長島冰茶 & 我的灰色天空

Edit: Because the author, 2分之1的愛戀 (her screen name), has been updating / reformatting her website, today I found that her Ragnarok Online novels, namely, the 長島冰茶系列作, are no longer on her page. Very sadly, according to her message on the message board, she has taken them all off and will no longer continue to write the unfinished sequels. That's a great lost to all of us readers who have been waiting to see what happens to 長島冰茶 and 天使的故事 (<-- the two main characters of the story) at the end, however, if she really has lost the passion to go on writing this series, I guess it is a relief for her to give it up and I respect that.

On the other hand, very fortunately, we can still read the 長島冰茶系列 on other sites which have posted her stories. Please go to the "文章總集" area of my friend's site, ＊雅築＊. My online friend, Tiya, has put the 長島冰茶系列 (including the finished main story and two unfinished 番外篇) on there (this is where I first read this author ^^). Unfortunately, Tiya did not add her RO short stories on her page... so... I'll have to ask her to find them and add them! XD

Tiya also has some other stories by other writers that are pretty good, so you can check all of them out! ^________^

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Last time I put only a short intro on this writer of online novels in my LINKS post. This time, I will feature on her. Although I can't really do a good job of analyzing or writing reviews of her novels, but I just want to bring it to you-all's attention... I really want to share her novels with you guys! >\\\\\\\\<

If you have not linked to her "Fable櫻色寓言" page from my links area and checked out her novels, now is the time to do so, neh!! \^Q^/

Her screen name is "2分之1的愛戀" and her novels are devided into two groups, one is categorized as "Ragnarok Online." "Ragnarok Online"(RO) is a pretty popular Online Role Playing Game (Korean made, with Chinese name "仙境傳說"; 巴哈姆特Intro, Official Website), and these are stories that are set in this game or, more specifically, in the lives of people who play this game. (In fact, a lot of the online novels nowadays are written with the online-gaming theme (including my other feature "1/2王子"), because I guess it is so very intriguing to explore the possibilities of "becoming somebody else" that may happen in real life--by playing an online game.) However, you don't need to have any knowledge about this game in order to read and enjoy these stories, her stories emphasize very heavily on characters and story lines.

Her most famous "RO" work is 長島冰茶. It is a long story with 40 episodes, and the characters are well built and complicated. The writing style is fairly sophisticated but fast-paced. However, it seems that it ended pretty suddenly and people have been left wanting more. Therefore, she started writing sequels to 長島冰茶, resulting in a series which everybody is still waiting to be finished. Last time I heard, it seems that she plans to finish "樁色童話" first, then go on with "長島冰茶續篇--五月雨" because it is the prequel to these stories.

The other category of her novels is the "General" novels. These are stories not related to online games or RO. The main novel in this category is "我的灰色天空." I had just finished reading it (or what there is of it) today, and it's what inspired me to post this sharing. It is only 18 chapters into the story, but you can already see the interesting characters--realistic and likable. What interests me more is the numbers of possible directions that the story (or, should I say, romance / relationship) may go into. Your mind just wonders what's going to happen next, and can't wait to see the next development!

Of course, not to be missed are her short stories, which are written with as much skill and imagination as her long ones. Furthermore, she also draws pictures pretty well, so don't forget to also check out the gallery when you visit her site!

I will end here and leave you to reading, lor~ But don't forget to come back with comments, neh... If you feel like it, you can also leave comments for 2分之1的愛戀 on her message board. (Maybe I should try to leave a message to her to at least inform her that I am linking to her page, huh? @@")

SmallWei and Markuu, oh so sweet~

SW+MK sweet~
Originally uploaded by QT Sushi.

Finally put some pictures on my flickr page... XD

They are actually old pictures... only this one is more recent...
But while I was putting the SW+MK sweet~ picture there... I just thought I'd put some other pictures of me and my family that I really liked. You can check them out in my album.

So, anyways, here they are...
I haven't put pictures on my page before, so, I'm not sure if this works.. In case it doesn't show successfully, I might need you guys' advice, neh... ^^"

New Cell -- ASUS 102 (時尚紅)

I changed my cell...
Used to be a Motorola E360, now, I am using the ASUS 102.

