I saw Sandy tonight and I am so excited! Sandy Lam is my all-time favorite female singer. I always say she’s my singing mentor even though we have never met and she for sure does not know me… :p But I started listening to her music since grade 6 in primary school. I own almost each one of her earlier albums-Cantonese, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, English–I developed the foundation of my singing techniques by imitating her style and I think I have found myself a great first singing mentor.

Her performance tonight was absolutely wonderful. Even though the venue was at most 70% full, I am sure each and every one in the audience was touched by her sincerity, her beautiful voice and her amazing stage presence. The production was also very good-the lighting, the music arrangement, the choreography and the costume design were all very well done. Can’t believe there wasn’t more promotion done for this great show!! and at the end of the show, because of the crowd’s passionate and heated response, Sandy sang 2 more songs after the usual encore session. The entire audience just migrated to the front of the room and I got to see Sandy up close! It was also a great sight to watch when each one of the audience stood up to join Sandy for the dance song medleys.

What a great way to spend a Sunday night. Tomorrow I am leaving for Tokyo to visit my buddies from Keio days… Can’t wait.

今年初翻譯完的新書終於要在十二月初上市了！

「最後的夏天」和我的第一本譯作「細數繁星」都是由美國知名青少年文學作家Lois Lowry所寫的，Lowty擅長以青少年做為故事的主人翁，用他們青澀的觀點，觀看人生中重大的事件。她流暢的文筆和她所關注的故事題材讓她的小說老少咸宜，也屢屢獲得美國的青少年文學獎項肯定。
I truly enjoyed reading and translating the book. The book moved me to tears and made me ponder about the issues of life and death. A truly enlightening read.

哈佛人出版社「我最喜歡的一段話」徵文活動！
即日起至民國98年1月31日止，只要您從《最後的夏天》挑選一段最喜歡的文字，並寫下您喜歡的原因，我們就會從中挑選出3-5名佳作，並贈送500元哈佛人出版社購書劵。
http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/havard-inspired/article?mid=2674&prev=-1&next=2672

About the story…

「一個十三歲的女孩，和她姊姊跟隨父母搬家到鄉下，度過一個夏季。在寂靜的鄉間，她認識了七十多歲、住在小木屋裡的房東爺爺，也跟一對新搬來的年輕夫婦成了鄰居。

房東爺爺帶領她認識鄉野的植物。喜歡攝影的她，也教房東爺爺怎樣沖洗照片。

在漫長的夏季裡，她經歷了姊姊的死亡，也親眼看到年輕夫婦第一個嬰兒誕生的歷程。

在夏日將盡、秋葉飄零的時候，父親帶著寫完的書稿，她帶著一切歡笑和哀傷的記憶，回到了城市。

這就是這本書裡的故事。」

Amazon 讀者說…
http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Die-Lois-Lowry/dp/0440219175

Sending my prayers and regards to a brilliant singer who is gone too soon.

『Gone Too Soon』 (Michael Jackson 1993)

Like A Comet
Blazing ‘Cross The Evening Sky
Gone Too Soon

Like A Rainbow
Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye
Gone Too Soon

Shiny And Sparkly
And Splendidly Bright
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like The Loss Of Sunlight
On A Cloudy Afternoon
Gone Too Soon

Like A Castle
Built Upon A Sandy Beach
Gone Too Soon

Like A Perfect Flower
That Is Just Beyond Your Reach
Gone Too Soon

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night

Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon

Gone Too Soon

http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=H0mcxmCGetI&feature=related

I was at church this past Sunday and our pastor told the story about William Boden.
Within his short 25-year life he did lots of good deeds and left behind the three short phrases in the title: No reserves, no retreats and no regrets. I think Christians and non-christians alike can benefit from these words and try to lead a life where we never hold back, never give up, and always live life to the fullest.

