This curiousity started out sometime last week while at dinner with some friends, where amongst them, was an Indian national. Since the rest were Malaysian, we had a good time giving the Indian a hard time...
English-speaking Indians, if you have never come across one before, are as articulate as they are verbose... a very lethal combination. And I believe that this is one of the reasons why I tend to be cautious about novels written by Indian writers.
Don't get me wrong, I think they have an excellent grip of the language, better than many of the English themselves. My gripe is that they tend to over-do the verbosity when simpler words should sometimes suffice.
But what is stranger is the evolution of the English language in India, as spoken by English-speaking Indians. At dinner, we had pleasure in ribbing the poor girl from Bangalore about a word that is used in everyday business language there; prepone. As opposed to postpone. As in to reschedule a meeting to earlier instead of pushing it to later.
As strange as that word may be to us Malaysians, it doesn't change the fact that it is a word used commonly in India. And that was what I started wondering; how many of these new words have evolved in this fertile language pot into phrases or words that make perfect and concise sense. And some not quite so.
And then, by sheer coincidence, I came across another two today; quakening and updation. Quakening, as in the act of the earth shaking below you in the midst of an earthquake. And I received an email asking for me to send in my latest contact information for updation to their database.
Quirky. So now, I had an itch to find more and Google is my friend:
Convented: not like Sister Enda but more like an Assuntarian
Join duty: first day at work
Tell me: how can I help you?
Pass out: graduate
Redressal: not a red dress rehearsal but a remedy or redress
Hotel: is a restaurant...????
Eggitarian: vegetarian who takes egg and milk
Long cut: erm... opposite of short cut
Paining: this one, i think we all know
On the anvil: something about to happen, on the horizon
Today morning: just like yesterday night
Cent percent: 100%
Centum: one hundred
Full shirt: long sleeves
Half shirt: half sleeves (so means sleeveless is "shirtless"??)
Well, what can I say? And that's just some of it. If you have any more to contribute, please do. I would be chumma chumma (simply) delighted.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Friday, February 05, 2010
creamy chicken pasta...
a very simple recipe to try:
1 tbs of butter
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces
1/2 onion, diced
12 shitake mushrooms
1 cup of heavy (whipping) cream
pasta
salt
Ground black pepper
1. Cook pasta.
2. Melt butter in pan and cook chicken breasts until no longer pink. Remove and slice thinly. Note: very important not to overcook.
3. Saute onions until clear. Add mushrooms. When cooked, stir in cream and cook until thick. Note: for a lighter cream base add low-fat milk in proportion to make up the one cup of cream.
4. Stir in chicken and season. Cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Toss with pasta.
Prep time: 20 mins, serves 4
1 tbs of butter
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces
1/2 onion, diced
12 shitake mushrooms
1 cup of heavy (whipping) cream
pasta
salt
Ground black pepper
1. Cook pasta.
2. Melt butter in pan and cook chicken breasts until no longer pink. Remove and slice thinly. Note: very important not to overcook.
3. Saute onions until clear. Add mushrooms. When cooked, stir in cream and cook until thick. Note: for a lighter cream base add low-fat milk in proportion to make up the one cup of cream.
4. Stir in chicken and season. Cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Toss with pasta.
Prep time: 20 mins, serves 4
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
my bootcamp triumph...
When I started off Bootcamp enrolment last month, I really had no idea how tough it was going to be for me. I had heard a range of people saying how tough it was right down to how great the programme was. But I thought to myself that there was only one way to find out...
So off I went. First session of the month is always a benchmark assessment; a series of set exercises and a time limit to do it all in. This is so that you have a baseline performance to compare with as you progress through the programme. And the whole idea is to keep bettering your performance, of course.
The benchmark comes in two parts. The first is a set of exercises that start with a 400m run, followed immediately by 15 sit-ups, 10 grunts (or burpees) and 15 military sit-ups. After you're done with that, you repeat the exercises again another two times. There is a cut-off time of 15 minutes. The second part is a 1.6km flat run and the cut-off again is 15 minutes.
My first benchmark was easy to remember... For both activities, I was listed as DNF. "Did Not Finish". Yay. What a low standard I had set for myself to smash!
To be fair, my biggest issue is running. I can't. And I don't like running. It pains me to run. Literally. Over the month, I realised that I might have a genuine existing condition with my arches that I need checked into by a podiatrist. But that aside and all the same, my aim for January Bootcamp was to improve on my ability to run.
Fast forward to first session of OBC in February. Benchmark assessment time again. I did my first benchmark in 13 mins 34 secs but what I was eager to test was my 1.6km run. I did it, albeit slowly. In 14 mins 13 secs. It was a great feeling to be able to do something that I wasn't able to only a month before but Bootcamp is about breaking mental and physical barriers. And mine was broken to smithereens.
