Tuesday, July 03, 2007

The joke that was (mis)understood...

Yeah...thanks guys. Really do hope that I will enjoy myself there...and not forgetting, hope that I will learn lots there.

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Know what's my favourite character in Pirates of the Caribbean?? No, not Elizabeth Swann (I do like her...A LOT... but not my favourite)....and definitely not Will Turner (I'm not gay.) So, is it Jack? Yeah, it's not him as well. So, that leaves either Capt. Barbosa or Kraken. So, I guess that many of you will guess Kraken since he's my far away cousin (for those who just knew me, I was nicknamed *Crab before)....and we spend most our childhood playing gasing and kejar-kejar....but, no to that as well. My favourite is Capt. Barbosa.

So, "Why Capt. Barby?" you might ask me. Well, here it is....remember part one where Capt. Barby was cursed, that no drink could cure his thirst, no women's flesh could warm (Yeah, not even Jenna Jameson) ...well, I was sort of cursed too and that struck me as a fair sort of similarity between us. My curse was that....as well known as I was for telling witty jokes and giving odd comments that so many people have been enjoying....I have never achieved the same glory in Japan. Any joke I told would be met with a stiff frown, every odd comment I give would tilt many heads along with a unanimous "huh?"....

For those of you in Japan, you might understand me when I say jokes originally told in English fall on deaf ears when translated to Japanese. And so I was cursed when I came upon the land of miniskirts. Every time I say something funny, it have been received with silence ....a silence as heavy as a plate of cold, unsalted noodles. And so I became quiet in class....I became the soulless guy who won't speak unless spoken to....in a state not quite dead but not exactly alive. (Capt Barby suffered the same thing ..)

But last weekend I rediscovered my gift. Long story short, all the foreign students went to a party where this one lady from London attended. I shall call her Anita (Didn't create it, she introduced herself as so.) Anyway, Anita and I were having simple, normal adult conversation about the food, culture, education system, politics...etc etc...when my dormant self awoken from extended hibernation. Even I, me, myself was surprised with the things I said. God knows (other than my own self of course) how much I enjoyed myself that night. Just by seeing other people laughing at my remark gives certain pleasure to me. Oh.....how I longed to be called Crap again! How I miss the times where people automatically smile when I approach them.

And then, I did something very brave...back in school, I tried telling my Japanese friends jokes again. With my new found confidence I told them a joke and guess what?.......They laughed!!......NOT!!!!! Once again I find myself in an awkward position of having to explain the stuff I said to them. THAT'S IT!!!!!!!!!! I'm never telling another joke to a Japanese ever again. I'm never gonna suffer that cocked head asked "What?" anymore...


*Crap:
Funny, witty stuff ...in shorter words, nonsense. I pretty much told lots of crap during my highschool days, hence the nickname Crap.