Actually I changed in March... have been using this new one for about three months now... (For those who had my old cell phone number, it's been cancelled, oh~~ Contact me so that I can give you the new one, neh! ^^")

Anyways, it's a flip style phone.. my first flip cell phone... it's pretty small, but looks really good. The shapes and lines are simple and elegant (just like me!! XD) But this time, I variated from my usual modest tone and picked the blood red colored one... looks really nice! Check out the introduction on Eprice.com by clicking on the title of this post! There are some good pictures of the phone on there as well. ^^

LINKS:
ASUS 102 Official Website
ASUS 102 Intro page on Eprice.com
ASUS 102 Photos page on Eprice.com

I decided to support a Taiwanese brand this time, and although ASUS have not joined the cell phone market until more recently (compared to BenQ or OKWAP, etc.), the phone's pretty easy to use and reliable. There are a couple of small flaws here and there, but most of the time it's satisfactory! (And of course, the good looks always made up for the small flaws... Mwah~)

Because the high acceptance and popularity of this model, ASUS has come out with several similar models that fit different styles and usages... I think that's pretty cool, and I don't regret that I didn't wait for the other styles to come out, because I would have picked this one anyways, I think... XD

Small Joys 050624

Small things that warm my heart and puts me in a good mood:

1. Finding "Synder's Pretzel Pieces" (both Honey-Mustard and Cheddar Cheese flavors!) in a Japanese grocery store close to my house and in small bags in 全家便利商店 right across the street from my house. (Yum-yummm~~~)

2. Seeing friends putting links to my Blog on their pages or sharing thoughts about what I put on my blog... ^^~ Mixed joy of knowing people care for you and assuring that they share the same feelings/thoughts.

3. Being able to go to bed as late as I want on Friday night and sleep until noon on Saturday. (although I often wake up by myself at 7:30AM -- the time that I have to get up to prepare to go to work on weekdays... = =")

4. Trying out new restaurants, and especially discovering great, cheap, and never tasted foods. It's an up-lifting experience!

5. Getting in touch with long lost friends or acquaintances.

6. No bosses in the office~~ (all traveling out-of-town! XD)

LINKS 050621

As I was wondering about other people being able to put links on their blogs while I have never seen a "link" feature on my blog settings page... While fiddling with the templates, a "Links" area miraculously appeared on the left colomn out of nowhere! Ha ha.. maybe it's Blogger's BD gift for me... XD

Anways, I have put up some links here.. I didn't link to friends & family's blogs, because most people seem to have those already (although I am likely to add them later since there seems to be no limit to how many links you can add). What I just put up are four links to pages that I have been visiting pretty often lately.

I guess what I'll do with the links area is to update it once in a while with the interesting pages I go to often, using it as a kind of sharing about what I'm currently into.

Short Intro to Current Links
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The four links here include two main interests:
1. 巴哈姆特電玩資訊站: is the largest Chinese resource and forum web site for anything related to gaming and manga/anime, etc. I read it often especially because of... No. 2.... XD (If you are a 巴友 as well, you can find me with the id: lingck XD)

2. 希望Online: is the online game that I have been playing since last year. It's a very cute game, with cute characters, cool special effects, and a bunch of KUSO clothes that tempts me to collect.

3. 1/2王子: is an online fantasy novel that I have been reading recently. This link goes to a website called 冒險者天堂 which hosts a lot of online novels in many popular genres. Many of these online novels have even been published into books, including 1/2王子... This novel has been completed, and all 8 volumes of the series published, however, there are some last parts that have not been posted on 冒險者天堂 (maybe a strategy to encourage sales of the published books). Although you can't say that they are enlightening or inspirational, I think they are fun and easy reading and offers a small glimpse of what young people nowadays are thinking about.

4. Fabel櫻之寓言: is a personal website established by a writer of online novels. I haven't finished all of her work, but her writing skills are pretty good. A lot of people are waiting for the sequel to her famous 長島冰茶 series, including me! XD
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Be sure to check out these sites and let me know what you think about them, lor! ^^~

Rambling 050621

I guess I have to write something here today... even if just to say a short thanks the surprise BD greetings from Andy on MSN and from FLHD in last post's comment... ^^"

I don't feel that today is anything different... I still feel not up to doing any work at the office... (still posting ramlings on my blog.... XD) Even though there are only a couple of tasks I need to do, but I have been postponing them... (I guess I am not such a worthy employee to be complaining about my boss... = =")

Anyways... I got a really cute SWATCH from my sister, and a cute bag from Sonia, my long-time close friend since junior high school, a greeting from Andy on MSN whose BD is one day before mine (HP BD AD~ (I have not idea what's going on with my hands typing these stupid abbreviations... ha ha..)), and a greeting from FLHD here... No crazy celebrations, no showers of wishes, no excessive alcohol to drown the fact that I am one more step closer to the big number and still not done much with my life...