昨天看了女性影展的「37 Arts 舞者紀事」。 之前在電視上看到許芳宜的特輯，就深深被她的毅力所吸引。正如我所期待的，許芳宜的紀錄片給我帶來了我所需要的激勵與靈感，還有更多更多無法訴諸文字的感動… 真不敢相信我竟然錯過了她今年初在台灣的公演 > < 她美麗的舞者的身體，加上布拉瑞楊的編舞，組成了一幅又一幅最美的畫面...
Fang-Yi Sheu-the pride of Taiwan
Check out her dance company LAFA & Artists here: http://www.lafa.com.tw/

I’d like to share another story about inspiration and perseverance… I had just finished reading a book called 『The Last Lecture』 by Randy Pausch. Many of you may have heard of him or saw his clips on youtube. http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=DzSWWTlqsAw (with Chinese subtitles) I found his book very very inspiring and worth keeping at hand at all times as a reminder to teach us how to live our lives and to give us strength at times of weakness.

Randy Pausch died of pancreatic cancer in July 2008 at the age of 47. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Story?id=4614281&page=1

Randy’s children may not remember much of him since the three of them were all under 6 years old when Randy passed away, but I am sure they will grow up and see the videos he taped for them and read his book and be able to feel so proud of their father and feel so loved despite their father’s physical absence.

Leehom的上海演唱會上週六圓滿落幕了…Angela, David和Joyce召集了來自上海、香港、台灣的朋友，一行浩浩蕩蕩二十個人一起來支持力宏的演唱會和我的上海初登場，真是感動… 八萬人體育場真是不同凡響的大，但我怕後頭的朋友們可能只能看見舞台上的小黑影，不過我相信演唱會的live熱力一定有忠實的傳達給現場的每一個人。

這次的上海行讓我真正感受到出門靠朋友的重要性。Thanks to my friends-Liza, Bella, Leslie, Gary and the aforementioned Angela, David and Joyce-I got to see shanghai’s various faces . Within a mere three days, i had my first F1 experience (thanks to Kewei from Leehom concert), explored 新天地/the bund/城隍廟/田子坊, tried authentic shanghai cuisines, dined at local favorites and expat hangouts, done soothing massages, got my qipao made, savored quality cocktails by the shanghai arts museum.
And I did all this without having done any research beforehand. I knew nothing about Shanghai before and now I can say I have a rough understanding about what this massive city is like. Yes, massive is exactly how I would describe this place… Traveling from one place to another may not cost you a fortune since cab fares are relatively low but it will sure cost you some valuable time because the mere distance between one tourist spot to another can easily mean half an hour on the highway, sometimes plus another half an hour if you get trapped in the traffic.

Everything in SHG just seems a bit (or in some cases a lot) bigger or grander or on a larger scale than it is in Taipei. If you think some parts of Taipei is run-down or crowded, then Shanghai can definitely top Taipei in those respects. But Shanghai also has more impressive skyscrapers, luxurious restaurants, and stadiums that hold tens of thousands of people. The juxtaposition of the old and the new in the city is particularly striking to me. I had my qipao made within less than one day, but wearing the qipao now doesn’t seem to evoke any nostalgia of the era as depicted in 『lust, caution』 or 『In the mood for love,』 but instead becomes a parody of an exotic oriental image… Still digesting all the cultural input I received on the trip, I do hope I get another chance to see Shanghai after it’s finished with the world expo makeover.

昨天帶媽媽去看了屏風表演班的「六義幫」，一開始是為了支持四月望雨夥伴耀仁（柑仔井保正&皇上）的演出，看完戲以後深深覺得…有看到真是賺到！ 先是劇本本身的時空交錯非常有戲劇張力，演員的演技讓我看了更覺得非常過癮。劇中好幾位主要演員分飾多角，他們善用身體姿態及口音的轉換，做出非常清楚而令人印象深刻的角色區分。而即使是群戲演員也很賣力，幾場打鬥戲從台上打到進了翼幕還在打，而整齣戲的節奏非常流暢，燈光佈景設計都很優，也有很多令人難忘的「畫面」設計。看完了以後我的心裡響起這樣的聲音：好想再多看幾齣好戲、好想變成和他們一樣棒的演員、好想繼續演戲！

這齣戲讓我想起…「四月望雨」（不只是因為耀仁喔）、「冏男孩」、甚至是「海角七號」！對我而言，這些大受觀眾好評的藝術作品它們人氣的秘訣在於它們貼近觀眾的心、說出了台灣觀眾的故事，也因此能夠得到許多人的共鳴！而我相信這些作品當中同樣也有足夠的跨文化的感動，值得被傳遞到世界的其他地區。期待下一次和好戲的相遇…

下週六王力宏的Music Man演唱會即將抵達第二站上海，而我也因此有機會首次到上海一遊！Can’t wait!