There was another feeling that I had at the end of that 1.6km; my initial aim was to finish in under 15 mins and now that I had, I felt that I could still do better. Which has left me with this unbearable itch to go right out and run some more.
Wow... I've have really surprised myself.
Now for the unsolicited plug: Original Bootcamp isn't for just anybody. It is very intense hour of dedication to pushing yourself beyond limits every single session. It isn't for those who prefer a clean and air-conditioned environment to work out some sweat surrounded by creature comforts. It isn't for you if you prefer to complete a workout that you have pre-planned and mentally prepared for. OBC is about getting down and dirty and it's about pushing through pain barriers. It's about disciplined adherence to instruction by trusted trainers and where punishment is part of the work out. It's about doing it in a group of people with equal abilities and the inherent motivation of everyone pushing through the same barriers. Try it. You might just become addicted!
So off I went. First session of the month is always a benchmark assessment; a series of set exercises and a time limit to do it all in. This is so that you have a baseline performance to compare with as you progress through the programme. And the whole idea is to keep bettering your performance, of course.
The benchmark comes in two parts. The first is a set of exercises that start with a 400m run, followed immediately by 15 sit-ups, 10 grunts (or burpees) and 15 military sit-ups. After you're done with that, you repeat the exercises again another two times. There is a cut-off time of 15 minutes. The second part is a 1.6km flat run and the cut-off again is 15 minutes.
My first benchmark was easy to remember... For both activities, I was listed as DNF. "Did Not Finish". Yay. What a low standard I had set for myself to smash!
To be fair, my biggest issue is running. I can't. And I don't like running. It pains me to run. Literally. Over the month, I realised that I might have a genuine existing condition with my arches that I need checked into by a podiatrist. But that aside and all the same, my aim for January Bootcamp was to improve on my ability to run.
Fast forward to first session of OBC in February. Benchmark assessment time again. I did my first benchmark in 13 mins 34 secs but what I was eager to test was my 1.6km run. I did it, albeit slowly. In 14 mins 13 secs. It was a great feeling to be able to do something that I wasn't able to only a month before but Bootcamp is about breaking mental and physical barriers. And mine was broken to smithereens.
There was another feeling that I had at the end of that 1.6km; my initial aim was to finish in under 15 mins and now that I had, I felt that I could still do better. Which has left me with this unbearable itch to go right out and run some more.
Wow... I've have really surprised myself.
Now for the unsolicited plug: Original Bootcamp isn't for just anybody. It is very intense hour of dedication to pushing yourself beyond limits every single session. It isn't for those who prefer a clean and air-conditioned environment to work out some sweat surrounded by creature comforts. It isn't for you if you prefer to complete a workout that you have pre-planned and mentally prepared for. OBC is about getting down and dirty and it's about pushing through pain barriers. It's about disciplined adherence to instruction by trusted trainers and where punishment is part of the work out. It's about doing it in a group of people with equal abilities and the inherent motivation of everyone pushing through the same barriers. Try it. You might just become addicted!
Monday, January 25, 2010
malaysia: masih bowlay harap sikit...
I mentioned last week that I had unceremoniously lost my wallet, the careless idiot that I naturally am. Hey, it's been over 5 years that I hadn't lost it, that is some kind of record which I am quite proud of. :-)
So, I went through the tedious process of getting the contents of my wallet replaced. While there was a minor adventure with replacing my driver's license, I was also pleasantly surprised that my Identity Card replaced with absolutely no hassle (albeit a well-deserved fine for my carelessness). But guess what surprise was even more pleasant? The IC was ready today. Exactly a week later. Now, who says that our government departments are beyond hope?
So, I went through the tedious process of getting the contents of my wallet replaced. While there was a minor adventure with replacing my driver's license, I was also pleasantly surprised that my Identity Card replaced with absolutely no hassle (albeit a well-deserved fine for my carelessness). But guess what surprise was even more pleasant? The IC was ready today. Exactly a week later. Now, who says that our government departments are beyond hope?
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
guardians of driving license photos...
I thought nothing would shock me anymore when it came to ingenuity of the Malaysian race and their ability to adapt just about anything into almost any situation. But pleasantly shocked I was at a polished display of resourcefulness yesterday, made necessary by the opportunity to make a few ringgit of course.
I had suffered the major inconvenience of losing my wallet out of my own carelessness. One of the things I had to replace was my driver's license. Now, I know that you need to bring photos with you to have a replacement done but I also did remember seeing an elderly Chinese chap operating a Polaroid camera in a makeshift studio at the JPJ, where you could get photos done on the spot. So I chanced it and went with almost no identity and almost no money , armed with nothing but a police report.
