Migration

Recently I purchased an Android phone. As part of the activation procedure, I was asked to open a new Google account and a Gmail address.

With two Google accounts, I've decided to consolidate everything into the new one, including this blog.

From now on, this blog will continue at: translators-notes.blogspot.com. Everything else is unchanged.

Brownies

Not the chocolately dessert. I'm talking about brown-banded cockroaches, disgusting critters that started appearing in my kitchen about two months ago. These are small cockroaches. The adults are a little bit over 1cm, while the babies can be smaller than a sesame.

They're very hard to catch because of their superb alertness and agility. One slight movement of your hand is all it takes to send it darting into the nearest gap, even if you're at a considerable distance. The adult males are an even bigger problem, because they can fly. I should have played more badminton.

The infestation reached a peak in May when there were so many of them that I could easily kill more than a dozen every night. On the positive side, though, it was a perfect training for hand-eye coordination.

Worse, they had expanded to the living room. Something must be done before they invade our beds.

So we turned the whole kitchen around. We dragged out the refrigerator and sanitized the space behind it. We cleaned every surface, sprayed every gap with insecticide, and poured bleach into every drainage outlet. We also mined the place with roach baits. That quickly reduced their presence to the occasional one adult or two.

And now, not a single brownie has been seen for two straight weeks.

弄巧反拙的一場戲

昨天，去海港城買新電話。

海港城的其中一層是電器店集中地，包括香港三大電器連鎖店。

先到第一家去問，那個職員立時擺出一副不在乎的臉孔，演起戲來：

職員甲：「呢部機平時無貨，要訂㗎！係呢幾日假期先返得果幾部。你問我有無，我只可以話比你知宜家呢一刻有，因為去得好快。」

職員乙見狀，馬上跟甲說：「喂，果邊有個客又要一部，你睇吓仲有幾多？」這句話，明顯是說給我聽。

職員甲又說：「我哋呢度兩邊賣緊（指該店有兩個賣電話的櫃枱，同時售賣這款電話），可能得番一兩部到。」

這兩個人一唱一和，把我當白痴的。

在香港，許多銷售人員喜歡做這種戲，製造「手快有手慢無」的假象，希望嚇得客人快快掏錢包。在服裝店，店員總會說：「呢件得番最後一件咋。」在示範單位，地產代理游說你買樓時，總不時有一兩個「同事」走過來，故意在你面前說：「喂，啱啱又有個客買咗一間。」箇中虛實大家心照。

不過，店員不是演員，這戲也做得太假，甚至做得太濫，鬼才相信。

你不是強調兩邊在賣嗎？好，就到另一邊：另一家店。

一問，服務員親切有禮，解釋詳盡，馬上付錢。

遇到此類手段，我的反應是即時離開，就算本來想買的，看了你這場戲，也馬上打消念頭。因為，你現在是明擺著在玩弄我。

我還幫襯你的話，豈不是自認笨蛋？

Silver Cross Pub, London

I was having lunch with my dad when I noticed this girl sitting by the window. The light brightened her face, which formed a beautiful contrast with the pub's dim interior. I knew I had spotted a good B&W photo opportunity.

She was sitting at the far end of the room, so I had to exhaust the digital zoom of my camera. As a result the photo is a bit blurry and grainy, but in this case I think it adds to the atmosphere.

I like how the light highlights the ends of her hair.

