il Giardino Romantico

2008年
二月十日 
台北-高雄：和欣客運$710 [傷在荷包，痛在我心啊！]
高雄-六龜：高雄客運 $210

Move back in time, to when I was still an ignorant teenager, Thoreau was nothing but ‘the crazy dude that went off to live in solitude by some pond’.  It is probably not difficult for people of that age group to think this.   After all, adolescence is all about friends and group fun.  Therefore, I did not scoff at myself for ever thinking of Thoreau as ‘crazy’.  The process of mental and spiritual maturity is extremely interesting.  Now, life in Walden seems to me the ideal life that I would actually attempt to pursue.
American literature had always had less of an attraction to me than English literature.  They are newer and thus often contain less profound and inspiring material.  Yet, Thoreau had not only proved himself a worthy writer, and poet, but embraced the essence of the Romantic spirit thus making him the most inspiring romantic writer from the New World.
Walden consists of three different parts – the factual, the philosophical, and the poetic.  He kept a meticulous record of how he managed to live there economically.  Then he proclaimed his insight on the significance of social issues.  He then also drew poetic sketches of the natural surroundings around him.  Of course, these three overlap at times, but in such a way that they can be woven together to make a wonderful masterpiece. 
There is a problem with classics.  They were written.  They changed people.  Then they were forgotten.  Abandoned.  Neglected.  That is the problem, but it is also exactly the reason why I find classics more intriguing than most contemporary work.   Everything sensible there is to say had already been said.  There is little space for originality left.
Walden was written.  It influenced people, but then it is forgotten.  Neglected and/.or abandoned.  In this era, which we call the Information Age, this is exactly the kind of insight to life that we are lacking.  People don’t read.  Even if they do, they never pass beyond the books on the best selling rack.  They read, but they do not peruse.  Thoreau observed this problem long before the beginning of this age.  The warning of Global Warming got people more aware of the significance of nature.  They go outdoors more, but only to places reachable by vehicles which contributes to the initial problem even more.  When they reach their destination, they do not really see nature as it really is, but nature as the way MEN want it to be.  I am not exempt from any of these charges.  However, being aware of a problem is better than unconsciously being a part of the problem. 
This is what I had gotten out of Walden.  And in writing this, I hope you will allow Thoreau a chance to indulge you with some insights to life and a peek at life by Walden Pond.

[Anubis - 狗爸：錢家老大]
[Mykie - 狗媽：錢家老二]
[Angelo - 貓媽：錢家老么]

快樂、健康、成功。你心裡所想的全部都可以是你的。只要你知道『祕密』。並了解如何運用『祕密』。
Everything you've ever wanted can be yours.  If only you knew 'The Secret'. Learn to apply The Secret and have nothing but happiness, health and success in your life.
第一部影片，教你如何在每天早晨醒來後為自己美好的一天做開端。第二部影片是The Secret的前20分鐘。我已經找不到完整的影片了。所以有興趣者可能要找書來看或是買DVD了。
The first video is a visualizing tool to help you start your day.  The second is the first 20 minutes of the full-length The Secret movie.  Since I can no longer find a full-length video online, I'm afraid those of you who are interested must either buy the book or the DVD.
1. The Secret [Visualizing Tool]

支持Liverpool不是沒有原因的。

When you walk through the storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark

沒錯啦！標題就是在講我！我是一隻貓咪。我是天使。但我也是惡魔喔！！
這天傍晚我看媽咪正在玩小白抓板[註]，我就自己找樂子。看到媽咪的包包開著就把頭伸進去一探究竟。咦！這不是媽咪一直都不讓我玩的線線嗎？
左看。右看。
很好！媽咪還在玩他的小白抓板。我用我的抓子來把他拉～～～～～～出來！歐耶！太棒了。現在來看我牙齒有多厲害！
我咬！

其實我不是很喜歡去代辦中心。
因為畢竟從一開始到現在我一直都是自己一手包辦所有的事情。我甚至連代辦中心到底收不收費都不知道。不過因為這次學校代表來面談就是安排在代辦中心，所以我不得不再次『顧人怨』。
為什麼會『顧人怨』？
因為代辦中心跟本不知道不知道我是從哪冒出來的人物。然後申請的順序、學校的資訊幾乎都比他們還了若指掌。你說，如果你是代辦中心的人，是不是會看我不太順眼？打電話去約面談時間還一直告訴我一些我已經知道的事情。我又不能很沒禮貌的說：我知道了啦。[畢竟they're just doing their job]只有很禮貌的把他聽完，然後說『好、好、好』。
每次面談我一定會提早到。如果上一個提早結束，我就可以提早開始。到了代辦中心，還是一直尷尬。

