luosteve的部落格

當您看到這篇文章的標題時，您可能想俺在舊金山時究竟在搞啥碗糕。呵~以下就讓我告訴你們我和阿悸如何盡力地幫一位格友完成他美麗心願的故事。  

Seeing from the title of this article, you might be wondering what the hell I was up to when in SFO. Well, the following is the story I’m going to tell you on how A-ji and I tried our best to help a blogger friend to fulfill his lovely wish.  

 

每飛到外站，我總是會在辦完住宿手續和打點好一切後，去上個網收信或看看部落什麼的，上個禮拜我做舊金山班時也不例外。不過那回當我在看部落格最新回應之時，有個留言讓我特別注意，也花了我一些時間看完它。哈哈~原來是阿悸(格友安琪)的留言，且很明顯地，她希望我在美國幫她跑個腿辦點事。  

After reaching every outport, I make it a rule to check my e-mails and blog after I complete check-in and settle everything down in my hotel. I did the same things as usual when I operated the SFO flight last week. But when I was reading the latest comments in my blog, there was one which especially caught my attention and took me some time to go over it. Ha~that’s the message by A-Ji (Angelica) and apparently from the lines she would like me to run an errand for her in the U.S.  

**倒數第二句”…there was one…”的one是”one comment”的意思；因為不要再重複一次comment，所以直接用代名詞one代替。

 

 

這就是阿悸大概留給我的訊息  

This is roughly what A-Ji messaged me  

「親愛的小夫，我知道你目前人在舊金山，有件事我可能要麻煩你一下。我有個格友叫Wolala，他非常迷戀一位女孩子，且試圖要取悅那個女孩子。因為那女孩很迷In-N-Out漢堡，Wolala想要收集許多有關美國In-N-Out漢堡的東西，希望可以在那女孩子的生日趴上給她一個驚喜。他知道他本身沒有機會到美國，所以好幾次拜託我幫他這個忙。但你知道嗎小夫，我最近就是沒有去美國的計劃，所以我才想到你，一切就有賴你啦！不勉強你啦小夫，以你的行程和時間為主。只要幫忙收集相關的副產品或包裝之類的，像是杯子、廣告單、外帶包…等就可以了。我沒有見過那個男生，但卻可以感受到他對心儀女子的迷戀程度。深受他的這個「浪漫的計畫」感動後，我真的希望這個計劃可以被實現。他女朋友的生日是這個月的十八號，所以我們得趕快在女孩子生日之前完成。不過，如果你真沒有時間也沒關係，我們一樣可以祝福他女友有個愉快的生日。不管如何，我先代表那位先生向你致謝，在舊金山好好玩喔。」  

“Dear Steve, I know you are now in San Francisco . Is it ok if you could do me a favor? There is a blogger friend of mine called Wolala who has a big crush on a girl and attempts to please her. Since that girl is a big fan of In-N-Out Burger, Wolala has decided to collect as many things related to In-N-Out Burger from the U.S. as possible in order to surprise her in her birthday party. He knows he could not afford a trip to the U.S. , so he’s been asking me to help him out for this many times. But you know Steve, I actually don’t have any plans to go to the States recently. So, that’s why I thought of you and am counting on you. I’m not pushing; your own schedule and time come first. Any side products or packing, such as cup, ad sheet, take-out bag, etc., will do. I’ve never seen the man before but I could feel his infatuation for the girl. Deeply touched by his “romantic plan”, I really wish it can be carried out. His girlfriend’s birthday is on 18^th of this month, so we’d better get quick to meet the deadline. But, well, if you don’t have time to do this, it’s fine because we could still wish his girlfriend a happy birthday. No matter what, let me show gratitude to you first on behalf of that gentlemen. Have fun in SFO, Steve.”

 

 

一開始，我覺得完成這項任務有點難，因為我其實對舊金山(除了飯店附近區域外)不熟。不過您知道嗎，為了不辜負阿悸以及這位「第三人士」的期望，我當下決定非得好好完成這項任務不可。  

At first, I thought I would have difficulty accomplishing this task, for SFO were still new to me except the area around my hotel. But you know, in order not to fall short of A-Ji and the “third person”’s expectation, I was right away determined that I had got to make it a success. 

