愿祝圣诞快乐 ! Wish You All Merry Christmas !

圣诞娃娃

昨晚，我一边包圣诞礼物，一边在自言自语．．．．

记得，约十年前，我药剂行的澳洲洋人老板问我，“你是华人，不庆祝圣诞的，对吗？你是佛教徒，不庆祝圣诞的，对吗？那你在圣诞当天上班一定没问题吧?＂这哪是问我，简直是要我内疚，要我上班　（注：我是那间药剂行唯一的亚裔药剂师。那间药剂行365天都开足13个小时）。

我心里算一算，“哗！十三个小时，双倍工钱，即可赚二十六小时的工钱。划算划算。”　那时，我刚大学毕业，穷，又要学人储钱旅行，傻。我假装推迟一下，就答应下来了。反正，我是真的不庆祝圣诞的。接下来的五，六年，我的圣诞都是在店铺里过，从早上七点到晚上十点。我一点都不在意，顾客很少，很空闲，不难挨过。

一直到四年前，圣诞还是与我无关。没想到，现在，圣诞突然变得这么重要　－圣诞树， 礼物，卡片，火鸡，团圆，假期，派对，还有白雪飘飘。

人生一个转弯，有些重要的好像变得不重要了，不重要的好像开始重要起来．．．．

今早起来，我忘了昨晚思考的问题，匆匆赶去预定两个蛋糕 – 一个要带去明晚朋友家的派对，一个要带去圣诞晚Ed大家族的团圆晚餐。今天不预定，明天一定卖清光！26日晚，和Ed父母吃饭要带的已准备．．．．

愿祝大家圣诞快乐！

Christmas Dinner

Last night, I was talking to myself while I was wrapping Christmas presents….

I still remember vividly how my boss asked me to work on Christmas Day. It was about 10 years ago, ‘Shirley, you are a Chinese, Chinese doesn’t celebrate Christmas, right? You are a Buddhist, Buddhist does not celebrate Christmas, right? So, I think you are the best person to work on Christmas Day !’ Since I was the only Asian in the pharmacy, and he was right about a Chinese Buddhist (plus as a immigrant whose family is in Malaysia) does not celebrate Christmas.

So, I accepted the offer. Well, who won’t? The shop opened on Christmas Day for 13 hours, and I got paid double. In fact, being a poor newly graduate who dreamed of saving for travel, I felt grateful to have the shift ! Since then, my boss never failed to give me the Christmas shift and all my Christmas for the following 5 or 6 years were spent in the pharmacy from 7am to 10pm. Frankly, I did not mind at all. The pharmacy was normally quiet on Christmas Day and it was not a difficult shift.

It was not until 4 years ago, I stopped working on Christmas Day. Prior to that, Christmas was just another day for me. I am surprised to realise that it has suddenly become important in my life – the Christmas tree, Christmas presents, the turkey, Christmas parties, family gathering, holiday, Christmas cards,  and the previously unthinkable White Christmas. I have them all now.

Life is interesting, just a small twist and turn, previously important things are no longer important, and what never appeared important has suddenly play an important role in my life….

Woke up this morning, totally forgot what I was pondering last night, I rushed to Loblaws to order two cakes – one for tomorrow night Christmas Eve dinner with friends, one for Christmas Day dinner with Ed’s extended family.  I know if I don’t order today, I will have trouble getting the cakes I want tomorrow. And we have already prepared what we want to bring for 26th dinner with Ed’s parents….

Merry Christmas to you all !!!

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酿豆腐 Deep Fried Tofu

星期天，我们店铺休假。早上，爸爸把我带到茨厂街逛。

每逢我回马，爸一定带我到茨厂街，是来怀旧吧。

茨厂街内有几个食档是我们的最爱。

今早，我建议吃中华巷里著名的酿豆腐。

酿豆腐的特色是软软白豆腐内的美味肉酱。

经在油中快快煎一煎，豆腐和肉酱更是香喷喷和可口。

我本还以为酿豆腐是马来西亚华人的美食，在其他国家找不到。

上网一查，才知道它属客家人的菜肴，源自中国。

我家是客家人，难怪爱吃酿豆腐 ! 🙂

(有兴趣多阅读者，可点击这里。)

Since today is Sunday, which is our day off for our family business, my father took me to Petaling Street in the morning. Petaling Street is also referred as Chinatown by tourists. We spent lots of times there during our childhood, hence my father likes to take me there when I come home.

There are a few food stalls in Petaling Street are our favourites. This morning, I suggested to have our breakfast at the famous deep fried tofu stall in a small lane in Petaling Street.

