眼鏡 88 的專業服務

拿﹐咁話說啦 bor

我個眼鏡戴左成年﹐個鼻托 sir 晒落來﹐幅眼鏡好易變成阿伯戴眼鏡咁跌晒落來﹐而且都黃 gum gum , 所以﹐就諗住去整整佢。

呢個星期日行街到半路﹐見到眼鏡 88, 就一於入去﹐反正我幅鏡都係係眼鏡 88 度做的﹐而且佢地不嬲 service 都好好﹐信得過。

問佢調較 and 換鼻托使唔使錢﹐佢話唔使的。我話哦﹐好。佢收左我幅鏡﹐我就呆坐。

我無留意佢做咩﹐淨係擔天望地。跟住佢拿住我幅鏡番來﹐佢話﹐個鼻托斷左。

我望望幅鏡﹐個鼻托果條電線咁幼的鐵﹐斷左。我唔知咁即係點﹐我話「哦」﹐so?

佢話﹐我幫你睇睇可以點。

當時我完全唔知個問題有幾嚴重。

攪左一大輪﹐我等到有d 悶﹐問佢其實依家做咩事 (真係囉命我依家先去攪清楚到底乜野事)。佢話個鼻托斷左。

俾著你﹐你會問咩？

我好自然咁問﹐點解會斷的？

佢無出聲。

係咪你幫我整的時候整斷的？我再問

佢先至話係

我當堂係 --> !!!!!!!!!!

唔係呀化, 換個鼻托仔咁大把咋喎....

我已經唔想理﹐叫佢：咁你整番好佢啦

佢話﹐呢d 整唔到架﹐無得整。

我開始覺得有唔妥。「咁即係點？」我問得明確d。

我幫你睇下可以點。

又等左好耐好耐

佢番到來﹐都係無實質答案俾到我。

我又問﹐咁依家點呀

佢就勁囉﹐佢話

依家我都係唔收你錢幫你做呢樣野架者。即係...我都係免費幫你做架咋...我係唔收你錢架...整爛左你幅鏡我都唔想架...我都唔想見到呢d 事發生架﹐咁但係唔發生都發生左啦咁點者...

嘩﹐老實講﹐佢講到大意上係「呢個 service 係免費」的果句﹐我已經火都來埋。之後的句子有幾「火上加油」﹐我諗你見到佢個 L 樣會更加明白我當時的感受。

事情就係﹐我拿個眼鏡去俾你整。你整一整就整爛左我幅眼鏡。你無道歉之餘﹐亦渾然唔當係一回事。你唔重視整爛我幅鏡係大件事﹐亦唔覺得整爛我個眼鏡係你自己的問題﹐仲來一句「我都係免費架者~」來推卸責任。你唔負責任已經夠衰﹐都要絲絲叔叔唔肯俾我知。你越掩飾呢件事就越令我唔滿意﹐仲要我三番四次追問你先講。我追問完﹐你都仲未肯俾 solution 我。我開到聲叫你俾個解決方法我﹐你竟然答我「免費」呢個 concept﹐唔負責任之後竟然係將成件事推番落來我身上!

難道係因為我無俾過錢﹐所以就整爛幅鏡！

ok 咁樣講的確係有點兒強詞奪理﹐應該話﹐你咁講係乜野意思

難道因為呢個 service 係免費﹐所以你就可以大安旨意地做得馬虎？
難道因為呢個 service 係免費﹐所以你做錯左事都可以唔使認？
難道因為呢個 service 係免費﹐你就可以整爛我幅眼鏡之後仲愛理不理咁？
難道因為呢個 service 係免費﹐我就唔 entitled to 任何賠償？

喂﹐唔係咁架下嘛！

基本上我已經好火﹐但我覺得自己讀過下書﹐唔可以咁樣發晒癲咁發火。應該話﹐我可以﹐但我唔想﹐因為咁樣只係令我形象破產 (諗諗下我又好似無形象 value 架喎其實....)﹐同埋最緊要係﹐對住呢d 咁樣 H 口 H 面的人﹐我再發爛炸﹐對成件事都唔會有幫助﹐尤其係對住呢d 咁蠢的人。我一生人最怕的唔係又蠢又善良的人﹐而係又蠢又惡又死性不改但又係度阻左 (我)個地球轉的人！

咁我既然唔想發爛炸﹐又唔想浪費時間同埋心血係呢個咁難頂的人度﹐我就索性將自己個 mind tune 到「理性解決問題 irresponsive to the person」模式。

我捉一個小姐來問﹐你地呢度究竟邊個先至係 manager? 唔該幫我搵個識得 customer service or at the very very least PROBLEM SOLVING 的人來同我講野啦, PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEE!

佢的眼神望望那位人兄。原來我一直都已經 dealing with 成間舖最大的那個。阿 manager 呀話﹐真係幸你個會。

我主動問佢﹐咁你有無得痴番上去呀...？

無。

咁你有無第二幅一模一樣的﹐換過塊鏡片就攪掂呀....？

我 check check....(半個小時蚊都訓之後)....係鑽石山﹐但唔知係唔係真係有﹐定係 display﹐定係倉﹐定係....

咁你會唔會幫佢依家 transfer 過來呀？

唔..................得

咁有無同款或類似的款的第二隻色........總之係呢塊鏡片可以 fit 到的呀？

我 check check......(又係超勁耐的半個鐘之後)....有的

係邊度？

東涌

咁附近呢？

最近係....等我再 check check

唉你唔使 check 啦﹐你幫我係度揀啦﹐依家呢間舖頭有無現貨 fit 我對鏡的？

你呢隻我地一早賣晒啦

(妖你老....)