**做…有困難的用法，除了第一句...to have difficulty + Ving之外，還可以用have a tough/hard time + Ving = have trouble + Ving = have problems + Ving等片語。 

 

我在網路上找了In-N-Out漢堡的地點，然後發現在舊金山只有兩家分店，每家都離我好幾哩遠，而最近的一家就在漁人碼頭。接著透過網上地圖和交通資訊，心想，坐市區電車到那裡是最理想也不過了，便宜(兩塊錢美金)且快速。隔天早上，我便秉棄我一慣在外站喜歡用走的方式，改搭市區電車到漁人碼頭。  

I searched on the Internet for the locations of In-N-Out Burger and found out just two branches in San Francisco , each of which is several miles far. The nearest one is in Fisherman’s Warf. After checking the on-line maps and transportations, city tram, I figured, would be the best idea~cheap (2 USD) and faster. The next morning, instead of walking just like what I usually do in every outport, I opted to take the city tram to the Warf.  

**第一句的…, each of which等於…, and each of the two branches/them的意思。因為逗點後的那個句子原本必須要加一個連接詞and來連接，若省略了連接詞，則必需接助關係代名詞來做連接的角色，所以才會在沒有and，但頭號後又想要有句子的情況下將和逗點前那句主詞一樣的主詞改成關代which。


 

但，問題來了~不知道要在哪站下車，也不曉得要怎麼從該站走到漢堡店。我知道天助自助者，所以一切見機行事，只要心存熱誠和善念，船到橋頭是會直然直的。大概坐了半個小時的車時，看到了39號碼頭，很奇怪，我有一種應該要在這裡下車的感覺。  

Well, there came a problem; I had no idea which stop I should get off, nor did I know how to get to the Burger from that stop. I know God helps those who help themselves, so all I could do was play it by ear because I knew fate would find its way as long as I kept an eager and kind heart. It took me about half an hour before I saw Pier 39, and strangely I had a feeling that I should stop here.

 

漁人碼頭這一帶有很多的電車站，而39號碼頭是我所知最多觀光客匯集的站，因為它是一個很有名的觀光點。是的~它的確是。它附近匯聚了很多特殊的店和餐廳，是一個集購物、觀光、和飲食的極佳所在。  

There are many tram stops in the area of Fisherman’s Warf and Pier 39 is what I heard of the one where you can always see a number of tourists flock into as if it were the most popular spot. Yeah it actually is; many special shops and restaurants can be found there, demonstrating a wonderful place for shopping, sightseeing, and eating.

 

找In-N-Out Burger漢堡店之前，我在39號碼頭小晃了一會。很神奇喔~就這樣逛呀逛的，突然間In-N-Out Burger的招牌就在某個街角出現在我眼前。當時很興奮，馬上就衝到那餐廳去。  

I hung around Pier 39 a little bit before I moved on to look for In-N-Out Burger. Magically, just in the middle of my idling around Pier 39, the SIGN of In-N-Out Burger suddenly showed up right in from of me at a street corner. I was so excited and ran to the restaurant in no time. 

 

在為自己點一份起司堡套餐前，我告訴了一位女服務生我的故事。您知道嗎，這位女生務生聽了，毫不猶預地拿出所有上頭印有這餐廳圖案的東西給我，並且對我說：「這些拿去！我希望你朋友的女友會很訝異並且喜歡它們。」哇~這服務生一定是天使的化身。把她給我的這些ㄇㄧ ㄧㄚˋ攤開在桌上，它們包含了紙帽、貼紙、外帶包、副產品訂購目錄、吸管、調味料、漢堡包裝紙、連他們特製的蕃茄醬都有。這趟真是個收獲滿滿的行程呀！  

I told my story to a waitress before I ordered myself a set meal of cheeseburger. You know what, without hesitation, the waitress instantly grabbed everything with the icon of the Burger for me and said “Here you go. I hope your friend’s girlfriend will be very surprised and like them.” Wow, she must be the incarnation of an angel. Laid out on the table, the contents were paper hat, stickers, take-away bag, side-product order catalogue of the house, straw, seasonings, burger wrapper, and even their exclusively-made ketchup. What a rewarding journey.

 

回到台灣後，我打電話給Wolala先生（號碼是阿悸給我的），並約他出來將「貨」交給他。當他看到這些美國紀念品時開心到了極點，離開前也對我道謝了很多次。隔天就是Wolala先生女友的生日了，相信這些In-N-Out Burger產品一定會是她女友最棒的生日禮物。  

When I returned to Taiwan , I called Mr. Wolala (A-Ji gave me his number) and asked him out to submit the 「stuff」to him. He was on cloud ninth when seeing his U.S. souvenirs, and gave many thanks to me before leaving. The next day would be his girlfriend’s birthday. I believe these In-N-Out Burger things would definitely make the best birthday gift.  

 

幫他人達成心願總是最令人快樂和值得驗傲的一件事。我希望每個人的願望都可以實現喔！ 
Helping others to fulfill his or her wish is always the happiest and proud thing to do. I wish everyone’s dreams would be carried out.