在晉級前，曾承諾要給家長一個不一樣的十三級。寫作，就是其中之一。Ｘ音的教材，到目前為只是沒有任何寫作的訓練。頂多只是一小段文字。五十至一百字左右。我想要教他們的，是如何寫出一篇有頭有尾的文章。
有什麼題材，會比『自己』更容易？再加上13級強調的文法就是現在簡單、現在進行、及未來式這幾個時態。如果能夠在文章內"順便"練習及加強這個級數所接觸到的文法重點，應該是最好的了。
首先，告訴學生一篇essay的結構：
Introduction
Body

單單一棵樹所言伸出的生命機能，在沒有看到這部影片前可能完全無法想像。就這一棵樹，他靜態的生活卻延續了周圍多少動態的生活？
我們每抽取一張衛生紙、每寫一個字、每用一個紙碗盤，可能都沒有想到有多少生命為了我們人類的『方便』而失去自己的生活權益。既然以成必需品，要一瞬間停止使用紙類也未免太不實際了。我們能做的就只有回收、回收、再回收。也許看起來微不足道，但延續一棵樹的生命，不只是延續一棵樹的生命。
Part One

禮拜五晚上開信箱很高興的收到了一封學校寄來的通知：1/28~29又有學校代表要來台會面。雖然這次來的不是我很熟的那位Jenny，不過我還是寄了一封信給他，問他一些事情。其實我最想知道的是課程改了之後會上些什麼東西[請看舊文晴天霹靂的消息]。所以在寄出去之前先上網查了一下，看看這新的'programme'是否已經有詳細的資料了。
九月就要開課了，結果到現在只有這個資料？
[Source: University of Liverpool]

最近天氣冷颼颼，應該很適合分享這篇。原本想累積幾個口味再貼出來，不過基於我們宅女姊妹花平時對食物沒什麼探險的興趣，所以吃來吃去還是這兩個口味。
住在夜市附近的好處就是，可以選那種人潮不多的時候去到處慢慢晃。平時到了五、六、日這幾天，想吃的話一定得先排隊。不過他們效率很快，照理說是不用等很久。不過我說過，我們都避開了人潮，所以幾乎都不用排隊。
他們的服務好貼心！除了有『叫號逼逼扣』省得客人要站著等，或是注意聽櫃台叫號的麻煩之外，這幾次去的服務都讓我很滿意。看下面的圖片就知道他其實還蠻大碗的。我跟老姊沒辦法單獨吃完，就一起吃。叫到我的時候，沒看到湯匙就在櫃台上，還跟店員多要了一個。一般遇到的情形都是店員會很不耐煩的指著就在你面前的湯匙說：『啊這裡就有了啊！』不過他們不但沒有做出這麼無理的事情，反而還跟我說『不好意思』。讓我實在很感動。
以下是我們喜歡吃的兩個口味：
【手工芋圓】- 地瓜＋珍珠＋蓮子
料多，實在，而且重點是：真的不會太甜！
【紫米粥】冬季限定喔！
老姊問我：不加鮮奶球味道怎麼樣？有一次我在加入之前嚐了一口。味道淡淡的，加了比較濃郁。我很喜歡這個口味！因為是限定的，所以這幾次跟老姊相約去，我們都是點這個。怕以後吃不到了。
還有好多口味都還沒試過。改天來去吃吃看他的豆花！

