A Meeting 開會

It's Sunday.  It's the last day of August.  Our work starts tomorrow.  I am sitting in the meeting room.  I am in a meeting.  星期日.  八月的最後一天.  我們明天開始正式上班.  這時候的我正坐在會議室裡, 開會.

Papers.  There are many papers.  Do I have all of the papers?  Am I looking at the right paper?  One of my coworkers is talking.  I am only listening to half of the words.  None of it has anything to do with me.  Yes, I am looking at the wrong paper.  Better find the right one.  開會的文件.  那麼多的文件.  我都拿到了?  我看著的這張對嗎? 其中的一位同事正在報告, 我只聽到一部分, 內容也跟我無關, 喔! 我看錯張紙了, 最好趕快找到他正在講的那一張 .

Someone hands me a cup of tea.  The cup is very cold.  The perspiration from the cup is dripping down onto the table.  I think the tea is very bitter.  I am drinking it anyway.  一位同事給我一杯茶.  茶很冰.  杯子上的水流到桌上了.  我覺得這杯茶很苦.  但我還是把它喝了.

I am looking down at the table.  My cap is on the table.  My cap is stained with sweat.  I am holding hand high as I write this.  There is a desk calendar under my hand.  The calendar is next to the papers.  我看著桌子.  我的帽子在桌上.  它被我自己的汗弄髒了. 我把手騰空地寫著 .  桌曆在我的手下, 在會議文件旁邊.

The big boss is talking about how to do something better.  The coworker next to me is staring at a paper, and she is pretending to read the paper.  Another coworker is shuffling papers.  Another coworker is playing with her smartphone.  老闆正在說如何改善做事方法,   旁邊的同事盯著文件看, 假奘自己用功地讀文件,  另外一邊的同事排列著他手中的文件,  還有一位同事在玩她的智慧手機.

The big boss has hands the meeting over to another administrator.  The administrator is saying a phone number that many of my coworkers are writing down.  I am not writing the phone number down.  I don't need to know the phone number.  老闆將會議交給另外一位行政人員.  行政人員說了一組電話號碼, 同事們將它寫了下來.  我不寫這個電話號碼.  我不需要這個號碼.

Words.  Spoken, read, or written down.  Words on paper.  Papers on the table.  Papers to be filed, or else secretly thrown away.  文字.  講的, 讀的, 還是寫下來的.  文件上的文字.  桌上的文件.  需要留下的文件.  要秘密丟掉的文件.

Bodies.  People.  Restless and trying to concentrate.  We hope we have it all in hand.  Tomorrow is coming and our work will start.  We do our best to be well informed, but sometimes we are looking at the wrong paper, or listening to the wrong words.  身體.  人. 坐立不安和試著專心的人.  我們希望自己都準備完全, 明天將至, 工作將開始.  我們很努力地聽清楚, 但有時還是看錯文件或是聽錯字.

We know that tomorrow always comes too soon.  We know that there will be another meeting tomorrow.  We know there will be other papers, with other words, that we must remember.  Papers to be handed out.  Words to be remembered.  Tea to be drunk, though it is too bitter.  All of it too soon.  我們知道明天總是來的太快, 我們也知道明天還會有另外一個會議.  也還有別的會議文件, 和別的事情要記起來.  要給同事的會議文件.  要記得的話.  要喝的茶.  就算茶太苦.  這些都太快到了.