我再幫你問問 (又一段好很長的時間)

我問過上頭啦﹐佢話可以俾你退番呢幅鏡的全費﹐用來依家買一幅新的鏡。

咁要幾耐？

兩日。

(咁至係答案架嘛大佬呀)

之後攪左一大輪﹐終於我要去到另一間分店度做。果面的 manager, 好得多。

唉

打完呢篇野﹐我都覺得好累。咁樣就俾個蠢過豬又寸爆到無輪的 manager 浪費左我好好的一個星期日﹐真係諗起都激心。

在晴朗的一天趕客

今朝早起身﹐試下用手提電話的鬧鐘收音機功能。鬧鐘功能呢家野其實就朝朝早都有用﹐但開收音機就未試過﹐原來只要插住個免提就用得。

九點正﹐收音機響起。我明明係眼訓到趴街﹐但都聽得一清二楚。雙眼完全唔想打開﹐但收音機播乜野都聽得一清二楚﹐神智清醒得不成比例。

正在播放的係 903. 從來未聽過「在晴朗的一天出發」﹐諗住聽下個內容係點﹐點知…

由九點正播完新聞之後一路都係廣告﹐再唔係就係廣告﹐之後跟住的都係廣告﹐終於聽到鄒凱光出來報天氣﹐然後又係廣告﹐之後都係廣告…

由九點正到九點十八分﹐都無節目內容聽過﹐我忍唔住﹐叫左一句「又係廣告！」﹐起身(一早就應該起身)﹐一怒之下熄Q左個電話﹐刷牙洗面。

我知道朝早真係電台的 Prime Time, 我想聽下你地個節目有咩內容者….使唔使咁呀。唔怪得我阿媽通常都係聽「晨光第一線」算數。

手機記載生活系列 (1)

旺角。這個位置﹐之前開過了很多間小食店﹐一直都做不下去。這個位置其實距離人流最旺的女人街不遠﹐而且對面就是好景。做小食店這種要求「旺丁不旺財」的業務﹐明明應該會很「好景」的。但不知為何從來都開了一些不受歡迎的小食店。

肥媽開店後﹐生意極好。我不太好鹵水內臟﹐但鹵水紅腸又未得其神韻﹐雖然只吃紅腸﹐但亦覺甚為美味。鹵水味道清香﹐不過鹹。

幾星期後﹐電視台有人推介此店﹐遂廣為人熟悉﹐就開始出現長長的人龍。看見了﹐不禁輕嘆。

因為要見工的關係﹐到尖沙咀的歷史博物館走一趟。相比起其他國家的博物館﹐香港的歷史博物館其實毫不遜色﹐甚至有過之而無不及。假日想不到好去處的﹐又或者不想再龜縮在家只懂打機的 (這情景好像見過…)﹐尖沙咀的歷史博物館是一個不錯的選擇。

西灣河太安樓東端﹐近二記餐廳﹐有一間生果店。店外有一隻懷了小貓的貓媽媽﹐快要分娩﹐胖得動也動不了﹐很可愛。

Delifrance 做推廣﹐一道煎魚一道炸蝦為主打。吃過之後﹐覺得不外如是。未夠飽﹐再跟友人叫一道「雪糕 + 心太軟」。竟然其味極佳﹐令人讚歎不已﹐至今仍回味無窮。

到超市「入貨」﹐貪便宜買了本地雞蛋﹐才發覺原來比家中原有的美國大雞蛋體形小很多。我還一時貪便宜﹐見它價錢便宜但雞蛋數目多了﹐不為意原來是小雞蛋。雪櫃的蛋格怎樣也安放不了那麼多雞蛋﹐還能怎樣？

雖然很麻煩﹐但還是燒紅了鑊﹐下了油﹐打了蛋漿﹐炒起蛋來。那邊廂取出小焗爐﹐放進家中僅有的牛油排包﹐慢慢的烘烤起來。

炒到一半﹐下一點牛油﹐頓時將一隻隻平凡的雞蛋變成炒蛋多士。雖然﹐跟天下無雙的「澳洲牛奶公司炒蛋多士」﹐仍相距極遠﹐但已吃得我滋味無窮。

油麻地廟街的美都餐室﹐裝潢非常懷舊﹐而且是真正年代久遠﹐而不是簇新扮懷舊。一直對裡面的飲食極感好奇﹐因為如此老字號的一間餐室﹐能屹立不倒﹐又能不換上時髦的裝潢﹐必定有其獨一無二的賣點。

照片中是美都的招牌菜焗排骨飯。的確甚特別﹐但除此之外﹐食物質素不見特色。

百思不解。

公司從來都不喜歡安排吃晚飯﹐因此從來都沒有 Annual Dinner, 只有 Annual Lunch。而剛巧兩位丹麥老闆都很喜歡日本菜﹐於是公司的傳統就是每一年的農曆年假後﹐找一天來全公司一起 Annual Lunch, 而基本上都一定會是日本菜。

我愛死這個傳統了。

今年我又有幸出現﹐能吃到這一餐盛宴。選址東角中心的「和三味」。大家每人都選擇了八百多元一位的和牛套餐﹐或接近二千元的二人套餐一起分享。另外還有鐵板燒(表演)﹐無限量的啤酒﹐和無限量的日本清酒 Sake。當中﹐以 Sake 最好喝﹐連我這個不太好酒的人﹐也覺得真的很好喝。原來真正的好酒﹐可以是如此易入喉﹐如此芳香﹐如此教人甘心為它醉。今日一嚐﹐令我對「 清酒」這兩個字﹐有了全新的評估。

在渣甸坊的「拖肥」

上海三六九的酸辣湯﹐醉雞。不覺得有何驚為天人之處。

一直見到網上有人讚賞 Puerto Rico 是近年少見好玩的策略性版圖遊戲﹐但鑑於缺乏耐性和理解能力低的問題﹐一直都看不懂它的說明書。在一知半解下與朋友嘗試玩一次﹐後果是不歡而散。後來到了 Jollythinkers 得到註場 tutor 指導﹐於一個小時之內速成了。

原來﹐San Juan 比較好玩。

相中是 What is Café 的「後備場」。原來於週末顧客人數眾多的時候﹐店主們會向旁邊的私人補習社租用他們的大課室﹐作為後援。檯上的一條條用電線膠紙貼出來的線﹐應該是用來分隔小朋友的 “User Area” 吧…真有趣

非常極度狐疑誰發明 / 發現這種東西的。

為甚麼是汽水不是茶？
為甚麼是可樂不是七喜？
為甚麼是薑不是蒜頭？
為甚麼是檸檬不是雪梨？
為甚麼是熱的不是冷的暖的？
怎麼可能想到煮汽水？
怎麼可能聯想到醫治傷風感冒？

