Better sorry than safe

Below is the funny email exchanges between my colleagues.  I love my colleagues, many of them have a very good sense of humour.

_____________________________________________
From: Sowinski,Theodore L.
Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 9:40 AM
To: Springer,James C.; Collalti,Philip J.; Kong,Samuel; Aubele,John P.; Wisel,Sherree L.
Subject: RE: Fire Safety Discussion Starts in 5 Minutes!

Better sorry than safe.

_____________________________________________
From:   Springer,James C. 
Sent:   Tuesday, October 13, 2009 9:39 AM
To:     Collalti,Philip J.; Kong,Samuel; Aubele,John P.; Wisel,Sherree L.; Sowinski,Theodore L.
Subject:        FW: Fire Safety Discussion Starts in 5 Minutes!
Just in time, received this at 9:35am for the 9:30am meeting today!
______________________________________________
From:   Chicago HPST 
Sent:   Tuesday, October 13, 2009 9:35 AM
Subject:        Fire Safety Discussion Starts in 5 Minutes!
Monica Carter from the Chicago Fire Department will speak about high-rise fire safety and general fire safety in Room 204-205-206Sat 9:30am today.
Please join us for information, treats and safety prizes.
Your High Performance Safety Team

仆你個臭...

"仆街" 呢個用詞, 我想普遍香港人都知道佢嘅用法同意思。但係呢個世界, 要"仆"的未必一定是"街";  以下就是一個發生係我於中學四年級嘅一段有趣回憶。

那年, 地理科阿 Sir 決定同全班去一次 field trip (實地考察), 務求使我哋對課本裏面嘅知識有更具體嘅了解。Field trip 嘅目的地選擇了西貢嘅南蛇尖。當日起點由北潭凹開始, 沿途風景怡人, 但係大部份山路小徑都非常之險峻。差不多抵達南蛇尖山峰嘅一段山徑, 可以話係危機重重, 因為路面上鋪滿碎石, 而且斜度甚高。 還記得那位阿 Sir, 身材高挑瘦削兼駝背, 在這最後嘅路程好不幸失足, 由高處滾下。 當時見佢個樣都幾痛苦, 都跌得頗應, 膝頭同手肘都流晒血。

回程時候, 幾位同學都議論紛紛, 笑說阿 Sir 仆街。我為人一向無聊, 所以都搭一份咀; 我話: "我哋行咗成日都係啲山路小徑, 又唔係街, 仆都係仆小徑啦!"  幾位同學都不約而同的破口大笑。

我心諗, 其實阿 Sir 跌完起返身之後, 心裏都可能暗暗的爆一句, "仆你個臭小徑呀!"...

I want to see you naked

I want to see you naked,
From the first time we come to know each other.

I want to see you naked,
No matter where you would go.

I want to see you naked,
That is the only way to know you better.

I want to see you naked,
Not of your body but of your heart and soul.

I want to see you naked,
And that is all I wanted to do.

男歡女愛

"When Harry Met Sally (90 男歡女愛 )" 是一套我至愛的電影 (my all time favourite)。  我本人認為 "When Harry Met Sally" 簡直是愛情小品中的一個經典之作。  在 80 年代後期出生的人可能也不會知道這套電影, 聽到 "男歡女愛" 四個字時還會以為我是在說鄭裕玲和黃子華在 2000 年的無線電視劇集, "男親女愛"。

片中的 Harry (Billy Crystal) 與 Sally (Meg Ryan) 由起初的平水之交, 繼而成為知心好友, 輾轉反惻的經過十五年, 到最後終於共諧連理。  由於他們倆人在長久的相處中, 給大家一個機會去清楚認識對方。 

在現實生活裡, 在也有很多拍拖成十多年才與伴侶結婚, 生小朋友的朋友。 他們和另一半都經過漫長的相處, 清楚對方的一切, 性格好與壞, 是龍是蛇, 到一起走進人生路的另一步。

雖然 "When Harry Met Sally" 是我的至愛電影, 而我身邊亦有很多朋友的經歷作為借鏡, 但在我的情感觀念裡我卻常被那份直角的感覺蒙蔽。  當我義無反顧, 全心去投入了一段關係之後, 才發覺身邊的那個人其實與我想像的差距卻很大。   

