Archive for March, 2008

Do I really love autumn?

March 31, 2008 at 8:52 pm · Filed under Opinions & Thoughts

Almost this time of every year, I was impresed with this city’s vibrant autumn colours and couldn’t help taking photos or writing some posts. I was under an impression of that I am a person who loves autumn and admires its beauty from mother natural’s stunning chang-overs during a short period of time. Autumn is just cool and always my answer to “your favourite season” question.

Recently I realised that this is not always true. I hate wearing too many layers, I hate the chill sneaking from the feet up coming till my fingertips; I hate cold wind blowing and making a mess to my hair and cracked my lips; and I hate seeing leaves falling and trees getting bald…Everything in autumn is just giving the message about dying and fading but nothing else.

On the way home today, I felt some very unplesant autumn smell in the air mixed with those bad memories in relation to coldness and unmercy chill of Beijing’s winter. I recalled how they used to crush my mood in some pretty bad ways in the past. If you think carefully, there is really no good reason to love, to cheer or to celebrate. I just couldn’t believe why I had ever said that I liked autumn.

Isn’t it a shame that something can take you ages to realise it is not what you really want?

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How much do I love translation?

March 30, 2008 at 11:59 pm · Filed under Writing & Blogging

I like it a lot. I am such a visual person that reading things with eyes and making them over into another language in writing is always something I love and good at. But after sitting there translating a legal request in a drug dealing criminal matter for a whole day, my heart and body just don’t vote for it.

Well, translation is not always full of joy. Sometimes it feels like working on a renovation job on a shabby and small old house, or working on an alteration job on an old piece of cloth. You don’t have the complete freedom to be able to be creative enough and you know that there is always a limitation that you can’t go beyond it.

You can renovate your little house to give it an eye-catching and stunning new look, but you can’t make it a masterpiece. You always work UNDER its original author’s shadow so there is always the struggles between following no-matter-what, bad or good, and what’s-the-best. The problem is you are not THEM. You can hate what you did on your translation, but you can not hate what to be translated.

Like this one I had been working, 3 Chinese guys smuggled 10 cartons total 250 kg cocaine from China to Australia, and remitted over millions of AU dollars into Chinese banks. There are AFP, DPP, DAG and Restraining Court Orders documents all together to be translated so they can be sent to China authorities to act on “proceeds of offence”. There are nothing else but legal words, not mentioning that I had a strict deadline and intended to chase up the unpaid contracts down the tract about 3-4 months ago with the agency. I felt so used, as a tool for communication, instead of as a person for creating beauty of literature or conveying charms of another culture.

Looking back, I sort of loved my previous translation work for NG’s travel notes. They were harder, bigger, more time consuming and really killed my brain cells. The pay was actually much lesser, but in some way, they were quite satisfying. So who said we sold our soul for money??

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Girls Shopping

March 29, 2008 at 9:58 pm · Filed under Out & About

My neighbour and I went for shopping this Saturday. Initially I just proposed to take her to buy Korean grill plate in Canberra City, then I thought, “why not go shopping around?” I haven’t been to Canberra Centre for such a long time. My neighbour is from Brisbane and has never been there before, so our shopping trip turned to a without-husbands-girl-and-girl-shopping, which I had never had a real one in Australia.

We went to Lindcraft to check out things over there, then a couple of shops in the Centre. My neighbour bought two shirts and a cardigan. I tried on a couple of jackets and one of them was actually really nice. Then we went to Brand Depot to dig up more things. More trying-ons and another pair of pants was purchased. By the time we left Brand Depot, it was already 12:30pm. We both agreed that women need more time to complete a good shopping trip.

We had fish & chips as our lunch. Then we went to Fyshwick for vegies and fruit. It was like coming back to the reality. I was sitting there cooling myself down from the excitement that extended from the morning trip and feeling exhausted at the same time.

My neighbour was happy with the things she bought and insisted to pay for the lunch to appreciated me showing her around and taking her to different places. It reminded me my sister.

I really miss the old times when my sister and I was shopping together in Beijing. We caught buses to get to the other end of city, walked long distance to explore those small shops on the streets and talked all the way along. It was full of girls’ fun and such a way to get relaxed. She is the most generous sister I have ever known. She still bought stuff for me even when I was older and already had started working. Sometimes I can’t tell which part of shopping with my sister actually attracted me more, my sister paying the stuff for me? or the girls shopping experience itself? :-)

I probably couldn’t know the answer 5 years ago, but now I know exactly what a good sister means to me.

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I am still doing it….

March 26, 2008 at 7:28 pm · Filed under Craft & Art

Cold wind is blowing and all the pretty coloured summer clothes have to go very soon. I have been slack on knitting recently. Not that I lost the interest (this is almost impossible for me as I love it so much and I could do it days and nights never feeling exhasted), it’s just because I have other more important things in my life to do, and I agree that hobby is hobby, I shouldn’t spend too much time and energy on a hobby :-( It sounds rediculous, doesn’t it?

But I am still doing it. My current project is a 3/4 sleeve cotton pullover with adjour lace pattern and a off-the-should collar design. I have finished front and back pieces, and ready to start a sleeve. Well, sleeves…like other knitters, I have “the second sleeve sydrome” as well. It’s probably a good thing for human body’s functional purpose, but can you think of any joy for a knitter who has to knit the same thing twice?

Anyway I wish I could finish the project in about two weeks or so. I am almost a bed knitter now, and I only do about 2-4 rows per day before I went to sleep. I wondered how long it would take for me to finish one 80 rows sleeve.

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The Winter Glow

March 25, 2008 at 8:27 am · Filed under Home Sweet Home

My Winter Glow from the Citizenship Ceremony is finally in blossom, IN THE RAIN. It’s just like what I had expected, except its colour seems not as golden as what showed in the photos coming with the plant tag.

I have been watching the little bud growing since this summer. Mind you this hasn’t been an easy job as that little bud was so green and tiny, almost completely mingled with those thriving green bushy leaves. I had to look really hard to locate where it was each time:-)

Gee, it’s been a while…what took it to flower for such a long time? Last July we got the plant, then August, September, then spring, then summer…now it’s autumn…..nearly 10 months waiting. If I hadn’t stepped in the rain to go out to look this morning, maybe I would have missed it forever??!

I bet today is my day and I knew there must be a reason for me to take my RDO today. After 5 days off (it’s almost like a mini holiday) with everyday sleeping in till 8am to 8:30am, I feel rejuvenated. Now the winter’s colour and cold air have begun. I am now getting ready for the new season coming…..

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