I guess, that's the way I like it... small joys and hidden worries signifies my life.... so it's just right that this BD should be passed this way.

Oh, BTW, in case anybody doesn't know, today is my 12th Birthday! XD

Rambling 050616

-- I'm doing fine... and have gained some weight back since the Chinese New Year... = =a Need to really start regulating myself again... = =+

-- I had 炸豬排加哩飯 for lunch this noon... and 麻醬麵 + 溫州大混沌湯 yesterday noon... Finished everything... had some random snacks for dinner...

-- I'm going back to Taichung this weekend. My sister is having her summer vacation and has brought my nephew to stay in Taichung from this weekend to next weekend. I will go back to play with my nephew (since that's all everybody does when he is around! XD). He is seriously a genious!!

-- The other reason I am going back is to celebrate birthday with my sister. Our birthdays are only 4 days apart, and with some 默契, we had already both bought presents for each other that we somehow picked out by ourselves. (Of course, my sister is reaching her big three O this year, but I am, as always, remaining 12! XD) I will be getting a very cute SWATCH, and my sister will be getting a pair of ASO sandals.

-- Originally Mark invited us for a trip to HuaLien with his fellowship friends. However, because it is forecasted to rain throughout the weekend and because I can't find someone to go with me (I am shy, lah~ >\\\\\\\<), I cancelled it and decided to go back to Taichung this week (instead of next week).

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The above notes are in reply to the below comment:

"just jot down little thoughts or quick notes to let us know how u r doing! don't worry!!!!! no need to blog super... quantity and quality... always quality!!
By akanie, at 9:03 PM"

They are little thoughts and quick notes... and some updates of my life... But... I don't think there are any "quality" to speak of... ~"~

Rambling 050615

I guess I'm not such a good blogger...
Never got into the habit of keeping a diary, either....
Every once in a while, I would see and buy pretty notebooks intending to jot down my everyday experiences and thoughts... I always thought it would be really interesting to go back and read them after a while...
But up to now, these notebooks each contains no more than one or two passages of rambling before it is thrown on the shelf/floor/desk to collect dust. ha ha... So... I guess I'm just too lazy... XD

Typing, on the other hand, is faster, and I won't have to endure my ugly handwriting... Plus, now that I am so far away from a lot of good friends and family, it's a good idea to keep in touch with people online through blogging. Thus, the birth of this page...

However, it seems that I still have difficulties to "really write" stuff about what's going on in my life and my thoughts about them... Most of the time there are things I want to share, but I find that I just ramble on and have trouble making my point... There have been a couple of passages that I started writing, got stuck, and just left it there as a draft.... I guess it's just not me to write something really profound and stylish, but neither do I intend to hassle people with the mundane details of my daily activities. Other times when I tried to put down some random thoughts... they didn't seem to get the effect I was looking for or didn't seem interesting enough to have people respond to them...

I guess that's how this blog ended up as mostly a selection of the forwarded e-mail sharings that I receive from my colleagues.

But, the main point I'm trying to make here, is that, even though I didn't write these things myself, and sometimes they seem long and boring... The reason I put them here, is because they do reflect what I am experiencing and thinking about at the moment. For example, the work environment issues... this is a major lesson I am learning at my current company... It is an eye-openning experience of the mind-sets, short-sightedness, and selfishness of Taiwanese company owners. Because of my limited working experience, I really do wonder if other Taiwanese companies are all like this, or if any western companies think and act the same way... It would be great if people who read these articles/ironic jokes/ramblings can give some input on their experiences.... But, I guess people would rather write them on their own blogs, huh?

Anyways, this passage has officially turned into one of my long, boring, pointless rambling... So, this is where I end.

(You probably don't believe it, but I seriously intended for this post to be very short and last only about one paragraph... ~"~ Oh, well.... )

人生中什麼是重要的？

Another e-mail sharing from a colleague of mine.... ^^
Kind of long, but worth sharing and thinking about....
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■人生中什麼是重要的？

生活
一起工作多年的單身女同事最近提出辭呈, 我跟她同事應該快二十年了

辭職理由寫著:
一.最近公司搬家後,上下班時間要花上三個小時
二.現在安排的工作跟興趣不合,不是她想投入的
三.年紀逐漸有了,不想這麼勞累

辭呈一路簽上去...結果大老闆親自來看她
大老闆也是六十好幾了,說:
[照顧老員工是我的責任,
你提到的工作的問題我會請XX副總經理安排,
至於第一與第三項問題也好解決...]