一杯檸樂煲薑﹐跟餐加$9。老闆很體貼﹐一見到我這幅病貓樣子叫檸樂煲薑﹐就懂得問我﹕「要多薑的吧？」

果然﹐還未下班﹐感冒已經痊癒了八九成。強得沒話說。

比起其他香港地道飲食文化﹐除了很有代表性的蛋撻﹐街邊魚旦之外﹐怎能遺留了這一杯「檸樂煲薑」？蛋撻能治感冒嗎你說。

跟家人遠赴粉嶺雲泉仙館拜山﹐路遠迢迢得像行路上廣州一樣。午後共膳於齋堂﹐齋堂外有一隻外表醒目的白鸚鵡﹐原來在吃橙。鸚鵡會用一足支地一足吃橙尚不為奇﹐奇就奇在﹐你細看牠在吃一個部份？

猜對了﹐相中的牠尚未開始吃﹐牠在挑橙核。輕輕咬下去﹐用巨大的喙準確的咬著細小的橙籽﹐然後再吐出﹐面上再帶個不屑的表情﹐像是說「今天又是吃橙﹐天天都只是吃橙」。整個情景尤像「阿伯食橙」一樣﹐好不惹笑。

馬克王子不幸惹上窮兇極惡的牛蜱﹐一粒比米粒還小的牛蜱就一口吸掉三千元﹐好昂貴。

我還在讀小學的時候﹐鰂漁涌的幾條街還只是很寧靜的舊樓區﹐只有幾間車房﹐很地道的食品店﹐幾間廢紙回收﹐一兩間地產公司﹐僅此而已。

太古坊開幕以後﹐成功吸引很多大型跨國公司進駐﹐周邊的飲食﹐都慢慢地轉變起來。露天餐廳﹐高級餐廳﹐酒吧﹐漢堡包﹐咖啡店﹐拉麵﹐甚麼都有。從前只有碟頭飯的一條街﹐變了幾條街的小蘇豪。不只這一邊﹐近太古城的那一邊亦是。

經 Openrice 介紹﹐認識了這一間函館元祖拉麵。這一碗鹽味牛油拉麵﹐叫我上癮﹐吃完再吃。唯價錢要七十元一碗﹐亦似乎太貴。

GRM 大裝修

早幾日﹐趁自己有時間﹐同埋 Vincent 同基基仲係中大﹐就特意番左中大一趟。



一到中大﹐發覺原來係火車站落樓梯﹐已分岔成兩邊樓梯﹐新的一邊直接走到巴士站的方向﹐不必走到樓梯底的時候﹐來個 180 度轉身走去巴士站的方向。



另外﹐巴士站的工程已經完成。的確比之前實用得多。但依然不知道那一條通往火車軌但又不連接火車站的「斷橋」﹐到底想點。依然係無人知道果條野﹐起來係 Do What Spring 的。



一路走上 Dept., 見到沿路都有裝上鐵鏈﹐作為欄杆。但感覺好 separate。



番到 Dept, 發現所有地方都唔同晒﹐原來做大裝修。走廊係邊得幾靚﹐但係呢個落地大玻璃的樣﹐實在係太過「寒冷」。可能比較「透明」﹐但「透明」唔代表「開放」....Well, 我講緊乜野呢?

兩個 Master

走廊

General Office

潮州打冷‧憶中大食宵

其實我屋企附近係無得打冷的﹐我無記錯的話最近都要去到「香港大酒店」前面先會有一兩間。而且我屋企人通常都唔會選擇﹐因為阿媽的腸胃比較敏感﹐好容易肚瀉﹐所以都唔敢選擇「表面看起來」比較 dirty 的地方。

於是﹐我要到入到大學先比較多接觸潮洲打冷 / 大牌檔。

到今日﹐反而喜歡和朋友一起這樣吃飯。最實際的原因嘛﹐嘿﹐就是慳錢。三十五元一個小菜大大碟﹐十數元一支啤酒﹐五元一罐汽水﹐gathering 的「交際費」頓時變得很「鬆動」﹐想點甚麼菜就甚麼菜﹐不用想 budget 的問題。氣氛輕鬆﹐大吵大鬧﹐一樂也。

讀過中大的都知﹐我地係好鐘意去「食宵」的。同其他大學唔同﹐我地要食野一係就係大學入面食﹐若半夜三更食宵夜﹐就一定要有番咁上下「舟車勞頓」出到附近的 " satellite towns" 先有得食。咁於是我地通常都有兩大選擇：最近的火炭或者較遠的沙田。

沙田的「金沙角」我都喜歡﹐但是比較少去﹐反而火炭的「津津」我就去得多了。

一大班「出生入死」的同學﹐一起到「感覺粗豪」(instead of high class 的「感覺蘇豪」) 的大牌檔吃宵夜﹐每一碟都是熱氣得叫人喉嚨痛又勁爆暗瘡的小菜﹐但美味十足﹐再以一支又一支的啤酒送下﹐連女孩子都有豪氣干雲的感覺﹐大牌檔的一串串大燈泡﹐伴著露天餐桌上的月色﹐把洗過筷子的茶就這樣倒在地上﹐看著一條茶色的污水就這樣流到旁邊的小巴站﹐四周都是沒有人在工作的工廠大廈﹐想叫得多盡情就多盡情！旁邊的桌子也是中大人啊﹐跟他們打個招呼﹐也順便給那不認識的同學說聲「生日快樂！」。

一陣寒風吹來﹐就吃多一碗熱騰騰的蠔仔肉碎粥。還要多一點肉嗎？就來多一客沙拉骨或燒乳鴿。今晚就連蔬菜都不吃！讓不健康的一餐﹐不健康到底﹐吃壞人也是明天早上的事。你還記得的往事嗎﹐我叫破喉嚨的喊到餐檯對面的你﹐那管是那十數條椒鹽鮮魷已經令我喉嚨痛﹐但要叫就是要叫﹐就多喝一杯汽水﹐多喝一杯啤酒。來多一客炒蜆﹐誰的面前有一坐蜆殼堆出來的小山？來多一客煎蠔餅﹐鹹鹹的魚露配上鮮嫩的蠔肉﹐看來人人都要多一碗白飯才能好事成雙。

啊.........those were the days.....三年的大學﹐一眨眼就過了。三年﹐竟彷彿是上星期的事一樣。

對﹐我們該向前看。但往事多美好﹐如一切能重來一次﹐我怕我會暗暗感動得掉下淚來。

莫生氣

人 生 就 像 一 場 戲 ， 因 為 有 緣 才 相 聚 。
相 扶 到 老 不 容 易 ， 是 否 更 該 去 珍 惜 。
為 了 小 事 發 脾 氣 ， 回 頭 想 想 又 何 必 。
別 人 生 氣 我 不 氣 ， 氣 出 病 來 無 人 替 。
我 若 氣 死 誰 如 意 ， 況 且 傷 神 又 費 力 。
鄰 居 親 朋 不 要 比 ， 兒 孫 瑣 事 由 他 去 。
吃 苦 享 樂 在 一 起 ， 神 仙 羨 慕 好 伴 侶 。