剛剛在電視上看到海角七號的專題報導，我想已經很久沒有一部台灣自製的電影能夠造成這麼大的迴響。我也愛「海角七號」，最近逢人就說它的好，我愛它捕捉了台灣最溫暖的人、最美麗的景，用淺顯的故事淡淡說出台灣小鄉鎮面對的深刻的問題、用跨文化的格局說出每個人都能感動的愛情故事。很巧的是，我在三年前擔任新聞局英文記者時，我所寫的第一篇文章裡就訪問過魏德聖導演。重讀三年前的訪問，可以看得出魏導演這麼多年來對電影始終如一的熱情，很高興他沒有放棄他的夢想，才讓我們都看見了「海角七號」。

For those who are interested, here’s the link to my article: http://taiwanjournal.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=21434&CtNode=122 Enjoy!

結束了一個多月以來的忙碌，終於有機會小小喘一口氣。演唱會結束隔天，接待了來自日本的朋友，大山（Oyama）姊妹花。第一次見到他們是七年前的事了。這當中我和姊姊一直都有聯絡，在日本唸書的時候也會偶而和她約出來喝茶吃飯，而妹妹則是七年不見，沒想到竟然能在台灣重逢。我的日文依然很破，但是比起第一次見到他們，已經算是可以在某種程度上暢所欲言，不用再比手畫腳。能看到遠方來的老朋友，真的超感動！而且還發現姊姊陽子和我一樣是交響情人夢迷 野田妹逗趣的演出，曾經是我忙碌生活中幫助我紓壓的最佳消遣，或許哪一天我也會有機會演出這樣可愛的一個角色…而我也不忘介紹陽子看看台灣現在最有人氣的海角七號，希望電影正式在日本上映前就能先有粉絲的期待！

隔天我和之前一起合作『LPC』(』I love you, you’re perfect, now change』)的女孩們有個午餐約會。品伶剛結束向左走向右走的演出、忠琪正準備明年的律師考試、寶（可愛的導助）則剛從紐約充電回來，並且很巧的在紐約巧遇逃債中卻依然過得很爽的前嵐創導演林家億… 女孩們的約會非常開心，也讓我們想念大家一起準備演出的快樂時光。大家都依然熱愛著表演，也努力在自己的位置上繼續耕耘著…

回顧過去一年來的表演日子，我從皇冠小劇場裡的都會女子，搖身成為國家戲劇院舞台上三零年代大稻埕的歌女，接著又唱進了二十一世紀搖擺著R&B節奏的小巨蛋。在每一場表演的開始我都感到自己的不足，也在每一場表演結束之後感覺自己又成長了一些。Leehom在演唱會結束發表感謝名單的時候說了「感謝上帝」，而這也是一直存在我心中的想法。不論你相信什麼宗教，這種感謝上天的想法都是一致的。我感覺上帝派了很多天使守護我的生活，讓我安然度過許多的試煉，也或許你可以把這些real-life angels稱為貴人。and I am grateful for having them in my life.

just finished the two Leehom concerts in Taipei and the lively celebration party that followed. By the time I came home the sky was already starting to light up. My body is exhausted but my mind is still awake from the adrenalin… it was an amazing experience to be in a pop concert and also a great learning opportunity for me. Before we knew it, the four backup singing 『angels』 were already dancing and strolling around on the Taipei Dome Stadium stage. Turns out the production team decided it was too much of a waste to let us, the four backup singers, all fully costumed and made-up, to be hiding in the back of the stage. so they decided to bring us to the front of the stage during the encore songs on the second day of the show and all four of us just really enjoyed the freedom to perform out front and being close to Leehom’s fans.

Leehom is the true Music Man for doing what he does–writing songs, writing lyrics, playing the piano/guitar/drums, arranging songs and so much more. We can tell how much the crowds love him and how much he loves them back as well. Through this concert I have made many friends and when they left the party to catch their super early flights I just felt so sad all of a sudden… But I sure hope this won’t be the end of our journey together. Until then.

The backup singing 『angels』 plus the hair stylist and costume designer who created our look!