限量版

一位素未謀面的好朋友著我看了 Wyman (黃偉文) 在蘋果日報的專欄, 「Buy Me Sunday」 裡的一篇文章, 題目叫 "託人買嘢"。  Wyman 寫的歌詞聽得多, 但對他的寫作就很少接觸。  閱讀中得知 Wyman 是一位潮流時裝的喜好者, 文中提到一個他很喜歡的名牌子, 皆因其 "是款多量少"。

"物以罕為貴", 我想這個概念大部人都會明白。 一件物品之所以罕有, 通常因其乃是天然之物, 產量有限, 因此而變得寶貴。 但這個世界, 還有一種人造的 "物以罕為貴" 現象, 這個就是叫 "限量版"。

年紀愈大, 就愈覺得 "限量版" 這個慨念有點諷刺。 因為加了一個 "限量版" 的形容詞, 物品就成為了人們爭相搶購的對象。

豉油的故事

源如中國, 豉油已有二千五百多年的歷史。  在日常的烹調和飲食裡, 豉油基本上是不可缺少的調味料。

在美國的雜碎館 (唐人餐館的俗稱), 炒飯必須用豉油調味教色, 否則老外 (白與黑) 不會吃; 如給老外一碟陽州炒飯, 他們必即時顏面扭曲, 如同給餵食了狗肉似的!

有一位泛泛之交L君, 喜歡呃飲呃食, 性格吝嗇但又愛吹噓。  L君的社交圈子中有一班與我頗稔熟的朋友, 而 L君都會經常於這班朋友搞的聚會中飲飲食食。 有次L君給我說, "人哋出雞, 我都要出啲豉油啦", 表明他在那些聚會中也不是光吃的。  我心諗, L君所指的豉油有可能是從各大小餐館收集回來的免費豉油包吧?

有一年回港, 與一班中學同窗到卡啦 OK 聚會消遣。  當年大家都已在社會裡工作了數年。  不知從那裡開始, 我與一位舊同窗的女友 (現任太太) 和另一位舊同窗T君談到童年生活。  T君為人愛炫耀及說話誇張, 當晚與他踫面時已即遞上名片, 更叮囑我要留意他的經理級銜頭。  T君向我們炫耀他在工作上的成就比起童年的生活有著天淵之別, 並說曾幾何時家境十分拮据, 就連家中食用的豉油也得在街邊買豬腸粉時向小販索求多一點而來...當時我和舊同窗的女友亦只有點頭對望暗笑。

Eulogy 1999

[A Eulogy for my beloved sister, Eleanor, who passed away on 9/8/1999]

Eleanor, the name whom you know best, was my beloved sister. However, to the family she was also known affectionately as BB, Eleanor's childhood name, or Pui-sze, Eleanor's Chinese name.

Though Eleanor was the tinnest one in size in the family, her life's accomplishment was, on the other hand, the most brilliant, most successful and most celebrated. These facts about her life could be well attested by all the people who knew her, studied with her, worked with her, and from all the awards and recognition she received.

Eleanor's life had also given our family name, Kong, the greatest tribute. The word Kong, in Chinese it means river. A good river, along its course allows people to use it for drinking water, or sometimes being worked on, such as building dams to exploit its potential for electrical power. Like a good river, Eleanor's life was to some symbolised as the drinking water, in that I meant she was a helpful person, and was always willing to render herself to anyone in needs. On the other hand, like building a dam, the Golden Apple Foundation which had chosen her as the Golden Apple Scholar, provided her the scholarships and training to prepare her to become the best teacher for the Illinois' school system. Eleanor's goal in life as a good teacher is exactly the motto of ISU. "Gladly We Learn and Teach".

Unfortunately, this river has stopped flowing on September 8th, 1999. However, I can assure all of you that this river has not turned into a pool of stagnant water. The tears we all shed for her today have fallen into this river and have created tens of thousands of ripples. Like a ripple, which starts from a small circle, will expand eventually into many larger circles, one after another. Now, it is the ripples that help Eleanor's radiance to be continued.

The family though is deeply sad to have lost her, is also extremely proud of her and loves her. Lastly, I ask all of you not only to mourn for Eleanor today, but also to remember her forever.