要有多大的智慧﹐才能從自己的一生之中﹐歸納出這一首「莫生氣」呢？

而﹐又要有多大的智慧﹐才能從短短幾句之中﹐真正的參透人生的大智慧呢？

到最後﹐有幾多人能真的從此心如止水？

「莫生氣」的最大特點﹐就是完全不難明白。沒有甚麼古文﹐沒有甚麼大道理。很平白很淺俗的跟讀者說一個小故事﹐猶如一個老伯伯在公園內跟你「吹水」的一段話一樣。

泳季開鑼

泳季開鑼！

不嬲都幾鐘意維園個池﹐因為係"downtown"﹐夠晒方便﹐行過個維園就係銅鑼灣﹐行過維園對面就係中央圖書館。柴灣泳池都好﹐而且夠晒大﹐但係就真係比較「隔涉」。

星期五晚想游水﹐於是就不理氣溫驟降﹐走左去游水。一出地鐵站的時候其實都覺得有d 唔妥﹐點解咁涼的？頭先係屋企都唔係咁架﹐仲好暖下架喎…死火﹐d 水會唔會好凍呢？

入到更衣室﹐仲凍﹐直頭有d 想著番件風衣的感覺﹐寒氣好像悄悄的從四面八方偷襲過來。

有一個好好的 indicator 就是人數﹐加菲貓都有話「天氣一暖 d 傻佬就出動」﹐泳池都係同一個道理﹐天氣涼少少咋﹐人數已經激減﹐回暖番少少﹐就成個泳池都係人。

星期五晚﹐supposed to be 一個幾適合大家來游水的夜晚﹐平時呢個時候的摩利臣山室內池都仲有十幾廿人。

但今晚﹐似乎係五個人都無……我數均全場﹐真係得三四個人。一陣風吹過來﹐我更加驚一驚。「死火﹐係d 人未知維池已經開番？定係真係凍到飛起呢？」

換好泳褲﹐沖個身…拿﹐呢一 part 呢我就自問真係好有公德心的﹐我一定會沖完身先落水﹐唔會換完泳衣泳褲就飛奔落水。我最頂唔順其他人係﹐大佬呀﹐成身都係汗﹐有時仲可能成身都係香水古龍水汗水﹐然後個頭﹐又有髮泥髮gel, 跟住塊面﹐又可能有咩 cream 咁。跟住就跳落來喇。天呀﹐諗起都唔想游。

沖好身﹐行出去﹐一路上都無見到其他人﹐好似成個更衣室都係得我一個人咁。

行到出去﹐一轉角﹐就見到幾個「食蕉」坐埋一齊係度傾偈。個心已經涼一涼﹐跟住見到幾個救生員聚埋一齊傾偈﹐個心再涼一涼﹐跟住睇一睇池面﹐波平如鏡﹐一d 漣漪都無﹐再睇睇其他救生員的「高塔」﹐一個人都無……

睇睇個五十米大池﹐原來係一個人都無。Oh Shit…

眾位救生員見到明明可以大家吹吹水等放工﹐點知突然間走左條「磨碌」入來﹐破壞左佢地的美好時光﹐大家都死死地氣咁散場﹐然後各自回到自己的「高塔」之中。

呢一刻我的感覺﹐覺得好大壓力﹐好似攪到人地無得休息咁﹐但係諗深一層﹐其實佢都係無得吹水者﹐而且就算我唔游﹐佢都未有得放工住架喇。唔……要學識唔使自責。其實俾左區區十九蚊就有得包起成個泳池﹐係我好彩添。

跟住連慢動作拉筋都費時﹐人人都啤實晒咁﹐好醜怪架嘛。好彩之前係屋企拉左。落水。腳趾碰到池水的一刻﹐已經心知不妙﹐但係事到如今﹐無得番轉頭﹐死就死啦。收回腳趾﹐一野跳落去五米深的那邊﹐深水炸彈來啦！

好~~~~~~~~~~~~L~~~~~~~~~~~凍~~~~~~~~~~~~呀~~~~~~~~~~~~

天呀！好凍呀好凍呀好凍呀…… (下省一萬個「好凍」) 想像唔到竟然可以係凍成咁….簡直係…天呀好凍…簡直係都唔知自己想講乜野﹐個腦都諗唔到野﹐手腳再唔快快脆郁的話﹐就會凍到唔識郁！

時不宜遲﹐我急急地游﹐一游﹐水就開始從身邊流動﹐輕輕抹過身體﹐帶走更多熱量。就這樣挨過頭二百米。

後二百米﹐已經開始冷僵﹐動作越來越遲緩﹐而且開始進入熱身後的疲累階段﹐但因為身體已經熱過身﹐還可以。

再後二百﹐很疲累﹐很冷﹐棄蛙轉自由﹐以提升了的速度把神智帶回來。

再後二百﹐極疲累﹐開始進入 hang 機狀態﹐拉車情況嚴重﹐身體開始習慣水溫和運動量﹐但已經很累了。拉車…再拉車…還是拉車…之前看過電視節目﹐說如果進入低溫狀態﹐人的動作和思想都會變得很遲緩…此刻﹐完全了解。

幸好來了兩個小孩子﹐一邊嚷著「好凍」一邊玩耍﹐不再是自己一個人包場。

最後二百﹐以極「管 pea 」的方法但求達標地「游埋佢」﹐最後再加多個一d 都唔放鬆的 swim down 一百﹐補番之前每一池都偷左的幾米去﹐叫做有個交代﹐然後就拿拿聲閃人﹐好似廣播所講的「從速上水更衣」。

終於都可以係花灑下沖熱水的感覺﹐真係好幸福﹐好有 “I survived it!” 的感覺。

簡直想好似全智賢的可樂廣告一樣﹐用唔咸唔淡的廣東話講一聲「爽呀」。

那一個萬物唯我的

不要怕別人取笑你﹐因為那是不負責任的謊言而已。

「騎呢」﹐是因為有「正常」做映襯；「正常」﹐是因為大部份都是如此；所以如果你不 fit into 呢個「人人都是如此」的框框裡面﹐就會引起其他人的反感。

有次看 National Geographic 的節目﹐講 Taboo 的。其中一句﹐言簡意賅。”What is ‘Normal’ is actually socially constructed”.

