let's get lost

世事似乎總是如此，也不過就幾個月的工夫，記憶中的小小女孩又變了模樣，出落得益加惹人憐愛疼惜，童言童語更是讓人忍俊不禁。為樂樂四歲生日獻上衷心祝福，特此一記。

夏天彷彿已經離開台北，可又不是很乾脆，身上的T-shirt依然絲毫不顯突兀。十月末回到台中，更能感受這個季節的負隅頑抗，就這樣，汗珠微沁中，走進朋友的朋友新開的小夏天，吃碗越南牛肉河粉，想像那個一度被稱為安南的地方。

重見天日或許也可如此體認，秋雨沒完沒了地糾纏一整個星期之後，迎接這個可以肆意賴床的十一月星期天早晨的竟是滿屋子亮晃晃的陽光。天氣晴了，我的心情也是。

幾乎可以確定，再訪東京或京都均非短期內可能實現的旅程，與友人相約來到欣匠遂顯得理所當然，不但口腹之欲得以充份滿足，心情上也很日本。
吧台後的主廚一面專心刀手並用，一面親切地與客人交談，介紹食材的種類。不過，即使知道了一些魚的名字，只負責吃的我們也並沒增長多少智慧。反正重要的是，因為廚藝與新鮮的相得益彰，微笑浮現並停留在吧台這一方的每一張臉上。

今年中華民國慶祝第一個百年誕辰，而我們則在九月初晴好宜人的一天，來到台中的中山招待所，為家中的長者歡慶七十大壽，也算喜上加喜。
基本上，中山招待所與孫先生素無淵源，毫不相干。店家取名如是，無非是假托建築物本身乃刻意仿照宋慶齡女士在上海的故居而建造，試圖憑空喚起一絲當年十里洋場的氛圍，甚或一點歷史的想像。
多少年過去了，已經沒多少人還在為主義爭執，歷史證明小老百姓要的無非就是安居樂業，而竟能偶爾不太過分地奢侈一番，更是莫大的幸福了。

無論是否自認鐵道迷，南投集集車站都絕對值得一訪。五年級生與準二十一世紀新人類當能各得其樂，或緬懷，或想像。
Jiji Station in Nantou County deserves a visit no matter if the traveler is a railway fan or not. Sheer fun awaits the 50-something generation and teenagers alike as one can either reminisce or imagine.
當然，集集綠色隧道更是不容錯過。車行至此，滿眼的綠，且不妨停下來信步片刻，舒暢滿足不在話下。
Of course, the “Green Tunnel” at Jiji is neither to be missed. Bathing in a sea of green, motorists are invited to stop awhile and stroll a bit. It promises to be a totally relaxing and satisfying moment.
坐上集集支線的小火車，彷彿穿越時空回到在台灣老山線上搖晃的歲月，可是這種遐想迅即嘎然而止，終點車埕到了。
Upon getting aboard a train running on the Jiji Branch Line, you will readily have the impression of being taken back in time to days when passengers swung away long hours on the old North-South Rail. But there’s little time being carried away. It’s time to get off at the terminal, Checheng.
上網搜尋後才知道，遠在日治時代的車埕一度是重要的蔗糖轉運站，今日的的車埕站則是經歷921地震的嚴重毀損後，由日月潭國家風景區管理處使用原木重建而成。走到好似一條台北舊巷的車埕老街，旅人可以隨意在街上的小飯館坐下來歇息片刻，或者就是胡亂走走，走回從前。
I learned of the following after some surfing on the Web: Checheng used to be a sugarcane transshipment point when Taiwan was still a Japanese colony; today’s Checheng Station was a timber reconstruction by the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration in the wake of the devastating earthquake on September 21, 1999. The old, and seemingly only, street at Checheng looks just like one of those timeworn lanes in Taipei. You can either sit down and have a bite at one of the small eateries there or just walk around and probably go back to the past.
求學時代就到過溪頭不只一回，舊地重遊，並不覺得有甚麼太大的改變，除了上大學池拱橋竟然要排隊，以及偶爾可以察覺陸客的身影，這在當年自然難以想像。
I remember going to Xitou quite a few times during my student days. But I did not seem to detect many changes in my latest revisit. Maybe except for the need to stand in a queue for crossing the landmark arch bridge that stretches across the University Pond and the occasional appearance of some tourists from the China mainland. The latter is surely a sight unimaginable just a couple of decades ago.
空中走廊當然也是新熱點，人的位置換了，截然不同的視角成為可能，仰望慣了，何妨試試俯看。
The Overhead Corridor is another new attraction. A new perspective is now made possible as the spectator is given a new vantage point. While we have been used to looking up, maybe it’s not a bad idea to look down sometimes.