This type of deep fried tofu is quite special. The tofu is stuffed with very tasty pork mince paste. We also called this type of tofu, Yoong Tau Foo. I always thought that Yoong Tau Foo was a Malaysian Chinese’s specialty and I won’t be able to find it anywhere else. Not only till today after I googled it online, I realised it was originated from Hakka people (one ethic group amongst Chinese) in China. My family is Hakka origin and no wonder we love Yoong Tau Foo ! 🙂

他们好好生意，做得没停过手。

The business of the Yoong Tau Foo stall was really good !

豆腐，鱼丸，辣椒等在锅内大火煎炸一下。

Tofu, fish balls, chillies etc were quickly deep fried in these huge woks before serving.

有人忙煎，有人忙将肉酱塞进豆腐内。

Workers were very busy with stuffing the special pork mince paste into tofu.

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婚礼婚礼婚礼 Wedding, wedding, wedding

(Dear English readers, please scroll down to find the ‘click’ for English translation)

原本, 几天后，我就会回马。一来，是要避一避这里的严冬。二来，是要出席共三场的婚礼。可是，最后还是改变主意，刚巧找到机票，就决定留到圣诞过后才回马。因为，圣诞在这里大过天。就如农历除夕一样，要一家团聚。我知道Ed和他家人希望我可以多留几天。所以，就留下来过圣诞。而且，去年的圣诞不是白色的，有点失望，今年雪下早了, 应该可以如愿以偿。

现在想起来，我也还没见识过马来西亚华人的婚礼。我在澳洲那么多年，马来西亚的朋友结婚，我都没机会出席。在澳洲，虽有参加过华人的婚礼，但都有点西化的。我还没见过什么兄弟们上新娘家‘抢新娘’啦，什么玩游戏捉弄新郎新娘啦，还有什么媒人婆尽说好听的话啦, 等等。这次回马参加婚礼，正好让我这个也开始有点西化的华人开开眼界。

只是，改了机票后, 我会错过一个怡保朋友的婚礼。很可惜。那婚礼是我很期待的。因为，在较小的城市举行，应该会较吉隆坡的传统， 也较不同其他两个婚礼是在吉隆坡）。我这个朋友也是在澳洲住了十多年。这次回马结婚，主要也只是让马来西亚的家人开心就是了。 我有几个在澳洲住的朋友都是如此，他们是一点都不用操心婚礼的。一切交由父母办，他们想怎样搞就怎样搞。总之，到时候，飞回马，出席婚礼，露个面， 一切照做，和亲戚打个招呼，就可以了。婚礼嘛，老人家开心就是了。

我曾听说过，有些朋友（不论是华人或洋人）因为婚礼和家人闹不满。也难怪，两代人的观念不同了，要办的形式相异，磨擦是难免的。有些华人朋友爱开玩笑说，她们的婚礼哪是她们自己的婚礼，其实是她们妈妈或家婆的婚礼。一切听她们就是了。华人传统尊重长辈。有些人觉得，算了啦，不然关系没弄好，嫁进去就难相处。可是，我有些洋人朋友对我说，如我结婚，一定要搞个自己开心的。这是一世人一次的，回头缅怀的是自己。别人意见听得多少啊。哈！ 真是华人和洋人的观点不同。我觉得各有各对。只是，洋人性格较不记仇，过了就忘，相处不会太难。华人嘛，有可能会碰礁哟。

说起洋人的婚礼，前阵子，Ed带我去一个他好友的婚礼。在高尔夫球场举行。很小，才五，六张桌子。那五，六十人是新娘新郎最亲近的家人亲戚朋友。搞笑的是，他们想到可能有人不爱跳舞，给我们猜字游戏玩。新郎还有时间过来和我们玩上好一会儿 (如图）。我好喜欢，感觉好亲切，认识了些新郎新娘很好的朋友。我们真的是为新郎新娘庆祝，替他们开心的。可是，有些婚礼，有超过三百多人。我啊，坐在远远看我穿得很漂亮的朋友，可是却一句话都说不上。 当然，心中很替他们开心，可是也同时在婚礼上碰上一些人其实一点都不认识我的朋友或朋友的另一半。问起他们，关系差上几千万里。有时会疑惑，他们在这里是不是真的会替我朋友找到一世伴侣而开心。

唉呀！我啊，在这里啰哩啰嗦，又不是我的婚礼。嘻嘻！怎样都好，真的很替我那三个结婚的朋友开心。很期待见证他们说我愿意时的那刻…

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遗忘了的习惯 Long Forgotten Habit

（Dear English readers, please scroll down to find the ‘click’ for English translation)

