寫部落格的速度，似乎隨著秋天的腳步而慢了下來。和前一陣子發狠用力寫相較之下，九月還真是乏善可陳。秋涼人懶？說穿了，其實是稿子來不及趕。典型「不到黃河心不死」的心態，看一下手邊的書，再翻一翻月曆，如果不卯起來趕稿，手上這本書大概不可能如期交件，加上多了一台鋼琴來瓜分剩餘無幾的時間，總是得捨掉一些原有的活動，在網站上爬文的時間自然就少了點。
My blogging speed is slowing down along with the coming of autumn. Comparing to the “production” of the passed few months, September is just slow. The autumn atmosphere makes people lazy? Well, honestly speaking, it’s all because I’m way behind my working schedule. Looking at the book and then the calendar, I really have to speed up, otherwise I won’t be able to hand it in by the end of the month. Besides, there’s a piano to “divide” the very few leisure time I’ve got, I just have to give up something to gain something… So the surfing time and writing time is sacrificed.
回想起來，每年秋冬似乎是我網路的沉潛期，從搬到義大利以來，沒有一個冬天不在趕稿…
Thinking back, I seem to step into hibernation every autumn and winter. Since I moved to Italy, I spent every winter on translating books…
September 29, 2005
September 22, 2005
家裡那個被遺忘的角落The Forgotten Corner at Home
每個人的家裡，都會有一些很少會去動到的角落，一年、甚至好幾年才會去清理一次。在我家，大概就是樓梯下被我們拿來堆放雜物的空間。
In every house, there’s always a rarely touched corner that one cleans once a year or even longer. In our place, it should be the space under the stairs where we use for storing miscellaneous articles.
「對灰塵過敏」是不打掃的好理由，家裡只要是會讓灰塵飛舞的工作，我能少做就少做，真的逼不得已輪到我動手，也只好戴起幾年前買的N95口罩…我只能在被悶死或被癢死之間選擇其一。
“Allergic to dust” is a good reason for not doing housekeeping and cleaning job. I always try to avoid anything that will raise the dust. When I’m really forced to do it, I could only take out my N95 mask… I can only choose to suffocate myself or itch to die.
上星期發現貓兒身上有跳蚤，本來以為投了藥就應該沒事了，沒想到在讀了用藥指示以後，才發現家裡只要是貓兒會去玩耍的地方，就得要清掃一番…義大利人一般是春季大掃除，沒想到我們這下子因為貓跳蚤的關係，還得來個秋掃，想著工作進度嚴重落後，又看著身上到處是被跳蚤咬了以後留下來癢得要死的小水泡，在怎麼樣也得硬著頭皮找時間打掃，趁著今天米奇剛好有空檔，也只得戴上N95上陣。
Last week, we discovered that there’re cat fleas at home! We thought that we only needed to get the medicine and apply the drops, but after reading the instructions we found a huge task in front of us. Every corner that the cat could arrive needs to be cleaned… Italians normally do yearly cleaning in spring. We’ve never imagined that we had to do a big cleaning in autumn because of cat fleas. I looked at my delayed work schedule, and then the tiny little red spots on my body left by these little bastards. No matter what we had to do it. So today we took the chance when Michele could take a break from work. My N95 was ready for work.
吃完中餐以後開始動手，整個下午四個小時，我也只是隨便把客廳那張桌子和幾個櫃子抹了幾下，並且拿著吸塵器，把粘附在椅子和沙發上的貓毛吸一吸，就已經陣亡了。米奇則負責車庫和樓梯間，貓便便和貓砂更是要整個換掉。
We started after lunch. I’ve only cleaned the desk in the living room and some shelves, plus cleaning all the cat hair on all the chairs and sofa with vacuum cleaner. It took me four hours to do it and I was exhausted after I finished. Michele was in charge of the garage and stairs. It’s also a must to clean the cat litter and change the cat sand.