---===---

反事要懂得一個平衡點。古人早己知道「中庸之道」。兩者結合就是「偏離同不脫離」。

有自信和自我是一件值得鼓勵的事﹐但過了火位就不會獲得肯定。

---===---

「活著我該做什麼？我生活的意義是什麼？」

「衝突及對抗，戰爭才有新生。」

「古時無知，創造神、雷電、火山、颱風，人們無法解釋，就用神解釋。術士、巫師、修士、教宗，有代神說話，統治階層成形。統治階層不能容忍人們對神的懷疑，這減低其合法性、認受性。

「人生的目的是什麼？」

聽起上來是很狂人的思想嗎？老實說﹐我讀了七年張記﹐更叫人咋舌的說話我都聽過。這幾句﹐何足道哉。

老實說﹐每一句說話分拆開來﹐都沒有甚麼大不了。思疑生命的意義嗎﹐誰沒想過？戰爭才有新生嗎﹐人人都知但不是人人都會這樣想。人生的目的不清晰嗎？哪一個香港人不是。

第三節﹐其實我看不出有甚麼端倪。我是一個對宗教很懷疑的人﹐第三節的「古時無知」說話﹐我 (& 很多人) 一早就想過 / 知道。沒啥特別。

---===---

其實我們每一個人﹐都有性格分裂。

---===---

近日奇怪的新聞接踵而來﹐有感而發。

過冷河

今朝好早﹐阿媽就過來拍醒我。你估佢問我野？「喂﹐今朝好凍呀﹐你夠唔夠被？夠唔夠暖？」

...唔夠就一早凍醒左喇...使乜你拍先醒喎...

今朝十一度咋喎

你大我咩十一度﹐我都不知幾暖。伸隻手出去 feel 下﹐我說我估大約十五度左右之嘛。再趕她出去。

一小時後起身﹐當場凍僵左。立即來個「臘腸卷變身」 - 將所有仍殘留著我體溫的被子﹐統統卷在身上﹐成條臘腸卷咁行出廳。

回到床上﹐臘腸卷伸出一手拿住手機﹐熟練地以單手拔除充電線﹐解鎖﹐1878200, 其他選項﹐開啟揚聲器﹐1 字選廣東話﹐收回冷得快要掉出來的手臂。一條巨型臘腸卷在床上。靜聽。

「上午九時﹐天文台﹐錄得氣溫﹐十一度﹐濕度....」

真係十一度呀。向來鐘意「作大」的媽子今次無昆水。光然大吾。

望著那條幾乎透光的黑色西褲﹐懊惱著自己為何一條冬裝西褲 (東張西望?!) 都不捨得買。打開衣櫃﹐找到一件沒有人認領的 fleece 外套, Bossini﹐我自初中之後都沒有買 Bossini。但 XXL 的 size, 全屋又只有我這個肥佬「撐得起」。誰買的？問均全家﹐無人認領。老實不客氣﹐我領養。

再找﹐找到一條 Puma 運動褲﹐外是 polyester 內是魚網的那種。「趕」寒交逼﹐不得已﹐穿在裡面「打底」﹐頂住先。將褲腳位置的拉鏈都拉好﹐還是怕走起路來會在褲腳位置「露底」。Anyway, Puma 都是黑色的﹐露了也不顯眼。整裝待發。Ready Set Go

走到街上﹐果然很冷﹐但我是第一次﹐在這麼冷的天氣底下﹐一點都不覺得冷。如來一直以來的差別﹐就是在雙腿。一直以來都沒有重視雙腿的保暖﹐上身穿多少都於事無補。雙腿一暖﹐和上身的暖﹐連在一起﹐就真的與別不同。

午飯過後﹐經飽餐和四處走走﹐「底褲」似乎變得 over 了﹐回到 office 乾脆到 washroom 爽快的脫掉。

天文台說明天已經是 13-17 度。後天更是 17-19度。今天的冷﹐恰好就是廣府俗語說的「過一過冷河」而已。

一期一會一人一票一分鐘決定

昨晚朋友飯局聚會﹐幸得朋友「記者朱」點醒﹐林一峰將會有一個類似「梁祝」的大 production 今日開始發售門票﹐才能成功搶票。

Lunch 過後﹐將信將疑的走到通利琴行﹐視線在放滿表演節目的小冊子上面遊走﹐都不見「一期一會」的宣傳片子﹐原來在櫃面。

不必細問﹐貼出來的告示表明最便宜的 $180 已經全部售罄。Oh dear. 再看。$280 的﹐所有晚場都已經售罄。Oh Dear! 現在不過是公開發售後的數小時 Only! 問問售票員﹐即使 $280 的下午場﹐亦已經坐得離台很遠。$400 的...實在是太昂貴。

猶豫不決﹐心緒煩亂﹐更覺得身後排隊的人群﹐似是用著極不耐煩的目光瞪著我。用了一分鐘打給另一朋友問他可有興趣。然後﹐買了兩張下午場的 $280。

快達票不愁沒生意﹐於是錢賺得越多越瘋狂﹐居然想出親身到櫃面買票﹐無論甚麼票都要收每張 $5 的手續費。不是每次交易﹐是「很公平」的每張 extra $5 !

