Life's little gems
Feb. 9th, 2009 03:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flyboy_foxKnow what bugs me? ... okay, well, yeah, a lot of things bug me. But this REALLY bugs me! People who drop their cigarette butts on the floor when there is a trash can less than 6 feet away from them. I was standing at the bus stop earlier and this guy was smoking, and then he just drops his ciggie on the ground, and then I notice how there's a clearly marked orange trash receptacle about three paces from where he's standing, and yet the ground is littered with cigarette ends. I wanna smack these people upside the head and make them pick up their disgusting soggy ash-covered crap and put it in the bin. And yes, italics abuse was entirely necessary.
Maybe I was pissed to begin with because I'd been standing in the freezing rain for about 15 minutes while the bus driver cheerfully chats to his replacement in the bus doorway. Sometimes the drivers are nice and let us onto the bus if the weather is bad and allow us to wait on board until it's time to go. Not this guy. To make it worse, he was then extra-specially chipper when greeting us as we trudged on board, cold, grumpy and wet. The air was rife with sarcasm as we all tried our best to avoid outright snarking.
But no matter! I'm home now. I signed up to do an additional language at Uni. Spanish, which shouldn't be surprising. I have access to the Language Lab now - fun! I can't wait to get started!
Here, let me relay a conversation I had in Tesco Express last night:
Me (at the counter): Hi! Do you have any white rum?
Till assistant: *Blank stare*
Me: White rum?
TA: Um...?
Me: Do you have white rum?
TA: White... drum? You want white drum?
Me: ... no. No, rum. Rum, as in alcohol.
TA: ... oh. No. I don't think so.
Me: Are you sure? Could you look?
TA: *Checks shelf, brings over a bottle of red rum* This.
Me: Um... that's red rum. I want white.
TA: Oh, sorry, we don't have.
Man in line behind me (to TA): It's right there on the shelf behind you.
Me (seeing it): There! The Bacardi. Can I have that?
TA: *Taking ages to find it* This one?
Me: Yeah. Thanks. Can I also get two £1 scratch cards?
TA: You want what?
Me: Two of those scratch cards. These ones. *Points*
TA: Give me number.
Me: Number? You mean how many? Or the number on the cards? *Confused*
TA: Number. Please give me number.
Me: Um... I want two. One of these *points* and one of these *points*
TA: ... Okaaaay... Here.
Me: Thanks. Here's my ID for the alcohol.
TA: What?
Me: My ID. For buying the rum.
TA: *Confused look*
Me: *Opens passport to photo ID page, holds up*
TA: *Pushes it away* I don't need that.
Me: Okay... Well, thanks. *Pays* Bye.
TA: Yes, goodbye *Blank stare*
Gaaaawd help me. I've seen some amazing ESL people working in Tesco, you know... they may not speak English fluently, but they know their stuff and they'll ask a colleague if they get stuck. But this woman not only didn't understand a word I was saying, she also had no idea about her shop's own stock. I know this runs the risk of sounding incredibly non-PC, but about midway through that conversation I just wanted to scream "ENGLISH, MOTHERF***ER! DO YOU SPEAK IT?" ^^; This is one reason why I really want to hone my Spanish. I never want to spend a good amount of time in a country and not have at least a rudimentary grasp on the language.
Know what would cheer me up?
Get your own valentinr
[/sickly puppy eyes]
Maybe I was pissed to begin with because I'd been standing in the freezing rain for about 15 minutes while the bus driver cheerfully chats to his replacement in the bus doorway. Sometimes the drivers are nice and let us onto the bus if the weather is bad and allow us to wait on board until it's time to go. Not this guy. To make it worse, he was then extra-specially chipper when greeting us as we trudged on board, cold, grumpy and wet. The air was rife with sarcasm as we all tried our best to avoid outright snarking.
But no matter! I'm home now. I signed up to do an additional language at Uni. Spanish, which shouldn't be surprising. I have access to the Language Lab now - fun! I can't wait to get started!
Here, let me relay a conversation I had in Tesco Express last night:
Me (at the counter): Hi! Do you have any white rum?
Till assistant: *Blank stare*
Me: White rum?
TA: Um...?
Me: Do you have white rum?
TA: White... drum? You want white drum?
Me: ... no. No, rum. Rum, as in alcohol.
TA: ... oh. No. I don't think so.
Me: Are you sure? Could you look?
TA: *Checks shelf, brings over a bottle of red rum* This.
Me: Um... that's red rum. I want white.
TA: Oh, sorry, we don't have.
Man in line behind me (to TA): It's right there on the shelf behind you.
Me (seeing it): There! The Bacardi. Can I have that?
TA: *Taking ages to find it* This one?
Me: Yeah. Thanks. Can I also get two £1 scratch cards?
TA: You want what?
Me: Two of those scratch cards. These ones. *Points*
TA: Give me number.
Me: Number? You mean how many? Or the number on the cards? *Confused*
TA: Number. Please give me number.
Me: Um... I want two. One of these *points* and one of these *points*
TA: ... Okaaaay... Here.
Me: Thanks. Here's my ID for the alcohol.
TA: What?
Me: My ID. For buying the rum.
TA: *Confused look*
Me: *Opens passport to photo ID page, holds up*
TA: *Pushes it away* I don't need that.
Me: Okay... Well, thanks. *Pays* Bye.
TA: Yes, goodbye *Blank stare*
Gaaaawd help me. I've seen some amazing ESL people working in Tesco, you know... they may not speak English fluently, but they know their stuff and they'll ask a colleague if they get stuck. But this woman not only didn't understand a word I was saying, she also had no idea about her shop's own stock. I know this runs the risk of sounding incredibly non-PC, but about midway through that conversation I just wanted to scream "ENGLISH, MOTHERF***ER! DO YOU SPEAK IT?" ^^; This is one reason why I really want to hone my Spanish. I never want to spend a good amount of time in a country and not have at least a rudimentary grasp on the language.
Know what would cheer me up?
Get your own valentinr
[/sickly puppy eyes]
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 04:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 04:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 12:45 pm (UTC)but seriously to the point of annoying..
no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 04:29 pm (UTC)> "ENGLISH, MOTHERF***ER! DO YOU SPEAK IT?"
That's what you'll say me if you'd meet me one day )))
Well, from the point of view of foreigner, it is much easier to understand native speaker if (in case I don't know the word which native says) he tries to replace unknown word with synonyms. I didn't know what is the scratch card (although I know what is card and scratch separately) before I found it in dictionary. But I know what the lottery (card) is.
I've already sent you two or three of those hearts, but I don't know if you accept them from a hmm... man)))
no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 04:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 04:36 pm (UTC)Well, I don't get to see the Valentine messages until Feb 14th, but I'll accept them from anyone ^^ Thanks!
no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 04:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 09:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 08:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 10:21 pm (UTC)Tho, they also have to make sure their butt is completely out before throwing it away- a trash can right outside of my work went up in flames because of that!
no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 08:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-09 11:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 08:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 08:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 03:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 08:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 05:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-10 08:01 pm (UTC)Jamie: Well, as long as they'll die from it anyway, I guess they don't care about germs. ^o.__.o^