昨日之我 Miss LK's Rhapsody 9th Anniversary

2017 has been a tumultuous year.  When I thought I got a situation under control, another crisis quietly revolted.  That constitutes the quintessence of life; it's ever changing and always a series of impromptu.  A sign of aging is that one started going back to verses she read in her childhood and finally seemed to understand.

'To see a World in a Grain of Sand 

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower 

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand 

And Eternity in an hour' --- Auguries of Innocence, William Blake

Glimpses of where I dwelled in 2017. 

算不上有任何宗教信仰, 過去ㄧ年幾個場景卻頗富牆裏鞦韆牆外道的意味, 這門檻過亦或不過呢? 

Happy New Year!!!

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挑戰 Sweet Dreams(Are Made Of This)

想到哪寫到哪, 這大半年病的心慌卻馬不停蹄, 行萬里路良藥苦口, 次次遠航受益良多.  喜歡脫隊單行, 孤獨, 是我深度旅遊唯一方式.

 2017 is the year of my favorite guys.  Ishiguro is awarded the Noble Prize in Literature and during my stopover in Tokyo, I discovered my architectural hero, Tadao Ando was having a retrospective, Endeavors, at the National Art Center an hour before the museum closed for the day(and I was leaving for HCMC next morning).

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為賦新辭… 天涼好個秋 Rehabilitation and Revelation

Drum rolls… the Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded to Kazuo Ishiguro for ‘who, in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory connection with the world.’  Beautiful.  At last, a couple decades after Szymborska, another laureate who transcends the conscious uncoupling of my reading repertoire and comprehension capacity.

這段時日考驗韌性, 生命種種挫折孤離, 人與人之間的關係瞬息萬變…

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千年繁華之侘寂與懷石 Summer in Kyoto 2017 Wabi-sabi

Try as I might, I still couldn't make it to the August post so there it is, left wide open for concerns and speculations.  I was caught in a perfect storm, the perfect storm of wabi-sabi.

A page from my travelogue depicting the weekend getaway to Arashiyama.  

有些書, 要到ㄧ定年紀才懂得, 如'老子', 禍兮福之所倚, 福兮禍之所伏…

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千年繁華之喫茶趣X紅豆辭 Summer in Kyoto 2017 Green Oasis

Before my journey to Kyoto, I was plagued by such insipidity.  Yes, Mr. Knightly, I needed a project.  It was as if Gollum finally deserted Smeagol, my inner dialogue stopped altogether… okay, bad metaphor.  However, the moment we arrived at the Kyoto station when I caught a glimpse of two Japanese ladies in silvery gray and egret kimono, I knew I was home.

 放暑假前, 似乎到了臨界點, 精神倦怠像揮不去的霾, 五感之厭世… 然京都遊歸, 方悟千言萬語皆可以淺笑替代, 遙想高鼻深目的佛像, 心中靜謐無限; 願遁道嵯峨野綠蔭森森的竹林, 京都俯拾即唐詩, 隨手拈為宋詞.  我獨鍾綠色, 深深淺淺的綠色…

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莒哈絲的情人 Moment In Ho Chi Minh

The minute Ho Chi Minh City made it to my itinerary, I knew it was time to reread Duras.  L'Amant or The Lover is a poetic lamentation about youthful awakening, class struggle, sexual tension, and lost love.  Park Hyatt Saigon exudes architectural charms reminiscing the colonial era.  From the double spiral staircase, chandeliers overlooking the tea parlor, and its classic french window encased room, Duras haunted where I dwelled.

上次來胡志明市三年前, 不記得悶燒成這樣, 踏出門便汗流夾背, 一天要洗好幾次澡才舒服.

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出塞曲 Lady Luck, She Turned Her Back on Me.

逛誠品, 看見席慕蓉的詩集, 忍不住提筆, 寫屬於我的出塞曲.  非西出陽關無故人, 而是此趟商旅長途跋涉頻出狀況, 真真出門帶塞.  臨行前人事命令突遞, 要我接掌某燙手山芋部門(就說嘛, 年度考績給我全項優等, 這麼好康… 原來還有記回馬槍).  第一站到胡志明市, 因SFO飛HK班機誤點, 在國泰地勤指引下, 我於香港機場施展飛毛腿, 成果較似連滾帶爬, 人是趕上飛往胡志明市的原定航班, 行李沒趕上.  在東方巴黎的首日, 我只能穿著髒兮兮的衣服閒晃, 幸好隔天才開會, 不然資料都在託運的行李箱, 兩手空空有損專業.

A bit random to show this image, the steamed rice roll at the lounge in HK airport.  What I tried reminding myself was the beauty in the seemingly banal everyday life.

My recent work trip was very Star Wars Episode 7.

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人質症後群 Beauty and the Beast

LK先生出差期間, 雖然忙得不可開交, 卻也是母子培養默契良機.  帶小V上電影院觀賞真人版Beauty and the Beast, 分食ㄧ桶爆米花, 隨著故事高歌歡笑, 歲月寧好, 大抵如此.  Emma Watson演繹的Belle簡直是翻版的HP Hermione, 缺乏動畫版Belle外柔內剛的掙扎, 沒吃過苦頭前的Beast/Prince和Gaston的自大自戀有得比.  近終場寒冬古城纏鬥, Gaston披猩紅軍袍, Beastㄧ身虎獅般毛皮, 女主角Belle只穿雪白襯裙加入戰局, 面不改色… 兩位男主角會不會太遜了?  尾聲Beast從雄糾糾的山大王變回王子, 十八世紀的法國, 正值華麗的Rococo風, 王子撲粉紮尾辮, 穿緊身褲踏酒杯跟緞鞋, ㄧ個字: 娘!  難怪Belle要問未來夫婿願不願蓄鬍...

photo credit:  Disney

Much to share yet very little time to spare… my blog has become a visual line list of what I eat regardless the post's subject matter.  Let it be for now!

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樓上的瘋女人 Afternoon Soliloquy

Rarely do I find a Sunday afternoon without anxiety for Monday or perhaps I finally reach the state of Zen, I decided to ponder on various subjects.

初春粉櫻山茶遍開, 週末懶洋洋賴家中, 翻閱校友寫的The Mad Woman Upstairs. 

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上海終念 READ! Shanghai, The Last Dance

I quite love Keira Knightley's Elizabeth Bennet when Mr. Darcy asked what encourages affection, 'dancing', she answered.  I wine and dine Shanghai several times and I am afraid the fascination has begun to wear off.  A vivacious lady she first seemed but behind the smoke and mirrors, quite a brute in reality. My January visit to Shanghai was therefore the last dance.

上海與我, 很張愛玲的開始, 很金庸的結束.

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刑天 Miss LK's Rhapsody 8th Anniversary

Happy New Year!!!

In the darkest hour of 2016, moral clarity beaconed even brighter.  The unspoken grief united us with the least expected comradery.  As long as there's still kindness and beauty in the world, I will continue to imagine a better tomorrow.  AND happy anniversary to Miss LK's Rhapsody - my shrink, my alter ego, my conscience and my most loyal friend :)

遲來的問候!  其實總結2016 不過不失, 深切領悟時間大神的威力, 我再也無法驍勇善戰, 只好學陶淵明嘆: 刑天舞干戚, 猛志故常在.

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