我 DKLM HGC, 佢已經獨市架喇﹐仲要收d 咁「榨乾人」的錢。想點呀佢﹐政府出下聲好喎。

Ole 退休遊香港

好 Q 眼訓﹐長話短說。

Ole 退休。之前他應該已經去過多個 office, 他跟我們說過﹐最喜歡的城市就是香港。他尤喜歡拿香港和日本來比較。他說﹐日本很多地方都沒有英文﹐人民又普遍不懂得英文﹐禮貌是極好的可是他們根本就不知他想要甚麼。香港四處都有人懂英文﹐而且比較便宜﹐又有很多郊遊徑供他們兩夫婦一起遠足 (你幾時聽過一對六十過外的丹麥夫婦要來香港行山的？行足幾日喎！)﹐而且人也較大陸文明。

今次他退休後到香港旅遊順便「義助」HKG Office 一些事務。Lunch 時大家一起到陶源酒家吃飯﹐很美味﹐也沒有多提到公事 (但畢竟多多少少總有)﹐這才是一餐飯裡面最「美味」的。一檯同事有老有嫩﹐有 Senior 有 Junior﹐有人有鬼﹐竟然可以不提公事﹐這一餐飯當真人間極品。

他去的地方﹐大概是真的很「遊客」﹐所以我們都覺得奇怪.....可能是因為我們自己根本都不會有興趣去的了。例如：

上環海味街 (他問我為何每一店門前都有很多很大的龜殼﹐我介紹他吃「龜O膏」﹐他當然不敢吃)﹐

在廟街大排檔飲酒 (但甚麼都不吃)﹐

黃大仙廟和志蓮淨苑﹐

行山入石澳 (無錯﹐他說行兩三小時 only, "it's so relaxed and easy")﹐

還有去南丫島「看」別人吃海鮮 ("I think it looks so expensive" "You can LOOK through it's expensive? You're da man, Ole! They really are!")﹐

然後到鯉魚門吃海鮮 ("I arrived and looked at the place and I said 'No way I'm not going to eat in this place!'...but the food turned out to be surprisingly good...though expensive, really" 你都算識食)

仲有讚西貢風光如畫。

都幾識搵地方呀佢。

Well, anyway, 他退休了﹐我想我可能最後一次見他。除非我去歐洲的時候刻意到丹麥探望他吧。

What's the point?

以前讀書﹐英文程度一直都是停滯不前﹐於是學會看英文電視。看著看著發現其實有很多英文節目都很好看。於是漸漸地﹐書本﹐字典﹐notes 都離我而去﹐只得電視。電視台選播甚麼﹐就間接地影響了我學了甚麼英文。

其中一句﹐叫做 “What’s the point?”

我看電視﹐極少會因為看到了不懂的說話而節目過後巴巴的走去查字典﹐一來懶﹐二來查完都很易忘記﹐三來家中字典太殘﹐不想查。於是﹐what’s the point (sometimes with “of doing something”) 在美國電視節目中給予我的印象和「用途」就通常是用來貶低﹐或挑戰其他人的行為和想法的一句句子。於是多年看電視的經驗﹐讓我知道 what’s the point 是別人看不起你 / 看不過眼的時後說的話。

語言是如此奇怪﹐若然大家都不能對同一句句子有相類的共識﹐就會產生衝突 (不是打架…..)。

昨日上班的時候依舊無聊﹐登上 MSN 「待撩」(不是笑談旺角話﹐別弄錯)。有朋友問我寫 blog 的事情。我說現在造 blog 很容易﹐一個個 template 陳列於此尤如罐頭﹐一開即有。他問我「why do you blog?」

很哲學的問題﹐但我有一個「很好」的習慣 – 將所有可以很複雜很哲學很深奧很有討論餘地的問題﹐都給予一個很簡單﹐可能是低質素甚至是惡搞的答案﹐以圖換取轉移話題的機會﹐避免不經意地因為越踩越深而「出口傷人」。

我給類似的答案, “Just want to share my life with others, find someone to appreciate my miserable life, and to find someone’s life which I might find interesting as well…you know, just sharing and finding”

我都覺得這個答案幾正常呀…

佢反問, ”What’s the point?”

即係咁﹐老實說﹐第一時間的反應﹐真的有感受到些微的 offended. 因為這句說話所帶出的貶義之意實在太深深刻進我的腦袋裡面了。類似是被挑戰的問道「有乜意思姐」﹐「做來為乜喎」。

我猜他應該沒有那麼重的貶義的﹐我自己多心而已。其實是小事一單﹐若然今天不是看其他網站的時候聯想到的話﹐我亦已經忘記了。

What’s the point? No point la.
No Point? You are 超低能!
No, I am not 超低能, I am 勁攪笑!

金豬初一 喜氣洋洋

年初一﹐恭喜發財。今年係金豬年﹐祝大家發似豬頭﹐祝自己豬運亨通﹐祝各位肥似豬嘜。

點解今年叫做「金」豬年的呢？唔明…但人人都係咁講﹐我又跟住講。

每一年的年初一﹐節目大致上都係咁…….又係 lunch 去祖母家拜年兼吃飯。之後馬拉松式拜年﹐touring around HK KLN NT。

以前過年﹐阿爸阿媽好著重。好多野﹐都執得好緊。我以為﹐人人的農曆新年都好似我咁。

之前﹐就一定要好好執乾淨屋企。

一定要有全盒﹐裡面放好多種新年的食品。例如極難食的糖蓮藕。

一定要有「樣樣有」的一紮菜﹐雖然我過左咁耐都攪唔清楚﹐到底一紮「樣樣有」﹐係「有乜野」係裡面﹐各自代表的兆頭又係乜野。

一定有新的佈置。床頭一定有阿媽準備好的一封利是﹐兩個桔﹐一件年糕仔﹐用來迮年。

年三十晚一定會有盞燈係開通宵﹐阿媽話係「長明燈」﹐類似的寓意係將來一年﹐呢頭家的人將會年年燈火長明。燈火呢家野﹐係中國人的傳統文化中通常都扮演人丁和年歲的角色。例如添男丁就會係祠堂多點一燈﹐年歲將盡就叫「油盡燈枯」等等。

年初一唔准洗頭﹐唔准掃地。打爛玻璃都要用手逐粒逐粒執番起。

唔准講個死字。四字都唔准。咁點叫「四姑媽」？「試」姑媽 (汗)

唔准垂頭喪氣。就算之前行年宵行到朝早六點﹐執平貨買平花﹐今朝八點先訓十點就起身食 lunch, 都要精神奕奕。

一定要著新衫﹐仲一定要勁 formal 咁裇衫西褲打 tie 黑皮鞋 gel 行晒個蛋撻頭 (但記住年初一係唔准洗頭架喎, even though 你成頭都係 gel)

到我讀高中的時候﹐先可以開始自己 keep 番自己的利是錢﹐更年幼的時候是全數「上繳中央」的。所以我細個的時候﹐除左會得到對我來說是天文數字的利是錢之外﹐我一d 都唔期待農曆新年。

