後記

窮長者為3元搶《招職》 廢紙跌價要開源 日日港鐵站「開戰」

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bag

我的 accessories，要不極低調，要不極奪目。

Rabeanco 的包包，我有三個，是在出來工作後不同階段買的，很耐用。

我愛煞那不拘小節的造型，和柔軟的質感；既粗獷，又溫柔。

以這樣的品質，(我買的時候)居然不用四位數字，實在化算。

Monsieur Z

我的法文老師，是個很有喜劇細胞的人。

他從不說英語，碰上解釋了幾次我們都搞不清楚的生字，他就用肢體語言去表達那個概念。

有一次練習會話，題目是找公寓，每個人都說說自己的喜好 - 要三房兩廳、要交通方便、要租金便宜、要在市中心、要在郊外......有一個同學說要找一個有浴室和電梯的單位。

Monsieur 深感納罕，說這些設施一般都有的吧你意思是不是要找在電梯裡裝有花灑的，一邊揶揄學生一邊扮在電梯裡洗澡的模樣，令人笑破肚皮。

update

近來忙到一頭煙, 紛紛擾擾, 無暇更新. 

積存了不少起了個頭埋不了尾的文, 恐怕無緣與大家見面了.

希望週末可以偷得浮生半日閒吧.

但今天才星期三呀~

new sofa

好喜歡 Ikea Ektorp 這條 line.


心水其實是大大張可以整個人窩進去的單座位 armchair -

或者可以風情萬種地斜躺著的 chaise longue -

可是要放在客廳裡嘛， 終究是第一張正路。

reading jane

前陣子 F 提起 Bride and Prejudice, 我記得家裡好像有影碟, 找了出來, 借她之前重溫了一次. 看完後意猶未盡, 又把珍姐的原著拿出來咀嚼, 最後還看了 BBC 的 mini-series 和去年 Anne Hathaway 和 James McAvoy 主映的電影 Becoming Jane.

Bride and Prejudice 是 Bollywood, 把場景搬到現代的印度與美國, 令人想起 Baz Luhrmann 96 年的 Romeo + Juliet. 

BBC 1995 年拍的六集 mini-series 忠於原著, 盡得珍姐精粹. Jennifer Ehle 完全演活了 Elizabeth Bennet.  

Becoming Jane 其實是後人穿鑿附會, 但不失為一個美麗的故事, 改編得令人可喜, 珍姐粉絲怎可錯過?

至於原著, 令人印象最深刻的是 Elizabeth Bennet 的伶牙俐齒. 她與 Lady Catherine 舌戰一段令人拍案叫絕. 原文雖長, 仍忍不住節錄如下:

(簡單來說, Lady Catherine 一心要 Darcy 娶她的女兒, 所以一聽說 Darcy 有意向 Elizabeth 求婚就逼她退出, 但, 嗨嗨, Elizabeth 豈是善男信女.)

As soon as they entered the copse, Lady Catherine began in the following manner: -

"You can be at no loss, Miss Bennet, to understand the reason of my journey hither. Your own heart, your own conscience, must tell you why I come."

Elizabeth looked with unaffected astonishment.

"Indeed, you are mistaken, Madam. I have not been at all able to account for the honour of seeing you here."

"Miss Bennet," replied her ladyship, in an angry tone, "you ought to know, that I am not to be trifled with. But however insincere you may choose to be, you shall not find me so. My character has ever been celebrated for its sincerity and frankness, and in a cause of such moment as this, I shall certainly not depart from it. A report of a most alarming nature reached me two days ago. I was told that not only your sister was on the point of being most advantageously married, but that you, that Miss Elizabeth Bennet, would, in all likelihood, be soon afterwards united to my nephew, my own nephew, Mr. Darcy. Though I know it must be a scandalous falsehood, though I would not injure him so much as to suppose the truth of it possible, I instantly resolved on setting off for this place, that I might make my sentiments known to you."

"If you believed it impossible to be true," said Elizabeth, colouring with astonishment and disdain, "I wonder you took the trouble of coming so far. What could your ladyship propose by it?"

"At once to insist upon having such a report universally contradicted."

"Your coming to Longbourn, to see me and my family," said Elizabeth coolly, "will be rather a confirmation of it; if, indeed, such a report is in existence."

"If! Do you then pretend to be ignorant of it? Has it not been industriously circulated by yourselves? Do you not know that such a report is spread abroad?"

"I never heard that it was."

"And can you likewise declare, that there is no foundation for it?"

"I do not pretend to possess equal frankness with your ladyship. You may ask questions which I shall not choose to answer."

"This is not to be borne. Miss Bennet, I insist on being satisfied. Has he, has my nephew, made you an offer of marriage?"

"Your ladyship has declared it to be impossible."