家裡兩盆貓砂，一盆在車庫裡，一盆則在門口樓梯間。我一直都很想要把樓梯間的那盆換個位置，畢竟一進家裡就聞到貓便便，實在也不太舒服。趁著大掃除的機會，米奇終於決定要替那盆貓砂換位置了。也就是因為這樣，他竟然突發奇想，去動了家裡那個幾乎被遺忘的角落。
There’re two pots of cat sand at home, one in the garage and the other under the stairs. I’ve always wanted to find another place for the one under the stairs. After all, it’s not a nice feeling to smell the cat litter once you enter the house. Taking the chance, Michele decided to find another place for it. It’s also for this reason that he suddenly decided to mess around the forgotten corner.
搬到義大利五年多以來，我根本沒有去動過那個角落，所以自然也就不知道裡頭藏了那麼多好貨色，只是碰上選擇性‘健忘’又忙於工作的米奇，那種只有他能去碰的事情，向來都得要排好幾個月的隊才可能進行，交代給他的事情，如果沒有要他給個承諾，我向來也不敢冀望…清樓梯間，對我來說還真是天上掉下來的禮物…
I’ve moved here for five years and have never touched that corner. So it’s natural that I didn’t know what kind of “collections” lied inside. However, because of Michele’s “selectively forgetful character” and busy work, everything that only he can do has to queue for its chance for months. If he didn’t promise to do something, I can only hope that someday the mission would be completed… Cleaning that forgotten corner, it’s like a present fallen from heaven to me…
這可謂不鳴則已一鳴驚人，不清還好，一清把整個世界都給清出來了，三十多瓶紅酒白酒甜酒香檳（其中有好幾瓶二十多年的陳年好酒），一箱婆婆好幾年前做的番茄糊，兩大瓶從靴子跟運上來的特級橄欖油，兩箱自製果醬，加上好幾箱可以拿來裝番茄糊或自製果醬的空瓶子。
It seemed to discover a new world! More than thirty bottles of wine including some twenty-year-old red wine, a box of passata that my in-laws made few years ago, two big bottles of extra-virgin olive oil from Puglia, two boxes of home-made jam, and some boxes of empty bottles for passata and jam.
好不容易整理好了，憑空多出來五年份的番茄糊空瓶、三年份的果醬、夠整個冬天吃的番茄糊（如果還能吃的話）和一大堆好酒，我的心情好像挖到寶一樣，而且就在自己家裡…
It took a while to tidy things up. Coming out of the void is five-year quantity of passata bottles, three-year quantity of jam, and bottles of passata enough for the whole winter (if they’re still eatable) and a collection of good wine. It seemed to me that I’ve found a treasure box at home.
每天都能這樣過的話，該有多好…
I just wish that things like this could happen everyday…
In every house, there’s always a rarely touched corner that one cleans once a year or even longer. In our place, it should be the space under the stairs where we use for storing miscellaneous articles.
「對灰塵過敏」是不打掃的好理由，家裡只要是會讓灰塵飛舞的工作，我能少做就少做，真的逼不得已輪到我動手，也只好戴起幾年前買的N95口罩…我只能在被悶死或被癢死之間選擇其一。
“Allergic to dust” is a good reason for not doing housekeeping and cleaning job. I always try to avoid anything that will raise the dust. When I’m really forced to do it, I could only take out my N95 mask… I can only choose to suffocate myself or itch to die.
上星期發現貓兒身上有跳蚤，本來以為投了藥就應該沒事了，沒想到在讀了用藥指示以後，才發現家裡只要是貓兒會去玩耍的地方，就得要清掃一番…義大利人一般是春季大掃除，沒想到我們這下子因為貓跳蚤的關係，還得來個秋掃，想著工作進度嚴重落後，又看著身上到處是被跳蚤咬了以後留下來癢得要死的小水泡，在怎麼樣也得硬著頭皮找時間打掃，趁著今天米奇剛好有空檔，也只得戴上N95上陣。
Last week, we discovered that there’re cat fleas at home! We thought that we only needed to get the medicine and apply the drops, but after reading the instructions we found a huge task in front of us. Every corner that the cat could arrive needs to be cleaned… Italians normally do yearly cleaning in spring. We’ve never imagined that we had to do a big cleaning in autumn because of cat fleas. I looked at my delayed work schedule, and then the tiny little red spots on my body left by these little bastards. No matter what we had to do it. So today we took the chance when Michele could take a break from work. My N95 was ready for work.
