話說三、四年前我們同在一間公司兼職找外快，在我眼中，他是一位很有才華的藝術家 (因為情況不許\可，恕不能公開他參與的是那一類藝術)，但是攪藝術的人沒有太多個生活富裕、大富大貴的，而且他還要養妻活兒，所以為理想奮鬥的同時，也得找些可以保証生活的工作；而我當時也正在圓我多年的夢，對麵包和白開水也極之渴求，難得大家際遇相若，便好像找到同病相連的人一樣，於是工作有空檔時，大家總會互吐苦水，將生活逼人的折騰與無奈，和追求夢想所付出的代價互相傾訴，然後又互相勉勵一番。他常常說：「生活是一位潑婦，但是你得與她結婚!」(Life is a bitch, but you have to marry her!) 而我通常是有條不紊地道：「我不是同性戀者，所以生活對我來說是潑婦的兒子，那麼我才可以與他結婚!」(But I am not a lesbian, so to me, life is a son of a bitch, then I can marry him!) 然後兩個人一起大笑，再回到工作崗位去。
奇怪的是，多年前一次悠長的紐約之旅，啟發了我落實追求自己理想的意願，後來才知道，原來當時他也身在紐約；我常想，或許\曾幾何時，我們曾經在蘇豪*區擦身而過也不定! 然後我們又發現，原來大家是差不多在同一時候來到澳洲的，但兜兜轉轉之後，才在同一間公司，同時做著與自己夢想毫無關係的工作，同樣為著麵包和白開水 ……
上個月他告訴我舉家回國的決定，因為那兒可以給他的發展機會和空間都比這裡大，而且那邊已有多項工作等著他，我當然為他將要面對的新生活和新挑戰而感到興奮，我更是衷心的祝褔他，回國以後的路將更光明闊大；但與此同時，我的心也實在是沉了下去，因為我深深體會到，「人離鄉賤」這句話的真義。
再見了，朋友! 在電子通訊世界再見!
* 註 —- 蘇豪是紐約的一個小區，聚集了很多發展不同種類的藝術工作者，許\多出名的藝術家都在這兒起家，甚具特色。
(English version)
So Long, My Friend!
A friend of mine has decided to relocate back to his home country. Although the technology is so advanced nowadays and I would probably email friends much frequent than meeting them, I still don’t want him to go since we have a special connection that brings us close to each other.
The story began three or four years ago when we both worked part time at a company. He has always been a very talented artist to me. But not surprisingly, not many artists would have a very luxurious life and he also had a family to feed, so he had to have a job that guaranteed the basic needs of life while pursuing his dreams. Co-incidentally, I was also working on my dream at the same time and I was also desperate for the bread and butter as well. It just felt like we had a joined body when you found someone who was going through a very similar pattern in life with you. Hence, we used to grab each other for a warm shoulder whenever we had a break from work. We let off all the hard times in lives, the choices we had to make and those things we had to scarify for our dreams. We then would give each other some nice and supportive words. He always used to say, ‘Life is a bitch, but you have to marry her!’ and I normally replied seriously, ‘But I am not a lesbian, so to me, life is a son of a bitch, then I can marry him!’ that had us in stitches before we got back to work.
It was actually a trip to New York years ago that inspired me to pursue my dream. Funny enough, we have found out that he was also lived in New York at the time I was there. Sometimes I think we might have met already in Soho* long before we know each other here in Sydney. Later on, we have also found out that we actually came to Sydney at a similar time. But then we both struggled for a while before we joined the same company and did a job that had completely nothing to do with our dreams but the bread and butter…
Last month, he told me about his decision of relocation as he believed that there would be more opportunities and career prospects back to his home country. Also, a few projects have been arranged for him already. I am so happy and excited for him about his new start and all the challenges ahead. I also wish him the very best with all my heart and sincerely hoping he will have a brighter future. But I also feel sad at the same time as I have realised I understand the real meaning of being a ‘second class resident’ in a foreign country more than ever.
So long, my friend! See you in the cyber world!
*Note —- Soho is a small suburb in New York, which attracts numerous artists to hang around from everywhere of the world. There are a lot of well-known artists actually establishing their career there at the first place. It is a town with different features and it is just spectacular.
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