雖然大老闆談起公事時是出名的兇,
但是我們都知道大老闆的內心其實是蠻照顧員工的

她事後跟我閒聊時說:
[我覺得老闆們並不能體會我的心情...好像第一及第三項不是甚麼大問題....]
她說:[人家說 earn to live(賺錢過生活)
但是我有必要賺的這麼辛苦嗎?
賺錢只是為了生活,生活才是目的
其實以前我不會有這種想法,
是幾年前一次生病差點走了後,想法才改變了]

有的人可能不能體會她的想法,但是我卻能感受到....
我個人也是在經歷大半人生,遭逢悲歡離合,
見過生老病死等種種後才猛然覺醒....

在我國的傳統觀念教化下,生活是蠻辛苦的,
我期待我的後代別走這條錯誤的路.

剛才在別的網站看到一篇文章,心有戚戚焉...節錄在此

[留法小小感]
這星期，語言課的主題是「Travail」(工作)，
文章主要是探討法國目前工作的現況。
不過因為星期五就要開始接連兩個禮拜的耶誕假期，
大家上起課來都心不在焉的。

忽然，導師話鋒一轉，問我們班上大約二十來個來自不同國家的同學，
「在人生中，你們覺得什麼是重要的？」
同學們興致一來，紛紛說出一堆正經與不正經的答案。
家人和朋友是一開始就被提出的。

一個邊笑邊說的男同學舉手，巧克力和電腦是他認為生命中最不能缺少的；
一個韓國妹提名「夢想」；而我說「自由」。

以下是當天提出的名單，並沒有重要性之分，
單純按照提出的順序。
「家人，朋友，男(女)朋友，電腦，巧克力，自由，孩子，和平，
學習，工作，旅遊，成功\，時間，快樂，睡覺，飲食，動物，
音樂，個人獨特性，笑容，健康，文化，傷心，分享，夢想」。

接著導師建議
「那我們來投票，選出222這班同學認為最重要的三件事情，一人一票」。
答案揭曉，排名分別是，家人，朋友，健康。
「原來，工作一點也不重要，難怪你們上課上的心不在焉」
導師笑著對我們說。

沒想到這句話引起同學熱烈討論。
大家開始紛紛發表自己對工作的看法。
金髮瑞典妹說，工作只是為了賺錢提供生活的方法，
在他認知中，工作大概排名第七或第八吧。
另一個曾在園區工作的台灣女生則提出不同意見書，
她認為，不完全如此，因為她可以在工作中找到很多快樂。
哥倫比亞妹反駁，可是還有更多可以尋找快樂的方法，
如果只有工作那多無趣。
於是大家喋喋不休一直到下課為止。

下課後，我一直在想這件事情。
記得剛來法國的時候，一次和瑞典同學與美國同學一起吃飯。
他們都只讀到這個學期結束，接下來他們要一起去巴黎工作。
我問他們，你們想要找什麼工作呢？
瑞典妹一派不在乎的說，餐\廳或服裝店吧，
運氣好一點的話，試試看能不能找到旅行社的工作，
因為他們都精通至少三種語言。
美國女生接著說，對呀，工作只是為了生活而已。

想想看，當人家問你住在哪裡的時候，
我可以說我住在巴黎，這有多酷呀。

他們兩個都很年輕，大學都還沒畢業。
但都選擇在大學念到一半的時候，來到法國開始另外的生活。
對他們來說，這樣是很正常的。

雖然我並不能理解住在巴黎有什麼酷的地方，
當時心理也老犯嘀咕，這樣的工作能作一輩子嗎。
但是我能了解，他們所想的是，人生有太多事情要追尋，
學歷，工作只是為了輔助這個人生，不是全部。

另一次在上寫作課的時候，主題也是談到工作。
老師提到，法國法定最低給薪休假為五個星期。
語畢，在場所有亞洲學生全部面露不可思議的表情。
尤其像我們這種已經工作過，又重回學校的學生，更是覺得難以想像。

我問老師，五個禮拜包含國定假日嗎？
老師回答，當然不包括。
這五個禮拜，是除了所有星期六日休假，國定假日之外，另外的給薪假。
而且這是法定最低標準，很多人的假期是高於這個標準的。
這下我們真的傻眼了。
法國的假日出名的多。
這樣，他們一年工作到底有幾天呢？