既能滿足口腹之欲，又可悅目，美食二字方能當之不愧，此乃眾人在2011年8月這個午後再次驗證的結論。
Delicacies deserve to be called such only if they please both the palate and eye. That is a fact we reaffirmed one more time on a certain afternoon of August 2011.
談笑間就輕易來到這樣一處巷弄轉角的美食殿堂，這當然是台北人必須心懷感謝的幸福。
Getting to this fine French restaurant in the midst of alleyways is only a few minutes’ walk from the Dazhi MRT Station. For this easily accessible joy, we should be grateful.

最近讀到的夏天場景是哈波•李筆下的梅崗城:「夏天是什麼都好吃，是在一片灼熱焦乾中出現的滿眼繽紛」。然而對台北人而言，夏天豈能沒有植物園，豈能沒有池中盡展芳華的荷花。
One variant of summer I came across recently is to be found in Harper Lee’s Maycomb, the setting for her To Kill a Mockingbird: Summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape. For many of us who live in Taipei, summer is often reminiscent of the city’s botanical garden dating back to the late 19th century. Its Lotus Pond in full bloom is always a landmark of the season.
來到荷花池畔，心中正惦念著一親芳澤，卻也不得不承認，陽光確是一種無可或缺的條件，荷花的絕美方有可能。甚至，綠葉也可理直氣壯地置身前台，聚光於己。
Anyone who strolls to the Lotus Pond picturing in his mind at least some blossoms in full bloom will have to acknowledge a simple fact. Sunlight is an indispensable element to accentuate the beauty of the flowers. Even green leaves may no longer remain a mere foil; they also deserve their moment under the spotlight.

幾度興沖沖地想捕捉一池盛開中的蓮與荷，總未能如願。轉念一想，既然花不會總正好綻放絢爛，何妨換一種心情，欣賞花開前後的平淡。
My recent attempts to capture a pond of lotus in full bloom on the camera mostly proved unsuccessful. But one should not expect to stay lucky all the time. Maybe a different perspective is in order; other rewarding sights may await the discerning eye if blossoming is yet to materialize or already a thing of the past.

【幻燈片Slideshow Miki at NTU】
始終，吾家有女初長成只能是一種揣摩，一種無從印證的想像，直到去美多年來台小住的乾女兒翩然現身。怎麼昨日猶抱在懷裡的小不點，眼前卻已是近乎難以置信的玉立婷婷，原來荳蔻年華即是此等引人悸動，青春真好。
The possibility of bearing witness to a baby girl grow into a teenager up and close has always stayed outside our reach—an imaginary process beyond our verification. Not until the sudden appearance of our nominal daughter who has traveled from the U.S. to Taiwan for a brief stay, that is. That baby girl seemingly still in our arms yesterday is now a gorgeous, almost comprehension-defying presence that leaves us stupefied. Alas, how wonderful it is to be a teenager!
又一次回到自己年輕時做夢的地方，如今那夢早已模糊，而妳，夢才正要開始。
This is where I used to fancy what I might become, accomplish and own in the years ahead. But those dreams have long faded. Your dreams, however, are just about to unfold.