"It ought to be so; it must be so, while he retains the use of his reason. But your arts and allurements may, in a moment of infatuation, have made him forget what he owes to himself and to all his family. You may have drawn him in."

"If I have, I shall be the last person to confess it."

"Miss Bennet, do you know who I am? I have not been accustomed to such language as this. I am almost the nearest relation he has in the world, and am entitled to know all his dearest concerns."

"But you are not entitled to know mine; nor will such behaviour as this, ever induce me to be explicit."

"Let me be rightly understood. This match, to which you have the presumption to aspire, can never take place. No, never. Mr. Darcy is engaged to my daughter. Now what have you to say?"

"Only this; that if he is so, you can have no reason to suppose he will make an offer to me."

Lady Catherine hesitated for a moment, and then replied,

"The engagement between them is of a peculiar kind. From their infancy, they have been intended for each other. It was the favourite wish of his mother, as well as of her's. While in their cradles, we planned the union: and now, at the moment when the wishes of both sisters would be accomplished in their marriage, to be prevented by a young woman of inferior birth, of no importance in the world, and wholly unallied to the family! Do you pay no regard to the wishes of his friends? To his tacit engagement with Miss De Bourgh? Are you lost to every feeling of propriety and delicacy? Have you not heard me say that from his earliest hours he was destined for his cousin?"
"Yes, and I had heard it before. But what is that to me? If there is no other objection to my marrying your nephew, I shall certainly not be kept from it by knowing that his mother and aunt wished him to marry Miss De Bourgh. You both did as much as you could in planning the marriage. Its completion depended on others. If Mr. Darcy is neither by honour nor inclination confined to his cousin, why is not he to make another choice? And if I am that choice, why may not I accept him?"
"Because honour, decorum, prudence, nay, interest, forbid it. Yes, Miss Bennet, interest; for do not expect to be noticed by his family or friends, if you wilfully act against the inclinations of all. You will be censured, slighted, and despised, by every one connected with him. Your alliance will be a disgrace; your name will never even be mentioned by any of us."

"These are heavy misfortunes," replied Elizabeth. "But the wife of Mr. Darcy must have such extraordinary sources of happiness necessarily attached to her situation, that she could, upon the whole, have no cause to repine."

"Obstinate, headstrong girl! I am ashamed of you! Is this your gratitude for my attentions to you last spring? Is nothing due to me on that score? Let us sit down. You are to understand, Miss Bennet, that I came here with the determined resolution of carrying my purpose; nor will I be dissuaded from it. I have not been used to submit to any person's whims. I have not been in the habit of brooking disappointment."

"That will make your ladyship's situation at present more pitiable; but it will have no effect on me."

"I will not be interrupted. Hear me in silence. My daughter and my nephew are formed for each other. They are descended, on the maternal side, from the same noble line; and, on the father's, from respectable, honourable, and ancient -- though untitled -- families. Their fortune on both sides is splendid. They are destined for each other by the voice of every member of their respective houses; and what is to divide them? The upstart pretensions of a young woman without family, connections, or fortune. Is this to be endured! But it must not, shall not be. If you were sensible of your own good, you would not wish to quit the sphere in which you have been brought up."

"In marrying your nephew, I should not consider myself as quitting that sphere. He is a gentleman; I am a gentleman's daughter; so far we are equal."

"True. You are a gentleman's daughter. But who was your mother? Who are your uncles and aunts? Do not imagine me ignorant of their condition."

"Whatever my connections may be," said Elizabeth, "if your nephew does not object to them, they can be nothing to you."

"Tell me once for all, are you engaged to him?"

Though Elizabeth would not, for the mere purpose of obliging Lady Catherine, have answered this question, she could not but say, after a moment's deliberation,

"I am not."

Lady Catherine seemed pleased.

"And will you promise me, never to enter into such an engagement?"

"I will make no promise of the kind."

"Miss Bennet I am shocked and astonished. I expected to find a more reasonable young woman. But do not deceive yourself into a belief that I will ever recede. I shall not go away till you have given me the assurance I require."

"And I certainly never shall give it. I am not to be intimidated into anything so wholly unreasonable. Your ladyship wants Mr. Darcy to marry your daughter; but would my giving you the wished-for promise make their marriage at all more probable? Supposing him to be attached to me, would my refusing to accept his hand make him wish to bestow it on his cousin? Allow me to say, Lady Catherine, that the arguments with which you have supported this extraordinary application have been as frivolous as the application was ill-judged. You have widely mistaken my character, if you think I can be worked on by such persuasions as these. How far your nephew might approve of your interference in his affairs, I cannot tell; but you have certainly no right to concern yourself in mine. I must beg, therefore, to be importuned no farther on the subject."