說真的...人生有幾多個十年

[本文原載於 5/12/2009 的 Facebook's Notes 內]

最近係 Facebook 見倒好多朋友都套用哩句說話。 雖然以前都聽過, 但係點解近排咁多人講, 其出自於誰, 我卻不得而知?

人生在世, 絕對不可能永遠獨個人生活。 因為個性固執, 個人主義強烈, 和過份自我, 在思想和行為上都罔顧他人感受, 實在是說不通的。 撇開成見, 解除自我封鎖, 嘗試與身邊的人多點接觸理解, 大家的生活自然會好過些。

世事無人能料, 說真的...人生有幾多個十年?

十九個寒冬

在知道有機會出國升學後, 心情都沒有太大的異樣, 內心其實還帶有一點興奮, 因為心知在香港的教育體系裡不能生存。 適逢屋企本身已排期移民美國芝加哥, 所以便順理成章的提早來到芝加哥繼續學業。

離開香港前的那一個禮拜, 與父母走遍全香港, 除了作購買的最後衝刺外, 還要拜山和與一眾親戚和各世叔伯食飯薦行。

八月八日, 一九八九年, 懷著百感交集心情的我和家人一起驅車到香港啓德國際機場。 當日由於有兩大件行李和手提袋, 所以雙親都要分別開一輛車; 那我便和父親, 最細的妹妹同一輛車離開當時在西貢的住所。 在西貢公路將近至清水灣公路時, 不捨得的感覺在一剎那間豪不保留的湧到我的心頭, 鼻也開始酸起來。 與此同時, 父親也眼泛淚光, 轉瞬間我倆已哭成淚人。

好不容易的一段車程, 終於抵達香港啓德國際機場。 當日到機場送行的親朋好友也一早來到為我薦行, 那個場面又再不其然的使我再度落淚。

像舊式錄影機般的快速搜畫, 來到芝加哥讀中學, 大學, 畢業後投身社會工作, 到了今個八月已經在美國芝加哥渡過了十九個寒冬。 雖然在過往的二十年裡曾多次想過作別芝加哥回港, 但最後都是無疾而終。 再過多三個月, 冬天又再來臨, 而我亦要再這裡渡過我的第二十個寒冬。

憤坑

最近有數位朋友說老 Sam 我變成了一位 "angry old man" (憤怒老人); 無他, 年紀愈大愈覺得身邊有很多看不過眼之事。 正如我最近的個人哲理:

“看破凡塵” 並不代表看化世事, 而是看穿底蘊, 所以要批判投訴發嚕囌!

歸根究底, 一切都是因為現今社會上有很多黑白不分的人和事。我們祖國裡也有一班像我一樣, 對社會很多的人和事都抱著不滿的年青人, 他們也很憤怒, 所以被喻為 "憤青"。 我雖然是憤怒, 但我並不老, 三十八歲之年視作中年; 而香港人對中年男人亦喻之為中坑。 我一向都是一位捍衛香港本土語言文化的香港人, 那麼你們就稱呼我為 "憤坑" 吧!

聚一聚

經朋友介紹, 今天與家人去了唐人街一間新開的食肆, "聚一聚", 光顧。 店內裝修走新穎的風格, 可惜食肆的面積不大, 幾乎可以說是甚為迫夾。 樓面上負責招呼的幾位先生小姐應該是店東, 而其中一位招呼我們的先生更經常向我們索取對其出品的意見, 可見這位老闆是有一個 "心" 去把這盤生意做好 (不像很多芝加哥的唐人食市的經營態度, 得過且過)。

我們點了焗豬扒飯, 滑蛋蝦仁飯, 和雲吞麵; 在三樣食品當中只有雲吞麵可以說是喜出望外, 因為其用的餡是全蝦, 而非芝加哥老唐常用的死死實實頂心頂肺的豬肉丸。 除了雲吞可以外, 湯底都不錯, 我可以嚐得出他們是用蝦殼餚成的; 但爽身彈牙的麵底就絕對欠奉了。 其他兩個食品的質數就有代改善, 故此我就不再多加批評。

我對於在芝加哥的唐人食肆一向都是有所保留, 而整體來講 "聚一聚" 還有很多需要改善和改進的地方, 但我很欣賞幾位老闆表現出的那份 "心" 。 若果他們要食客們能經常到那裡聚一聚, 就要緊記跟進不足之處和努力求變, 要不言就真是不聚也罷!