Being alone is not a sin.  Neither should it be frowned upon.  Yet the world was not built for loners.  I am not against the practice of matrimony, nor am I against committed relationships.  However, I am protesting against the idea that the only achievement one should seek in life is to find his or her better half.
A romantic relationship should be the reward one picks up along the way.  A goal that one should set out to achieve should be something greater than merely a time killer.  That goal could be an achievement in academic areas, or it could be a realization of a dream in the area of one’s profession. The meaning of such goals is so that one can come to realize their own individuality, and elevate themselves to a higher status in their spirituality.  When they look back at their past, they would gasp at the progress they have made.  It is very much like mountain climbing, where the climber does not cease to reach the top only because they have found a very pretty flower and wished to keep it. The flower is a reward for the climb.  The priority remains to be to reach the top of the mountain.  That is the ultimate goal. 
We have heard of many stories of those who claim to have given up on their goals in life in order to be with someone who they believed is their better half.  This, is what society should really frown upon.  If this better half of yours do not believe or assist you in achieving your goal in life, then what is it that makes them your ‘better’ half?  Must one really surrender a dream or a goal for the sake of a relationship?  It may be a difficult choice, but trust me, in the end both you and your supposed better half will survive. 
How have I come to realize this?  A few years ago, I, myself, was ready to give up my ultimate goal in life believing that the person I was involved with would be the one that I would marry.  When the relationship broke down, I mourned.  I was ready to make a commitment, and give up my dream altogether so we could have a future together.  Yet he insisted on ending the relationship.  Guess what?  Whenever I look back now, I always have a feeling of relief knowing that the end of the relationship meant I was back on the track towards my dream, my goal. 
Some time after that, I began dating someone who insisted that I continue to do so.  Our relationship was mainly built upon the belief and support that we gave each other toward realizing our respective goals in life.  We may fail, but if we deny ourselves the right to even attempting to realize it, our relationship, our lives for the past few years would have been meaningless.  Our dreams and goals were more important than the relationship itself.  It is the dream, the goal that defines who we are.  Without them, we are nobody.  If, we should find each other again along the road, or at the end of the road, then it would be the most rewarding outcome of all of our efforts.  If not, then we would be content enough to know that one of us, if not both, have achieved our goal.
It is after I have learned this lesson, that I began scrutinizing the world around me.  My partner has gone away from me, but he has not deserted me.  I have my own dreams to realize.  It would take some time.  Before that, I would have to spend some time alone.  Perhaps I had not been observant enough, or it might have been because I wasn’t alone that I did not realize how much this society frowns upon solitariness. 
It is not hard to understand that this phenomenon is the result of the continual brainwashing of the media.  Television shows and movies tell you that being alone meant there must be something wrong with you.  You must be hard to get along with.  You must have had bad relationships.  You are either afraid to get involved in a relationship, or incapable of being in one.  You have no friends because you are a freak. You are mentally ill or have some minor psychological issue that pulls you away from making friends, even if you desire the company of others.  Whatever the reason, you are alone and it is not right.
The problem is worse if you happen to be a single female above the age of twenty-five.  Ten out of ten chick flicks promote the idea of finding someone to love, and eventually wed.  Even the most stubborn feminists end up in a relationship of some sort at the end of the movie.  Stop here and consider for a moment: isn’t that exactly why YOU want to be in a relationship, too?
Generations before us were brought up to believe that finding a husband would be the only achievement for any decent woman. I am quite certain that Jane Austen would tell you all about it in her novels.  Yet she lived in an age where men defined the purpose of every woman.  Times have changed.  Ideas have changed.  If Mary Wollstonecraft were to be born a century later, she would have advocated the same idea I am discussing in this writing. 
We witness the awakening of womanhood through Kate Chopin, among other feminist writers.  Most of us no longer marry for the sake of marriage.  We marry because we wish to continue on the road of life with the one we deeply love.  Yet many of us still live in the delusion that the main purpose of our life, even if our gender have been guaranteed education and career prospects, is to find a man to wed in order to carry out the duty of our feminine nature. 
Single females who have lived for more than a quarter of a century are not to be blamed.  Society should not condemn them and place them into the category of the ‘unwanted’.  It is not our fault that decent men have become rarities.  Women have come to realize their potential.  They have been denied the right to so many aspects that men have been taking for granted, that whenever the opportunity should come in sight, they grab hold of it.  As a result, they often achieve more than what they had set out initially.  On the other hand, men have been taking their opportunities and abilities for granted for so long that they have lost their enthusiasm.  Yet they do not wish to submit to the newly risen women power.  Therefore, they aim for those who have not been ‘contaminated’ by such ideas as that the female population deserves the same rights as those of men. 
That particular portion of the female population remains popular among men even today.  Women, who prefer to continue on the path on their own, or choose to sacrifice relationships for the sake of realizing their dreams, are therefore frowned upon.  Parents, senior members of the family, even peers, begin to nag you about finding someone.  They begin to question your value due to the fact that you have remained single while many others of your own age have become wives, or even mothers.
If you were to take a trip alone, you would seldom find a single-bed room available for single travelers.  Most lodgings designed their rooms for two or more.  If you were to dine at a decent restaurant, it would be difficult to find a suitable meal for one.  The only appropriate portion suitable for a single diner would probably be a salad, a soup, or just a serving of desert.  If you were reading at an outdoor coffee shop, occupying a large table, you would soon be escorted to a smaller table, because the bigger party would prefer to sit comfortably at yours.  Package tours are designed so it would seem a better deal for two or more people to join. 
The world was not built for loners.  We are the arrogant bitches and bastards that believe no one is good enough for our company.  We are the plague of society that everyone wishes to eliminate one after the other.  We are also the ones without any confidence for that must be the reason why we sit alone in coffee shops and restaurants.
However, what they do not realize is the fact that being alone is not the equivalent of being lonely.  It might as well be them that are truly lonely.  For without the company of their male chauvinist husbands and their intolerable children, they would lose the meaning of their existence in this world.  The real winners are those that remain strong even after domestic failures.  For it does not necessarily lead to individual failure.  If one can come to realize that, then they are the true achievers of life. 
I am quite confident that one day, I will be able to find a companion who will accompany me through the rest of my journey in life.  I am also just as confident that, if unfortunately my domestic life should fail, I would still stand on my two feet and face a future just as bright.
Am I being too harsh to ask you to look a little deeper into your life, and find that one thing that would define who you are?  If wedding cakes and bridal gowns continue to be the destination of your journey, then I must say that the effort our female predecessors had all been fruitless.