老師看出我們的疑惑。
「如果沒有這些假期，哪裡有時間去旅遊或者做自己想做的事情呢？」。
接著又反問「那在你們的國家，法定的給薪假有幾天？」
我和那個園區工作的女生，小聲的說「七天」。
然後不敢抬頭看老師驚訝的表情。

一個月前，Angers這裡舉辦了一個藝術活動。

這個活動很有趣，是讓公眾參觀Angers當地藝術家的工作室或者家裡。
除了欣賞他們的作品，工作的狀況，也可以和藝術家聊天。

這個活動只有兩天，在這兩天的時間，
隨時都可以去地圖上標示出來的十六個地方參觀。
於是我和另一個也很喜歡藝術的女同學相約在第二天前往。
因為時間有限，又沒有交通工具，只能倚靠步行，
所以並沒有全部拜訪完畢。

但是我們看到了攝影，油畫，版畫，雕塑和水彩。
也由於我們去的時間很早，參觀的人比較少，
因此都可以和藝術家們盡情的聊天。
雖然走路走的很累，但是我和朋友都覺得心裡非常滿足，也很開心。

晚上吃飯時，我們仍興奮的討論今天看到聽到的事情。
忽然間，朋友提出一個疑問。
「他們幾乎白天都有其他的工作耶。
而且他們每個人都會很多樣的事物，
法國人是不是都具有很多種的身分呢」。

想想，好像真的是這樣。
例如我們第一個去拜訪的攝影家，
他白天是小學美術老師，
其他時間，分別是攝影師，素描畫家和古典吉他演奏者。

再想到我們的導師，
白天是學校的教授，
其他時間分別是某個慈善協會的成員，
同時也在研究日本與法國的文化。
而她的未婚夫，同樣是我們另一堂課的教授，
則同時拍攝電影，攝影，還有繪畫。

至於我法國家庭的爸媽，
也分別具有多重身分，即便是在他們都退休之後。

這讓我想到，之前在台北當上班族時，
我的生活，除了白天的工作外，還有什麼？

我一直覺得我是個熱愛工作的人，
也很希望自己能在工作上有所成就。
連這次到法國唸書，最初的想法，
也是希望念一個可以對將來工作有幫助的學位。
只是，那時當我也許\懷著淺意識的津津自喜和朋友抱怨，
最近工作好忙，每天回家都累的半死的時候，
我還有什麼其他的生活？

這樣的反省，讓我打了個寒顫。

在台北，所謂懂著生活的人，
也許\是知道幾家別人叫不出名號的好餐\廳；
也許\是會定期上國家音樂廳聽音樂會；
也許\是會在家裡點著精油薰香，然後喝著藥草茶；
也許\是當人家說起什麼時尚玩意，也能夠隨意接口。

但是，這只是生活的模式。
基本上，只要照表操課，沒有人做不到的。

那生活的實質呢？

當我們一天工作至少十個小時以上，
下班後腦筋還繞著工作進度和辦公室紛擾，
連空閒時閱\讀的書籍，都和工作或者至少精進自己以有利於工作有關。
身為「自己」這個人，我們還有什麼？

當然這並不是說，把工作當成一種應盡的社會義務，
和討生活的方法就是比較好的態度。
也不是說法國人動不動就罷工，或者遊行，
來爭取更好的工作環境就是有道理的。
更不是說，每個人都一定要把自己搞的像綜藝團成員一樣，
十八班武藝樣樣精通。

只是，我們的年輕如此短暫，我們的生命如此短暫。
即便不能活的如傳說般懾人，也不能活的如流星般璀璨，
我們是否能夠在「自己」這個符號當中，多增添一些元素，
不要讓這個沒有預設答案的申論題，變成全有或全無的是非題？

我真誠的這樣期待，也希望我將來不會忘記這樣的體會。


■僅將此文，獻給為選擇工作所苦的人。

我相信，將來倫敦的朋友有機會再回到台灣與你相遇時，
不會希望看到一個被工作壓榨到只剩下空洞靈魂的人。
他想念的，是那個在柬埔寨啤的酒吧與他大聲開心討論流浪的你；
而我想念的，則是那個從來不曾忘記夢想，
在湛藍希臘天空映襯下的渡輪，面對整片海洋無言，
但我卻清楚看到那雙眼中對自由嚮往的你。