"Not so hasty, if you please. I have by no means done. To all the objections I have already urged, I have still another to add. I am no stranger to the particulars of your youngest sister's infamous elopement. I know it all; that the young man's marrying her was a patched-up business, at the expence of your father and uncles. And is such a girl to be my nephew's sister? Is her husband, is the son of his late father's steward, to be his brother? Heaven and earth! -- of what are you thinking? Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?"

"You can now have nothing farther to say," she resentfully answered. "You have insulted me in every possible method. I must beg to return to the house."

And she rose as she spoke. Lady Catherine rose also, and they turned back. Her ladyship was highly incensed.

"You have no regard, then, for the honour and credit of my nephew! Unfeeling, selfish girl! Do you not consider that a connection with you must disgrace him in the eyes of everybody?"

"Lady Catherine, I have nothing farther to say. You know my sentiments."

"You are then resolved to have him?"

"I have said no such thing. I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me."

"It is well. You refuse, then, to oblige me. You refuse to obey the claims of duty, honour, and gratitude. You are determined to ruin him in the opinion of all his friends, and make him the contempt of the world."

"Neither duty, nor honour, nor gratitude," replied Elizabeth, "have any possible claim on me, in the present instance. No principle of either would be violated by my marriage with Mr. Darcy. And with regard to the resentment of his family, or the indignation of the world, if the former were excited by his marrying me, it would not give me one moment's concern -- and the world in general would have too much sense to join in the scorn."

p.388-394, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, Penguin, 2006

excerpt

"...There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of either merit or sense..."

"My dear Lizzy, do not give way to such feelings as these. They will ruin your happiness..."

P.153, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, Penguin, 2006

11. 9. 08

(可怕的) 詹瑞文又來了。
天知道我是多麼的害怕他。
不幸地，我曾經看過一場《萬世歌王》，一場《男人之苦》。
那兩場節目的票是同時買的，要不然，絕不可能看第二場。
我知道他扮鬼扮馬無人能及，但有沒有人可以告訴我，他到底想帶出甚麼訊息？
他越是樂在其中，我看得越難受。
天啊！可不可以不要再讓我不小心在街上或月台上看見那張海報？

angelic voice

六七歲小小人兒，合該在唱 twinkle twinkle little star，她卻以天真稚嫩的歌聲唱出她不可能理解的成熟與世故，無奈與蒼涼。

I Will Always Love You


小女孩，但願你永遠不會懂 smile, though your heart is aching 是怎麼一回事。

Smile

a long day

工作至今天凌晨 3 點半，離開時大部份工作人員仍然留守票站。
儘管這個選區應該不會有甚麼出人意表的結果或爭議，但原則上，一旦選舉結果未確定，都不可以排除有候選人要求重新點票的可能，所以大家都在巴巴的呆等。
大家一整天下來都挺累了，如果在忙碌地工作還好，最難忍受的是沒有事做，可是又明知不得不等，而且不知道要等到甚麼時候。
回家後洗把臉，開電視看最新選舉消息，九龍東尚有三個議席不知花落誰家。
昏迷了一整天，早中飯都不吃了，睡覺大過天，到黃昏還不大願意起來。

6.9.2008

感冒個多星期不癒，其實是自取其疚。
一直都不能（不肯）好好睡，看起書就停不下來，即使肉身迷迷糊糊睡了，元神仍然留連在書裡那個混沌的世界。
精神欠佳時其實不宜看 His Dark Materials 這樣耗神的書。
Book I The Golden Compass 還比較好，Book II The Subtle Knife 和 Book III The Amber Spyglass 裡有太多角色與支線，到了不知所謂的地步。

was that really you singing?

Debut


BGT final, same song.


She was so sweet and lovely - note how she stuck her tongue out a little bit through the gap of her front teeth when she smiled.

Here's a thought - why don't they make Connie Talbot sing at the opening of 2012 Olympics?

Guileless and genuine talent, that's what I would love to see.

27.08.2008

明天決定逃課！嗨嗨！

烏龍事件陸續有來，像 send email 忘了加 attachment.
還有一件事。
是甚麼呢？竟想不起來。

今天老闆說：「你都幾烏龍個喎。」
帶點責備的口吻。
好灰...Orz

可是，那件事，與其說是擺烏龍，不如說是由於經驗不足所致。

糟糕。老年癡呆嗎？也許該趁早學打麻將。
但，老實說，完全提不起興趣。

買了新書櫃，把藏書分門別類放好，看著很高興。
我早想要個這樣子的書櫃了。
這些書，夠我看很久，不知甚麼時候才看得完。
把房間整理整理，原來我的房間並不小，比起整個家而言比例更大。
大工程，尚未完工。
原來家中大半都是我的雜物，而且是好久不拿出來的沒用的早被遺忘的雜物，很不好意思。

