Jeeves is retiring!!

So sad. He was the like the butler I never had =(


I had a weird linguistic encounter on Friday.

As I was walking to KR Terminus, I decided to get some coffee at Coffee Club Xpress ( which I think Nikki will never forget or ever forgive James and Lavan =]) and I placed my order, was waiting for it, when a Caucasian man, presumably an English or Lit professor (can't find any other explanation for this) who had placed his order earlier started this conversation with me.

"You're not from around here, are you?"
"er, actually I am. Why do you ask?"
"Because you placed your order in a full sentence and you used the words "to go"and not "take- away. Where did you pick that up then?"
( I had said something to the effect of "Could I please have a medium latte to go")
"Starbucks. haha. Actually, I always have been using it. Don't really know where I picked it up "


And then I left. Not a very smart comment I know. On the bright side, hopefully I will never see him gracing the hallways I do.

But anyway, the reason for that is because I often get asked whether I am from Singapore because of my unSingaporeanish accent ( i know Jo and De 's eyeballs are going to pop out ffom all the rolling their eyes are doing now. I can imagine them mocking me saying, "its cuz she's foreign") and like have I studied in a local school etc. etc. which I personally find very weird.

I mean, when you think about it, all the people I talk to in Singlish are people I am either close to or have interacted with them in close quarters, hence forming a bond which automatically means comfort. So when you're comfortable with someone, you don't feel a need to be formal, so you slip into something more linguistically casual. You see me swear and say things like "where got!"

So you are getting my formal talk! And I have always used some phrases since young, like "to go!" Of course I say, "take away" to the auntie at the hawker centre because language is about adaptability and providing a level of familiarity to the person you are conversing with. If I said "to go" to the hawker centre auntie, I'm just a freaking snob and she might sneeze into it.

K, I am a bit agitated now and my sentences are all garbled. So in the interest of myself, I shall have " to go "

To go! TWO WORDS ONLY