但係…….唔知係咪因為阿爸阿媽年紀大左﹐睇開左﹐或者唔夠我大聲 (嘿嘿)﹐所以對我已經無咁堅持以前的種種習慣。

我覺得今年最大的突破﹐係我無著裇衫西褲﹐重要係著Quiksilver白裇衫 (very casual 有晒花有晒字果種) 加一條牛仔褲 (農曆年大忌) 的時候﹐阿爸竟然無黑口黑面。神蹟。

至於洗頭呢樣野……我一早就唔理。掃地都係。

但係呢…..我 feel 到我反而係 keep 住會叫佢地唔好講個死字果個囉。好似今日咁呢﹐我都叫過阿爸阿媽唔好講個死字呀﹐新正頭呀。出門口之前又同我阿媽講「個領飛晒出來咁點見得人架」。

果一下的感覺﹐好奇怪。十年前的今日﹐呢份「任務」係我父母對我呢隻奀皮仔做的﹐十年後的今日﹐竟然係角色對調﹐由我來 uphold 呢d 咁「娘」的 traditions. 同佢地講 「年初一呀﹐唔好提人地阿邊個邊個的邊個﹐同埋人地的咩咩咩呀」咁…媽說：「得喇﹐好長氣呀你」

Hehe…

歲月無聲消逝。

潮吹花市

已經係年三十晚﹐但係我都係未行花市。係好少有的事﹐因為我本身係好鐘意行花市的……以前啦講緊。

因為今年好似無乜時間去行花市﹐農曆年前又無假期﹐於是得番今晚。仲有就係要買衫。受父母傳統思想影響﹐總覺得要買番件新衫過年先似樣的。於是變左下午趕買衫﹐夜晚趕團年﹐深夜趕花市﹐清晨趕番屋企訓覺。

最開心係買左件 Quiksilver 的減價貨。三件再八折﹐最不同的地方係只限減價貨三件先有得八折﹐正價貨反而係無論點玩都無得折﹐少見﹐清貨之決心路人皆知。套用 N 年前容少的語句：「型狠爽快死」地買足三件﹐不過五舊幾。全部原價？我諗過千都似。

趕團年﹐盆菜。老實講﹐無乜野食。唔飽。

趕花市﹐十二點正的時候入去﹐逼到想死。如果拉登撞架機落維園﹐相信死亡人數可媲美 911…….唔﹐咁講好似衰左少少。

咁換個講法﹐如果呢個時候維園裡面一人痾一篤屎﹐垂直疊起應該可以堆到回歸紀念塔咁高 (或者咁似)。

我都算一米七幾。但係入到去都完全呼吸唔到。整番首謝檸檬的「非走不可」俾自己先得。

搭下電車﹐食下海皇粥店﹐唔夠皮﹐再食下麥記的板燒衰女包餐﹐終於都飽。望望錶﹐三點三 (Oh, Tea time~!!!)﹐係時候試下再衝鋒。

入到去﹐都係呼吸唔到﹐但比較鬆動了。

今晚吹氣物件的風氣大盛﹐係因為舊年的吹氣「鐵頭功」同「摺凳」都居然大受歡迎。有道是「食髓知味」﹐今年人人都攪吹氣公仔﹐乜 Q 野實物都變成吹氣公仔。係每位消費者都希望用最少的錢買最「大」件的收成品的思想底下﹐基本上乜野吹氣公仔都好賣得。其中﹐我覺得「奪命鉸剪腳」係最似咸濕吹氣公仔的……

又一年。我的金豬終於都來到喇！

Nokia 6300

星期五﹐年廿九

近放工的時候老豆打電話來話要食銅記沙爹王。我好奇怪﹐聽日就係星期六兼年三十晚仲要係紅日﹐今晚條街當然係逼到痴肺﹐銅記更加係「奧賣桔」地逼﹐點解向來怕等位的老豆話要出來食呢？原來係因為細佬要買電話。

因為阿媽慣性遲到的關係﹐所以呢餐飯食左足足個半鐘﹐食到左右兩邊的檯都走左幾轉了。之後細佬買電話堅持﹐拿﹐係堅持呀下﹐要買Nokia 3250 的手機。原因係因為佢的朋友用開﹐而佢又玩慣左有感情咁話喎。In case 你唔知邊部係 3250, 就係有得扭腰果部….個底可以扭到180 度果部。

好唔容易搵到衛訊係銅記的店﹐入到去買。佢地話「無晒貨架喇」

我心諗「咁大部機都賣斷市？無理由卦…佢個樣好 clumsy 架喎…」問道：「仲會唔會翻貨？」

Sales: 「都唔知…應該都唔會架喇…因為隻機的銷情好差﹐都無乜人買的。Nokia 都因此早已停產 3250…」

下？原來係咁！我仲以為…原來係相反

但我細佬堅持要呢部。

後來問起原來佢要一部影到相的手機。但係唔會要來聽歌。又唔會常講電話喎。

咁直接買部 DC 咪一了百了囉。佢嫌麻煩喎。

俾錢的阿媽例牌的回應係「由得佢啦」。

細佬知道有邊度仲有得賣。我地去到﹐佢地話最新出左隻 Nokia 6300 喎。無論係顏色﹐聽歌﹐仲外型﹐統統都 so much better than 3250…連果度的老闆都差d 想話我細佬戇居…只係差在未講出口﹐取而代之的係「好奇怪」﹐「R 爆頭都諗唔明」等等的用詞。

果個老世講的野﹐我明﹐我好明白添。但俾錢的唔係我﹐用機的都唔係我﹐我盡力講過﹐佢地兩個唔聽我講都無法。

老世拿住部機出來 dem 左五分鐘俾我細佬睇﹐佢拿係手上面把玩一陣﹐臉上一幅「原來天外有天」的樣子﹐然後我問部機推出市場幾耐﹐老世話不到十天。

咁部機真係好薄﹐好靚﹐個 mon 的色真係靚爆﹐成個樣都好唔錯….最緊要﹐佢係比 3250 仲平仲新囉。撞鬼。

眼見二少爺已經蠢蠢欲動﹐阿太后又一幅想拿拿聲俾錢走人的樣子﹐本王當然要立刻叫大家都冷靜下先。我同二少講﹐決定係你做的﹐但係錢係太后俾的﹐你都要盡番個責任﹐做個格價﹐睇下其他地方會唔會有平d 的 offer, 會唔會行多兩步到過隔離鋪﹐原來就已經平左幾舊水﹐或者送多張 1GB memory card 咁。始終依家講緊買幾千蚊一部手機﹐仲要係部十分鐘前先「初次邂逅」的手機﹐仲要第一次係呢間鋪頭買。

要行多兩間格下價﹐係咪好正常先？唔好話手機﹐好多比較貴的耐用品﹐都應該要格下價﹐right?