吃完中餐以後開始動手，整個下午四個小時，我也只是隨便把客廳那張桌子和幾個櫃子抹了幾下，並且拿著吸塵器，把粘附在椅子和沙發上的貓毛吸一吸，就已經陣亡了。米奇則負責車庫和樓梯間，貓便便和貓砂更是要整個換掉。
We started after lunch. I’ve only cleaned the desk in the living room and some shelves, plus cleaning all the cat hair on all the chairs and sofa with vacuum cleaner. It took me four hours to do it and I was exhausted after I finished. Michele was in charge of the garage and stairs. It’s also a must to clean the cat litter and change the cat sand.
家裡兩盆貓砂，一盆在車庫裡，一盆則在門口樓梯間。我一直都很想要把樓梯間的那盆換個位置，畢竟一進家裡就聞到貓便便，實在也不太舒服。趁著大掃除的機會，米奇終於決定要替那盆貓砂換位置了。也就是因為這樣，他竟然突發奇想，去動了家裡那個幾乎被遺忘的角落。
There’re two pots of cat sand at home, one in the garage and the other under the stairs. I’ve always wanted to find another place for the one under the stairs. After all, it’s not a nice feeling to smell the cat litter once you enter the house. Taking the chance, Michele decided to find another place for it. It’s also for this reason that he suddenly decided to mess around the forgotten corner.
搬到義大利五年多以來，我根本沒有去動過那個角落，所以自然也就不知道裡頭藏了那麼多好貨色，只是碰上選擇性‘健忘’又忙於工作的米奇，那種只有他能去碰的事情，向來都得要排好幾個月的隊才可能進行，交代給他的事情，如果沒有要他給個承諾，我向來也不敢冀望…清樓梯間，對我來說還真是天上掉下來的禮物…
I’ve moved here for five years and have never touched that corner. So it’s natural that I didn’t know what kind of “collections” lied inside. However, because of Michele’s “selectively forgetful character” and busy work, everything that only he can do has to queue for its chance for months. If he didn’t promise to do something, I can only hope that someday the mission would be completed… Cleaning that forgotten corner, it’s like a present fallen from heaven to me…
這可謂不鳴則已一鳴驚人，不清還好，一清把整個世界都給清出來了，三十多瓶紅酒白酒甜酒香檳（其中有好幾瓶二十多年的陳年好酒），一箱婆婆好幾年前做的番茄糊，兩大瓶從靴子跟運上來的特級橄欖油，兩箱自製果醬，加上好幾箱可以拿來裝番茄糊或自製果醬的空瓶子。
It seemed to discover a new world! More than thirty bottles of wine including some twenty-year-old red wine, a box of passata that my in-laws made few years ago, two big bottles of extra-virgin olive oil from Puglia, two boxes of home-made jam, and some boxes of empty bottles for passata and jam.
好不容易整理好了，憑空多出來五年份的番茄糊空瓶、三年份的果醬、夠整個冬天吃的番茄糊（如果還能吃的話）和一大堆好酒，我的心情好像挖到寶一樣，而且就在自己家裡…
It took a while to tidy things up. Coming out of the void is five-year quantity of passata bottles, three-year quantity of jam, and bottles of passata enough for the whole winter (if they’re still eatable) and a collection of good wine. It seemed to me that I’ve found a treasure box at home.
每天都能這樣過的話，該有多好…
I just wish that things like this could happen everyday…
September 20, 2005
新玩具New Toy
過去的兩個星期，就如預期中地忙碌，又是婚禮又是生日派對的，生活的步調更為緊湊，連喘口氣寫篇文章的時間都沒有。所有都按照計畫順利進行，唯一狀況外的，是我的新玩具。
We’re so busy as we’ve expected during the past two weeks. There’re weddings and birthday party, so many events that I didn’t even have time to sit down and blog. Luckily everything went smoothly, and I also received a new “toy” by accident.
這得要從克里斯和希薇亞的結婚派對說起。
Everything started at the wedding of Cristian and Silvia.
