Monday, March 29, 2010

morning thoughts

1. Despite all my mockery, sometimes i think i would become a vegetarian if i wasn't so lazy about having to come up with things for dinner. Or maybe i would just be a fair-weather vegetarian. A vegetarian when i want to eat well and a carnivore when i need a good steak. And to remember my dinosaur roots.

2. You know those word verification boxes some people have on their blogs? You have to type in this nonsense word so they know it's a real person. It is my hope, my dream, that one day I will come across a word verification word that is a real word, backwards. I check it every time i think one looks promising. Nothing so far. I feel like they're teasing me. But i'll not give up hope, no not ever!


3. Consider this: I live in urbia, in an apartment. My apartment is on the ground floor. I am reminded of this when a person rings the bell at 7:30am when i'm in my bedroom, undressed and unprepared/unwilling to come to the door, especially because i know it's not for me or someone i want to direct elsewhere, and instead of leaving, the person tap tap taps on my bedroom window. Think about that. What if some solicitor or whatever tapped on your bedroom window while you were in your pjs in your bed? Ahhh.. i start to feel a liiiittle bit claustrophobic.

4. I need to eat more vegetables. If I've gotten out of the habit, mostly because I'm laze-arific, after a while my body starts whimpering
"veggies please.. oh please.." (it doesn't have a super loud voice) Anyway, i kind of like eating the same things for breakfast and lunch.. i mean, not as each other, but the same thing every day. It's more convenient and it keeps me from eating a bag of gummi bears for lunch.. most of the time. Anyway, so my new goal is, for lunch: a pear with cheese and/or a whole bag o' vegetables. We bought a bushel of frozen vegetables and i really couldn't be more pleased. Especially when i inadvertently eat the same thing for lunch as the baby. And then i excitedly yell in his face, "HEY! I'm having greenbeans TOO!" and he gives me that awkward/nervous smile to show he appreciates my enthusiasm but has no idea why the hey.

5. The phrase "super loud voice" from point 4 reminded me of something. I used to tutor English at this lovely place downtown and I had a partner who was Japanese and, despite our cultural differences and the many language barriers, I'm pretty sure is kind of a soul friend. We had a ton in common and we used to laaaaugh and laugh while we'd look around the room at other tutoring partnerships that were quiet, awkward, and stale, saying things like "what are your favorite things about New York?"

Anyway, i also taught a class at this place. While tutoring and teaching, i would do my best to teach what words or phrases that were actually commonly said in everyday American English. Also, I would just use my own personal slang and not do much to alter it. It made me quite aware of the very many times I use the word "lame." Anywho, one of my slang words is using "super" as a form of "very." Well, my tutoring partner told me she had an additional tutor with whom she met on another day, who was an older lady--irrelevant, but just a bit of info. Apparently, one day Tomoko, my friend, was chatting with this woman and Tomo used "super" as I do in a sentence something like, "It is super sad..." about a sad movie or something. (
pride!) The woman was startled, confused, and admonished Tomoko somewhat saying, "Super? Super?? What is that? Super?" HAHAHA. At first i just laughed and laughed and apologized for teaching her crappy English, but she told me she wanted to learn how to speak how the "young cool Americans speak," which is exactly what i am. So, you're welcome Tomo. Man, i miss her.

Good day.

5 comments:

Alanna said...

Regarding #4 (and since you have a Japanese friend): in Japan, they don't eat different foods for breakfast. A bowl of curry would be perfectly acceptable breakfast food. I knew I'd lived there too long when I started doing the same thing. ("Ramen for breakfast? You bet!")

Now that grosses me out again, so I think I've been back from my mission for way too long...

Kim said...

I don't know what it is I like about this post but I've read it over about four times, all the while grinning dopily at my computer screen.

Sorry, I don't remember the point of this. Ah, yes, you=fantastic start to the week.


GREENBEANS!? (Kim begins a years-long chuckle.)

)en said...

awww! :D

alanna, i was going to make fun of you for the ramen, but even i have to admit that sometimes ramen is ok

(soooo cool of me to put links to my own previous posts and to QUOTE ONE. self-high five!)

Natalie R. said...

I love that you use super, that's totally awesome. And I love teaching foreigners authentic language! I used to make my French companion say things like, "You da bomb" and "I can do it!" The French accent just made it so cool. :0)

And I love picturing Julian giving you that, "Yeah, okay, Mom!" look, that's super cute (and that super was just for you).

Amber Alvarez said...

A few years ago I had a little 18 year old Korean roommie, who'd never been away from her mother. At first it was like living with a mouse in the apartment. I'd rattle my keys so she would know that I was coming in the house, and then I'd hear her skuttle into her room.

Over time we bonded on a soul sister kind of level. Eventually her mother made her move out of my apartment to live with a matronly older cousin. Jung threw herself against the couch and screamed "DUDE!! WHY ARE YOU RUINING MY LIFE!?!!?" at her mom when she phoned with the news.

It was some small kind of accomplishment to know that I managed not only to bring my surfer-speak to New York, but to ingrain it on other cultures previously untouched.

Man... I miss her.