Settled in Fairview

After two days of packing and 'transporting', and with the help from Eddy and Howie, I have finally moved everything from Gage to Fairview, the summer residence. Fairview is certainly inferior to Gage, in my opinion. First of all, there's no TV. How am I gonna watch the remaining Rockets playoffs, and the 台湾八卦? That sux! And also, Fairview is farther away from the bus loop. That will make a huge difference starting from next week when I have to go to work every day from 9 to 5. But well, it's set. And I have made my room look more or less the same as before, quite feeling like home. Life has to go on.

Shanghai Auto Show

Look at the models at Shanghai Auto Show! How could the Vancouver Auto Show compare with it? There was NOT a single model at the Vancouver show...


Shanghai Auto Show 2


Shanghai Auto Show 1

Queen Elizabeth Park

Went to Queen Elizabeth Park with Xiao Se this afternoon. I'd consider it quite a worthy trip. The garden is pretty much of the same style as The Butchart Garden in Victoria. But, this one is totally free, and it appears as good.

(All photos below courtesy of Eddy, the professional photographer~~~~-to-be)


Sunken Garden---simply marvellous


Sunken Garden---another view


Hmm...What does this tree look like? Let your imagination run wild!


Lovely tulips


Such beautiful flowers

French done

Just finished my FREN 102 final. It was pretty manageable, slightly harder than the previous chapter tests, but that's pretty much expected for a final exam. Although this is my only final this term, and I've actually been slacking for a long time, I still feel relieved when it's done. Alright, now I really have to start writing my work term report, which I have been 'brainstorming' for a long long time and yet haven't written a single word for. Meanwhile, I also have to pack up my stuff and prepare for the move to Fairview. Annoying...

French final tomorrow, no blogging today...

My first work term has ended.

I went back to Schemasoft with Billy this afternoon to return our PCs. So now, I've officially finished the work term at Schemasoft. In the end, they actually let me keep the 17" bulky monitor as a 'token of appreciation', haha. (I'd rather keep the tower itself :p) What can I use it for? If the IT service 'buys back' monitors, maybe I'll just sell it, for whatever price offered. Certainly I'm not gonna carry it along when I move to Fairview at the end of the month. Bye Schemasoft! Oh wait, actually should be Apple Canada now. :p

Recommended TV Drama 2 --- Love Story in Harvard (Korea)

片名：爱在哈佛 Love Story in Harvard
长度：16集
地区：韩　国
类型：爱　情
编剧：崔莞圭
导演：李彰洙

Actually the drama title is kinda misleading, because only less than half of the story happened and was filmed in Harvard. The rest is all in Seoul. Just like a typical Korean drama, the heroine fell into a life-threatening illness, but this time it's a happy ending. Nevertheless, it's undoubtably a highly recommended piece of work (I would give it a 4.5 star). And, the campus scenary of Harvard is indeed breath-taking, gorgeous, and...(haven't yet found another appropriate adjective) Wish I were there!

More photos and wallpapers of this drama in my MSN Space photo album.



金泰熙 饰 李秀茵：哈佛医学系3年级的学生。小时候随父亲移民到美国，受了不少磨难。在父亲的影响下养成了独立，坚强的性格，是个聪敏能干的女孩子。非常率直，从来都不隐藏自己的感情，为了和贤宇相爱。放弃了一直梦寐以求，对自己来说千载难逢的机会。懂得什么是真正的爱情。为了所爱的人，愿意付出和牺牲。



金来元 饰 金贤宇：哈佛法律系留学的新生。在韩国有名望的法学世家出生，并被抚养长大。祖父是受人尊敬的大法官，父亲是律师事务所的代表，在头脑、为人、行为方面都非常优秀。不受名誉、金钱和权利的束缚。是个善良、热心、有人情味的人。