他們倆人結婚的當天，除了早上典型的教堂典禮和中午的婚宴以外，還多了一個專門為朋友辦的派對，晚上包下了一間酒吧，準備了簡單的餐點，邀請了七八十個朋友一同分享他們的喜悅，暢飲無限。因為這群人裡頭有不少是搞音樂的，有DJ有鼓手，也有幾個會談鋼琴，因此克里斯除了要求大家夥兒提供自己的家私以外，還專程跑到樂器行去租了一台電子鋼琴，讓這些難得聚在一起的人，一起即興演出一番。
The day of their wedding started with the ceremony in church, continues with the feast in the restaurant and then the party in a pub. To celebrate with all friends, they booked the pub for the whole night, providing some light foods and “all you can drink” beverages. They’ve got some friends who play some music. There’re some DJs, a drummer and some pianists. Cristian asked them to provide the DJ tools and the set drum, and also went to rent a digital piano so that people can play a jamming session together.
派對進行地非常順利，一直到深夜三點多才結束。隔天（星期天）就要出發去度蜜月的新人，因為沒有時間去還樂器，便央求米奇代勞。米奇因為跟樂器行的老闆熟識，也就答應了下來。派對結束後，便把鍵盤給載了回家。
Everything went well and the party continued until 3AM in the morning. The newly wed would leave for honeymoon the next day and didn’t have time to return the instrument. So they asked us to return the piano. Michele knows the owner of the store well and happily said “yes”. So we took the piano home after the party.
在客廳裡擺著也是擺著，我便坐到鍵盤前玩了起來，這才發現，從我上次玩電鋼琴以來的十年多，電鋼琴不論在硬體軟體上的發展都往前跨了一大步。以前的電鋼琴常常因為琴鍵重量太輕，被我嫌到不行，彈不到十分鐘手指就開始發痛，因此在剛搬過來的時候，我並沒有接受米奇想要買台電鋼琴給我玩的提議。
We put it in the living room and I got the initiative to try it. Then I discovered that there’s been quite some advancement of digital piano no matter in hardware or software since I last touched it ten years ago. I used to dislike digital piano because the weight of the keys is normally too light for me and my fingers started to hurt in ten minutes or so. That’s why I didn’t accept Michele’s proposal to get one when I just moved to Italy.
我只說了一句：「這個琴鍵的重量比我之前試過的還重，也許這種我可以適應…」哪知米奇一聽到這句話馬上跳了起來：「我明天還琴時順便問問多少錢，這台是二手琴，應該不貴…」
I only said “the keys are much heavier than anything I’ve tried before, and maybe it’s playable for me…” Michele was so happy to hear this: “I’ll ask how much it costs tomorrow. It’s a second hand and shouldn’t be too expensive…”
隔天，米奇還了琴回到家以後說：「我看了一下，有很多款式，我想妳還是去試試比較好…那台二手琴大概六百，不過老闆說價格可以談，我也有看到山葉新出的電鋼琴，彈起來也不錯…」滔滔不絕地講了一堆，硬是要我找一天試琴去。
Michele went to return the piano the next day. After he came back, he said, “there’re many models and I think you’d better try before we make any decision… the secondhand one is about 600 euro but the price is negotiable. There’re some new Clavinova models from Yamaha and they sound nice…” He continued to talk and insist that I should spare some time to go there and try them myself.
我對於買電鋼琴這件事還是遲疑，不過看他那麼躍躍欲試的樣子，過了兩天，我們還是到了樂器行。
I was still hesitant about buying a digital piano, but Michele was so enthusiastic that I just didn’t feel like saying no to him. Two days later, we went to visit the shop.
一個半小時內，我大概試了不下十款電鋼琴，選來選去比較能夠接受的，還是從小就習慣的山葉，挑到後來名單裡剩下兩款。因為價格的關係，其實我比較中意便宜的那款，反正我只是要拿來練手指而已，畢竟對我來說，電鋼琴永遠都是電鋼琴，絕對無法取代任何一款鋼琴，現在買電鋼琴只是退而求其次的選擇，畢竟以我們現在的經濟狀況，沒有辦法負擔起一台好鋼琴…
I’ve tried more than ten ditigal pianos in one and half hour. At the end the more acceptable ones are still Yamaha products that I’m used to since I was a kid, and two models remained in the list. Price-wise I prefer the cheaper one. In any case I’ll just use it for moving my fingers… For me, electric pianos cannot replace a real piano. And the decision is made only because we can not afford to get a good piano at the moment.
