今天是陽曆年除夕，我們海上航行。 

      Today it's New Year's Eve and we were cruising at sea again.

      I yawned widely as I got up in the morning. As I checked the clock, I toppled out of bed. It was 10:30 am. I still was in pajamas and cuddling a teddy bear. For some reason, I actually grew fond of the bear because he was a nice replacement for my old punching bag. I was thinking of having a brunch after getting dressed, but the thought was interrupted with a gurgle from my stomach. On second thought, I decided to ask for something to eat. When I went to ask mom, she surprised me by showing a platter of food to me. After a suitable meal, it was time for lunch. I didn't think a few pounds added wouldn't be disastrous in New Year holiday season, would it?

      早晨醒來我不住打着哈欠，一看表已是上午十點半，我晃晃悠悠爬下床來，身着睡衣，手抱泰迪熊，不知為什麼，我喜歡上泰迪熊，至少它可以替代拳擊吊袋。我準備穿好衣服再四處收集幾個，只不過計劃尚未實施，肚子飢腸轆轆，開始發出咯咯叫聲。我不得不改變初衷，決定先吃點東西再說。這時我轉問媽媽，沒想到她已把早飯備好。等我剛剛吃完，午飯時間到了。新春佳節期間，增加幾磅體重有什麼了不得？

      After lunch, I walked to the Youth Center. Within 5 minutes, we were smashing the football around the room, rebounding off the walls. Plenty of times we got a few bruises here and there but no one cared. As always, we had ice cream with sprinkles. The subject kept changing. It initiated from brain surgery to flying. But all this was hushed up as we started to play Wii. I lost track of time and space. Only when I drank water, I noticed that the boys weren't with me anymore. I looked around and saw them goggling at the PS3 screen. Soon my own eyes were bulging at the Play Station. Sometimes I wished that I could slow the time down because before I knew it, I was dragged away to dinner.

      午餐後，我去少年活動中心報到。不到五分鐘，我們立刻玩起室內足球，球滿屋橫飛，大家被打得青一塊紫一塊，可誰也顧不上在意什麼。與從前一樣，我們踢完球照舊去吃冰激凌甜點，但這回聊天的內容有所改變，從腦外手術到空中飛行，不一而足。過後只要一上手“任天堂”第七款遊戲，我們一下子安靜起來。我將時空置之度外，直到口渴喝水時才發覺其他男生都跑去玩“索尼”第三款電視遊戲，我趕緊湊了過去，不再話下。有時我真希望時間能夠放慢速度，等過完玩癮之後，方去吃晚餐。

      When we cruised halfway between Valparaiso, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina from the Pacific to Atlantic Ocean on Star Princess, we ran into a young lady, Olga who was on duty as an acting manager in Customer Service Desk. One day, she overheard the tones that I incidentally pitched on a grand piano used for entertaining in Princess Plaza. We hanged out unexpectedly in a meeting room where she played an electronic upright piano in front of us. She came to chat with me about the music and especially piano. Olga had played piano for 23 years when she began at the age of 3 in Ukraine. She practiced 5 hours every day when she was 9 years old exactly like my age! She graduated with a bachelor degree in piano performance from Moscow Music Conservatory, Russia and won numerous top-notch awards in the international piano competitions. Mom admired her solid background and wondered why she gave up her passion and talent on piano performance. I could tell that a professional pianist only sounded like her dream right now. Well, we lived on dreams, strived for dreams and enjoyed the process of dreaming. The most importance of all, we had to learn how to survive successfully. It was the very moment that mom hired her to be my piano teacher. I was kidnapped to the music dreamland!

      我們乘“星辰•公主”號遊輪沿着太平洋向大西洋進發，從智利瓦爾帕萊索揚帆，到阿根廷布宜諾斯艾利斯拋錨，半路下來經歷了許多意想不到得事情，與奧爾加不期而遇，就是其中典型一例。奧爾加是遊輪上客戶服務部代理主管，當班那天，恰好聽到我在大廳試彈全船唯一用來表演的三角鋼琴。後來彼此在“琴房”第一次碰面，她正彈奏電子鋼琴，準備為娛樂晚會登台獻藝。奧爾加主動跟我搭訕，談音樂，更談鋼琴。她出生於烏克蘭，從三歲起便開始學習鋼琴，至今已有23個春秋。像我9歲這把年紀，她每天堅持練習5個鐘頭！奧爾加畢業於俄羅斯音樂學院鋼琴演奏專業，獲得過無數次國際一流鋼琴比賽大獎。媽媽非常羨慕其蜚聲全球的藝術學府，佩服其紮實無華的音樂功底，並好奇為什麼不再繼續專業生涯。看得出，鋼琴表演對她來說現在只是一個夢想。憑心而論，我們都生活在夢想之中，為夢想而不懈努力，從中期待享受愉悅。最重要的是，我們要努力掌握生存能力。就在那一時刻，媽媽毫不猶豫聘請她出任我的鋼琴老師，讓我欲愛不能，欲罷不忍，欲棄不舍！

(二O一二年十二月卅一日，除夕)