街角工作室（2021）

第一场雪落下的第二天,
On the day after the first snow fell,
我把车停在停车场,把东西搬进去。
I parked my car in the lot and carried my things inside.
感觉就像开学的第一天。
It felt like the first day of school.
我当然很焦虑,但也充满了希望。
I was anxious, sure, but also full of hope.
我可以把世界看作是不祥的、若隐若现的东西,
I could view the world as something ominous, looming,
或者我可以选择看到光。
or I could choose to see the light.
我选择看到光明。
I chose to see the light.
接待处的女人笑了。
The woman in reception smiled.
她有些事情。
There was something about her.
那时我就知道我来对地方了。
I knew then that I'd come to the right place.
电梯在右边。
Elevator's to the right.
我已经习惯了在上一份工作中成为领导者之一。
I had gotten used to being one of the leaders in my last job.
不是经理,甚至不是团队领导,
Not a manager or even a team leader,
而是有时可以向其他人展示该怎麽做的人。
but someone who could sometimes show other people what to do.
我决心在我的新工作场所建立同样的职位
I was determined to build up the same position at my new place of work
儘快。
as soon as I could.
最后,我将能够充分发挥我的潜力......
Finally, I would be able to blossom to my full potential...
成为我一直想成为的人。
become the person I've always wanted to be.
一个不可忽视的人。
A person to be reckoned with.
我知道我必须为自己创造一个平台
I knew I had to make a platform for myself
并向老闆展示我从第一天起的能力。
and show the boss what I was capable of from day one.
我和拉克什共用我的办公桌,
I shared my desk with Rakesh,
谁帮我解决了各种实用的细节。
who helped me with various practical details.
这就是咖啡机的工作原理。
That's how the coffee machine works.
我想这是一个受欢迎的工作休息,
I guess it was a welcome break from work,
因为他总是想出新的东西
because he was always coming up with new things
我应该知道的。
I ought to know about.
橡皮筋。
Rubber bands.
这裡有回形针。
In here are paper clips.
这就是铅笔的去向。
And this is where the pencils go.
这就是百叶窗的工作原理。
This is how the blinds work.
我每天早上提前15分钟到达,
I arrived 15 minutes early every morning,
然后按照我自己的时程表度过了一天的剩馀时间。
then followed my own timetable for the rest of the day.
五十五分钟的专注工作,
Fifty-five minutes of concentrated work,
然后休息五分钟。
followed by a five-minute break.
我相信我会很快适应
I was confident I'd adapt quickly
并很快走向成功。
and soon be on the way to success.
缓慢但肯定地,我建立了一个个人资料
Slowly but surely, I built up a profile
我最亲近的邻居,
of my closest neighbors,
他们的性格,以及在等级制度中的位置。
their character, and place in the hierarchy.
香农在公♥司♥的时间比拉克什长,
Shannon had been at the company longer than Rakesh,
虽然没有卡罗尔那麽长。
though not as long as Carol.
卡罗尔似乎知识渊博,
Carol seemed knowledgeable,
但也是那种认为自己无所不知的人
but also the sort of person who thought she knew everything
并且喜欢正确。
and liked being right.
香农,看,
Shannon, look,
你确实看到它在这裡说了什麽,不是吗？
you do see what it says right here, don't you?
香农是那种什麽都笑的人,
Shannon was the kind of person who laughs at everything,
即使刚刚说了什麽...
even when whatever's just been said...
对,对。- ...一点都不好笑。
Right. Right, right. - ...isn't funny at all.
因为它是这麽说的。我明白了。
Because it says that. I get it.
不过,你能给我解释一下吗？
Can you explain it to me, though?
每个人都转向卡罗尔,因为他们不敢接近老闆。
Everyone turned to Carol when they didn't dare approach the boss.
卡罗尔对面坐着米切尔。
Opposite Carol sat Mitchell.
开门。- 他在那裡待得更久
Open the door. - He'd been there longer
比其馀的总和... - 小心,是的。
than the rest combined... - Carefully, yes.
...但是他是如何完成这一壮举的...- 小心地打开门,
...but how he had managed that feat... - Carefully open the door,
在你的右边你会发现... - ...不是马上就清楚了。
and to your right you will find... - ...wasn't immediately clear.
是的,雨伞。
Yes, the umbrella.
卡罗尔在她的电脑附近有一幅装裱好的孩子的画。
Carol had a framed child's drawing near her computer.
它显示了沉入大海的太阳,
It showed a sun sinking into the sea,
但是画错了。
but the drawing was wrong.
在地平线上,有陆地
On the horizon, there were land masses
在太阳的两边伸出,
sticking up on both sides of the sun,
当然,这是不可能的。
which, of course, is impossible.