Saveur de France，燒鳥

今天上openrice，才知道Saveur de France已經結業，真後悔沒有多去幾次。

這家位於荷李活道的小店，主打法式小食，特別是crepes。吃過他們的芝士火腿crepe，淡淡咸香的餅皮外脆內軟，真不知香港還有哪裹可以吃到。

聽說朱古力蛋糕也不錯，可惜已經無緣再試。

為甚麼我喜歡的餐廳，總是很快關門大吉？

可能，是我總喜歡那些隱世小店，貪其「只此一家」的風味，而這些店通常都抵受不了租金暴漲。

在被我「詛咒」的餐廳中，印象最深刻的，是位於尖沙咀的「燒鳥」。

這家店只有十幾個座位，專賣日式串燒和丼飯，特別之處在於是真真正正的「一人檔」：煲飯、燒肉、洗碗、招呼、收銀，完完全全由日籍老闆「一腳踢」。

那時我剛出來社會工作，每當工作不如意，晚上便會到這裹，叫一碗「燒豬肉飯」（老闆廣東話說得不好，總諗成「燒焦肉飯」）。眼見老闆為了謀生，忙得滿頭大汗、分身不睱，自己小小的挫折算甚麼！老闆那股毅力與拼勁，竟然成為我的工作動力。

現在的我，已經沒有當年那股儍氣，卻也多了一份冷漠，很多的冷漠。

敬佩還敬佩，老闆的經營手法，實在值得商確。

午飯時間，一碗丼飯加一罐汽水，只售十八元？雖然是許多年前，但也實在太便宜。我敢說，即使收四十元一個餐，也不乏人問津。

不久，「燒鳥」也結業了，聽說是捱不了貴租，日藉老闆也不知去向。

直至幾個月前，在一家日本餐廳遇見他，才知道他當了餐廳經理。說來慚愧，不是他主動向我打招呼，遞上名片，說自己來自「shuuryuu」，我還認不出他。往日被汗水濕透的T裇，已經換上筆挺的西裝，但敬業的眼神一如當年。

不過，我不懂日語，他的廣東話和英語也不好，只能簡單客套幾句。

聽說由於日本核事故，日本餐廳的生意大減，希望他的工作不要受到影響才好。

Precarious Position

I haven’t written anything for a while because I’ve been very busy. Basically, my workload has doubled starting from March, but that’s another story.

I’d written about the appalling behaviour of some of my colleagues in the toilet and, understandably, people would want to avoid any contact with the toilet seat.

But that does NOT mean anyone should squat ON the toilet seat. I know someone has been doing this because I can see the footprint. Worst, people can’t aim when they assume such an awkward posture, and as a result not everything landed at where they’re supposed to land.

I’m not even sure if the toilet bowl is designed to support the full weight of an adult man. I dare not imagine what will happen if it breaks; the pieces are very, very sharp.

Whoever’s been doing this, I hope you slip and plant your foot into whatever you deposited, and sprain your ankle.

Two Months to Go

I’ve finalized the plan for my long-haul trip this year.

This one will begin with two days in Barcelona, where we’ll board the Liberty of the Seas for a five-day cruise in the Mediterranean. After that we’ll spend two days in London and 2.5 days in Paris.

This is mainly to fulfill Dad’s dream of a cruise holiday in the Mediterranean and visiting Europe. Mom refuses to come with us because the mere mention of the word “ship” makes her seasick, and she dreads long-distance flight.

越光米

某連鎖超市的壽司櫃枱，有以下廣告：

中文：為了帶出壽司最佳口感，本專櫃轉用較佳質量之越光米

英文：In order to enhance the best taste of Sushi, our counter has used the highest quality of Yue-Guang Rice

英文翻譯文句不通，自不必說。這次要談的，是「越光米」的譯法。

凡翻譯之前，都必須先了解原文的用途，和要達到的效果。這則廣告，無疑是標榜該店採用優質日本米種，用日本米製作日本菜，以「和味」作招徠也。

既然如此，「越光米」應該以其日語原文的拼音翻譯，即koshihikari rice。譯成普通話拼音yue-guang，有何「和味」可言？

一般老外食客，未必懂得甚麼是koshihikari rice，不過見到yue-guang，肯定不會聯想到日本米。換言之，宣傳效果盡失。

除非，該店的「越光米」不是正式日本越光米種，不便稱為koshihikari。

超市職員並非賣字之人，不應苛求其語文水平。英文文法不好，尚情有可原。可是把「越光米」譯成yue-guang，卻反映其common sense不足。這，才是最大問題。

Episodic Dream

Have you ever had dreams which are connected like episodes in a mini-series?