Sorry, 阿二少唔係咁諗。佢話﹐唔使煩喇﹐唔諗喇﹐唔格價喇﹐就要佢啦。

我都仲係覺得咁貴的手機真係應該要睇多幾間先得所以正想開口講d 乜野的時候說時遲那時快太后就已經俾左錢前後不過十五分鐘盛惠二千六呀唔該格清一聲收銀機已經傳來收好錢的聲音

果真技驚四座。本王當場呆左。

…………..唔知係因為部手機實在太吸引﹐所以唔即刻買唔得; 定係因為d 錢唔係佢的﹐所以根本唔使諸多顧慮; 定係因為佢俾個老世 sale 得好行﹐把持不住; 定係因為佢真係覺得格價好煩﹐所以費事煩; 定係因為呢個阿哥實在太煩﹐係度阿之阿左嘈生晒﹐所以不如快刀斬亂麻求其要左佢算。

-----=======--------------========-------

有朋友講得好。

呢個唔係錢唔錢的問題﹐唔係手機定洗衣機的問題﹐而係教育的問題。

作為父母﹐應當身教﹐但自己都唔去做﹐點能夠教到下一代識得「知慳識儉」呢回事呢。

所謂「小富由儉﹐大富由天」﹐本王雖然都係國庫空虛﹐但起碼都有幾擔金元寶﹐未至於赤字﹐亦從不須要借國債。節約﹐不論是節約能源﹐節約物慾﹐還是節約金錢﹐都是從生活細微處入手﹐方成大業。

Steve Jobs - Find what you love

謝過 On-Dog 兄。小弟不問自取閣下此篇演詞。

唔係話要你睇完之後就有把火燒著﹐要走在街上燃燒自己 (自焚？)﹐但起碼﹐睇完之後會感動到你的﹐會令你有種想沖番個涼然後出到來係一個脫胎換骨整埋容的「新我」。

好似我睇完的感覺咁樣。

------------------=================-----------------


Stanford Report, June 14, 2005
'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents’ garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and Polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

「唔好話俾人知呀...」

你有無試過講呢句說話？通常係講完一d 野之後﹐你可能

怕對方會洩漏秘密; 你可能怕對方唔明白內容有幾重要;

你可能想好好控制「知情者的範圍」;

你可能講完之後後悔剛才一時之快想婉轉地向對方說 Ctrl+Z (即係 Undo) 但已無可挽回;

可能其實佢係你好好的朋友﹐你好想分享俾佢聽但又驚佢一時口快「令你衰晒」;

你可能覺得佢會好似你一樣周圍同人講完之後加句己經回頭太難的 disclaimer : 唔好同人講呀;

你可能有極強的控制慾想俾佢知但唔俾佢講咁樣的形式來恐嚇佢「你試下講出去呀拿」;

你可能只係想試下佢對你有幾服從﹐或好心d﹐同你有幾老友; 之餘此類

但實情係﹐我個人認為﹐如果我係唔想話俾人聽的話﹐我就一定唔會講﹐我會講的﹐我遲早都會講。我唔係話我唔會用呢個 condition, 但係我會比較少用。因為我知道呢個世界上﹐講真﹐口密的人﹐少之又少。

所以我好多時都係一係就講﹐一係就唔講。好似我想走呢件事﹐我完全無同過身邊的同事提過。雖然我呢個 blog 係人人都知我係邊個 Tommy 的日記﹐唔似得其他 blogger 咁樣要刻意 go anonymous, the risk is 同事亦有可能從一d 我估唔到的途徑找到我呢個 blog….

但基本上我每一次我同佢地講野都會克制住自己唔提任何有關想 quit 的事。即便是剛過去的 Annual Dinner, 都講到好似好期待明年再去咁。

好假呀可？

To be or not to be honest 呢家野﹐我係好細個的時候已經反覆思疑過好多次﹐亦經歷過好多次改變。因為我好細個的時候係 very honest 的﹐仲 very 戇居添﹐人地套我講乜野都會原原本本咁講晒出來。

多次改變﹐由 very honest 變到 very dishonest, 再變反 honest and open。大大少少都 shift 過幾次﹐比得上地球史上數次的南北磁極大逆轉一樣咁 dramatic。但其實來來去去都係因為兩個 condition...

"Open vs. Defensive"

針無兩頭利﹐你做哪一邊的人﹐都係有賺有賠﹐賺左唔係必然﹐賠左唔怨得人﹐只怪自己「技不如人」﹐好彩的﹐平手離場﹐and at the same time 應知進退。

忍唔住講秘密俾人聽﹐或忍唔住講大話﹐或忍唔住爆另一個人的是非﹐遲早都要本利歸還。

Open 得太多﹐我會覺得好無安全感﹐好無「自我」﹐太依賴其他人來 confirm 自己的 identity 同 idea。Defensive 得太多﹐好乞人憎﹐我照鏡見到自己個樣都想爆粗鬧 9 自己個種。

中國人一早就話「中庸」呢個 term 其實係做人之道。但如果大家玩過平衡木都知﹐平衡緊的狀態﹐其實先係最唔穩定。果一個 moment 其實先係拉得最「衡」﹐最舉步為艱的。反而你放棄式地側去一邊﹐你會感受到萬有引力拉動著你﹐無比的快感。不再顧慮﹐不再猶豫﹐還管甚麼「這邊過一點﹐那邊移一點」那麼煩人。

高速飛墮﹐萬物唯我。

然後﹐散落於肢離破碎之間。一切都會來得非常突然﹐沒有時間防備﹐沒有時間修補。

沒有時間後悔。

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Choose your path

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…唔係﹐我無野呀。不過唔知點解突然間諗起呢樣野﹐好想將我的諗法講出來﹐咁樣之嘛。Blog 就係咁用架喇。唔通你無拿拿企上 Times Square 個鐘樓度講呢番話﹐再行番落來扮無野咩﹐痴線。

講開又講喎﹐麥記依家換緊d Sanrio 公仔呢﹐隻馬騮仔真係幾鬼可愛喎。