small "subtle" differences in the english language

i've encountered several funny occasions with differences in the english language between Australia and America...

when i was out at Wilmington, Delaware, I needed to use an "eraser" and I asked my staff if I could borrow his "rubber"... meaning condoms here of course...

yesterday, i found out how queue is pronounced here - "cue-ee" AhahahaHaHahHAhA... i laughed at my staff when she said that! and then i realized she meant to say it like that!

my staff also told me I should ask clients for "screenshots" as opposed to "screendumps"... as dumps are generally referred to as number 2's...

some other differences include:

AUSTRALIA vs AMERICA

entree - appetizer
main - entree (now that could get confusing!!)
thongs - flip flops
g-strings - thongs (LOL!)
capsicum - pepper (odd...)

now - did you know that fanny means ass instead in the states??? that's a pretty big difference...

i still encounter small things like "queue" each day... makes each day quite amusing for me!! =)

deprived of good chinese food...

i have such a craving for good chinese food.... i miss my mummy's cooking so much now!!! i miss my dow si leng yu farn in the mornings... my porridge... my tomato, egg and beef dish... *sob*... but hey - i guess that's to be expected!

but what i didn't expect was the following:

1. no GOOD YUM CHA!! i have not found 1 decent yum cha restaurant in NYC! not even in chinatown!!! i am so shocked... i've even asked my chinese colleagues at work, but none of what they've suggested can compare to sydney - let alone HK!

2. no local congee in midtown!! i want congee in the mornings... i have such a HUGE craving for good congee with yow tiew, and bbq pork rice noodle rolls... there are like, a dozen chinese restaurants here, but none that do congee!!! i think i'll just need to travel to chinatown on the weekends for that... :(

hmm.... my tummy's going gggRRRrrRRRrr... i think i'll just need to settle for japanese tonight! hehe..

settled...

i'm feeling very settled-in in my new home... i've been here a month now, and it's just flown past so quickly... i've been so bad with blogging - but that's coz i don't have a computer yet (and i still don't!!) - so broke... i still need to save for several big expenditures e.g. blinds, sofa & rug...

new york is great! there are always things to do, places to go, food to eat (mmmmmm....), everything is just too easy! my apartment management provides free breaky and juice... i have a nice gym in the building that i'm trying to go to every morning (i think it's only averaging at about 2-3 times a week at the moment though)... i don't have to cook because food is just too convenient here - it'd almost be a waste of time and money to cook!

now i just need to find a piano, then i'll know i'm really settled in!!! hmmm... blinds & sofa VS piano.... or piano VS new clothes & shoes??? hehehe...

okay - let's step backwards to see what i've done so far....

- October 17: Arrived in LA, did a tour of LA city and fell asleep during the tour
- October 18: Went to universal studios
- October 19: Went to disneyland
- October 20: Arrived in NYC
- October 21 to 22: Found an apartment with a broker and put a deposit on it, walked around Times Square for the first time - absolutely electric!
- October 23 to 25: Found out broker was ripping me off, and found an apartment on my own! Signed up to a mobile phone contract (which didn't charge us USD$800 security deposit because we don't have a US credit history), and saw a taxi EXPLODE! i think that's when it hit me - i am IN NEW YORK! hehe..
- October 26: Signed lease for new apartment!!
- October 27 to 28: Started looking around for furniture and things for the apartment
- October 29: Bought and moved lots of furniture to the new apartment - and got RIPPED by AVIS because the SUV was returned early!!?? resulting in double the hire fee!!! Spent first night in our apartment on the new mattress =)
- October 30: Put the furniture together and unpacked our luggage into our new wardrobes!
- October 31: Celebrated first Halloween - went to the Halloween parade (but never quite made it - too many police roadblocks)
- November 1 to 5: First week of work - orientation week *yawn*
- November 7: Went to Central Park and Rockefeller Center
- November 8 to 12: Went to my first US client - at Wilmington, Delaware
- November 13: Walked half-way on Brooklyn Bridge and back! Went to Wall Street (will be working there next week!!)
- November 14: Met my cousin for the first time! went to a GREAT restaurant at Soho called Mercer's Kitchen.... mmmmmm..... yummy.... everything was divine... we had mojito's (my favourite drink at the moment), oysters, i had a fish for my "entree" - btw americans call their entrees appetizers, and their mains entrees - go figure! and then the BEST chocolate cake EVER... yummy...
- November 15 to 18: Went to my second US client - at Boston, Massachusetts
- November 20 to 21: I think I slept the whole weekend away... oh wait - i remember! i think I got cable internet and TV then... haha... probably watched tv the entire weekend...
- November 25: Went to Macy's Thanksgiving Parade - AMAZING! LOVED IT! the BEST parade I've been to by far - even better than our Mardi Gras!! I think the key character this year was Grover (bye bye Elmo). My favourite was Kermit the Frog - he went wild, trying to knock down the street signs, and hi-5ing the crowds (or just smacking them silly). Went to Long Island to visit my cousin, and have Thanksgiving dinner with her family - and met her baby son for the first time - he is GORGEOUS, just like his mum.
- November 26: Spent another day in bed - I think it was "Back to the Future" day - watched the whole series....
- November 27: Went to Queensboro bridge, and caught the sky-tram to Roosevelt Island and back..
- November 28: Went to Empire State Building, 86th floor... had a GREAT view coz there were no clouds - but there were no clouds because it was SO WINDY!!! froze my nose off...
- November 29: Went to Greenwich, Connecticut for another client...
- November 30 to December 2: Finally had some more time to work in the NY office...

and i guess that summarizes everything! see? who needs to blog everyday??? =D