只是，到了米奇身上，他就開始挑剔了。便宜的那款只有一種聲音採樣，另外一款差價大概三百多，卻是用了三種聲音採用，聽起來自然點，而且還有錄音功能，也可以插上隨身碟，把自己彈的東西錄進去，拿到電腦裡處理…最後，我竟然順了他的意，選了那台比較貴的琴…老闆也做個順水人情，原本定價將近兩千三百歐元的新琴，一千四成交，還可以分期付款。
However, when it came to Michele’s decision he became picky. The cheaper model only uses one kind of sound sample. The expensive one applies three samples and sounds more natural. The latter also has recording function and USB for file transfer between piano and computer. At the end, I followed his decision and chose the more expensive one. The owner is a good friend and gave us really good discount, from the listed price of about 2300 euro down to 1400 euro that we can pay in several installment without interests.
琴馬上被我們運了回家，而我在義大利的生活也多了一個練琴的‘功課’…本來只是隨口說說，結果竟然真的買了琴，其實我到現在還是無法相信…
We bought the piano home immediately and there’s one more new “task” now for my life in Italy… Honestly… I still can’t believe that I’ve got a piano now…
We’re so busy as we’ve expected during the past two weeks. There’re weddings and birthday party, so many events that I didn’t even have time to sit down and blog. Luckily everything went smoothly, and I also received a new “toy” by accident.
這得要從克里斯和希薇亞的結婚派對說起。
Everything started at the wedding of Cristian and Silvia.
他們倆人結婚的當天，除了早上典型的教堂典禮和中午的婚宴以外，還多了一個專門為朋友辦的派對，晚上包下了一間酒吧，準備了簡單的餐點，邀請了七八十個朋友一同分享他們的喜悅，暢飲無限。因為這群人裡頭有不少是搞音樂的，有DJ有鼓手，也有幾個會談鋼琴，因此克里斯除了要求大家夥兒提供自己的家私以外，還專程跑到樂器行去租了一台電子鋼琴，讓這些難得聚在一起的人，一起即興演出一番。
The day of their wedding started with the ceremony in church, continues with the feast in the restaurant and then the party in a pub. To celebrate with all friends, they booked the pub for the whole night, providing some light foods and “all you can drink” beverages. They’ve got some friends who play some music. There’re some DJs, a drummer and some pianists. Cristian asked them to provide the DJ tools and the set drum, and also went to rent a digital piano so that people can play a jamming session together.
派對進行地非常順利，一直到深夜三點多才結束。隔天（星期天）就要出發去度蜜月的新人，因為沒有時間去還樂器，便央求米奇代勞。米奇因為跟樂器行的老闆熟識，也就答應了下來。派對結束後，便把鍵盤給載了回家。
Everything went well and the party continued until 3AM in the morning. The newly wed would leave for honeymoon the next day and didn’t have time to return the instrument. So they asked us to return the piano. Michele knows the owner of the store well and happily said “yes”. So we took the piano home after the party.
在客廳裡擺著也是擺著，我便坐到鍵盤前玩了起來，這才發現，從我上次玩電鋼琴以來的十年多，電鋼琴不論在硬體軟體上的發展都往前跨了一大步。以前的電鋼琴常常因為琴鍵重量太輕，被我嫌到不行，彈不到十分鐘手指就開始發痛，因此在剛搬過來的時候，我並沒有接受米奇想要買台電鋼琴給我玩的提議。
We put it in the living room and I got the initiative to try it. Then I discovered that there’s been quite some advancement of digital piano no matter in hardware or software since I last touched it ten years ago. I used to dislike digital piano because the weight of the keys is normally too light for me and my fingers started to hurt in ten minutes or so. That’s why I didn’t accept Michele’s proposal to get one when I just moved to Italy.
