My Traffic Life

I am Mae German. 34 years old. Born in Mangatarem, province of Pangasinan. I was taught and trained by Juan Dela Cruz, and I am currently being trained for more by Uncle Sam. Writing since the age of 12. Blogging since 2001. I keep a notebook and a pen in my bag, on my bedside table, and inside the bathroom. Misses a lot. Sometimes even my own voice. Loves to laugh. Sometimes even at myself. I am a work in progress. My ultimate dream is to be a SAHM. That is, if I am bound to have that chance in this lifetime... and I am.

My Traffic Rules

Don't take my words personally. At times, not even literally. This is my journal. You're my reader. My spectator. Applaud. Yawp. Yawn. Smile. Frown. Rave. Rant. Or not. Neither can I see you from where I am standing nor can I hear you.

This is not my life. Maybe just a part of it. But this is me meandering through life. My emotions fluctuate. My opinion varies. If it's too hot in here and you can't take it, leave. If it's dull and too cold, go somewhere else for warmth. I won't wipe the frown on your brow.

My stories, unless stated otherwise, are mostly fictional. Fiction could be based on reality. Still, they are fiction. Don't own it. Don't live in it. It is what it is. Leave it.

Watch out for the traffic light. Follow the rules. Cruise.

more...

Currently reading:

Mae's List »

Send a Gift

"You scared me."

Grandma was startled. She was so into her crossword puzzles when I silently walked near her to ask her something.

"Grandma, how do you pronounce this word?"
"Let me see... Gran-diyows."
"Thanks, Grandma."

Impressive. Grandiose.

I have encountered the word once too many before but has never really used it. And since the internet here is intermittent, TheFreeDictionary.com is useless, of course. So from English words to some Italian or French terms that I encounter on my readings, I would just write it down in bold and huge letters then go near Grandma and ask her for the right pronunciation of a certain word.

Then I remembered a certain word which Miss M and I couldn't figure out last week (she wasn't wearing her eyeglasses hence she couldn't read the IPAs for the word)-- Goethals. It's a bridge that connects Elizabeth, NJ to Staten Island, NY, I told her. She hasn't encountered the word so today I tried asking Grandma.

"Use it in a sentence."
"It's a proper name, Grandma. I've heard it before but kinda forgot."
"Maybe Gey-thals or Ge-thals... that I am not so sure about."

I had to look for its correct pronunciation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for English. I cannot torture another soul. And there I found it. It says, Ga-thals. I am starting to love the IPA. Interesting! It kind of reminds me of "Alibata", an ancient Filipino script.

Miss M commented on how I speak the English language well. She must have heard me reading aloud for grandma. And grandma, on the other hand, would some time ask me to repeat a line so she could understand what I was saying. After three times of trying, I would just spell the word for her. Then she'd say the word and then we can move on with the story. There's something about the accent.

"In Alabama, we call a grandmother, grand mama, and a grandfather, grand daddy," she once told me, complete with an Alabama accent. You can't find a trace of Alabama in her until she tries one. We're both wondering how her great grandchildren came up with the word, Gramma, though. It was written in color. Who would miss that, eh?

But reading (and writing) is different from getting into a conversation. The latter is where I am weak at, although I love getting into real conversations. And when I am into one, there's no stopping me. Oh, that's not true, in actuality, there are two. One is my vocabulary. When engaged in a conversation, it usually fails me. Mental blocked. This is frustrating especially when you're talking to someone who's into Linguistics and who is actually teaching Advanced English. I keep on reminding myself to observe proper English (No yeah, no gotta, no sorta, no kinda, no gotcha, and words should be pronounced properly). Two, when the words and ideas inside my head were too excited to come out, as if they're in a race. They'd end up in a crash sometimes. Words come out overlapping one and another. During these "moments", I'd stop and lose my momentum. Oh how I'd love to just grab my pen and scribble just so I could let my thoughts out of the gridlock. I am better off typing the words than saying them. At least I can see the cursor blinking. Pausing. Breathing.

Schradenfreude. I can say this word easier than the word hippopotamus. I am constipated when you hear me say, hippo! Otherwise, you'll hear me say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Then there's no stopping me.

Readers have left 2 comments.

1. Untitled
Tin, Unregistered

nako I remember being taught in gs say "hipopotamus" like that, yung mabilis walang stress, then in hs mali pala yun LOL pasabi mo kay badong yan nakakatawa LOL tapos naalala ko bigla si joaquin kasi ang alphabet pala may phonetics talaga, in school they don't say a = ey, b = bee, they use the sounds (he has a youtube video of this ang cute). i wonder kung ganun na din dito sa pinas ang turo heheh and yes, nakakaconcious magsalita kapag ganyang learned ang kausap hehehe ay ang haba ng sinabi ko...

Posted 2009-07-23 16:07:04

2. Untitled
Mae, Unregistered

aliw ang phonetics!