李廷镇 饰 洪正民：美国式的理性主义者，原理原则主义者。得体、优雅的衣着和举止，具有贵族气质。冷酷、理智，过于自负。从小在没有挫折，优越的环境下长大。心地却有着因父亲好不容易建立起来的事业却因为贤宇的父亲所经营的律师事务所中的诉讼中彻底失败而失去父亲的不幸阴影。


金枚 饰 刘真雅：在典型的美国式教育下长大成人。为了得到想要的东西和达到自己的目的会不择手段，性格执拗，还具有很强的占有欲。但是因为恋上了正民，为了得到正民的爱，甚至于达到了会为了爱情而不惜舍弃自己的地步。然而，却始终无法得到他的心。

Hilarious

Is God playing a joke with me? Yesterday he gave me a blow on my head, and today he made me an offer? I can't stand such 大悲大喜 for many times before I go crazy. He IS making me crazy.
Last night, I emailed my co-op coordinator asking her if BC Cancer Research Centre had made their decision on hiring, cos I couldn't wait to know whether my last chance still exist or not. So this morning, she called BCCRC, and actually BCCRC was just about to send me email to make an offer of a Anaylst/Developer position in their genome research lab. And just now, the guy interviewed me that day emailed me to confirm the offer. Finally... The interview-offer ratio stops at 12:1. :P It turns out really like what Lu Yi said---my last chance is my offer. Thanks, Eddy, Lu Yi, and Donkey, for comforting me. Really appreciate your support from 'around the world' (Vancouver, London, Singapore, ya, that's indeed 'around the world', haha).
In the past, I thought I was a calm person who can face frustration confidently. But now, looking back, I was actually behaving like a child, emotional, impatient, unconfident... funny.

Feel so down...

Didn't pass the HR interview with Creo, not even had the chance to meet with the technical staff. Sighz... What a blow on the head! Time's running out, mid-April already now. Seems like I really have to seriously think about what if I can't get a co-op job for the summer, although I've always been unwilling to do so. What's wrong with me this term?? I think I've broken the record for the interview-offer ratio in the department. What a sarcastic and humiliating record...

Demonstration!

Hoho, anti-Jap demonstration in Suzhou! Didn't expect that would happen in my hometown at all! Looks like pretty serious, riot police deployed, and got ppl arrested... (Photos were sent from Eddy and Li Bin.)


In front of Suzhou People's Store

Arresting

As DPP is so screwed in handling the Cross-Strait relations right now, the co-operation between CCP and KMT for the third time in the Chinese history becomes not only possible, but even necessary as well. More.

Rockets thrashed Sonics by 90:78, as expected

Rockets advanced to playoff

Yay, Rockets beat Suns. Shuang! Now looking forward to the match against Supersonics tonight. Most likely will win.


Sui Feifei has arrived at Sacramento Monarchs, ready for WNBA.
Her resume: http://sports.qq.com/a/20031221/000049.htm

BT is indeed so 'BT'...

Still downloading my 《爱在哈佛》at a turtle speed of 5K/s... unbearable... however, one guy somewhere on campus is downloading from me at 200+ K/s!! wat de... feel so 'unbalanced' while watching that wild difference. :(

Vancouver Auto Show 05

Went to Auto Show at BC Place Stadium this afternoon, and saw a lot of cars, cool or ugly. Ppl usually say “香车美女”，but today there was no single 美女 for those “香车”, which is quite a pity... Basically I'm a 外行, so I just took a lot of pictures for my photo album of my MSN Space.