After taking a queue number from the information counter, a security guard taps me on the shoulder and whispers softly if I needed photos. I said yes and he takes my arm and leads me towards the outside of the building and points skywards (but toward the general direction of the car park) and whispers instructions to go to the guard house at the main gate.
I almost felt a necessity to tip-toe my way to my rendezvous point with the James Bond who would give me a sealed, self-destructing envelope with further instructions. At the guard house, I peep in through the window and who do I see? Not James. I saw a tiny man in a blue security uniform who didn't seem like he was a fan of speech or speaking. When I asked him where I should go to have photos taken, he smiles and signals for me to come into his guard house.
By now, I am highly amused by the whole cloak and dagger mystery. I enter the guard house (but not before I had to take off my shoes...) and in a corner is a swivel chair and a piece of blue cardboard stuck to the wall, as a backdrop for photos to be taken. I was trying to stifle my incredulous laughter by now.
He invites me to take a seat and proceeds to punch some keys on his mobile phone. I had assumed that he was calling for James with-the-camera Bond but again I was wrong. He swivels around on his chair to face me, points his mobile phone about 3 feet from my face and pulls the trigger. He pauses and then shows me the shot he's taken. Unsurprisingly, I looked like a bemused deer caught in headlights.
I'm not happy with the photo and ask for the picture to be taken again. In true Malaysian spirit, he simply says, "boleh" and proceeds to shoot again. This time, I looked a little more composed and said, "Ok. Now what?"
He asks me to go back to the information counter and wait for him there. He'd come to me in five minutes. So I do as I am told. Exactly 4.5 minutes later, he shows up with 8 photographs in exchange for RM10. That's it. Transaction complete.
This was one of the most bizarre encounters I have had in a long time but it was also the fastest photos I ever made, in the most number of copies and for a bargain; photo studios give you 4 copies of a Polaroid shot and charge you RM10 (some places RM12) and make you wait longer than 4.5 minutes for them to develop and crop the photos.
So the next time you're in the neighbourhood and decide that you need some photos taken, please do look up the guard house at PJ JPJ branch... no need to ask for James.
I had suffered the major inconvenience of losing my wallet out of my own carelessness. One of the things I had to replace was my driver's license. Now, I know that you need to bring photos with you to have a replacement done but I also did remember seeing an elderly Chinese chap operating a Polaroid camera in a makeshift studio at the JPJ, where you could get photos done on the spot. So I chanced it and went with almost no identity and almost no money , armed with nothing but a police report.
After taking a queue number from the information counter, a security guard taps me on the shoulder and whispers softly if I needed photos. I said yes and he takes my arm and leads me towards the outside of the building and points skywards (but toward the general direction of the car park) and whispers instructions to go to the guard house at the main gate.
I almost felt a necessity to tip-toe my way to my rendezvous point with the James Bond who would give me a sealed, self-destructing envelope with further instructions. At the guard house, I peep in through the window and who do I see? Not James. I saw a tiny man in a blue security uniform who didn't seem like he was a fan of speech or speaking. When I asked him where I should go to have photos taken, he smiles and signals for me to come into his guard house.
By now, I am highly amused by the whole cloak and dagger mystery. I enter the guard house (but not before I had to take off my shoes...) and in a corner is a swivel chair and a piece of blue cardboard stuck to the wall, as a backdrop for photos to be taken. I was trying to stifle my incredulous laughter by now.
He invites me to take a seat and proceeds to punch some keys on his mobile phone. I had assumed that he was calling for James with-the-camera Bond but again I was wrong. He swivels around on his chair to face me, points his mobile phone about 3 feet from my face and pulls the trigger. He pauses and then shows me the shot he's taken. Unsurprisingly, I looked like a bemused deer caught in headlights.
I'm not happy with the photo and ask for the picture to be taken again. In true Malaysian spirit, he simply says, "boleh" and proceeds to shoot again. This time, I looked a little more composed and said, "Ok. Now what?"
He asks me to go back to the information counter and wait for him there. He'd come to me in five minutes. So I do as I am told. Exactly 4.5 minutes later, he shows up with 8 photographs in exchange for RM10. That's it. Transaction complete.
This was one of the most bizarre encounters I have had in a long time but it was also the fastest photos I ever made, in the most number of copies and for a bargain; photo studios give you 4 copies of a Polaroid shot and charge you RM10 (some places RM12) and make you wait longer than 4.5 minutes for them to develop and crop the photos.
So the next time you're in the neighbourhood and decide that you need some photos taken, please do look up the guard house at PJ JPJ branch... no need to ask for James.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)