Among all forms of expression, I seem to have an immediate connection with writing and drawing. Both require the conduit of a pen/pencil/stick… Nope, that's not the direction I am heading to. Although from time to time I do enjoy a good debate, I abhor the dueling of narcissism. I write to distill chaotic thoughts, to experience life twice and to be at peace with myself.
戊戌年多變, 多位人物離世… 奇才Stephen Hawking, 靈魂歌后Aretha Franklin, 廚神Joel Robuchon, 科幻作家Ursula K. Le Guin, 怪傑Anthony Bourdain… 還有我們的金庸. 眾俠客, ㄧ路好走.
Hello again, HCMC! I have fallen in and out of love with many cities. The more trips I take to visit Vietnam, the more fascinating I find the culture to be. One raining evening after work, I was led into a boutique cafe on the second floor of a colonial shophouse by a stray(it turned out to be one of the cafe's feline trinity…). As the accidental guest, I enjoyed a couple hours of aromatic drinks, soulful live music and some je ne sais quoi.
紅學與金學伴我成長, 紅樓夢啟發我美學概念, 金庸小說卻讓我在歷經人情冷暖前先窺探命運迭宕. 金庸畢竟是舊世代的男性作家, 不若曹雪芹天才空靈將女性心理描繪絲絲入扣, 金學女角們除了美還是美, 連聲勢懾人的梅超風和滅絕師太都不忘補一句'相貌甚美', 真是沙文主義遺毒. 小龍女王語嫣趙敏雙兒個個存在感薄弱, 刻劃出色只有黃蓉和程靈素, 讀飛狐心疼後者, 這麼聰明透晰, 卻因樣貌枯瘦, 胡婓心繫嫵媚的袁紫衣, 直到'二妹'離世, 他蓄起一把大鬍子, 那永恆的殤慟是金學浪漫極緻. 年紀漸長倒愈能體會, 程靈素這樣的才女不好相處, 她的聰明高遠迫人自慚形穢, 她的孤冷縝密逼著你小心翼翼… 生活良伴還是得選黃蓉, 黃蓉的愛和聰明都很世俗, 多才多藝風趣美貌, 還幸運的遇上郭靖.
I also channeled the late Anthony Bourdain joining a chef/culinary teacher Onh to explore local eateries to full extent on a Sunday morning. Rice is my comfort food and the Vietnamese cuisine elegantly displays its infinite possibilities. After witnessing and inhaling the freshly steamed rice crepes generously stuffed with mushroom and minced pork, my palate has expanded into a profound dimension.
最嚮往向問天與莫大先生, 瀟湘夜雨的意境悠然, 他忠於心底原則, 使出如夢似幻的快劍誅殺高手費彬, 卻避諱江湖行規囑令狐沖沒見過他, 令狐沖是知音, 將劍傷搗得亂七八糟, 莫大先生的掙扎很真實, 所以他斯人獨憔悴的來無影去無蹤既無奈又洒脫. 向問天本事大得很, 卻奇特的無東方不敗, 任我行, 左冷禪… 等的野心. 他遠比令狐沖風清揚看得開, 令狐沖為師門綁手綁腳, 愛情方面更不痛快, 風清揚退隱原由絕困不了天王老子(他會哈哈大笑至之), 與任我行男人之間那種默契, 大概是bromance先行.
And then here came Banh Xeo and Bo La Lot. 'Xeo' denotes the sizzling sound of the paper thin rice pancake wrapping bean sprouts and sautéed river shrimps. The later describes grilled beef in betel leaf dressed with peanuts. We sat patiently on the tiny plastic stools on the street, gathered the bouquet of herbs with condiment and spread our savory breakfast on the newspaper lined table. The intwine of scent, texture, and taste was addictive!
金庸高齡仙逝那天, 和上海童年老友S閒聊, 不約而同難耐神鵰俠侶, 這麼說要引起小龍女粉絲撻伐, 私以為小龍女的角色結構如同花花公子扉頁女郎, 是供男性讀者意淫對象. 形容古墓派如何如何不食人間煙火, 請參考花叢中練玉女心經那段… 呃. 周星馳'功夫'片裏的包租公包租婆據說是退隱江湖的楊過和小龍女, 包租公好色懼內, 包租婆叼菸捲髪會獅吼功, 這對可愛的不得了.
A few peculiar sights from the market might not be suitable for western eyes be it offal or seafood out of an ice box in the tropical heat.
十月商旅主攻越南和泰國, 在胡志明市貓街邊嚐小吃那天彷若Bourdain上身, 導覽是位身型嬌小面容秀麗的廚師安婉. 我著迷越南料理食蔬香氣, 魚米之鄉豐儉間求典雅平衡. 隨著安婉穿梭摩托車陣喧嘩鬧市, 色彩和氣味皆爆炸性的眩染, 越式早餐尤佳, 現蒸米漿薄捲豬絞肉蕈菇Banh Cuon入口腴滑, 夾滿豆芽菜鮮蝦的蛋餅Banh Xeo酥脆齒舌. 這麼熱哄哄揮汗如雨的吃過, 很難再回到五星飯店端坐冷氣房撩生牛肉河粉, 若有機會再赴胡志明, 約好要去安婉的廚房學做菜!