The Rich Cultural and Linguistic Background of the Suzhou Dialect

最近突然对苏州话的研究有了兴趣，在网上search了不少有关文章，以下是《中国百科全书》对苏州话的诠释：

苏州话苏州话，一种吴语方言，属于吴语太湖片苏沪嘉小片。长期以来一直是吴语的主要代表方言之一（上海话也是吴语的代表方言，但实际上苏州话和上海话差别很小，苏州话比上海郊区一些吴语方言更容易被上海市区人理解）。
苏州话以软糯著称，所谓吴侬软语（侬作人解）就是由此而来。昆曲和评弹都使用苏州话，并流行于整个吴语太湖片。现代苏州话有27（或28，如果不分尖团）个声母，43个韵母，7个声调，这个声韵调系统也是吴语的一般情况。
苏州话也是一种文学语言，19世纪兴起的吴语文学如《海上花列传》就是以苏州话写成。

还有就是我总算找到了一首用苏州话唱的歌，不是评弹哦。



苏州好风光（新版 朱虹演唱）

上有呀天堂 下呀有苏杭
城里有园林 城外有水乡
哎呀 苏州好风光 好呀好风光 哎呀哎呀
春季里杏花开 雨中采茶忙
夏日里荷花塘 琵琶丁冬响
摇起小船 轻弹柔唱 桥洞里面看月亮
桥洞里面看月亮 哎呀哎呀
秋天里桂花香 庭院书声朗
冬季里腊梅放 太湖连长江
推开门窗 青山绿水 巧手绣出新天堂
巧手绣出新天堂 哎呀哎呀
上有呀天堂 下呀有苏杭
说不尽苏州好呀好风光
哎呀哎呀
哎哎呀 说不尽苏州好呀好风光
哎呀哎呀 说不尽苏州好呀好风光 说不尽苏州好呀好风光

这首歌唱得非常好，把苏州话的“软”和“糯”表现得淋漓尽致。但是，我听了几遍都觉得有些字的发音似乎和我平时讲的不一样。比如“下”，“水”，“茶”，“江”，“月”这些字在那首歌里的发音感觉更接近普通话，不得其解。我们Eddy Wu同学的解释是唱歌里的发音有时就是和口语不一样的。Well, I'll just take it as it is.

这一篇《吴侬软语 苏式美食--从金庸武侠小说细看姑苏》讲的也是蛮有道理的。
http://spaces.msn.com/members/tonyqin2005/Blog/cns!1pUzPY8NepMbIzJc9OOgymRw!163.entry

F.I.R. released their second album

F.I.R.'s new album is so disappointing... :-(

ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest Final

As the Blogger server was down from yesterday afternoon to night, I posted this entry in my MSN Spaces, which can be found here:
http://spaces.msn.com/members/tonyqin2005/Blog/cns!1pUzPY8NepMbIzJc9OOgymRw!134.entry

Happened to find the lyrics of "Eyes On Me"

Whenever sang my songs　
on the stage　on my own
Whenever said my words　
Wishing they would be heard

I saw you smiling at me　
Was it real or just my fantasy
You'd always be there in the corner of this tiny little bar

My last night here for you　
same old songs　just once more
My last night here with you　
Maybe Yes　Maybe No

I kind of liked it your way　
How you shyly placed your eyes on me
Did you ever know that I had mine on you？

Darling So there you are　
with that look on your face
As if you've never hurted　
As if you've never down
Shall I be the one for you　
Who pinches you softly but sure
If frown is shown then　
I will know that you are no dreamer

So let me come to you　
Close as I wanted to be
Close enough for me to feel your heart beating fast

and stay there as I whisper
How I loved your peaceful eyes on me
Did you ever know that I had mine on you？

Darling　So share with me
your love if you have enought
your tears if you're holding back
of pain If that's what it is
How can I let you know　
I'm more than the dress and the voice
Just reach me out then you will know that you're not dreaming


Faye Wong / Eyes On Me

Tired of interviews...

