English Phrase Of The Week

"Sudden onset cryabeetus"

Meaning: crybaby whiners. I'm going to start using this in everyday conversation, stat.

(From the bottom of the page here.)

While we're at it, how about a Chinese phrase of the week?

"An lian" ("暗恋")

Meaning: to be secretly in love. Kind of like a crush, but more serious and dramatic, like Jim-for-Pam, Days Of Our Lives kind of love. You can use it as a verb instead of a noun or adjective, which makes it more fun. I am fond of saying, 'I anlian him.'  But I use it more as a joke, not as a real condition.

What's your favorite phrase? I say "evidently" a lot at the beginning of sentences. Or, "Sooo, evidently..." And "suspicious" to sum up.

Rugburn, English Names, And My Broken Heart

I learned something heartbreaking today: John Krasinski can't dance! Para nada!  In this week's episode of The Office, he looked like an awkward 12 year old boy. So sad. And true story: I've never met a man who was a bad dancer who was also a good kisser. Bad dancer = bad LOTS of things.

Busy Bee Suzy asked me about English names for Chinese students.  All English majors choose an English name to use throughout their college career, and even many non-English majors do too. Their Chinese teachers make them choose, this isn't a foreign teacher thing. They often choose random words instead of traditional names, so I have students named Sin, Xanadu, Sunfree, Seabird, Jelly, Apple, Little Mosquito, Devil, Stone, Hip, etc. Some of them will choose a more traditional name if they plan on working with foreigners. For example, the secretary of our Foreign Affairs Office goes by Cassie and her Chinese family name when she deals with foreigners; her email address reflects both her English and Chinese names.

You must call a Chinese person by their family name, then their first name; it's a serious faux pas to use their first name only. But they know Westerners use first names, so they like to follow that trend, a sort of "when in Rome" thing. Also, they know Chinese names can be hard for Westerners to pronounce, so it's a bit of hospitality on their part to use an English first name when dealing with a foreigner.

But my first name is difficult for them to pronounce, so a lot of students just call me by my family name. One student tried to call me Rebecca, but it came out as "Rugbert," so the other volunteers started calling me "Rugburn."  The name is more interesting than it sounds!  I have no rugburns, I swear.

Naps, Spooning, and Other Sleep Accoutrement

So in the latest episode of The Office, Jim offers Kelly an hour long tv session, or an hour long nap. She wisely chooses the nap. And then Jim semi-tucks her in!  Okay, he handed her a blanket and turned out the light, but so close. Jim tucking you in for a nap: what could be better? Only this: spooning. The whole fun of napping with another person is, of course, the spooning. I have a hard time relaxing, but spooning in a man's arms is liquid valium to me. You can never have too much of this. 

Currently I sleep alone, so I must be content with my fluffy pillows (5 on my bed), electric blanket (under the sheets, and I turn it on an hour before sleep) and down comforter (I like weight on me when I sleep). These things are not as good as spooning!  Or being tucked in by Jim!  But, for the time being, they must do. 

Picture link

"You're Dead To Me"

In tonight's AWESOME episode of The Office, Kelly Kapoor tells Jim and Dwight "You're dead to me" after they forget her birthday. I love the "You're dead to me" line!  I say this all the time, usually to your face. (Steve S., freshman year of college, to me: "I don't understand how someone so smart can also be so flighty." Me to Steve: "You're dead to me." Turn, flip the hair, walk away.) I also use it to describe people who have pissed me off, i.e., "Can you believe she said that? She is dead to me." 

Now, I don't REALLY shut them out forever. It's just a more fun way to say, "I'm pissed at you." I only say it with love. And sometimes I don't even say it at all, I just give a slashing motion across my throat from across the room. With a smile. The message gets across. (Another thing I will do only if I love you is silently flip you off; I've never flipped off someone I don't know, only friends and loved ones. I have accidentally flipped someone off at church, that's how much I love doing it.)

Kelly is a minor character, but she is one of my faves. Click here for a video someone compiled of awesome Kelly moments. 

Jim and Pam Sweetness

From the most recent episode of The Office:

Pam, to Jim: "[My father] said that you told him how much you love me, about how you feel when I walk in a room, and about how you've never doubted for a second I'm the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with." 

[hugging and tears between Jim and Pam here]

Pam, to the camera: "When you're a kid you assume your parents are soulmates. My kids are gong to be right about that." 

Awww....

Yeah, I know, it's just a show. But here's what I love about Jim and Pam: the sweetness. They don't always say and do the perfect things, they've been not-so-sensitive to each other on occasion, they've experienced awkwardness and uncertainty about each other, and they've both had moments of heartache. Pretty realistic stuff. But they both care, and they both try. Of course, this is tv, so things finally have worked out in the end, but still...it's one of my favorite depictions of fictionalized romance. 

(And yes, I do aspire to have someone think that when I walk in the room, they are the luckiest man alive. I aspire to feel the same way about him!)

Radar Race

This past week's episode of The Office (one of my fave eps this season, fwiw) had a traffic radar race: the guys running past the street radar as fast as they could to see who gets the highest speed. And reminding me of why I love The Office so much, my first thought was, "How did MY office never think of doing this?"   If we had, we'd have been out there every day, guaranteed. 

I love Jim as the voice of reason. It just seems like with Jim around, nothing very bad could happen to you. 

NBC on iTunes

NBC came back to iTunes, which means I can watch 30 Rock and The Office this season after all! (Although I am sad to say I am more excited about 30 Rock than The Office.) Hulu turned out to be a bust over here, even with an IP bouncer my internet connection is too slow to stream.

Shows that are popular here: Lost, Prison Break, Desperate Housewives, Sex and the City, Ugly Betty and Friends. You can buy these DVDs on the street easily. I can see why the humor of 30 Rock and The Office doesn't translate well, but if only they'd get on The Daily Show bandwagon, I'd be set!

Silence

There's this guy I knew. I loved him. I enjoyed the silent moments with him more than actually talking to any other guy. Quality of silences means something to me. Silences tell the story between two people.

One thing I like about The Office is its willingness for silence. You'll notice how little talking there is in these scenes. Much more realistic than always having the perfect thing to say. (And yeah this video is cheesy, but I can't find any other clips that show the silences as well. But I really like this song.)