Near the entrance of the narrow bazaar in District 3 there was a secret arsenal during war time surrounded by unassuming fruit stalls.
某晚開完會閒逛, 偶遇熱帶雷陣雨, 在騎樓避雨時瞄見一隻孤伶伶的小花貓, 尾隨牠到二樓的L'usine時尚咖啡館, 我竟有眼不識泰山, 原來有三位貓大王鎮店(!) 友善的侍者領我到前座, 好邊吃邊欣賞即興演奏. 似乎是情侶檔, 戴黑框眼鏡的男生吉他悠悠和弦, 海軍藍紋白洋裝的女生嗓音渾厚, 唱起Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars… 不論中西, 老歌都直接甜蜜, 如I love you, baby! And if it's quite alright, 或者'為什麼要對你掉眼淚, 難道你不明白是為了愛哎哎...', 剛聽犬儒LK不免訕笑, 聽著聽著卻感動起來, 可見情歌殺死人Killing me softly with his song :)
The motorbikes were somewhat homicidal but the locals seemed to be navigating in synchronized motion, easy breezy. The staple here is coffee, rice, dried fish and cassava.
出差前年中考績, 又是政治集訓. 頂頭上司向來陰陽怪氣明褒暗貶, 讓我搞明白誰掌權. 書面上自然寫的漂亮體面, 讚LK智勇雙全, 我早已不清高, 現學現賣以同樣招數牽制心生異動的下屬, 前前後後接過太多暗箭, 所有糾結皆來自對人性仍懷抱希望, 不希望便不失望, 職場即歡場.
At a chic vegetarian restaurant - you won't miss the meat. My favorite has got to be the crispy lotus root with sesame and peppercorn.
中國關稅壓境, LK奉命單槍匹馬至泰國小島已斷絕往來的某工廠重建邦交, 此工廠其實頗有個性和綠色資源概念. 彼時敝公司利字當頭, 中國製造配合度高, 人人西瓜偎大邊, 此時貿易戰烏雲銀邊鑲的是分散投資風險, 開拓新機. 忙活兩天在搭上回曼谷如懷舊二戰電影出現的小客機, 才驚喜空姐們個個眉目如畫豐胸長腿, 彷若身處龐德系列The Man with The Golden Gun.
Park Hyatt Saigon was charming. Too bad we had to leave early for meetings in the morning but a vegetable and fruit filled breakfast with Banh Bot Loc(gluten free! It's tapioca dumpling :) was the day's energizing start.
久違的曼谷沒時間多待, 住的仍是東方文華. 乘飛簷尖頂的檜木船過昭柏耶河到對岸露天座用晚膳, 邊扒綠咖哩香米飯入口邊苦命的趕珠寶盒設計稿, 侍者貼心的燒蚊香架起閱讀燈. 泰國不分男女皆輕聲軟語, 說話如歌籟的音韻, 可以理解為什麼許多西方人流連忘返, 寧醉死溫柔鄉的英雄往往沒本事面對自己在本土老家是狗熊的現實.
Hello Trang! It was a privilege to work with the innovative Plan Toy. The brand stands behind its mission of sustainable play and utilizes every bit from the latex industry. Nothing goes to waste before it could once again be renewed into green energy. The cuisine also oozes rustic charm with whole fish baked in salt and river prawns in chili sauce with green papaya slaw.
年末有兩部電影想看, 一是Fantastic Beast: The Crimes of Grindelwald, 雖早知Eddie Redmayne演技精湛, 卻是看他詮釋迷糊少根筋的Newt Scamander才愛上這英倫學院派帥哥, 加上Jude Law扮演年青時代的Dumbledore, 這不是視覺饗宴是什麼?! 二是皇后主唱Freddie Mercury的傳記Bohemian Rhapsody, 他歌聲高亢, 無比激情也無比溫柔, 又是異國風情兼具謎樣邪氣的美男子, 時千嬌百媚時英偉豪放, 魅力四射. 那個年代的搖滾巨星天才洋溢, 長髪緊身褲摔電吉他濫交嗑藥, 華麗的舞臺, 華麗的墮落… 但聽他唱I Was Born to Love You, Love of My Life… 你會盼望他祇對你一個人唱.
A short but pleasantly nostalgic stay at the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok.
上海必去, 然食肆益發土豪風, 欠意味書寫. 偶然旁聽某事感慨萬千, 他人隱私不於此綴述, 想說的是今日所有的怨偶, 當年想來也是為愛踏入婚姻, 甚至是人人稱羨的佳藕. 愛的第三者往往不是人, 乃時空衍變理念分岐. 當愛的激情成份燃燒殆盡, 選擇留取相知一場的餘溫共鳴吧, 何必苦苦翻攪恨的灰燼至死方休?
At peace with myself… that is right. The magic of writing to detox or in my case, a less dramatic gesture of exorcism is that I enjoy pouring my thoughts so much that scrolling to the last page I no longer recall what was troubling me in the beginning… hmmm.
所以最最最討厭神鵰俠侶: 問世間, 情是何物? 李莫愁, 武三通, 裘千尺, 公孫止, 郭芙, 尹志平, 心儀楊過的眾女, 楊過和小龍女… 我執, 我恨, 我憾, 直教人… 不寒而慄.
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