Just came back from two interviews in a day, one with ACL in the morning, and the other with BC Cancer Research Centre in the afternoon. ACL is pretty good, big multi-national, downtown location, and more importantly, the software they are developing is business statistical tools, which fall right into my academic interests. They also seem to be very serious about co-op interviews. This morning's interview is already the second round (no other company ever did that), and including the first round, I've been interviewed by three different groups of ppl. Tired...
On the other hand, the BCCRC interview seems to be more enjoyable. Got a nice interviewer, Asian, pretty young, but wait, he's a Post-Doc already! The working environment is awesome. A lot of glass, looks really techy and 'transparent', with enough light, natural light. The software they are working on is a bio-statistical tool, which is also good to me.
Tomorrow got one more with Pro-face INDE Electronics, and next Monday morning with another company whose name I have to check out later. The only thing I'm 'impressed' about it is its location---North Shore! Holy... Have to take the sea bus to go there. How early shall I have to wake up??
Pray, pray... Pls let me get an offer soon. Really sick of going for any more interviews...

What UBC would have looked like

(UBC Archives Photo #1.1/1331)

Original plan of the UBC campus, by architects Sharp and Thompson - bird's eye view, looking south-east.

Recommended TV Drama (China/Korea)

天若有情

星级：
片　长：四十集
制片人：杨佩佩
主要演员：
　　　　董　洁 --饰展　颜
　　　　车仁表（韩国）--饰季冬阳
　　　　陈孝萱（台湾）--饰王　琪
　　　　黄志玮（台湾）--饰方以安
　　　　六　月（台湾）--饰李纬凡
　　　　施　羽 --饰周大山

“如果说春天与秋天永远只能隔着半个地球遥遥相望，那么，四十岁男人与十八岁少女之间，也永远存在着这样的距离。
爱情最悲哀的，莫过是在错的时间遇见了对的人。岁月没有痕迹，但却很少有什么能与之抗衡！
唯有爱情，在这个季节变幻的星球上，只要有爱情，这样的故事就会永远延续…… ” ---新浪网

刚看完，感觉非常不错，还蛮有深度的，值得推荐！演员阵容挺强的，都是实力派。超喜欢这种 大陆/台湾/韩国 hybrid。

董　洁

车仁表/六月

六月/陈孝萱

六月

陈孝萱

车仁表

董　洁

车仁表/陈孝萱

黄志玮

（所有剧照均来自新浪网）

Blogger possibly blocked by the Chinese government

Kao, my father said when he tried to visit my blog, he kept getting this "Address not found" error, but the address he's using is perfectly right. Must be the government blocked Blogger as a whole... shoot... very Bu Shuang now :(

Vote on the poll

In the poll here, there's another version recorded by a girl. http://wys35.livejournal.com/
My version is in the previous post.
Vote on the poll for which one is better!

天天山海经--苏州话新童谣完整版

既然保留吴语任重道远，就从小的做起好了。这段苏州话童谣就蛮有意思的。
原文自 http://www.sinolect.org/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=709

大清老早，掼只书包，分量蛮重，作业要交。昨天夜里，老早捆觉，节目
再好，遥控器上交，为啥大人，比伲逍遥，（蛮好哉，伲小辰光电视机阿
没有个勒）等伲长大，抱牢俚捆觉。七点钟出门，伲最勤劳。公交车浪，
牛奶面包。学堂升旗，大家立好。BPMF，全要记牢。三三得八？（究竟多
少？）课间休息，不好乱跑。中浪吃饭，胃口蛮好，就是味道不及阿婆烧
个好。铅笔橡皮，能用就好。互相攀比，没有必要。见到老师，真有礼貌
，身心健康，顶顶重要。团结同学，不作兴打小报告。读书卖力，赛过帮
爷娘赚钞票！

转载：+3说吴语

原文来自 http://www.dingjia3.com/diary/showlog.asp?log_id=509&cat_id=30#mark_950 看了很有感触。

