小瓜呆 murielee84

Friends say, “Oh, yeah, I read your blog; the food looks delicious!”
看我部落格的朋友常常第一句話就說，「對呀，那些菜看起來很好吃！」
I argue that I also post other MEANINGFUL things, not just food.
“But it’s more interesting when you talk about food.”
我說「我也有寫很多其他的東西呀！」
他們回說，「可是看妳寫吃的比較有趣。」
So my defense is in vain, of course, for here it is: Hester and I went to Ocean Bo Dim Sum Café when she visited me in June.
百口莫辯，也辯不贏，因為今天的主角，就是 Hester 跟我去吃的海寶點心美食坊。

It took me three days. A very long “three days.”
開了三天，好長的三天
I left on Saturday afternoon and planned to arrive at Winslow, AZ, where I had already made a reservation the previous day. Yahoo map said that it would take about 7.5 hours, which, for me, translated to 8 ~ 9 hours, including break time.
星期六下午從表哥家出發，預計到達已經訂好旅館在亞利桑那州的Winslow， Yahoo 地圖說要七個半小時，換算成小瓜呆公式，就是八到九小時。

Once your car reached a certain speed, it was somehow effortless – just let it drive and be aware of the trucks changing lanes. Most trucks would stay on the right lane, until they met a slower vehicle and wanted to pass it.
一旦上路，車子達一定時速後，其實沒那麼難，就一直開。
在洲際公路上，就是要小心貨車，除非要超車，他們通常都開右線道。

I was afraid that I would fall sleep, so I planned to call friends in Taiwan and talk for a little bit. So stupid of me that I forgot where I put my ear piece. My Little White was packed with all my belongings and I just could not find it. It must be somewhere . . . inside this car . . . I really knew how to pack.
擔心路上會睡著，打算打電話給臺灣的朋友，稍微聊一下天，誰知竟然找不到耳機；我的小白就這麼大，一定在車內的某處 . . . 我真是會打包呀！

And I saw some flash . . . light? Was that lightening?
Oh, my God. You saw the thick clouds ahead of you, and the lightening went on and on and on. The light was so bright against the dark sky, sometimes so bright that I could barely keep my eyes open.
就看到閃過亮光，不會吧，是閃電，那就是說 . . .
前方烏雲密佈，閃電不斷，在黑暗的夜空中顯得格外恐怖。

However much I preyed, the storm came - not surprisingly. The rain started to hit my windshield, harder and harder, and all I saw was my headlight. I was very nervous; since I did not know what else to do, I just kept driving, slower. I ended up following a truck so that I could see its light, too.
果然嘩啦大雨，直打我的擋風玻璃，雨又急又猛，天黑的不得了，車子高速行駛，我嚇得直念觀世音菩薩，平日不燒香，希望今天會有用。
我想，如果我下交流道，找個地方停車，等雨過了會不會好些？
或是我一直開，就可以早點離開暴風圈？
最後，就跟著前面的貨車，借用它的光，可以多看到一些路。

The rain went on; then I saw a sign –  “dear the next 20 miles,” with a drawing of a running deer.
What? Are you kidding? It’s so slippery, how could you brake to avoid hitting a deer? Well, I guess deer would not be out since it was pouring, so I should not have to worry.
雨還在下，就看到號誌，說接下來 20 哩會有鹿，別開玩笑，這麼滑，煞車哪煞得住？不過鹿應該也在躲雨吧！？

The rain and lightening seemed to go on forever, and suddenly, I felt several bumps, as if I was not scared and worried enough. Oh, I just had tires replaced because the rear ones were worn out and making noise. So, tires SHOULD be OK, right? While my mind went through several possibilities and worries, I saw another sign, standing in the rain, “ROUGH ROAD.” Well, so it was the road condition, not my car. That’s comforting.
雨繼續下，電繼續閃，不知道開了多久，車突然顛簸幾下，不會吧！輪胎剛換，不會輦過什麼尖銳的東西，然後爆胎吧？是嫌我不夠緊張還是怎樣？
我的寶貝輪胎千萬別有事；馬上就看到另一號誌「路面顛簸」，還好還好，收收驚。