小时候， 很爱阅读， 是个书迷。就是因为常躺着看书，常在动摇的巴士内追小说，常顾不了灯光暗淡还是放不下书本，我变了个千度大近视。

上了大学后，虽还是常看书，可是少了文学，多了课教本。或看的是电脑。唯一接触文学时，是每个暑假回马追金庸武侠小说。不过，那也是好多年前的事。已忘了追小说的感觉很久了。阅读文学书籍这个好习惯早已慢慢在我的日常生活中消失。

现在回想起，我虽曾爱看小说，可是都是以华文书为主。 对英文的文学世界真是一无所知。在澳洲书店见到琳琅满目的英文小说，可真是不知从何看起。所以，要多看英文书的心常不了了之。

至到遇上Ed才稍有改变。Ed爱看书 （只是英文书，他不会中文）。他常鼓励我多阅读英文小说，因为他太受不了我很烂的英文。他说，‘拼命’阅读可较快地加强语文能力。这个我当然知道啦。可是，他的亲身体验还是给了我很大的鼓励。他七，八岁移民来加国时，英文很不行。就算到了中学，还是不过如此。一直到他拚命阅读，书写能力才开始大大地进步。

这个我也明白。我在澳洲住了那么多年，英文虽已比以往好，日常的沟通也没问题。可是，还是有很多时候有些词不达意，也写不出漂亮的文章。现在，手头上有些时间，所以决定好好啃书充实自己。

于是，Ed常带我到书店逛。他会介绍我一些好的作家。我则会站在那读上几页，看我喜不喜欢作家的风格。加上，这里有很多二手，或便宜卖过时畅销文学书的书店。Ed弟弟的妻子也很爱书。上次见她，给了我一大堆书看。

渐渐地，我又开始爱上了阅读。最近，除了中文书，也看了蛮多英文小说，对英文的现代文学界也开始有多些了解。

很开心，把遗忘了的好习惯重拾起来。也添加了新的阅读习惯。语文能力虽没那么快进步，可是书中的‘黄金屋’已找到….

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Montreal Now and Then (1) – Its History and Its Language

(Dear English readers, please scroll down to find the ‘click’ for English translation)

前两天去了蒙特利尔 (Montreal)一趟。这次只去了一个晚上，纯粹是去见一见一位朋友。我第一次去时，是约三个半月前。那时，还是夏天。可是，一直来懒得写一篇有关蒙特利尔的贴字。因为它的历史太悠久，和加拿大的关系太复杂，要写好一篇贴字，很花工夫。所以，一直拖延到今天。

蒙特利尔是魁北克 （Quebec)省的省市, 它有三百多年的历史。魁北克省和加拿大有一段奇特的历史关系。简短来说，魁北克省曾是法国的占领地。在一场法国和英国世界主权斗争的战争后，英国战胜因而得到了魁北克。后来，加拿大独立后，成为双语国也是因为魁北克省。

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Friday – My Artsy Day : 新的歌声 A New Voice

今天，上网听我很喜欢的LA电台KCRW 。突然，听到一把美得醉人的歌声唱有点像大戏或山歌的中文歌。 只两，三句中文后，变成了法文歌。 难得听到新的歌声， 就上网‘找’她。

Today, I was listerning to my favarite radio station – KCRW online and suddenly heard this beautiful female voice singing in Chinese with a older Chinese singing style. The song started with a few lines of Chinese and turned into a French song. I was happy to find a new voice and went online to ‘look’ for her.

Jessica Fichot

她在美国出生， 在法国长大。 爸爸是法国人，妈妈是华人。曾为孩童编写歌曲，现在移居LA专注于她的音乐事业。因这种背景，她写的歌很多元化和多种语言。这是她第一张唱片。

“Born in the U.S and raised in France to a French father and Chinese mother, Jessica Fichot’s multicultural upbringing had an early influence on her songwriting.

Fichot’s music career began in small coffee shops in Paris. After traveling to Boston and becoming a graduate of the Berklee School of Music; she wrote childrens’ music for educational programs and has now traveled to Los Angeles to focus on her own music and songwriting. The result is a wonderful debut album called ‘Le Chemin’ which finds her beautiful voice singing in English, French, Spanish and Chinese. The songs ranges in style from classic Django-esque swing to a dreamy Anglo French rendition of the song ‘Dream a Little Dream of Me’.” – （intro by KCRW)

也不多写了， 如你有兴趣的话，可以在myspace (http://www.myspace.com/jessicafichot) 听到她的歌。那首 中法文歌歌名是Le Velours rong re si.

I won’t write much here. If you are interested, you can go to myspace (http://www.myspace.com/jessicafichot) to listern to some of her songs. The song I mentioned above is Le Velours rong re si.

不知你喜欢不喜欢这种音乐 ？

Not sure if you like this kind of music ?

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