Minun ensi-kirjaaminen suomessa

 

(My first entry in Finnish)

 

Minä olen opettelee suomea. Minun nimi on Carol. Minä olin kotoisin Taiwanista, mutta olen Singaporelainen. Minä asun Dallasissa. Puhun englantia, kiinaa, ja vähän suomea. Siellä on uusi kategoria blogilla. Se on "suomi". Mikä se tehdä? En tiedä. Laadin höpöhöpö. Pikainen ruskea kettu hyppää yli laiska koira.

 

(I am learning Finnish. My name is Carol. I was orignally from Taiwan, but I’m Singaporean. I live in Dallas. I speak English, Chinese, and a little Finnish. There is a new category on the blog. It is "Finnish". What does it do? I don’t know. I am writing nonsense. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.)

 

Red and white (!= Pink) gadgets

 

I like this color combination. The red (or maroon in the case of my Averatec notebook) is bold yet feminine, and (thanks to Apple and its iPods) white is the new black/silver for gadgets. My sister would love everything in pink but that’s not quite my style. This red+white however, I dig. The first pic shows Picoblogger running on Nokia N73. This is the software that allows me to moblog on the go. The N73 is also quad-band, which means it includes Cingular’s 850Mhz band, which means that I’ll have less signal loss (the problem I had when I was using the tri-band 6630 / N93). Which means I have no more excuses for missing calls now. Hmm.

Tell Him

Love this duet by Barbra Streisand and Celine Dion. We were at a mid-autumn festival party at my co-workers place and he had a karaoke system. Everyone was trying to get my sister to sing something since I always brag to them about how good she is. She didn’t want to sing any Chinese songs (most songs in the system were Chinese) and regular "pop" songs were not her style either, plus she didn’t want to sing alone so we were trying to find an English duet. I was actually hoping for a guy-girl duet so that I could sing the guy part. Really, I have less problems singing most male vocal parts than female ones. My range is a low alto crossed over to high tenor. But then she found this song, which is for two SOPRANOS! Ahhh… of course she’d have no problems, she excels in the stratospheric ranges. But poor me… while Streisand’s role is the "more mature and wiser" woman in the song, singing the lower of the harmonies, she is first and formost a fantastic soprano with incredible range, so her solo parts soared to the same heights as Dion’s.

So there I was, trying to sound older and wiser while screeching the bloody notes out, whereas Evana glided gracefully and effortlessly in her rendition of the young woman who’s lost and afraid and seeking some advice. I think she has secretly prepared for this… because she knew exactly when to come in (the karaoke version was actually rearranged for one singer so there were no cues for the two separate parts), knew precisely how the notes and runs went… her performance was flawless while I kept asking "is it my turn?", "Do I come in here?" etc. Considering the last time I heard this piece was probably more than 5 years ago, I think I did ok. There were maybe two low notes in the whole song that fall in my optimal register, so I savored those couple of seconds and milked them for all their worth. Plus I’m great at harmonizing so the refrains where both of us come in sounded wonderful.

Great melody aside, this song’s lyrics are meaningful too. It’s fitting because I’m the older (not sure about "wiser") one, and the words match what I regularly preach in my blog ;) Anyway, the regular font is Celine’s part, the italics represent Barbra’s part, and bold is when both of them sing. (I have both the CDs that this song is in if anyone wants to borrow: Dion’s Let’s talk about love and Streisand’s Higher ground – both released circa 1997.)

==============================================

I’m scared
So afraid to show I care
Will he think me weak
If I tremble when I speak
Ooohh… what if…
there’s another one he’s thinking of?
Maybe he’s in love, I’d feel like a fool
Life can be so cruel, I don’t know what to do

I’ve been there
With my heart out in my hand
But what you must understand, you can’t let
the chance to love him pass you by

Tell him…
Tell him that the sun and moon rise in his eyes
Reach out to him
And whisper, tender words so soft and sweet
I’ll hold him close to feel his heart beat
Love will be the gift you give yourself

Touch him (ohhh…)
With the gentleness you feel inside (I feel it)
Your love can’t be denied, the truth will set you free
You’ll have what’s meant to be, all in time you’ll see

Ooh, I love him (then show him)
Of that much I can be sure (hold him close to you)
I don’t think I could endure, if I let him walk away
When I have so much to say

Tell him…
Tell him that the sun and moon rise in his eyes
Reach out to him
And whisper, tender words so soft and sweet
Hold him close to feel his heart beat
Love will be the gift you give yourself

Love is the light that surely glows
In the hearts of those who know
It’s a steady flame that grows
Feed the fire with all the passion you can show
Tonight love will assume its place
This memory time cannot erase
Your faith will lead love where it has to go

Tell him…
Tell him that the sun and moon rise in his eyes
Reach out to him
And whisper, whisper words so soft and sweet
Hold him close to feel his heart beat
Love will be the gift you give yourself

Oooh… Never let him go

Talking about ‘Paris Syndrome’

