. C!

十月底在香港和大學同學A相聚, A剛卸任某知名品牌設計總監, 品牌復古東方揉合現代歐風洋溢奢華.  老朋友高䠷白皙如昔, 歲月未曾留下痕跡, 倒是舉手投足多了幾分所屬名牌的精緻嫵媚.  A侃侃而談多年高低起伏, 爽朗一如學生時代的她, 然風光亮麗的背後我聽得出她吃了不少苦頭, 聊至夜深我們舉杯互祝下個十年平安如意!

Light does come from many sources:  loving family, heart warming friendship, wonderful art and great books.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

我的泰姫瑪哈陵 The Chemistry of Tears

多年來赴印度出差無數次, 卻總沒能安排一趟朝聖之旅, 奔往那蒙兀兒暴君為亡妻誓愛, 耗費二十二年人心國庫, 以雪白雲石建成的憂傷傳奇, 這是'相思欲寄無從寄, 畫個圈兒替'的壯烈版.

我們的心中都有座泰瑪哈陵.
An old portrait of my grandma when she was eighteen.
外婆年輕時是府城出名的美人, 當軍官的外公驚艷她的美麗停馬暫借問, 成就ㄧ輩子快樂良緣, 外公二十年前去世. 親愛的外公外婆, 相隔了漫長的二十年, 盼望您倆在天堂幸福團圓.

此趟出差航心情沈重, 我去年主導的企劃案公佈設計時佳評如潮, 今年本該豐收, 卻因合作廠商品管失誤, 造成公司莫大損失, 也是我重回職首度挫敗, 這次巡迴亞洲其中ㄧ項重要任務為協商賠款條約.


Sunday, October 13, 2013

風景 From Kitchen Trousseau to The Monuments Men

Reflective very, see I.  The pent up forces of Halloween have turned my little boy Darth and me, Master Yoda :)  Being a cookie(the action counterpart of foodie), I must admit the Malle W Kitchen Trousseau shot me right through with a bolt of blue.  Yes, I would choose Shun knifes and Sarpaneva cast iron casserole over lingerie and silk slippers anytime!
這ㄧ箱四十三件的Malle W Kitchen Trousseau正中我心, 幻想自己穿著牛皮圍裙, 揮舞旬刀懷抱Sarpaneva鐵鍋便醺然.  此套廚具的統籌者據說靈感來自女兒大了離家成就這另類妝奩…


Saturday, September 21, 2013

去蕪存菁 Meaningful Connections


picture credit:  Loire Valley Chateau by habitually chic.

公司高層地震, 大方向必有整合, 人事幾番新不見得直接影響我的職責, 隨機應變是必要的.  我的小小世界頓有領悟, 過往花太多時間於無關緊要的瑣事, 每每見獵心喜三分鐘熱度, 許多社網站都掛空號閒置, 決定'斷, 捨, 離'整頓ㄧ番! 這個部落格對我意義深遠, 雖不言之有物,  然篇篇網誌圖片文字, 都花心思琢磨並珍重回覆每道留言, 希望沈潛些時日後能提昇內涵質感. 這段充電期都做什麼呢?  學習靜心觀察景物百態, 下班後約死黨美酒燭光交換心情, 陪孩子玩耍畫圖看他性格點滴成型, 保持戀愛恆溫, 與另ㄧ半共度浪漫的屬於情人的夜晚 :)  
picture credit:  canvas hotel

The return of the Jedi(my husband and son) after summer has dawned on me:  I have been spending too much time on things that really do not matter.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

夏末雜記 Parade's End

灩夏將盡,從剛開始一個人不知做什麼好到後來的自得其樂, 自由讓人嚴重上癮, 專心工作盡情享受, 週末睡到自然醒無需遷就丈夫和孩子的作息, 沈浸好書好電影美食世界… 同事們頻頻稱讚這些日子LK容光煥發, 可見對我這款名士派, 充實的精神生活便是美容良方:)  上週末欣賞了同名原作改編的Parade's End, 華麗憂傷, 為我的暑假劃下別緻的句點.


picture credit:  BBC

Summer is coming to an end and so is my temporary bachelorettehood.  I watched, cooked, read... relishing anything best enjoyed in solitude like there’s no tomorrow.  Yes, yes I caught up on all three seasons of Game of Thrones and decided that scheming violence, the explosion of testosterone, and the juxtaposition of King Arthur Medieval Europe with Sinbad the Sailor all too baffling(entertaining nevertheless).

