Introducing a friend in French

This morning I had class with a group of students who were learning French for the first time. So as an ice-breaking session, I had them prepare a few sentences to introduce another friend to everyone.

I gave an example:
-Il s'appelle Roy. Il aime le football.

Some of them asked:
-What is the meaning of aime Madame?

I answered:
-Aime means "love". So my example means "His name is Roy. He loves football."
-Ooooohh.
-Le tu kena ada ke Madame?
-Yes. Le means "the" in English.
-Ohh. OK.

Then one of them volunteered to start the activity.
-I want to try madame.
-OK good.

He pointed to a classmate: Il s'appelle Azrul. Il aime lemang.

TnG card

This morning I stopped by a petrol station to buy a new TnG card and top up some amount as well. At the cashier, I took out my purse to pay the boy at the counter. He gave me my card and my receipt.

As I went out the door, I took out my car keys. So I had my keys, my purse, my TnG card and my receipt in my hands.

While walking towards my car I passed by a thrash can. I wanted to throw away the receipt. Instead I threw away my TnG card. I looked around. There were two guys at the petrol pump who saw me asking for help. The one driving the Merc buat tak tahu. The one in the Hybrid car came out to help me.

And I also called the pump attendant to help me retrieve the card. The trash can had a swinging cover on top and I needed someone to take it off. So they obligingly did so and I thanked them, telling them that I had actually wanted to throw away the receipt but entah bagaimana threw the card into the trash can instead. Pakcik pump attendant tu hanya tersenyum semasa memasang semula penutup tong sampah tersebut. The Hybrid guy said it was normal to slip up sometimes.

Then I proceeded to throw away the receipt. But this time, instead, I threw my car keys (pulak) into the trash can.

So Mr Hybrid came out of the car (again) and helped take out my car keys (this time). Mr Merc hanya memerhati. Pakcik pump attendant buat-buat cuci cermin kereta pelanggan yang lain.

Then he told me to put my purse and card and keys into my handbag. Then he asked me to throw away the receipt. I smiled and thanked him (profusely). He grinned and geleng-geleng kepala.

Then it became clearer in my head. So I took out my car keys and went straight to my car. And drove to work.

Hybrid guys. Look for Hybrid guys. They're willing to get their hands dirty to help a woozy mademoiselle in distress.

Grocery shopping

Yesterday I did my groceries and after all the shopping I pushed my cart straight to the carpark and not look left and right to avoid the temptation of buying things that would be of no use whatsoever. Especially if there's a RM5 shop lurking around somewhere.

I reached my car and pressed the remote alarm button. Nothing. I tried again. Nada. Saya ketuk-ketuk lagi. Namun masih tidak berjaya. Saya garu dagu.

By this time the security guard who does his rounds on his bicycle arrived and asked me if everything was okay. I informed him of my predicament.

-Hmmm. Akka sudah salah kereta ka?
-Eh betul ni kereta saya. WUM.
-Akkaaa...ini kereta W-Yu-Yen. Tadda Yem.
-Oh. Saya sudah salah kereta la.
-Tadda apa nanti saya cari kereta Akka.

And he rode off and came back later with the exact location of my car. We went there together and he even helped me unload my groceries into the car boot.

-Terima kasih adik. Nasib baik adik ada. Boleh tolong akak.
-Sama-samaaaa. Sikit sajaaa. Sini pun worang selalu lupa mana parking kereta.

Ya la adik. Tapi ini Akka lain punya worang. Yen sama Yem pun tadda baca.

Groups

A group of frogs is called an army.
A group of rhinos is called a crash.
A group of kangaroos is called a mob.
A group of whales is called a pod.
A group of geese is called a gaggle.
A group of ravens is called a murder.
A group of officers is called a mess.
A group of larks is called an exaltation.
A group of owls is called a parliament.
A group of doves is called a salvation.

Sambil isi minyak kereta lap cermin sekali

Last night on the way home after dinner I stopped at the petrol station to fill up. Dan sementara menunggu minyak dituang penuh, saya mengambil kesempatan untuk mencuci cermin kereta saya yang penuh berhabuk itu. I used the windscreen cleaner blade thingy, busy sliding that thing horizontally across the windshield when I heard the young man whose car was at the petrol pump beside mine call out to me.

-Akak! Pinjam stool kejap.

a) I was blocked from his view from the waist down by my car.
b) He was having difficulty cleaning the windscreen of his car because it was a big SUV and he was a little...ehem...vertically challenged.

Hmmm. Apa nak jawab ni?
-OK. Datang la sini ambik dik.

So he came over and started some small talk while on the way to my car.
-Itu la kan kak susah kalau bawak kete besar-besar ni bila nak cuci kena guna tangga la stool la...eh?? Laaa akak tinggi! Tak aci la.

Saya hanya mampu tersenyum lebar. Lama saya tersenyum padanya. Nak tahan gelak pun ada.

-Eleh eksyen la tu.

Ye dik. Akak ni tinggi. 5'11''. Pakai pulak kasut tumit tinggi 3". Rasanya dah sama tinggi dengan Stone Cold Steve Austin dah tu. :-)

Short semester exam

A couple of days ago I invigilated an exam session and while going around the hall checking their attendance, I noticed that one of the students had not one but two calculators on the table. So out of curiosity I asked him why.

-Kalau satu kalkulator habis bateri saya ada yang lagi satu ni Madame.
-Oh. Tapi kalau dua-dua pun habis bateri?
-Ohhh jangan takut Madame. Saya dah pikir dah.

And he took out some spare batteries from his pocket.

Lord Baden Powell always said "Be Prepared". And I bet this student was a Boy Scout when he was a kid.

Melepas

I just got to know that my training at the Naval Base in Lumut got cancelled. Kaciwa! My fantasy of seeing a class full of men in white uniform habis punah. Down the drain. Yes we chicks dig men in uniform. I'm sure all of us do. Cuma ada yang tak nak cakap je. Setakat senyum sorang-sorang bila tengok NCIS atau JAG.

Another reason why I think the Malaysian Navy is uber cool:


Their elite Paskal squad team members wear hot pink berets. Yes. Pink. Mereka lelaki yang mempunyai keyakinan diri yang cukup kental. Gagah berani tidak takut mati and yet so in touch with their feminine side.

So now that the Navy men are no longer in the picture, I would need to find a substitute. Apakah badan beruniform lain yang rasa-rasanya OK dan setanding dengan kesegakan abang-abang TLDM? TUDM? Tentera Darat (tapi baju depa warna hijau celoreng macam tak hensem je?)?

Ataupun PBSM? Uniform putih juga kan?

Dan ahli silat? Cukup gagah perkasa tak? :-)