I think (some) Japanese tourists are too pampered and naive. They are probably one of the most well-travelled nations, so you’d think they will be more travel smart than most. But when the "reality" of Paris didn’t match up to their expectations of a "beautiful dream city", some of them needed psychological help after their trips. Of course, I don’t think this is limited to tourists from Japan. We hear of "ugly Americans" who demand the same kind of luxuries and conveniences they are used having back home. Not sure if any of them needed therapy after that, but anyway, the point is, people need to understand that things can be very different in other places, and that just because they are paying tourists doesn’t mean the world revolves around them. [Before I go on, I’d better say I’m not knocking Japanese or Americans in general, as there can be black sheep in any group. I’m probably guilty of the same at one point or other.] To enjoy your travels more, do a lot of research, but don’t be blinded by the glitzy travel brochures. Many times they show only the very best of what the destination has to offer. Your experience will very likely differ from the printed literature, and that’s not to say it’ll be bad or ugly. Make it unique. Make it your own. What’s the fun of having the exact same experience with everyone else anyway? A little more anticipation, a little less expectation. Lots of preparation and an extra dose of realism can help too. You can still have your "dream" vacation, but remember a dream place for you is just a daily reality for the locals there. It’s not a perfect world, but it can be really really good. So what if most Parisians seem aloof and almost rude, unlike the images of the romantic French men and women that we’re fed with by the media? Why not be the romantic yourself? Why not try a little harder and dig a little deeper and find out what makes them tick? I think travel shouldn’t be just about seeing the sights and tasting the food of a foreign land, but also about getting to know the culture and the people. I guess the latter is kinda hard to do on a short trip, that’s why I try to read up on the history and culture before I go on a trip so I don’t take anything for granted. Anyway, below is the link to the article that prompted this train of thought (as well as reflections of my past trips). While I don’t want to visit London by having someone steal my handbag again, I’ve learnt to take the unexpected events in stride and make the best of them. Travel smart, travel prepared, and you will travel happy. Enjoy your experiences to the fullest!

Quote

‘Paris Syndrome’ leaves Japanese tourists in shock – Travel News – MSNBC.com

Alliance Air Show

I love air shows. But ….. urrrgh. Horrible TEXAS HEAT. It’s almost October and still blazing hot. I was soooo looking forward to having a great time, but we had to leave early because it was it was just too hot to be enjoyable. If it’s so much torture, it should be work and we should get paid. Actually at my office, it’s just the opposite, the air conditioning is set to Finland temperatures or something. I’m always freezing, but at least I can put on a cardigan or sweater. (Plus it’s not torture.) When it’s too hot, what can I do, strip? Anyway, back to the air show. While the admission is free, we had to pay for parking ($10 – on grass and took almost half an hour), we decided to splurge for Flight Deck seating ($20 – no fancy chairs, no shade), and since you can’t bring in food and drinks and it’s a whole day event, we had to pay for food ($$) and water ($$$ – really dehydrated!). Plus the cost of gas driving all the way to Fort Worth and back. Ok, everything would have been worth the while if I enjoyed myself, which I did for a bit before I started losing consciousness. Bruce probably had a slightly better time. He’s not as bothered by the heat as I am, then again he grew up in this scorching Texas summer heat, back in the days when the cars had "four by seventy" air conditioning! (for those uninitiated, that’s four windows rolled down and driving at seventy miles per hour!)

 

Let’s see, here are some of the performances that we saw (as much as I can remember before I almost fainted): U.S. Army Special Forces "Green Beret" parachute team carrying the American flag as they descended; aerial acrobatics with all kinds of rolls and loops and climbs; the F-15 Eagles and F-16 Falcons and F/A-18 Hornets; the Russian designed Mig-17 flown by Randy Ball; Tora! Tora! Tora! … I believe that’s when we started heading out. Missed the USAF Thunderbirds, since I think they were going to fly last, in the late afternoon. There were also static displays of many different aircrafts, including two C-130 Hercules airlifters, whose large wings proved useful even on the ground: providing shade! So funny to see all the people huddled together trying to grab the last few shaded spots under the likes of the C-130’s (as well as the B-52 Stratofortress and B-17 Flying Fortress), but at that time, I wasn’t laughing. I was just tring to get back to my car and blast some cool air in my face.

 

Lessons learnt: next time, bring an umbrella! or two!! Save some money and skip the Flight Deck… we can bring our own folding chairs, or even a blanket to spread on the grass will suffice. Stay off the concrete (which unfortunately the Flight Deck is on). In fact, the only advantage of the Flight Deck is a reserved seat. (well, maybe also a better view?) But both can be obtained by going there early (which we did anyway) and picking a spot with your own chairs/blankets. Eat a big breakfast and drink lots of water first. Wear a neck cooler thing (I actually have some! I didn’t think to bring them…). For those with sensitive ears, bring some ear plugs, although they do sell them at the show for $1 each (pair), the cheapest thing I saw there. Oh, and apply sunblock thoroughly… I missed a spot on my left shoulder and got burnt!! Just that little spot but it’s hurting quite a bit. My right shoulder is lucky because my big head blocked the sun for it. The left half of my face seems darker than my right half… hopefully it’s just my imagination.

 

Heat is really exhausting. While I don’t enjoy cold weather, I guess can handle extreme cold better than extreme heat. I functioned ok at -18C (0F), walking around in Helsinki in mid-February. But I think I’d still rather live here, and just stay indoors as much as possible. I’m not an outdoorsy person in case you haven’t figured it out. I get my tan from computer monitor radiation instead of the sun!!

 

P/S. I think the title of this post should be "Complaining about Texas Heat" instead of "Alliance Air Show"….