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February 18 Chinese In-LawsMy wife, who's Chinese, pointed this blog posting out to me. I had to share it with the rest of you.
I have Chinese in-laws, and I have a lot of friends who are either Chinese or similarly related as I am. There are some great observations here that really do hit very close to home. Thankfully it's my wife who pointed this out to me so I'm not risking being in the doghouse for laughing about it.
With my in-laws, what I hear most is "eat this." This isn't quite like what rude Americans would say with a nice hand gesture, but it's told simply and with real concern for my well-being as I'm apparently in need of constant sustenance. It's usually followed by "it's good for healthy!" Since English is their 3rd or 4th language, and my Mandarin is very remedial and Cantonese non-existent, conversations are not as natural as we would like. This doesn't keep my mother-in-law from talking to everyone. Loudly. What makes this more amusing is when I say something back, she will often misinterpret what I'm saying and repeat part of what I said with a look of surprise, akin to the expression you might see on someone's face when you tell them you just ran over their puppy.
Me: Ma, would you like some water?
Ma: Water, where?! Oh my god! Spring FestivalIt is Chinese New Year, and it's the year of the boar! It's too bad that my trip out to Beijing wasn't a couple weeks later - it would have been something to be there for this holiday. My in-laws wish we could spend this holiday with them, but unfortunately the US doesn't celebrate this as an official holiday, so we don't get any days off as part of the regular schedule. I really need to make good on that soon, though - it would make them and my wife quite happy. February 17 Banned Word: EmboldenedI don't watch a lot of TV. I am currently watching Rome on HBO, and I opportunistically watch other shows that my wife watches, like Scrubs. Recently, I've caught the last 2-3 episodes of Heroes. Then I try to catch the news in the morning when I'm getting ready for work and in the evenings as we're winding down. I don't want to hear the word emboldened every time I watch the news. I've heard it too often that it has lost its meaning. Politicians and their speechwriters should be asked to come up with their own explanation of what they're trying to say instead of latching on to the latest political meme. If I were a speechwriter, I should be fined 5% of my pay every time I used the word "emboldened" in a speech. There are so many other words in the English language that are more interesting. Here are a handful from reference.com: Pollyannaish, blithe, rose-colored, upbeat. Wouldn't you actually prefer to hear this? "Our actions will cause our enemies to be Pollyannaish." |
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