推波助瀾

以下只係我個人觀察和觀點，我唔係幫無線, 又唔係針對黃子華:

香港有好多人批評無線攏斷, 由其是年輕的一代由甚, 但係好多人為咗黃子華都要睇無線？ 我諗黃應該唔係無線嘅簽約藝員，但係連佢都選擇拍無線劇集, 因為知道有肯定收視。 如果真係咁不滿無線，啲人又可唔可以唔睇黃子華呢？

Chinese Food

On my train ride home tonight, I overheard a woman's phone conversation with her significant other (SO) on ordering Chinese food for their dinner.
I usually do not pay much attention to people's phone conversation on the train, but tonight when this woman loudly pronounced TWICE that she wanted Chinese, and what she wanted to order, "Wonton Soup" and "Chicken Chow Mein", I cringed!

Chinese immigrants have been in this country for over a century, and I myself have been here for 20 years. Sadly, from my observation and personal opinion, Chinese food in America has never moved on from the past and it stays stagnant with its usual Americanised affair. Meanwhile, generations of Chinese immigrant restaurant owners, both in suburbia and Chinatown, are glad to continuously permeate the stereotype and thrived by serving dishes like "wonton soup/雲吞湯", "moo goo gai pan/蘑菰雞片", "kung pow chicken/宮寶雞", "crab rangoon/蝦龍糊", and with supplement like the "fortune cookies/簽語餅" and "cone shape waxed paper carry out boxes/外買盒"...etc.

For years, I question the real cause of why Chinese food in this country has to live on with the stereotype? Is the American general public too conservative and preferred to stick with the traditional Americanised Chinese food? Or, is it the only way for Chinese immigrants to succeed in the restaurant business by carrying on with stereotype?

Forty years ago, the American landed on the moon; yet for over a century, Chinese food in America has never lifted off. *SIGH*

余有虛言: 失敗的年青人(一)

余有虛言: 失敗的年青人(一)

蘇打綠-空氣中的視聽與幻覺

一首很有水準的作品, 為什麼香港的樂壇沒有這樣的出品?



空氣中的視聽與幻覺
詞/曲：青峰
大約凌晨三點半醒過來 莫名其妙喝了一杯蘇打
厭世氣泡嗝出了一片綠林 微微不安
又或許我們兩個人的蝴蝶 看著飛鳥忘神地跳芭蕾
就這樣沉澱在咖啡杯 漬垢未解
從天空 到人間 這畫面 算是享受還是折騰 昏眩 瘋癲......
幻象衝擊如潮

找一個往藍天的入口 逃出了廣大的深水漩渦
需要捉一些天使守護夢 不會有盡頭
和影子牽起手練習跳舞 海洋中再也沒有一條魚
彗星在纖細的黑夜畫布 刻下傷痕

月亮也無法決定自己的光芒 偉人都迷惘
然後說就這樣吧 然後讓然後變成永遠

從這個房間晃到那個房間 和陌生月亮悄悄說說謊言
遠離這個世界所有人類熱情 未免太安靜
從這個睡意跳到那個睡意 藍色天地下的心都唉聲嘆氣
放下一艘小船尋找韻腳 被沉默撲倒

讀後感

看了一篇友人從 [經濟日報] 上 cross-post 過來的文章, 新一代需要新社會契約 後, 我有這樣個人的讀後感:

除了筆者所言的 “新社會契約工程” 外, 另一項最首要做的實際行動就是培養香港新一代年青人對香港的歸屬感。 現今香港社會裡, 年青人又好, 傳媒又好, 又或是我們這一代也好, 只見到的是經常在盲目追捧外國的次文化, 而香港本土特有的文化色彩卻續步被邊緣化。 若果年青一代對自己土生土長的地方一點歸屬感也沒有, 仲使有多好的機會和條件, 他們都不會對自身的環境產生興趣。

最後, 也如筆者所言, 現身在香港已名成利就的老同學和朋友們, 隨了為您們自己和您的家人的生活拼拚博外, 您們有否為香港年輕的一代出一分力, 替他們和香港營造一個較開放、更公平的發展環境?

The American "Tea Party" Movement - WTF!!!