我只說了一句：「這個琴鍵的重量比我之前試過的還重，也許這種我可以適應…」哪知米奇一聽到這句話馬上跳了起來：「我明天還琴時順便問問多少錢，這台是二手琴，應該不貴…」
I only said “the keys are much heavier than anything I’ve tried before, and maybe it’s playable for me…” Michele was so happy to hear this: “I’ll ask how much it costs tomorrow. It’s a second hand and shouldn’t be too expensive…”
隔天，米奇還了琴回到家以後說：「我看了一下，有很多款式，我想妳還是去試試比較好…那台二手琴大概六百，不過老闆說價格可以談，我也有看到山葉新出的電鋼琴，彈起來也不錯…」滔滔不絕地講了一堆，硬是要我找一天試琴去。
Michele went to return the piano the next day. After he came back, he said, “there’re many models and I think you’d better try before we make any decision… the secondhand one is about 600 euro but the price is negotiable. There’re some new Clavinova models from Yamaha and they sound nice…” He continued to talk and insist that I should spare some time to go there and try them myself.
我對於買電鋼琴這件事還是遲疑，不過看他那麼躍躍欲試的樣子，過了兩天，我們還是到了樂器行。
I was still hesitant about buying a digital piano, but Michele was so enthusiastic that I just didn’t feel like saying no to him. Two days later, we went to visit the shop.
一個半小時內，我大概試了不下十款電鋼琴，選來選去比較能夠接受的，還是從小就習慣的山葉，挑到後來名單裡剩下兩款。因為價格的關係，其實我比較中意便宜的那款，反正我只是要拿來練手指而已，畢竟對我來說，電鋼琴永遠都是電鋼琴，絕對無法取代任何一款鋼琴，現在買電鋼琴只是退而求其次的選擇，畢竟以我們現在的經濟狀況，沒有辦法負擔起一台好鋼琴…
I’ve tried more than ten ditigal pianos in one and half hour. At the end the more acceptable ones are still Yamaha products that I’m used to since I was a kid, and two models remained in the list. Price-wise I prefer the cheaper one. In any case I’ll just use it for moving my fingers… For me, electric pianos cannot replace a real piano. And the decision is made only because we can not afford to get a good piano at the moment.
只是，到了米奇身上，他就開始挑剔了。便宜的那款只有一種聲音採樣，另外一款差價大概三百多，卻是用了三種聲音採用，聽起來自然點，而且還有錄音功能，也可以插上隨身碟，把自己彈的東西錄進去，拿到電腦裡處理…最後，我竟然順了他的意，選了那台比較貴的琴…老闆也做個順水人情，原本定價將近兩千三百歐元的新琴，一千四成交，還可以分期付款。
However, when it came to Michele’s decision he became picky. The cheaper model only uses one kind of sound sample. The expensive one applies three samples and sounds more natural. The latter also has recording function and USB for file transfer between piano and computer. At the end, I followed his decision and chose the more expensive one. The owner is a good friend and gave us really good discount, from the listed price of about 2300 euro down to 1400 euro that we can pay in several installment without interests.
琴馬上被我們運了回家，而我在義大利的生活也多了一個練琴的‘功課’…本來只是隨口說說，結果竟然真的買了琴，其實我到現在還是無法相信…
We bought the piano home immediately and there’s one more new “task” now for my life in Italy… Honestly… I still can’t believe that I’ve got a piano now…