Yesterday, during my afternoon nap, I dreamed of myself being kidnapped in a shopping mall. Turned out my takers were a crime syndicate which kidnap women and sell them for prostitution. I wasn't cross-dressing in the dream, nor do I have any secret desire to do so in real life, if that's what you're thinking. The reason for my involvement was not explained at all. In fact, by the time of writing, these are all I remember about the dream.

The story continued during my slumber last night. This time, me and another male captive managed to escape. How we did this was forgotten, but eventually we were rescued by a police squad conducting a massive raid on the kidnappers' HQ. Next thing I knew, I was in the police van with several officers. The higher-ranking one, a petit woman resembling a particularly sinister-looking person I knew in university, aroused suspicion about her real identity by mispronouncing "prostitute". We were then taken back to the same mall to "reconstruct" our capture. Suddenly my "co-captive" pushed me to the floor, saying he saw someone's head shot to pieces. We hid behind the sofa of a Pacific Coffee outlet, when a not-so-bright waitress came and asked if we want anything. With great exasperation, we convinced her to leave us alone before her action exposes us. Then we moved behind a folding screen. The screen had little square holes on it, so it wasn't the perfect concealment. Hearing ominous footsteps of someone approaching, I peeked out of the small holes, and the dream ended in a cliffhanger.

It was as intense as watching an episode of 24, and was probably why I woke up this morning with a splitting headache.

Is She Gone, or Is She Mine?

The first time I heard Bee Gees’ First of May, four lines of the lyrics left a strong impression:

The apple tree that grew for you and me,

I watched the apples falling one by one.

And as I recall the moment of them all,

the day I kissed your cheek and you were gone.

I immediately pictured a scene in which a girl (because the singer was male), who’s been struggling against some terminal illness for many years, finally passes away in her lover’s embrace after one last goodbye kiss. I found "apples falling one by one” a strong hint of death.

But recently I heard another version of the lyrics. Only one word is changed but the story implied becomes very different:

The apple tree that grew for you and me,

I watched the apples falling one by one.

And as I recall the moment of them all,

the day I kissed your cheek and you were mine.

This is a much happier story, now that the lovers are finally together. Still, a darker interpretation is possible: the departure of the girl seals their relationship forever in time and, in that sense, she is truly (and forever) his. Nevertheless, this joyous interpretation is at odds with the rest of the sad lyrics which suggest they once had a happy time, but it’s all over now. Perhaps the girl didn’t die but left with another man, as hinted by the line "Someone else moved in from far away”. But it’s also possible that “someone else” refers to Death himself.

What I want to know most is which version is the original. Note that this song was released in the 1960s, when there was no central source of lyrics which everyone could refer to (i.e. the internet). It’s possible that misheard lyrics were circulated and popularised. But how could anyone confuse “gone” with “mine”, since they don’t sound similar at all? Maybe this someone subconsciously found the story too depressing and, despite having heard “gone”, remembered “mine”.

Update: An attempt to find the canonical version raised more questions than answered. I watched through several youtube footages of Bee Gee’s performance of the song and most are of the “gone” version. Note that the song was later featured in the 1971 film “Melody” and the version used in the film was also "gone”. In one movie forum, however, a poster said “mine” was the Bee Gees version and “gone” was the Sarah Brightman version.

But more interestingly, during the search I came across many more different interpretations. “The day I kissed your cheek and you were gone” can simply mean a girl running away after being kissed, perhaps out of modesty or embarassment, but not a rejection. In other words, a sweet scene of innocent puppy love. I don’t know why I had instinctively jumped to the darker interpretation of death. Also, Barry Gibb, one of the Bee Gees, had said “first of May” was the birthday of their dog Barnaby, and the song was written in its honour. Please also read t’s view from the rhyming perspective in the comments section.