序：以前写的，希望能够被人看一下。
我的第一语言是吴语
吴语广泛流行于苏南，浙北和上海一带，少说有几千年的历史吧，是中国第二大方言。当然我不会在这里罗列一堆关于吴语的考证，相信你们对这些没什么兴趣，我也十分懒得去网上搜集。只想说明我在没有必要讲‘普通话’的时候是绝对讲吴语的，这是我对‘第一语言’的诠释。我的吴语是被老人们认为‘很不标准’，但是我还是很自信的使用，这是我对作为一个‘吴人’的诠释。我拙劣的吴语已使自己在听评弹或说书时完全不知其所云，但是我仍然能静下心来欣赏，这是我对‘吴文化’的诠释。

不免有些自豪
不知是否是巧合，吴语地区明显是全中国历代以来经济上最富饶，文化上最充实的地区。我实在有太多的理由为自己的文化背景而觉得有些轻飘飘。语言是一种文化的载体，也是分享着这种文化的那群人的标签。我能坚持使用吴语，可以说是一种作为‘吴人’，拥有吴文化的自豪。全世界都知道新加坡人的英语是最难听的，但是他们仍然很当回事的称其为‘Singlish’；台湾人硬是把闽南话说成‘台语’，无非也是想拥有一种将自己与中国分割开来的语言，确立自己的文化特性。文化没有血缘性，每个人只有亲身去感受才会了解某种文化，而语言能很好的让人去接近它所从属的文化，也能很好的把自己和其他文化区分开来。总之语言很重要便是了。

当自己的语言面临濒危
一次在新加坡和几个比自己小一些的苏州人吃饭，我自然一开口就是吴语，没想到他们竟然说‘你怎么讲苏州话？’，‘我们在苏州都讲普通话的’… 作为学长我其实完全可以用‘忘本’之类的话教训一下后辈，当然作为‘吴人’的良好品德之一，我还是靠一个深呼吸让自己忍耐住，当然在心里早已把他们骂得狗血喷头。不过其实这是很普遍的现实，在苏州，特变在年轻人中间，讲吴语的越来越少，小朋友们绝对是一口标准的普通话。另外无数外来人口的涌入，现在在苏州街头听到的只有带着苏州口音的普通话和带着外地口音的普通话两种，吴语是无处查找的。这样的‘里应外合’早已使吴语基本上已经看到了死期。

我们对此无能为力
很多老一辈的苏州人，或者说吴人，对此很不能接受，觉得老祖宗的东西被年轻人给丢了，或者很一本正经的要开展所谓保护吴语的运动。我很能理解这些‘老苏州’的心情，吴语的濒临灭绝无疑撼动他们所信仰的文化，他们自然也是不能接受为自己所自豪的文化在年轻人中间已不受欢迎，或者说已在被驱逐的边缘。但是我，作为一个思想很开放，很年轻，又很热爱吴文化的新一代吴人，却是很清楚其实我们对此无能为力。

伟大的国家要你死，你不得不死
1949年，操着一口吴侬软语的蒋中正先生被朱毛大军赶到了台湾，吴语的日子就此不好过起来。我们伟大的党是喜欢‘大中国主义’的，大家都要讲普通话，最好还能来这么几下‘京片儿’，吴语的存在实在不合时宜。我们伟大的祖国是喜欢‘统一’的，不同的文化会带来内部的碰撞和不融合，吴文化自然不能太猖狂。我们伟大的政府是喜欢‘先解决重要问题’的，中西部的人民饭都没有吃，谁有空来保护一个腐朽的‘吴语’？总之，吴语像是一个得了肺癌晚期的死刑犯，太可怜了，法官都懒得判你死刑，你就自己慢慢等死吧。

市长的回眸一笑
苏州曾经有这么一个市长，据说是有语言学的背景，一时兴起，鼓励苏州电视台开了一个用吴语主持的新闻节目。此事一下子引起‘老苏州’们的强烈反响，认为吴语的春天又来了，认为保护吴语的行动展开了。那个女主播长得也很漂亮，因此虽然都是隔夜新闻，我和父亲还是每天会看。可惜的是，苏州市长的更换频率比我回国的频率还高，那个市长现在早已经不在位了，吴语的春天自然是一瞬而过。一两个和吴语有关的电视节目无非只是对吴语一种临死前的缅怀。记得前些时候昆曲被列入世界遗产名录，很多‘老苏州’还很高兴，其实他们不知道那张名录里的文化遗产都是些不吃香的东西，曾经辉煌过，快死了，就赶快找个安身之地，像弄块灵牌供奉起来。总之都是闹剧，吴语继续等死。