September 11, 2005
星期天早上...
忙了一個星期，今天終於有時間好好睡個覺休息一下。只是，還是有人不識相，星期天早上打電話來擾人清夢，我還在半夢半醒之間，就聽米奇開了門出去，沒多久以後又回到家裡。
起床以後，習慣性地問一下，到底是誰打電話來…原來是鄰居起士先生…
這位起士先生，開始做SOHO好一陣子，跟我們一樣，網路成了他賴以維生的工具。起士先生從來都搞不清楚米奇到底作什麼工作，只知道好像跟電腦有關。今天大概是火燒屁股，再怎麼不好意思也只好把面子放一邊，打電話過來求救。原來，換了寬頻公司，裝摩電的時候出了問題…還說要付錢請米奇去幫他處理。
好鄰居嘛…如果是小事，談什麼錢，過去看看再說。
米奇看了一下，寬頻公司送來的，是具有無線上網功能的摩電。再看一下電腦，出現了以下對話：
米奇：「你的電腦能無線上網嗎？」
起士：「什麼是無線上網？」
米奇：「…」看到起士先生已經放在光碟機裡的安裝光碟片，開始檢查摩電。
米奇：「摩電和電腦沒有連接啊，接線呢？」
起士：「呃？」
米奇：「摩電和電腦要用以太網或USB接線接起來啊。」拿起摩電的盒子，裡面有一條接線，「就它啊！」
恍然大悟的起士：「這樣啊，我以為那條線沒有用…說明書上沒有寫要把摩電和電腦接起來啊…」
以前看到一些說明書內很愚蠢的步驟說明，總納悶著那到底是給誰看的，今天證實了，這種需求是真的存在的…
起床以後，習慣性地問一下，到底是誰打電話來…原來是鄰居起士先生…
這位起士先生，開始做SOHO好一陣子，跟我們一樣，網路成了他賴以維生的工具。起士先生從來都搞不清楚米奇到底作什麼工作，只知道好像跟電腦有關。今天大概是火燒屁股，再怎麼不好意思也只好把面子放一邊，打電話過來求救。原來，換了寬頻公司，裝摩電的時候出了問題…還說要付錢請米奇去幫他處理。
好鄰居嘛…如果是小事，談什麼錢，過去看看再說。
米奇看了一下，寬頻公司送來的，是具有無線上網功能的摩電。再看一下電腦，出現了以下對話：
米奇：「你的電腦能無線上網嗎？」
起士：「什麼是無線上網？」
米奇：「…」看到起士先生已經放在光碟機裡的安裝光碟片，開始檢查摩電。
米奇：「摩電和電腦沒有連接啊，接線呢？」
起士：「呃？」
米奇：「摩電和電腦要用以太網或USB接線接起來啊。」拿起摩電的盒子，裡面有一條接線，「就它啊！」
恍然大悟的起士：「這樣啊，我以為那條線沒有用…說明書上沒有寫要把摩電和電腦接起來啊…」
以前看到一些說明書內很愚蠢的步驟說明，總納悶著那到底是給誰看的，今天證實了，這種需求是真的存在的…
September 02, 2005
網誌也有個性?! Blogging Personality?!
| Your Blogging Type Is the Private Performer |
 At least, that's how you write with your witty one liners. And while you like attention, you value your privacy. You're likely to have an anonymous blog - or turn off comments. |
個人舞台? 粉絲? 機智巧言? 這我倒是不知道, 隨手寫寫自己的經驗而已, 這樣的評語未免言重... 不過享受注意力和注重隱私倒是真的, 一開始也曾經考慮過要匿名. 有關最後一個評語, 我就得大力否認了, 我絕對不會把"評論"的功能關掉, 超喜歡看看路過的網友有些什麼意見, 只是我的讀者們似乎都是沉默的大眾...
September 01, 2005
造訪威尼斯的理由 A Reason to Visit Venice
威尼斯，美麗的水都，一個令我夢縈魂牽的城市。Venice, a place that I never get tired of.
搬到義大利將近五年，離家不遠的水都，向來都是我出門呼吸新鮮空氣的首選。最初的兩年，純粹為了體會水都各季節的美，浪漫春漾，艷陽烈夏，醉人秋色，蕭瑟寒冬，每次踏進水都，總有番不同的感受。當我慢慢熟悉了這個萬種風情的城市，拜訪好友、參觀展覽、甚至購物，我在水都的活動，漸漸多了起來。
I’ve moved to Italy for almost five years. Venice is not far from Vicenza and is always one of my favorites if I want to go out for some fresh air. At the first two years, I went there to experience her beauty in various seasons, the romantic spring, the hottish summer, the fascinating autumn and chilly winter. There’s always something new every time I went to Venice. When I started to get to know the city, the must-do list of my Venice visit also started to grow.
我酷愛在水都裡散步閒晃，除了享受琳瑯滿目的商店櫥窗，我也愛上了在水都迷路的錯置感受，徒步穿梭在大街小巷之間，別有一番滋味。
I especially enjoy wandering around in Venice. Apart from window-shopping, I fell in love with the get-lost feeling. Every part of Venice brings me a different kind of feeling.