Friday, August 9, 2013

圖騰與禁忌 Vide Cor Meum


**誤認LK為氣質才女者請別閱讀這篇, 讀壞眼睛吃壞肚子莫謂我言之不預**
My Happy Hour cocktail dress and 'killer' Louboutin :)
I embarked on a pensive odyssey since the moment I tuned in to NBC Hannibal.  My fascination continued in a delicious and yes, ethical manner. As exuberant as the cinematography gets with each episode, I can never be in the mindset to appreciate Bon Appetit cannibalistic edition. 

Sunday, July 28, 2013

誰來晚餐 I'm Having An Old Friend for Dinner

The notoriety started years ago when I asked my boss at the time for a week off to go to Spain; I got the dinner reservation at El Bulli.  The love affair was not always ongoing.  I slipped in and out for other priorities in life.  What rekindled the recent passion remains unknown or it might just be a harmless summer fling :)
這兩個禮拜猶如蒐尋美食拼圖, 星期ㄧ信箱赫見校友雙月刊有史以來首部飲食專輯, 星期二喜收到V親筆簽名與Fish合著的'戀食人生', 星期三四五自有機農場預約的鴨胸鴨腿陸續送到家門口, 星期六砸重金訂購的兩張實木餐桌抵達(我再也無法忍受過去幾年跨國搬遷, 生活大小事makeshift的窘迫), 更甚者, 迷上Hannibal TV series, 集集吃人魔型男主廚華麗饗宴,

Saturday, July 13, 2013

人在江湖 Miss LK's Rhapsody 5th Anniversary

 Five years and two months ago I started this blog, rambling on and on about life, travel, food, and design.  Before I even realized, the blog not only acquired the following of discerning readers, it opened the door to many, many heartwarming friendships.
不是身不由己, 而是要懂江湖的規矩. 粗俗的說法就是:  上夜店尋歡當然就是ㄧ夜情, 怎能期盼求得終身伴侶? 會有如此驚駭的感想是這兩天有幾位職場平輩與後輩找我心理諮商, 也許看LK事事泰山崩於前而色不變吧?

Saturday, June 29, 2013

型女飛行日誌之 Where The Peacocks Sing

Finally I am back(still jet lagged - the older I get, the longer.   Yikes!).  The whirlwind early summer trip combining business and leisure… we hit Manila, Cebu, New Delhi, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Tokyo.  The business portion ended in Hong Kong.  Some people find the metropolis materialistic and I find her fascinating in a nostalgic way.  'Where The Peacocks Sing' was actually a book title that I read about from the airline magazine; the article introduced recent best sellers that chose Hong Kong to be the story setting.  I am yet to read the book so don't hold me accountable if the book turns out to be displeasing…
生活如季候風, 本來是向老闆申請初夏放ㄧ星期假去東京玩, 老闆笑咪咪說既然人都要在亞洲了, 不如順便出差替公司把事情辦ㄧ辦吧反正行程由你自定. 所以兩個星期飛了馬尼拉, 宿霧, 新德里, 深圳, 香港, 東京.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

擔當 Thoughts on Happy Hour and Cooking Sous Vide

漸漸覺得自己銀座歐吉桑魂上身,下班後不是歸心似箭,反而常想找個地方淺酌吃小菜靜享happy hour.  鬧中取靜真正奢侈,繁忙空出的心寧則像入定,是份超然. 
Allow me to paraphrase Mother Teresa… When hard work leads only to more hard working, I will still work hard and just take frequent breaks :) The sun, the breeze, and the nice warm weather make it difficult for anyone to stay inside.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

最後的貴族 Downton Abbey

 想像力大抵是長途通勤的救贖,每天複習一集Downton Abbey,  開車塞車也變得較能忍受(難怪劇中司機Tom Branson 會邀三小姐私奔,車伕這職業太無聊了... 咦?好像劃錯重點:P)  連續劇無論取材古今中外,主題總繞著家族密史姐妹情仇婆媳糾葛團團轉,DA別緻處在於考究衣著場景和雋永中帶點英式幽默的對白 欣賞Julian Fellowes對角色的刻畫, 細膩且層次豐富. 劇中女角比男角出色, 眾男角除了樓上樓下的溫情大家長Lord Grantham和Mr. Carson, 耐人尋味的只有攻心計的同志男僕Thomas和頗具梟雄氣質, 成熟瀟灑的報業大亨Sir Richard Carlisle. 
I AM SO INTO DOWNTON ABBEY, period. 
Not sure why, it must be my daily long commute that listening to the milky voices of Lady Mary and Lady Edith(although their conversation was full of snide remarks toward each other)makes the drive, the congested traffic(yup, Go Giants…) more tolerable.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

明珠夜, 鴉片煙 James Bond or Johnny English?

