Because I am unable to go for three whole days without internet access, I am on an old computer in a crowded, inadequately air-conditioned post office. I complain, but it reminds me so much of last summer that I actually feel kind of happy.
The very least I can give you is a horrifying student conversation. This one also doubles as a nationality test. I asked the student about his work history:
S: When I was at university, I had a business selling chemical substances.
M: Really.
S: Yes, for people to clean their houses.
M: Ah. You should find another way to say that.
[in the end we settled on "household cleaners" and a great laugh was had by all]
S: And after that, I sold pirated DVDs.
Nationality test: Does that last line make the story any funnier? If so, you are probably American.
If I weren't who's to say
15 years ago
3 comments:
I'm American, all right. Very funny.
I hope you're having a good time. You have to explain your title, though.
I want to know what the title means too.
I thought I had used it in a Friday Five question on this blog, but it seems that I did not. So, the title is a line from Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind, which is about drug addiction. The actual line is "chop another line like a coda with a curse."
Anyway, the lyrics are hard to understand, so that wasn't the only line that I misheard, but it was the only like that I figured had its own story. Namely, that Decoto (which is the name of a school in California, so I figured it must have been named after this guy) must have been some European who visited what is now known as Iraq a long time ago and sent a telegram which either became historically significant ("when you divide this all up, don't bother giving the Kurdish people a homeland") or famous-in-retrospect ("when you divide this all up, make sure that you give the Kurdish people a homeland"). A few years later, the internet informed me that none of that ever happened.
Anyway, it gets to be the title because the post covers addictive behavour, drugs, miscommunication, and the fact that, by updating from my vacation, I am dropping you all a line. It is also one of my favourite songs ever.
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