約莫三年前某個春末夏初的日子，我和外子一如往常，在早上十點多抵達威尼斯聖塔路西亞火車站。還記得那天造訪水都的目的，是要參觀某座還沒去過的博物館。時間上尚且充裕，我們便決定先逛街，順便找個地方打理午餐，下午再去博物館。出了火車站左轉以後一直順著路走，過了第一座橋，就會來到一個小市集，是當地人與觀光客採購食品的地點之一。這一天，也許是天意，順著風飄來一陣咖啡香，外子轉頭跟我說：「妳聞到了嗎？」「嗯！好香啊，去看看吧！」就這麼，我們聞香而至，來到了一間不甚起眼的咖啡店。
About three years ago, a sunny day around late spring early summer, Michele and I arrived Venice Santa Lucia around 10AM, nothing too different from our usual visit. I remembered that we went on purpose to see a museum. We’ve got plenty of time, so we decided to walk around, find a place for lunch, and then go to the museum in the afternoon. We turned left after we got out of the train station and kept walking along the main street. Passing the first bridge we arrived a small open-air market where locals and tourists do their grocery shopping. Along with the wind came a very nice smell of coffee. “Did you smell it? It smells so nice. Let’s go and check.” So, following our nose, we arrived a tiny and old coffee shop.
威尼斯的咖啡，向來都比其他地方的咖啡來得更甘甜。你也許會問我，為什麼？也許是水質，也許亦是水都風情所引發的感受，不過來到Caf? Costarica，甘醇的濃縮咖啡，讓刁嘴的我第一次感到驚艷！走近店裡，濃郁的咖啡香迎面而來，小小的吧台前，滿滿是一袋袋的咖啡豆，向前望去，店主正在另一個角落忙著烘培咖啡豆。點了兩杯濃縮咖啡，啜了一小口，口感竟是如此地甘醇柔順，比起我所鍾愛的I牌咖啡還要順口，這下子，好奇心旺盛又健談的外子，不由地與店主攀談了起來。
For some unknown reason, coffee in Venice tastes nicer than any other place. It’s probably the water, or the feeling induced by one’s emotion. But when I first came to Caf?’ Costarica, the sweet and smooth espresso was just a marvel. Entering the shop, a strong smell of coffee came to my face. Sacks of coffee beans piled in front of the bar. Looking forward, someone was busy toasting coffee at a corner. I thought he must be the owner. We ordered two espressos. A small sip of it, the smoothness and sweetness of the coffee spread in our mouth, much better than Illy. When I was still wondering about the coffee, Michele already started talking to the owner.
這家咖啡店開設於30年代，在威尼斯當地是很有口碑的老店。店主卡米羅對咖啡有著一股熱忱，原本就在咖啡業裡打轉的他，即使在退休以後，仍然靠著之前的人脈關係，從各地篩選、進口咖啡豆，而店裡的咖啡，全部由卡米羅烘培而成，絕對不假外人之手。店裡出售的幾種配方，又以「Caff? della Sposa」這種直譯為「新娘咖啡」，係由八種頂級阿拉比卡豆調配而成的配方最為出名，也是我的最愛；據店主表示，之所以如此命名，乃因為混合各種阿拉比卡豆而呈現的甘甜，就如新嫁娘般地甜美柔順。新娘咖啡無疑是這家店的招牌特色，店裡的某個角落，放著各式各樣的報導與獎狀，慕名而來者不在少數，甚至有人為了她特地從奧地利南下採購。
The caf? was open in the 1930s. It’s quite a famous old caf? in Venice. The owner Camillo is very enthusiastic about coffee that even when he got retired from the coffee industry he makes used of the network he built to select and import coffee beans. He bakes and toasts the coffee beans on his own. There’re several blends in Caf? Costarica, and the “caff? della sposa” is for sure the most famous one (and of course my favorite). It’s a blend of eight different kinds of arabica beans of supreme quality. It was named “the coffee of the bride” to imply its sweet and smooth quality. It is for sure the specialty of Caf? Costarica, and at one corner of the caf? lie various newspaper cuttings and reports from all over the world. Some people even come all the way from Austria just to purchase its coffee.
自三年前的那個日子以後，這間咖啡店成了我到威尼斯的必經之處，而新娘咖啡成了我家的必需品，在冰箱的咖啡罐快要見底的時候，我和外子都會互相提醒，「是該再訪水都了！」
After that day, Caf? Costarica has become one of my must-go whenever I go to Venice, and the caff? della sposa has become one of our necessities at home. When we’re about to finish coffee, we will always remind each other “it’s time to go to Venice!”
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