And, Construction sign re-appeared, as if it was afraid that I would forget how to spell this word and had to remind me so many times since I got on I-40. Pouring rain, rough road, beware of deer, and then construction – only foul language could express my feelings and release my tension at this point . . .
然後「前有施工」的號誌再度出現；這條洲際公路已經不知道出現幾次施工的號誌，竟然在滂沱大雨、路面顛簸、小心野鹿之際，再給我減成一線道，一邊是水泥砌成的矮牆，一邊是橘白相間路障
很暗   想罵人   #%$*#%  

After the rain gradually died down, I exited the highway and called my cousin. I was so exhausted that I felt I had to take a nap before I could hit the road again. I rested for about 20 minutes and continued on I-40. Before I got to the motel, I saw three cars in total, already pulled aside by police officers; yeah, in the rain. I felt bad for them.
雨總算過了，我下交流道，找個地方上廁所，打電話給大哥，說我要睡一下再上路，休息了二十分鐘後繼續開。到旅館前總共看到警車燈亮三次，有三位不幸的苦主，在這暴風雨之夜被警察攔下，我心有戚戚焉 . . .

Well, under such high speed, you thought the heavy rain would help clean the car.
N-O, NO, the top was still covered with dirt.   #%$*#%
想說如果在這大雨中高速駕駛，應該可以順便把車子洗乾淨？
沒，車頂還是一層灰，真是枉費我擔心受驚。  

It passed midnight when I checked in and I was so exhausted that I forgot to take back my driver’s license from the staff (embarrassing . . .) Maybe I should have left a bit earlier, or, not so ambitious to drive so long within one day nest time, if there is next time . . .
到旅館時已經過半夜了，我累到駕照都忘記拿回來了，真監介 (尷尬) ！ 或許下次要早點上路，或是別野心太大，一天開太遠。

Since I checked in late, I asked to check out late as well. Thus, I did not leave until almost noon. It didn’t take long to enter New Mexico but I was very sleepy and stayed in the NM welcome center longer than I expected. My goal today was to reach Albuquerque where a friend lives. I was driving for almost 6 hours on the second day. Although shorter in driving time and distance, I seemed to be sleepier than the first day.
隔天只要開到新墨西哥州的Albuquerque ，不到六小時，跟昨天的八個半小時加暴雨，今天算是小 case，天氣晴朗又有涼風，可是我很睏 . . .

And I lost an hour when entering NM – an hour of my precious life.
而且進入新墨西哥州，我少了一小時

It was a somewhat odd feeling driving alone on the road. Sometimes the radio reception was weak, and you began to talk to yourself, or sing out loud. When you and certain cars started to pass each other, you identified them as your travel companions. It felt better somehow, knowing that someone else was driving on the same road with you, in the darkness . . . you were not that alone . . .

一個人開這樣的長途，路程上情緒的變化是很奇怪的，
自言自語、高聲大唱是一定會有的，
某些時候會跟某幾部車互相超車，覺得好像有伴，感覺比較不孤單

At times I saw cars full of belongings, just like mine, except theirs were really full. I doubted the rear mirror was useful at all.
不時會看到跟我一樣，載著滿滿一車的人，滿到後照鏡完全無用武之地

When you think about it, it’s just a LONGER drive, but people’s lives probably make a HUGE turn because of one journey. Do they depart with expectation and hope? Are they running away? Or they are somehow unwillingly to make such a trip?
What about my journey?
其實，也不過就是開了一大段路，可是多少人的生命因此有了轉折，
是滿心期待，是逃離，還是不得不走這一遭，
我的旅程呢？

I also spent about 6 hours on the road the last day. Been driving for such a long time, I could barely SIT on my seat. I changed to Route 84 from I-40. Route 84 seemed to go on forever – the scenery was pretty much the same all the way.
最後一天的路程時間跟第二天差不多，可是景色單調許多，蠻無聊，可是臺灣還是清晨，如果這時打電話會被罵，只好又開始自言自語，才發現會唱的歌真不多呀

I lost another hour getting into Texas. At least, there was no rain, no lightening, nor dear.
進入德州，我又少了一小時；屁股是坐不住了 . . . 不過，至少無風、無雨、無閃電、無鹿 (或是牛) 。

After a week and a half, I am still tired. I don’t think I intend to do long distance driving anytime soon.
過了一個多星期，我還是很累，一直睡不夠；我想，最近這段期間，不需要再開長途，夠了！

When I lived in Santa Monica, I parked my car on the street side. The only time you are not supposed to park is between noon and 2 pm on Thursday for street cleaning. Well, I had to work anyway, so I didn’t pay much attention to it.
住 Santa Monica 時，車子是停在馬路邊的，除了每週四中午至下午兩點要清掃街道，不能停外，其他時候都沒問題，反正我都要上班，所以也沒特別注意。
Because of working overtime on Saturdays in July, I took a weekday off – it happened to be a Thursday one time. I went out fishing with a friend on the night before and the boat returned around midnight. I was too exhausted to go out the next day.
因為七月時每週六都加班，所以有一次休禮拜四。
前一天，也就是星期三晚上，出海去釣魚，半夜才靠岸，所以隔天累得不想出門。
 

It started out with bears . . .
一切緣起於熊 . . .


