過去一二月我試圖寫點回憶錄，才發現這是很不簡單的事。譬如說，我留學英國13個多月，而由於當時沒寫日記，寫出的信都沒請回來，所以只能憑記憶。再者，我對於英國文明-社會-歷史所知也很有限。
昨日一段: 人的思緒多聯想。今天4點多即起。Face book 有Yen女士指示BBC拍的高畫質「[HD] Franz Schubert - The Greatest Love & The Greatest Sorrow 」， 約6:15 看完它: 首尾都以貝多芬結束，臨終語: 「此非我病床也因為貝多芬不在此。」
我照例去《紐約時報》等逛逛，平常都用Firefox 瀏覽器，《紐約時報》還是上不去，不過我用它的鏡像網站做一些【英文人行道】的例子。後來我看到WSJ一篇文章，才了解如果我採用Google 公司的Chrome，因它可能很早就清理完昨天駭客弄亂的網址，所以上得去。果然如此。
我今年在二手書店買到一本Charles Baudelaire 的法英對照《惡之華》，我認為英文翻譯本很不錯，所以希望每天看一二首。今天讀他的《敵人》，他三十來歲在詩中就說已步入中年心智之秋，時間吸他之血而茁壯，最重要的是他希望自己是園丁，希望重拾工具，但願土能吸收神秘的氣而恢復生機…….。我突然想起我初一住宿在洪炎森老師他家，他有一大片的果園。於是取出45年前的《台中市立第三中第九屆畢業同學錄》，開始寫些對師長的回憶錄……
昨天我拿起初中畢業紀念冊要寫。碰到許多心理障礙。師友之中，只有謝立沛老師過去45年保持連絡而已。對我最有恩的初一英文老師，卻已忘掉他的名字。初二對我最有期望的國文老師，我找出名字了，不過是否該寫下聽來的一些淒慘的故事呢……
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Love in a Life
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我1969年的暑假，竟然將下學期的化學教科書2冊都讀畢。學到許多新知識，驚天動地的知識。不過，我高二上的化學成績平平而已。
約40年之後，我與洪信佳同學聊起他住臺中一中校門口前的寄宿生活。其中有一項令我吃驚：高一時，學長就要求他背「周期表」，像科舉時代硬背書般，因為它是化學科目的總結。我從沒想過要背它。
david 2025 年報
Hola friends, time for another exciting (cough cough) annual update from yours truly.
It was certainly no fun being a middle-aged man looking for a job, and that unenviable status continued for over half a year, after we moved to the Seattle area in summer 2024. I finally became employed again in spring 2025. A big shoutout to all who have helped! I joined a dietary supplement brand and became their first in-house legal. It sort of just… happened - the jobs I actively applied (begged) for were not interested in my candidacy, but a recruiter just called me out of the blue one day and introduced me to this position, which seemed to align perfectly with my unconventional career path. The learning curve has been steep. I constantly have to pick up new legal subjects (employment, advertising, intellectual property, just to name a few), while collaborating with the business teams and addressing their legal concerns. The fact that I have no one to bounce ideas off of internally makes things even more challenging. As a result, many of you have got calls / emails from me and become the involuntary subjects of my brain-picking, for which I am immensely grateful. All and all, I find this position very engaging. Other than doing purely legal work, as the first in-house, I have had the chance to build systems and protocols, handbooks and manuals. I find myself constantly outside my comfort zone, and it's been very intellectually satisfying.
More than employment though, the best thing that happened in 2025 was that I got to visit one of my best friends in California in January, and another best friend moved back to Seattle in summer. His son and my son are the same age, and it’s super adorable to see them interact whenever we hang out. I sincerely hope they grow up together and become close friends too.
My maternal grandfather passed away in May 2025. He was a couple of years away from making 100. What a life he had! Born and grew up during the Japanese colonial era in Taiwan, he did well in school and was trained to be a kamikaze pilot during WWII (thankfully did not see combat). After the regime change, he eventually worked his way up and became an elementary school principal. I took the kids out of school and the whole family flew to attend the funeral in Taiwan. Sometimes the most important lessons do not take place in classrooms.
I had planned to write this email in a leisurely mood while sipping evening wine, but the events that transpired over the weekend definitely have cast a dark cloud over things (Venezuela). It seems that the world is descending into chaos, yet there is nothing much I can do about it. As a result, I've found myself increasingly inward-focused. Gone are the days of youthful drive to make my presence known and wide-eyed confidence to make a positive change in the world. These days, I contribute to society by not becoming a serial killer (I kid I kid). I find myself more concerned with people and things immediately around me that I feel I have more control over - my relationships with my kids, family at large, friends, and so on. It's ironic that while age alone has taught me that nothing in life is ever constant and controllable, I still instinctively crave the comfort the illusion of control brings. Oh, I also got into gardening (although I suspect this is largely hormonal - that all men are told by their biological clocks to start appreciating vegetative company once they reach a certain age).
Well, with all that, happy new year! May we all be able to find the silver lining wherever we can, and be content, hopeful and healthy despite, well… everything.
David
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