Hi
guys!
I'm
sure that after quite a long hiatus you were hoping for a blog
post with a little bit more substance than me talking about myself ;)
Well, life is not all hearts and roses, is it? :)
On
a a side note, my close friend (Hi, Mick!!) reads the blog and
she has told me that it offers a good insight into who I am in
real life with one exception: in real life my jokes are even more
cynical, so please keep that in mind when you judge me ;)
a hiatus
– przerwa (a break)
substance – znaczenie (importance)
on
a side note – na marginesie (by the way)
an
insight into – wgląd (understanding)
to
keep something in mind – pamiętać o czymś (to remember about
something)
Moving
on to today's topic. You might not like it or believe it but I am and
have always been left-handed. I have already shared with you that I can't draw but I thought this priceless piece of information deserved
a separate post. (I hope everybody feels the sarcasm here.) ;)
Left-handed
people get all kinds of different reactions – from “you must be
really intelligent to “no wonder you are so weird and slow
on the uptake”.
no
wonder – nic dziwnego (it's not surprising that)
slow
on the uptake – ciężko kojarzący (If someone is slow on the
uptake they understand things with difficulty)
If
you're a lefty yourself – high five and if you're not – well,
then you should read what follows carefully. If you're
ambidextrous, go and brag somewhere else ;)
Being
a lefty is hard work. Why? Because everything on this planet seems
to be constructed for right-handed people – scissors, bags, cars,
the idea of writing …
We,
lefties, do manage of course, but it does drive us up the
wall when, for the millionth time, we have to explain to you,
right-handed people, why we wear our watches on our right wrist or
why all our clothes face the right side of the closet.
what
follows – co następuje ( the following … )
ambidextrous
– oburęczny (able to use both hands equally well)
to
brag – chwalić się (to speak too proudly about what you have done
or what you own)
to
manage – radzić sobie (to succeed)
to
drive somebody up the wall – wkurzać kogoś (to annoy somebody)
to
face – być zwróconym w stronę (be turned towards something)
Also,
most people are right-handed and when they explain to you how some
manual thing is done, they say how a right-handed person would
do it. And then, when a lefty gives it a go and needs a little bit
more time to figure it out, they call him slow. Now, how fair
is it?
manual
– ręczny (done with the hands)
to
figure something out – rozpracować (to work something out)
Left-handed
people often need to pretend that other people's jokes don't hurt
their feelings:
Young
student: How do you eat?
Me:
What do you mean?
Young
student: Do you hold the knife in you right hand and fork in
your left hand, like normal people do?
Me:
Yep, that's a pretty basic skill, even for me ;)
Young
student: <disappointed>
Me:
But I do hold the spoon in my left hand.
Young
student: :)
What
do you mean? – Co masz na myśli?
Lefties
might feel bashful when the subject of handwriting
pops up in a conversation:
Searching
for a perfect font.
Friend:
Or we could use your own signature instead.
Me:
?
Friend:
And then make an electronic version of it. What's your handwriting
like?
Me:
Oh, we don't want to go there. I write like a five-year-old. You
should see the signature on my ID.
Friend:
Oh, ok. Never mind then.
bashful
– wstydliwy zakłopotany (often feeling uncomfortable with
other people and easily embarrassed; shy)
a font
– czcionka
a
signature – podpis
We
don't want to go there. – To nie jest dobry pomysł/ Lepiej tego nie
róbmy. (It's not a good idea/ Let's not do it.)
Never
mind – mniejsza o to, nieważne (forget about it)
Left-handed
people are often treated less seriously compared to people
their age who are right-handed:
Someone:
You look so cute and awkward when you write.
Me:
Gee, thanks.
Someone:
Oh, I think your left hand is dirty.
Me: It's alright. It's just smudged with ink. Happens all
the time.
compared
with – w porównaniu z
look
awkward – wyglądać nieporadnie, niezdarnie (moving in a
way that is not attractive)
gee
– jejku (an expression of surprise or enthusiasm)
smudged
with – ubrudzony, poplamiony, umazany (dirty from)
ink
– tusz
At
school, lefties might be given extra assignments to practice
their handwriting to catch up with other students who
apparently have made bigger progress since their i's are
dotted and their t's are crossed while lefty handwriting sucks.
extra
assignments – dodatkowe zadania/ ćwiczenia (extra homework/ work)
to
catch up with somebody – nadgonić zaległości w stosunku do (to
reach the same quality or standard as someone or something else)
since
– ponieważ (because)
to
dot the i's and cross the t's – dopracować szczegóły (to pay a
great deal of attention to the details of something, especially when
you are trying to complete a task)
Thank
heavens, I was spared this indignity. What I didn't avoid,
though, was extra scissors practice. Yes, you heard me correctly.
Frigging scissors! One day my teacher noticed that my
scissors handling skills were pathetic and she told me
to practice those skills by cutting out pictures from magazines.
Little did she know that I would never do it regularly. Before each
deadline, I would sit down and spend an hour cutting out random
pictures from the magazines from my grandma's stash with close
to no effort ;)
thank heavens – dzięki bogu (thank god)
be
spared something – komuś oszczędzono czegoś (when you are spared
something you don't have to do or experience it)
indignity
– upokorzenie/ zniewaga (embarrassment)
frigging
– głupie (used to give more force to an expression of anger)
to
handle something – obchodzić się z czymś ( to operate something)
pathetic
– żenujące (embarrassing)
a
stash – zapas/ kryjówka (a secret place where something is hidden
or stored )
with
close to no effort – prawie bez wysiłku (almost not trying)
But,
fear not, there are some perks to being left-handed.
One just should not hesitate to put them to good use. I
myself always play the I'm left-handed card to get out of
boring duties
fear
not – nie obawiajcie się (don't worry)
perks
– korzyści (advantages)
to
hesitate – wahać się (to pause before you do or say something,
often because you are uncertain or nervous about it )
to
put something to good use – robić dobry użytek z czegoś (to use
something to your advantage)
to
play the ….. card – używać wymówki (to use an excuse)
get
out of – wymigać się od robienia czegoś (to avoid doing
something that you do not want to do, especially by giving an excuse)
-
Can you wrap those presents, Karolina?
-
I'm afraid I can't. I'm left-handed.
-
Can you lay the table?
-
Sorry, I can't. I'm left-handed. I'm always confused about where all
the forks and knives go.
-
Can you iron these clothes here?
-
Sorry, I can't. The cord on the steam iron is on the
wrong side.
to
wrap – zapakować
a
cord – przewód (a wire)
a
steam iron – żelazko z nawilżaczem parowym
I
guess, that's all I have to say on the subject ;)
I
hope that after reading this post you will go and hug the lefties in
your life and tell them how much you appreciate their effort ;)
See
you in my next post!
Karola
