Of Salon and Saloon

SALON and SALOON are poles apart, yet there are those who keep mixing the two.

A 'salon' is a commercial establishment for beauty (there are a few other meanings as well, but for the purpose of this particular discussion, this one suffices), so it's a beauty salon, not beauty saloon.

A 'saloon', on the other hand, is a pub/bar/tavern (of course there are other meanings to saloon too, but we are not going there).

If you go to a salon, chances are you'll come out stone-cold sober and with your beautiful coiffure; but you are likely to leave a saloon drunk as a lord and with your hair dishevelled.

Good Attitudes Matter

Looking at my laptop screen, it showed 11.15 am.

I called her through Whatsapp. She picked it up.

"Do you know we have a class now?" I said solemnly.

"Oh, I will join the lesson now." she said without further explanation. That was it, when I waited for 20 minutes after I had sent her the Zoom link since 10.55 am.

Soon, she joined the lesson.

"What were you doing?" I asked. "My mum was talking to me through phone call and after that, I forgot about the class." she answered without much hesitation. 

"Ok, I'm not sure if you understood what I talked to you in our last lesson. Perhaps I talked to you in a nice way. Let me say that to you again, in Mandarin, to ensure you get my point." I said.

The communication was then switched to Mandarin, and it has been translated into English in this blog. 

"First, this is not your first time to join the class late. There were numerous times when I had to call you to join the class. I can't accept your excuse that you've forgotten about the class. Since the first day I started teaching you, I never change the time. One year ago, you always joined the class on time. Why only recently you forget about the class?"

"Do you still want to learn English with me?" I questioned her.

"Yes." she said sheepishly.

Ignoring her response, I continued to chide her, "if you want to stop the class but dare not tell your mum, let me know and I can tell her on your behalf. I'm totally fine. I don't mind to let you go. I'd rather spend my time doing some other beneficial stuff, instead of wasting my time to wait for you. Besides, there are some other students out there, who wish to join my learning centre."

She kept silent.

"My last question to you, do you want to stay?" I asked again.

"Yes." she answered.

"Ok, if you want to stay, please bear in mind, don't be late again. This is my last warning to you. If you are late again, I won't call you anymore. I'll just tell your mum that I'll stop the class and I'll bid you goodbye." I told her bluntly.

This is the story that happened in one of my classes this morning. She was a 10-year-old girl, whose attitude got worse after teaching her for 1 year.

I had no choice but to lambast her so that she knew I no longer tolerate such kinds of attitudes - being late and not serious in her learning.

A teacher's job is not only about imparting knowledge, but also to instil good values into their students. Good attitudes make them go a long way.

Grammar: Verb Pattern (Part 2)

This blog is a short one because I am going to share with you about verbs followed by infinitive without "to". The verbs are let and make.

Let and make are followed by an infinitive without to in active voice sentences. They always have an object before the infinitive. 

Examples:

1) Do not let Alice go. (Alice = object; go = infinitive)

2) The staff made his client wait while he checked the documents. (his client = object; wait = infinitive) 

Help is another verb that is followed by infinitive without "to", but it is fine to use it with to-infinitive. 

Examples:

1) Please help me find my dog.

2) Please help me to find my dog.

Grammar: Verb Pattern (Part 1)

In this blog, I will share about one of the verb patterns that English users are likely to use in their daily life - hear, see, etc. + object + infinitive or -ing.

We can use either the infinitive without "to" or the "-ing" form after the object of verbs such as hear, see, notice, watch. The infinitive without "to" often emphasises the whole action or event, which someone hears or sees. The "-ing" form usually emphasises an action or event, which is in progress or not yet completed.

Example:

Jason saw a young man rode off with his girlfriend on the pillion.	The speaker observed the whole event.
I heard him singing in the bathroom, when I walked in to the house.	The action was in progress, but not completed.

The -ing form can also emphasise that an event or action is repeated.

Example:

We watched the movers moving back and forth, taking boxes out of the house and loading the truck.

After can or could with one of these verbs, we always use the -ing form, not the infinitive.

Example:

I can hear people laughing. They must be in the next room.

Ithaka - A Poem about Life as a Journey

I came across this very poem in 2013 when I was at my 4th year of tertiary education. The poem was illustrated in a comic by Gavin Aung Than. I found this poem interesting because it depicted life as a journey. It gave me a lot of food for thought because my last year of university life was about to end and I had to seriously think and plan for my future. Back then, I was aimless...

