WEIGHT, GUITAR, STINGRAY, AND MANDARIN

WEIGHT, GUITAR, STINGRAYS, AND MANDARIN


There is so much that I want to blog about; but it is quite silly and redundant to separate the individual topics and create multiples posts all within a day. And not to mention, I'm quite up to my neck of late. BUT I still want to talk and blog, and hence this entry! Tadaa!!!


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Last Friday evening, Mad and I went down to Health Science Authority (HSA) at Outram Park. After filling up our forms, we went for the medical screening. Mad was rejected as a donor, as she was sick the week before. Halfway throughout my medical screening, the doctor asked for my weight. Now, I was not so sure of my mass. The only weighing scale we have at home is about the same age as I am; and is getting a bit cranky. It certainly also doesn't help that the last time I had a digital reading of my weight mass was when LT and I visited Jim in the last week of July (which is slightly more than 2 months back!). From then till now, all I'm aware of is that I've unintentionally shed off a couple of weight here and there - due to bad stomach, busy-ness, financial budget, and etc. But, one thing for sure, I am definitely above the minimum weight requirement for blood donation.

The doc was not satisfied with that vague answer. He asked me to step on the digital weighing scale. I was delightfully shocked and pleasantly surprised. After doing a quick mental calculation, I realized, in the span of the past 2 months plus, I've lost 3kg. But I've not really been exercising! For the past 2 months plus, all I've done is to visit Jim once, and jog around the neighbourhood twice. Where, and how, did the mass loss occur? The saddest thing is, I still look the same size as before! Grrr... What a bumper. Anyway, what worries me is, keep going this way and lose a further couple of kgs, and HSA will not want to draw blood from my body anymore! Oh, no...
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Yesterday evening, I was at the MRT station nearest to my house; making my way down to Clarke Quay. After passing by the EZ-link gates, a staff member approached and halted me in my tracks, requesting to check my bag.

"Oh, yes, sure," I replied, "No problem."

The friendly uncle zipped the bag open, and was rest assured that what's in it is what is supposedly to be in it. Zipping it back up again, he handed it back to me, "So sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you for your time."

"There's a pouch at the front of it. Do you want to check it too?"

"It's ok." The uncle smiled.

Slinging the bag onto my right shoulder, I smiled and bade him goodbye. While climbing down the escalator, I found myself wondering do I look like a terrorist. Maybe my face has the "terrorist" look. But then, is it so weird for a lady to carry a guitar? Carry guitar means terrorist, meh?

I asked PH and Doro whether did they encounter the same problem. None of them did. AND, apart from her own guitar, PH was ALSO carrying that BIG HUMONGOUS YELLOW bag of hers, can?! In contrast, all that I was carrying, was only just ONE guitar case! Duh! -_-"

Different people has different treatment! Sigh!

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This morning, we were at Sheng Shiong purchasing food. Because they've ran out of stingrays, we adjourned down to Carrefour at Suntec City. We arrived at the Seafood section, but could not find any stingrays. I asked the staff who was manning the counter for help.

"Uncle, do you have stingrays here?"

"She mo? (translation: What?)" He asked, in China-accented Chinese.

Ohoh.





Because Mad and PH were chatting at some distance away, I did not want to yell across the supermarket or interrupt their conversation.

"Ni men you mai stringrays ma? (translation: Do you sell stingrays here?)"

"Mai she mo? (translation: Sell what?)"

"Eh... S-ti-in-g-ra-aye..."

"Eh?"

"Ermmm... " I drew a mental picture of stingrays in my head, and the first thing that came to mind is their peculiar shape. "Bian yu? (translation: Flat fish)"

Ok, fine, I know it's a pathetically weak attempt; but still... ... ... An attempt - however weak - is still an attempt nonetheless, right right?!

"Huh? She mo yu? (translation: Huh? What fish?)"





I thought of Steve Irwin. Oh, crap! What is his name in Chinese? Ti Er Fu Ying?
I thought of the poisonous barbs on the tails of stingrays. But what are barbs called in Chinese? Poison, I know. But barbs?
I considered flapping my arms and mimicking a stingray, but decided that it'll be a totally unglamourous sight to behold.

"Ermmm... Bu yao jing. Xie xie ni, uncle. (translation: It's ok. Thank you, uncle)"


It totally set me thinking. As a native, true-blue Chinese, why does my Mandarin leave much to be desired? Why is it so hard to convey my message across - in its totality - using pure and proper Chinese which is not peppered with English, or Teochew, or Hokkien, or whatnots? How can one not be proficient in his/her own mother tongue? Shameful and outrageous, really.





Last Saturday, after the Mirror workshop, YY and I were chatting while waiting for a bus to take us to Bugis Station. I have been making an effort to attempt speaking proper Chinese for the past couple of weeks. While chatting, I told her about DBSK's new 4th Korean album, which was recently released 2 weeks back. My brain, which was a step ahead of my mouth, was already thinking of what is the Chinese equivalent of the word "album". It took a couple of seconds before the word "zhuan ji" came into mind; but alas, it was a tad too late. Instead of flowing off the mouth smoothly and gracefully, the words sounded totally awkward and hilarious. I mumbled, and stuttered, and the words NOT ONLY got all jumbled up, but with the wrong hanyu pinying as well. It sounded all so funny!

YY and I burst out laughing. She jabbed at my weirdly "accented" Chinese. It was all in good fun.


But then again, after today, maybe I should really be brushing up my Chinese.





P.S. Out of curiosity, does anyone here know what's stingrays called in Chinese? Is it Cang yu? Do drop a comment!