对于吴语的离去，我很坦然
总之我的，我们的吴文化在被削弱；我的，我们的吴语在淡出这个世界。说吴语的有几千万人口，其中关心吴语生存的最多这么几十万，要和另外13亿中国人去争个说法，实在没有什么必要。如今吴语地区的经济似乎是愈来愈好，相反却引来了更多的外来人口，他们进来时把吴文化踩在脚下，我们不敢啃声，因为那会被说成‘地方保护主义’。于是想起了小色的一句话：“面对强奸犯，与其反抗，不如就这样去享受。”当然，每次引用这句话都觉得很别扭，希望下次感觉好些。

吴语还是自己的第一语言
我不知道自己的后辈们还会不会吴语，或者说还听不听得懂吴语，想必可能性是不大的。但这对于我来说倒能够接受，正如我之前所说的，文化没有血缘性，文化不必强求。对于吴语，只要有人听得懂，我还是会说下去，毕竟吴语是自己的第一语言，毕竟吴文化是自己所立足的文化。

Singlish A To Z

Singapore is a multi-cultural society, and so is Singlish, which integrates words and phrases from Chinese ( Hokkien/Cantonese/Mandarin), Malay, and Indian, and is so widely used in Singapore along with the 'proper' English. The following words and phrases are just those that I know. Certainly there are a lot more which I may not even heard of during my years in Singapore.

AGAK-AGAK(ah-ga, ah-ga)
Malay term meaning "to estimate".

AH LIAN
A pet-name which literally means, "lotus flower". In real life, it refers to an unsophisticated Chinese girl. Stereotypically dresses in neon colours, wears a huge ribbon perched on the top of her head, and carries a tiny basket.

ALAMAK
An Malay expression of dismay, surprise or alarm.
"Alamak! Why you go and do this sort of stupid thing?"

ALSO CAN (ohso-can)
Usually found at the end of sentences. Means "this is okay with me," or "this can also be done."
1. "This one you want to pay by installment, also can."
2. "You only owe me $5. But if you want to give me $10, also can lah."

ANG MOR
Hokkien for 'red-hair'. A pejorative term used to describe Caucasians. I read from somewhere that during the Ming Dynasty, when General Zhen ChengGong fought with the Dutch and drove them out of Taiwan, the Chinese called the Dutch 'Red Hair Devil'. Since the Taiwanese also use a variant of Hokkien, I guess that's how this term 'Ang Mor' was included into the Hokkien vocabulary and passed down the generations.

B.G.R.
Acronym for Boy-Girl Relationship

BLUR
Used to describe someone as rather inept or in a world of his own. May also be used to describe the feeling of being dazed.
1. Such a simple thing also cannot do. You damn blur!?
2. Wah lao, I do maths, do until blur, man.

CAN
Monosyllabic answer denoting one's ability to fulfil a requested task or problem.
A: Lend me your car leh.?
B: Can lah.

CAN OR NOT?
A question on whether something is permissable.
1. "Today after school follow me go downtown, can or not?"
2. "Eh, borrow me $5 today, tomorrow I return you, can or not?"

CHEEM
Hokkien term meaning something is profound or deep or intellectual.
"You study philosophy? Wah lao, damn cheem, man!"

CHIO
A somewhat impolite way of describing a woman as pretty.
"Checkout that chick, man. Damn chio!"

CHIO BU(chee-oh boo)
A pretty woman. A somewhat rude term.
"Far East Plaza got a lot of chio bu."