* In front of the Mission San Luis is a shallow fountain with sculptures of bears catching salmon. I thought it was just a common design in a plaza where residents and tourists can hang out. It didn’t occur to me if there was any connection until I read the Mission’s history . . . 聖路易司傳道院前有一個小水塘，有幾隻熊在抓鮭魚的雕塑，原本只是單純得想說，小朋友玩得很高興，可以吸引不少遊客；後來讀了傳道院網頁上的歷史，才了解 . . .

What we called Sea Elephant is a seal, belonging to the same Pinnipeds relatives with Sea Lion and other kinds of seals.

海象應該叫象鼻海豹，屬海豹科，跟海獅與其他種海豹歸於鳍脚目 (海豹跟海狗、海獅最大分別在於海豹沒有外露的耳朵) 。

* These are “Pinnipeds” relatives. Elephant seals are sexually dimorphic, that is, the guys are much larger than the ladies. It is the largest pinniped species, which also means it is the largest species of seal.

I just moved - yes, again, the 9th time in the past 10 years. 2 weeks ago, my new landlady Carolyn said that if I started to move boxes over, I would be able to see Cereus blossoms.
最近搬家 (沒錯，過去 10 年中第 9 次搬)，新房東 Carolyn 說後院 Cereus 開花，她說如果我那一星期開始搬東西過去，就可以賞花

Mission San Fernando, named after St. Ferdinand, King of Spain (1217-1252), is the only mission named after a Spanish king. This was the 17th in the CA-Mission Chain and was founded by Father Fermin Lasuen.
聖弗南多傳道院 以西班牙的聖弗南多國王 (1217-1252) 為名，也是唯一以西班牙國王之名來命名的傳道院；這是第 17 座加州傳道院，在 1797 年 9 月 8 日由 Fermin Lasuen 神父負責完成， 這也是他個人負責的第四座。

To see goats at the Getty? Are you sure? Not art pieces?
到蓋提博物館看山羊？有沒有搞錯呀？不是去看藝術品？
我實習的博物館是蓋在坡地上，往東及東南看洛杉磯市區，往南及西南是聖塔莫尼卡，天氣好時，往西可看到太平洋上的安娜卡帕島 (Anacapa Island) 。
博物館東圍是405號高速公路，西邊則是一大片山坡地，由於各類植物生長茂盛，每年春夏之際，都必須清除雜草以減低火災發生的機率，但是坡地陡斜，如果派人清除，不但費工費時，對工作人員來說也不是很安全，所以每年到了四月底五月時，我們的園藝部門就會雇用一群山羊。
 Tony contacted Horticulture supervisor Michael Dehart, who led us on a privilege tour to see the goats. We hiked a bit and reached where the goats have been resting since they arrived at the Getty in late April. The goats are usually out to eat on the hills at 9 am. They return after 4 hours and the shepherds can take a lunch break. In the afternoon, the goats will be out eating again. 同事 Tony 聯絡園藝部門的負責人 Michael，一夥人浩浩蕩蕩的走進平常不準出入的閘門，爬了一段小山，到達羊群們休息之處；通常羊兒早上 9 點出去吃，4 個小時後回來休息一下，牧羊者也可以午休用餐，下午再讓牠們出去吃第二餐。因為知道我們要來，羊褓姆特地先把羊趕回欄。

這一天剛好早起，上網看新聞，預報小小郭要先發；上班時，我問老闆可不可以提早一小時下班，以後再補，我說我們臺灣球員要先發，我非去不可。
Hong-Chih Kuo would start Dodgers’ game and I really wanted to watch him pitch, so I asked my boss whether I could leave an hour earlier and make it up later.
* Dodgers at LA – 50 anniversary 今年 – 2008 – 慶祝道奇在洛杉磯 50 週年。