Being in school brings out the sotong* in me. It is horribly embarrassing.
For the benefit of those who haven't been in school recently, school campuses these days are quite high-tech. To book a computer at the computer lab, you need to queue up at a booking terminal, swipe your matriculation card in this card-swipper apparatus-thing, and then choose an available terminal from the screen. The screen that pops up looks like the screen at the cinema ticket counter: bright blue for the seats that are available, grey for seats that are occupied.
So last week, I queued at the booking terminal and when it got to my turn, I swiped my card. Didn't work. Swiped it again. Didn't work. Until this guy** behind me told me that my card was in the wrong direction. I quickly swiped it the right way, chose my computer, and scampered.
Two days later, at the same booking station, I managed to get past swiping my matriculation card and the screen popped up. I found a computer I wanted and I chose it. Nothing happened! Tried again. Nada. And then the guy*** behind me said, "Xiao jie! Use the mouse!" I had been pressing on the computer screen with my finger! Alamak!
And then, in Ed Psych**** class, I did it again. The prof was doing a verbal roll call. I heard her call out my Chinese name so I lifted my hand and said "Here" in a loud voice. Then someone else in class said: "No, that isn't her. That is me. There are two of us with the same name in this class." So I said, "Oh," and retracted my hand. Not too long after, I heard the Prof call out my Christian name, so I said "Here" again, convinced that it must be me this time, but someone else put up her hand as well! What?! I still have no idea whether that second one is me or not.
I give up. I think I'll just go and blend into the wallpaper now.
* Literally, an octopus. Not so literally, a person who does not know what is going on.
** A fairly cute guy in my Ed Psych class.
*** The same fairly cute guy who pointed out my mistake the first time! What the...!!
**** See point **
Monday, August 13, 2007
An octopus goes to school
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4 comments:
er... mn... i think sotong means squid... calamari... not octopus... sorry... ;-)
how've you been? sorry, i've not been around... work got to me...
:-(
awww... how 'taiwanese-idol-drama'-ish.
ah, I think that sotong is squid too, but for some reason, Singapore Tourism Board defines sotong as octopus on this page.
Anyway, TOT, I've missed you! How have you been? Been busy? Don't work too hard ok....
smudgi3, erm.. I feel more like the protagonist in Mr Bean. ;) But I agree, it is quite uncanny that the fairly cute guy is always standing behind me when I goof up.
Some insight into the attendance taking thing: if you have seen your class list, there's a good chance the teacher will call out names in that order, so you'll know roughly where your name is positioned in the whole class...
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