His Dark Materials 那個世界裡每個人都有一隻靈獸 dæmon，與主人有影皆雙，很好玩。
如果我也有一隻 dæmon，那會是甚麼呢？

matter of integrity

真傷得那麼重，明顯不能跑了，還參甚麼賽？

教練有可能讓這種情況出現嗎？

既報了名，就是說傷勢無礙，那為什麼不出賽？

盡力跑了，做出自己能力所及的好成績，就是最大的榮譽，不能晉級沒有所謂。

反正不會比臨陣退縮更窩囊了。

衛冕壓力之沉重，旁人只可想像，不可能理解。

正如普通人不能游不能跑不能跳一樣。

從來決勝不單是靠實力，意志、心理質素才是關鍵。

但超人也是人，也有軟弱的時候。

退出總比服用禁藥好。

以後別太狂妄自大了。

opening

剛看報上轉述陳其綱關於假唱的說法，覺得整件事實在是太離譜了。

我們打趣說某人容貌影響市容，已經夠刻薄了，他還胡扯甚麼國家利益，這是人說的話嗎？

然後讀了這篇文章，想想也是，於是就覺得陳某沒那麼可惡了。

或者應該說，問題並非（只）出在他或張大導一個人身上。

O 嘴

傍晚六點半電視新聞報道北京奧運籌備情況，最後有一則花絮，方東昇介紹說，奧運媒體村的餐廳有以下菜式供應：

「在醬油中的餃子」　--> dumplings in soy sauce　

「混亂油煎的混雜的菜」　--> stir fried mixed vegetable

「被分纇的麵包」　--> assorted bread　

(-_-;)......

24.07.2008

目前住處與工作地點都屬於長者人口密集的地區，因此，清晨上班時，會看見地鐵站外有人排著隊輪候取免費小報，其中大部分，是上了年紀的公公婆婆。

有一次，聽見派報的人不悅地對一位婆婆說：「你頭先咪攞咗囉？」

乘地鐵來到工作的地方，出閘時，又有兩三個婆婆守候著閘口，等著拿人家看完不要的報紙。

她們三三兩兩零星地分佈在各個角落，靜靜地站著，不開口，也不示意，你只能憑她們身邊一兩個放了好些報紙的袋子猜到她們在那裡等甚麼。那是因為偶而會有保安人員來干涉。

如果，在八達通嘟的一刻，你的眼神碰上了她的，她就向你打一個電報，你意會到了，把手上的報紙奉上，她向你報以一個欣喜滿足感激天真的笑容。那一刻，你也不知道，自己到底是不是做了一件好事。

要是那些婆婆生活真的如此拮据要靠賣報紙維生的話，那麼這一兩份輕飄飄的小報幫得上甚麼忙？

老無所養，大家情何以堪？

你只能夠這樣想 － 那份報紙，如果在丟進回收箱之前有丁點兒剩餘價值的話，那麼，就讓婆婆賺這一分幾毫，樂上那麼一分半秒吧。

Parlez-vous Français?

前陣子不是在說，沒有夢想的人生很蒼白嗎？
既然是夢想，定得宏偉一點無妨，對吧？
比如說，要精通十國語言！
說實在的，要是在不久的將來，可以把英語水平提升得像中文一樣，可以把法語說得像英語一樣，於願足矣！

＊　＊　＊

法文有好些有趣的地方，除了每個名詞都配以一個莫名其妙的性別之外，數數目方面也有它獨特的一套。

從 １ 至 69 基本上跟英語是同一模式，但從 70 打後就很不一樣。如下：

79 = soixante-dix-neuf = 60 (+) 19

80 = quatre-vingts = 4 (x) 20

99 = quatre-vingt-dix-huit = 4 (x) 20 (+) 19

真是非常的聰明喲！

豈有豪情似舊時

下班後到圖書館遛躂，瞥見書架上有亦舒的新作。
懶得用腦，隨手揀了一本來打發時間。
果然不必用腦，很快就看完，可是味同嚼蠟，用亦舒自己的話說 － 真是悶出鳥來。
倪女士其實在出到一百五十本單行本左右的時候就應該考慮收山了。

Ms. Mo 教英文

粵語以生動傳神見稱。很多俚語、俗語，只可意會，難以言傳。毛孟靜以生鬼的風格帶你於兩種語言之間嬉戲。

毛孟靜多聲道英語 - Ep008 - 戇居 !



不知道「生鬼」二字，Ms. Mo 又會怎樣翻譯呢？

Ms. Mo 說 "tube" 是美語，指電視，可是英國不也有兒童節目 Teletubbies 天線得得 B 嗎？那 "tube" 應該是從顯像管 cathode ray tube 而來的吧？

毛孟靜英語教室 - Ep027 -tube



而「麻甩」的來源竟然是法文 malade?!

毛孟靜多聲道英語教室 - Ep015 - 麻甩



當真？你唔好呃我喎？Don't you pull my leg!