Recently in America, there are a lot noises generated from Barack Obama's new health care initiative, the Nationalized Health Care Plan. Like many things, there are pros and cons in a Nationalized Health Care initiative (see Australia, Britain and Canada), but needless to say, health is the most important asset in everyone's life, regardless of which side you are on in the debate.

But, I'm not hear to talk about the Nationalized Health Care plan. I'm here to talk about the so-called American "Tea Party" Movement. The notion of the movement has been gaining a lot of attention lately due to its strong opposition against Obama's Nationalized Health Care plan. For more information about the American Tea Party Movement, you can visit sites like these:

http://www.teapartypatriots.org/
http://www.nationwidechicagoteaparty.com/

The term "Tea Party" came from an incident happened back in December 16, 1773, in the town of Boston, Massachusetts, then a colony of the British Empire. For more information about the "Boston Tea Party" incident, you can visit these sites:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/74947/Boston-Tea-Party
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Tea_Party
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Boston_Tea_Party.aspx

Here is an excerpt taken from, www.encyclopedia.com, that accounts the incident:

"A group of indignant colonists, led by Samuel Adams , Paul Revere , and others, disguised themselves as Native Americans, boarded the ships on the night of Dec. 16, 1773, and threw the tea into the harbor. In reply Parliament passed the Boston Port Bill (see Intolerable Acts ). "

Now, for the modern day Americans, who organize and call their movement the "Tea Party", are you sure that is the right term to use?
Can't you see that these men involved in the "Boston Tea Party" of 1773 were mainly Angelo-Saxon, and they had to - "disguised themselves as Native Americans" - in order to perform a defiance act? So, were these men had just participated in a costume party before they went on to dump the tea into the Boston Harbour? Or, simply put, these group of people were nothing but just a bunch of cowards?

Com'on people, whether you are support or against the Nationalized Health Care Plan initiative, let's get real, WTF are you calling yourself the "Tea Party"?!!

不完整的 Deja Vu

國慶將至, 回歸以後的香港, 在過去的十二年裏就有如五, 六十年代的景像再度從現。

五, 六十年代的香港, 適逢內地改革解放而湧入了大批新移民. 當時很多低收入的多口家庭, 都只有屈就於一個只有數十平方呎的板簡房。 父親往往要身兼數職, 才能養妻活兒; 賺回來的錢只能供食和住, 根本沒有多餘的去作消遣玩樂。 雖然生活是如何困難, 但每個人都還帶著一點希望, 深信未來的日子一定會過得更好。

回望過去的十二年裏, 香港同樣有一大批新移民一湧入; 低收入的多口家庭擠在一個只有數十平方呎的板簡房; 現在除了父親, 就連母親都會身兼數職, 而賺回來的錢也只能供食和住. 但是這 Deja Vu 卻是不完整的...因為以往的那股生氣和希望都沒有了。

港人自講

2007 年, 12 月 27 日的晚上在 Yahoo! Blog 開始了 "港人自講" 這個私人網誌。 "港人自講" 並非我的第一個私人網誌, 其實早在 2003 年在 Blogspot.com 上也開了一個; 只不過在第四個月後, 我已經沒有新的話題寫而停止了。

在過去的兩間, 雖然在 Yahoo! Blog 上的 "港人自講" 的網誌更新頻率不高, 但我卻從來沒有絲毫放棄 "港人自講" 的想頭。

沒有想過放棄 "港人自講" 的最主要原因, 是因為我實在有很多嚕囌要發, 而大部份的嚕囌都是對現今光怪綠離的社會的控訴 (由其是在香港裡所發生的)。

近期我對於 Yahoo! Blog 的運作令我甚為不滿意, 所以我最後決定改用 Google's Blogspot 來延續 "港人自講" 的網誌台階。 由於我不能把在 Yahoo! Blog 上的網誌遷移過來, 如果各下有興趣閱覽我在 "港人自講" 的舊作, 煩請按到以下此連線去:

http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/samiam-iamsam/

希望在未來的日子裡, 大家能繼續給我支持和鼓勵。

我愛香港!

老 Sam

週末

終於到咗週末, 可以休息吓...不過無論是在公在私, 其實仍然有一大堆嘢需要處理。

人生就係咁...所以週末除了可以解作一週之末, 對於某部分人嚟講, 可能會解作一週末完!