我想知道她是否意识到它公然不准确。
I wondered if she was aware of its flagrant inaccuracy.
我可以帮你吗？
Can I help you?
也许她被自己的情感参与蒙蔽了双眼。
Maybe she was blinded by her emotional involvement.
无论在什麽情况下,
No matter what the circumstances,
孩子应该意识到他们的错误,
the child deserved to be made aware of their mistake,
以便下次可以避免错误。
so that the error could be avoided next time.
你,呃,想喝杯咖啡吗？
You, uh, want a cup of coffee?
好。
Okay.
米切尔的漫长任期
Mitchell's lengthy tenure
不幸的是,没有让他安全。
had, unfortunately, not made him secure.
他似乎一直处于致命的恐惧之中。
He seemed constantly in mortal fear.
你听说过裁员吗？
Did you hear about the layoffs?
我坚持我的日程安排,不允许自己
I stuck to my schedule and did not allow myself
在一段时间中间被打扰
to be disturbed in the middle of a period
閒聊或喝咖啡休息。
with small talk or coffee breaks.
有时我想在五分钟后洩漏
Sometimes I felt like taking a leak after five minutes
但总是确保我坐了整个时期。
but always made sure I sat out the whole period.
这是性格塑造,
It was character-building,
而且,显然,终于缓解了压力的缓解
and, obviously, the relief of finally easing the pressure
是那麽伟大。
was that much greater.
当我第一次发现这个房♥间时,我正朝着那个方向走。
I was heading that way when I first discovered the room.
一股霉味扑鼻而来,
A musty smell hit my nose,
但我不记得想过太多。
but I don't remember thinking much about it.
哦。。。
Oh...
一个房♥间。
a room.
到一天结束时,我几乎忘记了
By the end of the day, I had almost forgotten
曾经透过通往那个额外空间的门看过。
ever having looked through the door leading to that extra space.
几天后,我发现自己在寻找複印纸。
A few days later, I found myself looking for copy paper.
儘管有所有的劝告要问事情,
Despite all the exhortations to ask about things,
我不愿意让自己暴露在屈辱和嘲笑之下
I was unwilling to expose myself to humiliation and derision
通过显示我对设置的瞭解差距。
by displaying gaps in my knowledge of the setup.
我上一次工作的地方,有一个严格执行的政策
The last place I'd worked, there was a strictly enforced policy
关于办公用品的使用。
regarding the use of office supplies.
我突然想到,把纸藏在一个不太可能的地方
It occurred to me that hiding the paper in an unlikely place
可能是避免浪费的策略。
might be a strategy to avoid waste.
起初,我找不到光。
At first, I couldn't find the light.
我沿着门两边的牆壁摸了摸,然后放弃了。
I felt along the walls on either side of the door, then gave up.
放电灯开关真是个奇怪的地方。
What an odd place to put a light switch.
我很快就能够确定那裡没有纸,
I was quickly able to ascertain that there was no paper there,
但是,即便如此,我还是立即感觉到了
but, even so, I got an immediate sense
这个地方有一些特别的东西。
that there was something special about this place.
我出去了,
I went out,
关上门...
closed the door...
并关掉了灯。
and switched off the light.
我又打开了门,
I opened the door again,
只是为了确保那裡的灯还亮着。
just to make sure the light wasn't still on in there.
要知道,别人都有一堵小牆,
You know, everyone else has a little wall,
或隔板,在桌子之间...
or divider, between the desks...
而我们没有。
and we don't.
我想我前段时间要求一个,但削减了。
I think I asked for one a while back, but cutbacks.
无所谓。
Doesn't matter.
我们没有什麽可隐瞒的。
We got nothing to hide.
我们试着考虑地板。
We try to think about the floor.
答桉是肯定的。
Of course.
自然。- 嗯。
Naturally. - Hm.
我很生气,我没有想到鞋套自己。
I was annoyed I hadn't thought about the shoe covers myself.
显然,如果我有时间,我会的。
Obviously, I would have, if I'd had time.
安德鲁设法让我觉得既愚蠢又不安全,
Andrew had managed to make me feel both stupid and insecure,
实际上,我是那裡最聪明的人之一。
when, in actuality, I was one of the smartest there.
人们通常不会试图用笑话来平息这种评论吗？
Don't people usually try to smooth over that sort of remark with a joke
还是微微一笑？
or a little smile?
再说了,这样走开也是很不礼貌的。
Besides, it was just rude to walk off like that.
我推断这55分钟的时间段已经被毁了。
I reasoned that this 55-minute period was already ruined.
我只需要坐下来
I would just have to sit it out
然后从下一个重新开始。
and start again with the next one.