DIE DIE
To go all out, with no possibility of non-compliance. The Singlish equivalent of "die trying".
"I promise die die will pay you back tomorrow."

DON'T PLAY-PLAY
Direct translation of a Hokkien phrase. A warning against hubris: do not fool with things beyond your ability. "This job is very crucial. Dont play play hor."

EXTRA
An adjective usually applied to people who do things which are unnecessary or pointless, kind of different from other people.
1. "Eh, Recess already you still want to do homework! You damn extra, you know!"

GAU MM DIM
Cantonese for "cannot manage". Often used in the sense that things are going out of control.
"Ah Lien got promoted to marketing manager? Wah lau, she sure gao mm dim one."

GOSTAN
A Malay contraction of the colonial instruction to "go astern", i.e. to reverse one's vehicle or turn it around. Can be used as a verb.
"You can gostan your car some more. Still got space behind."

GOT
Denoting availability of something.
Beng: "Got milk or not?"
Seng: "Got!"

HOR
Another Singlish tag, used like a punctuation mark.
"He, hor, very kan cheong one."

IS IT?
A phrase that's tagged on to virtually any question (usually grammatically incorrect). It is also used on its own to express skepticism.
1. "You got mail, is it?" (You've received mail, have you?")
2. A: "I got accepted into Harvard." B: "Is it?"

K.L.K.K.
Acronym for "kia lai kia kee" - Hokkien for "to walk about" or "stroll".
"Eh, let's go Orchard Road and K.L.K.K."

KAN CHEONG(kahn chee-ong)
A Cantonese term meaning nervous, worried or uptight.
"Your exam in June, now only March, you kan-cheong for what?" (The exam's in June and now it's only March. What are you getting so nervous for?)

KIASI(kee-ah-see)
Hokkien term literally meaning, "afraid of death". Used to admonish someone for being coward.
"Raining only, cannot go out, meh? Why you so kiasi one?"

KIASU(kee-ah-soo)
Hokkien adjective literally meaning, "afraid of losing". A highly pejorative description beloved of Singaporeans. Kiasu-ism is possibly the defining national characteristic. Former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong once suggested that the Singaporean is kiasu, kiasee, and if he is a man, kiabo (being afraid of his wife)--- the famous triple K's.
"No need to copy all my notes lah. Dont be so kiasu one."

LAH
The ubiquitous Singlish tag. Used like a fullstop in a sentence.
1. "It was just like that lah."
2. "Never mind lah."
3. "Donno lah."

LAO SAI
Hokkien for "dribble shit". It means a case of diarrhoea."Ang mor png, chia'h liau sure lau sai" ("After eating western food, you will definitely have diarrhoea.")

LEH(lay)
Yet another Singlish tag, similar in usage to "Lah", but which adds a slightly quizzical tone to the sentence.
"I didn't know Ah Beng was like that, leh."

LIAO
A Hokkien tag which depending on the context can mean either "already" or "finished".
1. "His mother early-early si liao, loh." (His mother died very early.)
2. "Like that his business sure liao, lah." (In such circumstances, his business is surely finished.)

LOR(law)
Yet another Singlish tag, similar in usage to "Lah", but which adds a slightly cynical or resigned tone to the sentence.
"Aiyah, don't care him. He's always like that, lor."

MAH FAN(mah farn)
Mandarin for "bother" or "bothersome"; used either as a verb or adjective. Guess it's one of the few Mandarin phrases in Singlish.
"Why you always come and mah fan me one?"
"Why they want to ask so many questions? So mah fan one?"

MAMA SHOP
Corner stall selling miscellaneous sundry goods, often run by Indian shopkeepers.

MEH
A Singlish tag which accompanies questions. Adds a slight tone of incredulity.
"Ah Beng is like that, meh?"

MONG CHA CHA
Cantonese for "blur, confused".Similar to Blur

OFF
Economical verb meaning to turn or shut something off.
"Please off the light."
Same rule applies to "On".

