最後的告別

　　隨著年華逝去，我想，人的時針肯定是愈走愈快，難以相信我為《鑽石媒人Mei Ling》撰寫文章已有四年了！這四年是段美好的時光，一點一滴都是我珍惜不已的回憶。

 

　　自高中起，我已沒有以中文學習了。雖然我的中文程度未至於隻字不識，但寫作水平實在未及成為一位專欄作者。因此，先感謝經濟通體貼地為我翻譯文章，不然便沒有今天的《鑽石媒人Mei Ling》。編輯部一直以來翻譯出高質素的文章，在語言被數碼化及流行文化蠶食、某程度上變得晦澀難懂的今天，編輯部對文字的用心教我敬佩，亦感謝他們這四年來為我翻譯文章。

 

　　這個專欄更為我結緣，讓我有機會認識到其他作者，我們一次又一次的共同舉辦活動及參與電視節目，緣份不限於此，我更透過他們交了一些珍貴的朋友，對此我感激不盡。

 

　　在為經濟通寫專欄的這段時間，我分享了一百多篇關於人際關係的文章，我曾把一半的文章結集成書。第一冊《Navigating Relationships》早在2014年推出，為這四年的寫作生涯留個紀念的第二冊將隨著這篇最後的分享推出。我將把新書贈予我的顧客、來看我的演講的聽眾及工作坊的參與者，以及捐出或發售書本，來為本地的慈善團體籌款。

 

　　專欄之所以成就至此，全賴有你，我親愛的讀者，你們是此專欄文章的靈感之源，書本結集的養份都來自你們，我在此衷心的感謝你們一直以來的支持，希望你們享受閱讀我的文章，並從中有所得著，即使未能篇篇順心，至少有部分合意。我很榮幸地得到你們的支持，投選我成為十大最受歡迎作者。很抱歉我未有時間逐一回覆你們的來信，跟你們交談，遺憾是我總是沒有足夠的時間去完成所有我想做的事情。

 

　　在我的文章《人生兩難：事業、愛情只可以揀一樣？》中，我強調要每天預留一半的時間給自己。排除我們花在工作、玩樂及愛情的時間，其餘的時間都屬於自己。我的建議是：

 

　　「最重要的一點是要學會拒絕。一天只有12小時可用，要小心考量誰、甚麼事會佔用你的時間，為何這些需要使用你的時間。任何不合常理的佔用都要再經評估及調整，把時間花在工作、關係、興趣及你追求的生活上。」

 

　　我享受做的事情有太多，但有限的時間不容許我完成全部事情，現在是時候放下我的專欄，多花時間陪伴我的丈夫！

 

　　再次感謝你，我的讀者，謝謝你一直伴我走過四年的時光。

 

　　（按：中文內容乃翻譯及撮寫版本）

 

THANK YOU!

 

　　I swear the clock ticks faster as one grows older. It is hard to believe that I have been writing the Diamond Matchmaker column for four years! It has been a wonderful experience for me, and I have enjoyed every minute of it.

 

　　My Chinese education ceased after high school. Although I’m not exactly illiterate, my standard of written Chinese is by no means polished enough for a columnist. My first thank you must go to ET Net for their gracious offer to translate all my articles. Without this help the column would not have been possible. The quality of their translations is superb, and consistently so. In this day and age where language is so often butchered and debased by digital jargon and pop culture, to the extent of becoming partially if not wholly unintelligible, I salute the editorial team’s prolific literary skills and feel flattered that they have been translating my writings for four long years. 

 

　　This column has provided me with the opportunity to meet other columnists, and we have from time to time hosted joint events and TV shows. Not only were these a lot of fun, but I have also through them made some precious friends whom I’d like to thank for their collaboration. 

 

　　During my time with Et Net, I have written more than 100 articles on relationship issues for the column, and from these I have since published a little over half in book form. My first volume of Navigating Relationships appeared in 2014, and the second will follow this final article to commemorate the end of this four-year tenure. These books will be given to clients, to people who attend my talks and seminars, and either donated or sold to raise funds for local charities. 

 

　　But it is you, my dear readers, who have been the raison d’être of my column and the inspiration for the material that has filled these books, and I wish to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the staunch support you have given me throughout. I hope you have found my articles enjoyable and helpful, if not all the time, at least some of the time. You have voted me one of the top ten columnists in Hong Kong and I am greatly humbled by this honour. I regret I did not have the time to interact more with you all and to answer your mail. It is a sorrowing fact that I can never find enough time to do all the things I would like to do. 

 

　　In my article “Balancing Love and Career”, I emphasized how important it is to have at least half of each day just for ourselves. This time is ours, and excludes the time we spend at work, play and love. My advice was this:

 

　　“Above all, learn to say NO. With a meagre twelve hours a day to spare, be mindful of who or what is consuming your precious time and why. Any disproportionate demand may require an honest re-evaluation and adjustment, be it your career, relationship, hobby or the lifestyle you’d like to maintain…”

 

　　All too aware that there are so many things I enjoy doing and not enough hours in a day to do them in, I shall take a page from my own column and now strive hard to find more time to spend with my husband!

 

　　Once again, I thank you, my readers, for your kind support of me.

 

 

 《經濟通》所刊的署名及／或不署名文章，相關內容屬作者個人意見，並不代表《經濟通》立場，《經濟通》所扮演的角色是提供一個自由言論平台。

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