Ithaka was written by Constantine P. Cavafy (1863 - 1933) - a Greek poet of the 20th century. The poem was then translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. It was based on Homer's account of Odysseus's journey home in his poem - The Odyssey.

Life has always been bittersweet and that is the journey that everyone must go through. We learn and grow from the bitter moment; and we live and appreciate the sweet moment. Do not rush through the journey because life is not about the destination, but all about the journey - the experiences and memories that you have gained to make your life flourishing and fulfilling.

This poem gives us hope about life and it motivates us to move on even though life could be challenging sometimes. Hope you enjoy reading this poem like I do. 😉

Ithaka

by Constantine P. Cavafy

As you set out for Ithaka

hope your road is a long one,

full of adventure, full of discovery.

Laistrygonians, Cyclops,

angry Poseidon   don't be afraid of them:

you'll never find things like that on your way

as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,

as long as a rare excitement

stirs your spirit and your body.

Laistrygonians, Cyclops,

wild Poseidon   you won't encounter them

unless you bring them along inside your soul,

unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope your road is a long one.

May there be many summer mornings when,

with what pleasure, what joy,

you enter harbors you're seeing for the first time;

may you stop at Phoenecian trading stations

to buy fine things,

mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,

sensual perfume of every kind   

as many perfumes as you can;

and may you visit many Egyptian cities

to learn and go on learning from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.

Arriving there is what you're destined for.

But don't hurry the journey at all.

Better if it lasts for years,

so you're old by the time you reach the island,

wealthy with all you've gained on the way,

not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.

Without her you wouldn't have set out.

She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won't have fooled you.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,

you'll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.

Learning Vocabulary Through Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

Learning vocabulary through a context would help the learners understand and remember the words more easily and effectively.

In 2020, the human race has been stricken by a novel coronavirus outbreak. I went through some articles to write a short and general summary about the novel coronavirus with some words, which have been frequently used in many reports or articles.

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Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

A pneumonia of unknown cause detected in Wuhan, China was first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) Country Office  in China on 31 December, 2019. The disease appeared to be epidemic in Wuhan before WHO declared it as a pandemic because the disease has been widespread throughout the world.

The novel coronavirus disease was named as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The disease outbreak happened because it was very infectious - the virus transmission took place easily from human to human. The transmission occurred through respiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing.

Some common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough and tiredness. Some people might encounter loss of taste or smell. One of the serious symptoms is shortness of breath.

The people, who were infected with the virus, might appear to be symptomatic and asymptomatic. Asymptomatic virus carrier could pose risk to the people around them.

Therefore, in many countries, precautionary measures have been introduced to contain the spread. The people must wear masks whenever they go out and practise social distancing at 1 metre. They also have to practise good personal hygiene by washing their hands regularly with soap and water.

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List of vocabulary and its definition (reference: Cambridge Dictionary):

pneumonia: a serious illness in which one or both lungs become red and swollen and filled with liquid

epidemic: the appearance of a particular disease in a large number of people at the same time

pandemic: a disease that exists in almost all of an area or in almost all of a group of people, animals, or plants

outbreak: a time when something suddenly begins, especially a disease or something else dangerous or unpleasant

infectious: (of a disease) able to be passed from one person, animal, or plant to another; contagious

transmission: the process of passing something from one person or place to another

symptomatic: showing symptoms of a particular disease

asymptomatic: showing no symptoms of a particular disease

Bite-sized Story: Mrs. Hughes's Christmas

Mrs. Hughes's Christmas

by Vincent Teh

She was sitting on her rocking chair at the porch, gently moving back and forth.

It was a cold starry night. Night breeze was blowing. The swaying leaves were whispering and crickets humming harmoniously.

She was solemnly looking at the night sky where countless stars shone and the moon shyly hid in the clouds.

Her neighbours next door were talking and cheering merrily. Their house windows were emitting bright fluorescent light of jollity. The mirth permeated the windy night.

She was still silently sitting on her rocking chair amidst the delightful cheers. The wind went stronger. She slowly stood up and walked into her house, where dim light was flickering through the windows...

It was another lonely Christmas night for Mrs. Hughes...

***The End***

I wrote this bite-sized story in a bus when I was on my trip back to my hometown in Malaysia from Singapore.