十年ㄧ覺揚州夢, 才贖身又賣身… 復職幾個月便重披戰袍南征北討領軍出差, 短短十天菲律賓香港中國與數十家廠商密集會議, 無論場景人物態度皆熟悉如敘舊之旅, 開始懷疑於星洲三年'類少奶奶'的生活只是南柯熱帶夢. 精神交錯時空隧道, 體力卻撒不了謊, 整天馬拉松會議下來, 回到飯店累得只能大字ㄧ攤! 累歸累, 這種富節奏感又不帶情感包袱的商旅其實頗迎合內心深處那渴望自由的我, 隨工作而來的成就感容易上癮, 權力這筒鴉片煙, 抽著抽著就忘記自己是誰了.
Have I neglected my blog for another month, really?  I was on an intense business trip touring factories in South East Asia.  Business trip is never chic chic as it appears to be unless you are secret agent 007.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

賞心樂事誰家院 Merry Go Round

Ups and downs, ups and downs, life is merry go round.  Once I mentioned how confused I was with a family member's behavior; my therapist's insight pierced right through the core: you have amazing psychological clarity and know all the reasons… you just don't feel comfortable saying them.  I do wish at times I do not see through at all.  Fight or flight, because of my clairvoyance I tend to choose the later.  Oh well, keep clam and carry on.
手術後休養在家迷上Downton Abbey, 當看到男主角向美麗的Lady Mary陪禮, Lady Mary說: 不是你惹我生氣, it's my life that makes me angry.  恍然大悟, 古今中外的千金小姐都是這般'悶無端', 非我等勞動婦女可解…

Thursday, February 14, 2013

食為天 Shall we eat? Happy CNY&Valentine

Happy Lunar New Year and Happy Valentine!!! 
Red White 1962, Ellsworth Kelly image from SF MOMA 
貼春聯要倒掛取其春到福到好運來之意, Ellsworth Kelly這幅Red White算是愛心到了 :) 

Localvore is a trendy term.  It's fortunate to be in the San Francisco Bay Area(let's just ignore the high cost of living for the moment)

Sunday, January 27, 2013

長週末 Long Weekend in Napa

I have a dream.  I live for the weekends and especially for the three day weekends.  A long vacation comes by rarely and tends to require too much planning.  A long weekend is the perfect 'pick me up' and a little impromptu that rejuvenates the senses.  Napa here we come!
ps.  Can anyone guess why I post this photo of flower patterned wall paper? 

拜民權領袖金恩博士之賜, 上週渡了個長週末, 自從復職以來 任何能讓我睡懶覺的假日LK都無限歡迎!!!  星期六是媽咪自由日父子日, LK先生負責帶小V, 我ㄧ早便悠閒看牙醫去(啥, 看牙醫也成了節目?!) 看完牙醫重頭戲才開始, 約死黨Dr. C於Upper Fillmore喝茶逛街閒聊購物, girls' outing乃最扎實的心理治療 :)

Friday, January 11, 2013

青春輓歌 A Cat, the Psychotherapy, and Wallflower Perks

Home for the holidays… it was an extremely tough trip this time.  As difficult as it had been, I still found reflections close to heart: What really defines a family?  What deems a fulfilling life?  I never quite experienced adolescence because during my teenage years, I had to reach the emotional maturity in order to survive.  I was stoic.  As if the spell started to wear off, the long buried anguish surfaced breaching filial piety.  In the end, everything I learned from Greek Tragedy was excruciatingly faithful.  On my flight back to San Francisco, the coming of age movie The Perks of Being A Wallflower summed up my feelings elegantly. 


強忍時差加完班, 從工作室開車回家ㄧ路上驚險萬分, 不知不覺眼皮低垂, 只得反覆播著Come On Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Runners提神… 以手風琴伴奏的旋律突兀, 悠揚中帶些不協調的張力讓人上癮.  在由臺北至舊金山的航班觀賞The Perks of Being A Wallflower後就迷上了電影和配樂, 說得是苦澀迷惘莽撞的青春,
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