ON
Very enthusiastic, like participating in a lot of clubs/societies/volunteering work
"she's damn on, man, got four exec positions this term."

ONE
Yet another Singlish tag, similar in use to "lah", but which almost always follow a word which is some sort of attribute. This probably stems from words such as "de" in Mandarin and "eh" in Hokkien.
1. "Why you so stupid one?"
2. "Aiyah, he's like that one, lah."

PLAY CHEAT
Inexplicably, to cheat.
"I warn you, ah, don't play cheat or I tell teacher then you know!"

ROJAK (roh-jah')
A salad of mixed vegetables taken with sauce. Of Malay origin, it has been adapted by all races. In Singlish, it is used as an adjective, to describe something as being either eclectic, or just plain messy.
"This sort of multi-cultural event ah if don't plan properly will come out all rojak."

SABO
Singlish contraction of "sabotage". Used to cover instances of practical jokes and tricks to outright betrayal.
"You don't sabo me, I warn you ah!"

SEE HOW
To leave the matter alone and watch how it develops. Often repeated for emphasis.
"I oreddy submitted the application form. So now just see how, see how, lor."

SHAKE LEG
To be idle.
"Eh, you got homework, hurry up go and do! Don't just sit here and shake leg!"

SIAN(see-en)
A wonderfully concise Hokkien adjective which conveys boredom, weariness, frustration and emptiness.
1. My job is damn sian, man.
2. Wah lau eh, I do Further-maths, do until sian oreddy. （我靠，我做 Further-Math 做到sian了啦。）

SEOW
Hokkien for "crazy".
1. "You want to go and talk at Speakers Corner? You seow or what?"
2. "Look at that seow char bor (crazy woman)!"

SO HOW?
Economic term, used in the same manner as "So what now?"
"The show is oreddy sold out. So how?"

SORRY NO CURE
Singlish phrase used to express indignation at an inadequate attempt at an apology
A: "You lost my textbook?"
B: "Ai yah, sorry lah!"
A: "Sorry no cure!"

SUAY(sway)
Hokkien adjective meaning "calamity" or "catastrophe". (衰）
"He was so suay today, got up late, missed bus, and got scolded by his boss."

TZAI
A compliment about one's coolness.
Ah Lian agreed to go out with him? Since when he so tzai one??

VOMIT BLOOD
Literal translation from Chinese (mandarin or dialect), which is used to describe undergoing extreme difficulty, intense suffering or great irritation.
"Yesterday, hor, I teach my son Maths, teach until vomit blood."

WAH LAN/WAH LAN EH/LAN EH(wah lahn)
Hokkien term, which kinda has a sexual connotation, and yet probably the most common Singlish expression of all, it is used in much the same way as "oh my goodness", "wow", or "damn!", depending on the tone used, and the context. A more polite variant is "Wah Lau".
1. "Wah lan eh! How can you do this sort of thing to me?"
2. "My first thought when I saw her was 'wah lan eh'."
3. "Lan eh, I ask you to do this sort of simple-simple thing, you can also cock up!"

WAH LAU
The most common polite variation of "Wah Lan". I can forget all the Singlish phrases but this one.

WHAT ( T is slient here)
Yet another Singlish sentence tag, this is often used by people who are in defensive situations.
A: "How come you borrow my shirt now got hole one?!"
B: "Borrow that time orredy like dat, whaaaat!"
A: "Then why you never say first?"
B: "You never ask, whaaaat!"

YAN DAO
A handsome male.
Mr Shitface: I am so yan dao!
Mrs Shitface: Yah, right!

YOUR HEAD
Mild curse used to disabuse someone of his or her erroneous assumption.
1. A: "You sure fail the test!"
B: "Your head lah!"
2. "She? Win Miss Universe? Your head lah!"


Viewing downtown on Singapore River