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September 29, 2007 |
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I Regret
FOUND by Kajola
in Vancouver, British Columbia
I found this on the way to the Granville Island Market. I wonder if she gave the note to her friend, or lost it before she had the chance. Either way, hopefully the secret is safe.
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Paper Can't Win August 10, 2007 |
Harry Potter Bong January 13, 2007 |
Pearl? September 01, 2006 |
Super Amy October 28, 2006 |
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We collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework,
to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles -
anything that gives a glimpse into someone
else's life. Anything goes...
The original text is "don't forget it"...a Freudian slip?
This is close to poetry, by the style and wording, especially the first sentence. Why did she tell if it produced such an undesired affect? Is she just putting up a front, to make it seem like she didn't want him to know, but she was actually completely aware of the outcome it would produce?
I don't even know what I'm trying to say...
I'm thinking that based on the location of this find the writer may use english as a second language. That may be an explanation to the awkwardness of how it's structured.
I imagine two girls in same esl class hanging out one night. The writer telling the other her secret crush. However secret reciever actually has the same crush now the writer regrets telling and both feel uncomfortable.
(I thought this was written by Herve...)
oh yes. you tell a secret to someone you maybe shouldn't have told... and then you try to take it back. but, telling someone they feel unpleasant... might not help your cause.
hope they worked it out.
p.s. you feel unpleasant. i've always wanted to say that.
hopefully this wasn't written to a girl, because you know how mad they can get if they think you're telling them how they feel.
In my humble opinion, I'd suggest this was possibly written by a Japanese girl, based on my high school Japanese classes where I got to see Japanese students write in English.
oh lord, i needed that laugh, holly go lightly! herve's strange/nonsensical/unapologetically irrelevant comments often times make my day. and i second bored and scared's theory also on the basis of the penmanship. though i didn't realize it until now, i hunger like the wolf for the penmanship of my japanese coworkers. oeuf! i want to take a nap!
Agreed on ESL and the writer being Asian. A Chinese friend has lovely writing but it's very tiny.
I love the poetic mixed tense (..I told you about him. I think I don't need to tell you.) rather like trying to unring a bell. But the pain comes through regardless of the construction and I hope they are still friends... all three of them.
My first thought was that this was written by one girl to another, after feeling sorry for telling about a secret crush, or maybe an affair she was having with the ESL teacher.
I actually think the writer is Indian. Notice the serifs on some of the letters- the lower case T's and S's in particular. This is very common for Indian or Mongolian ESLers. I work for a school that specializes in International Students, and I think the most identifying characteristic is their printing, not their syntax.
I bet it was something kinky that the girl told her friend...that would leave me feeling rather "unpleasant."
I like this find. It's so full of feeling, and it's a great example of the struggle of trying to learn a second language. Also, the underlying situation is a universal human experience.
While the writing sounds awkward, after closer examination, I think the only incorrect use of tense in the literal sense is "I think I don't need to tell you" (the deed is done). The other sentence that sounds wrong isn't really. "...I thought after telling you, you feel unpleasant." That's because the idea came to her after she told, but the recipient still feels unpleasant.
I think the writer is a very good student, who is at an advanced level of learning English. There are some pretty complex grammar structures here. It is also a complex idea to try to express in any language. Words can be woefully inadequate. Mending a relationship after having made a big and hurtful booboo is never simple.
Allie, that's interesting about the serifs and the printing. I didn't know that about Indian writers. Now that you mention it, I can almost hear Abu speaking the words of this note...
I thought from the printing that the author's first language is one of the Chinese languages. I've taught mathematics to all kinds of students and noticed their printing and handwriting styles, and that's the first thing that occurred to me.
"I regret" is a straight translation of "Je regrette." And "you feel unpleasant" was probably "tu t'es deplaisé. I think the writer speaks French, not Chinese, handwriting notwithstanding.
Orinoco womble a raison.
I've learned to never tell ANYONE who I have a secert crush on. It jinxes it and the crush will never come true.
(And no I'm not in Jr. High, just very superstitious) : )
Glasnost!
Tell all! no secrets! unpleasantness forstalled is unpleasantness intensified. Expose your crush and act on it. Revel in your actions, don't mythologize the anticipation of you actions! Make something happen, fail, try again!
Learn to appreciate and celebrate the fact that life is a constant struggle, which always alternates between fighting and losing.
Arg, these are the worst kind of regrets, wishes that you could erase words that should never have been spoken.
Hooray for Vancouver finds!! Granville Island is a tourist trap, so this really could be from someone speaking any language... Though we have a high percentage of Asians here.
Kite, try telling the person that you have the crush on about it... I find that it's the most effective way to make it come true ;)
Well, so much for keeping it a secret.
Allie's right, it's not a crush she's told, it's something kinky, or depressing. He hit her? He's married? He's 42 and she's 14? He's a dealer? the list could go on and on.
i love how everyone on found brings their own expertise to the table (like allie's handwriting analysis)!
I tutored a lot of native Indian and Asian students, and I think the writer of this note was Chinese or Japanese. Probably Japanese.
And I LOVE this find.
Definitely Korean or Japanese. All of the Korean and Japanese girls that I know (and there are quite a few at my school) have handwriting identical to this. Also, these languages don't have capital letters so when they learn English they get confused and put capitals in random places. And the note paper its on suggests that the author is asian.
lol at Rob's comment. Also I love the idea of it being something kinky she told her friend. Probably something to do with pineapples and hemp rope. Now I'm feeling unpleasant.
Senator Larry Craig wrote this note to the American public after he realized there were no do-overs for his guilty plea after his bust for soliciting sex in a public bathroom. The poor grammar is consistent with his defense that he was unable to make intelligent decisions.
Hi Rex, welcome back! How's it going?
"Revel in your actions, don't mythologize the anticipation of your actions!" That is some quote, buddy -- thanks. Whew.
Here's another one:
"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better."
Samuel Beckett (but you'd know that).
I've read many styles of handwriting. I feel that the writer is a man. Maybe he was telling of another lover to his boyfriend or even his wife.
Oh. Now I feel "unpleasant" after reading this.
Very "stream of consciousness" like. Makes it hard to understand.
Found Magazine meets Post Secret.
How terribly meta.
When I was in 8th and 9th grade, my BFF was Japanese. This is exactly the sort of note she might have written to me after revealing her crush and then realizing I had the same crush. (oh, Tod, where are you now?) I had many a note from her written in fractured English. My all time favorite was when she was complaining that she couldn't wear shorts because "I have such a hairy leg!"
JessicaPC: Welcome back, girl! I've missed you.
Deluxx: You have me laughing out loud! "I have such a hairy leg." That's adorable.
Aww, thank you Midlife, my dear. =]
I agree with bored and scared... that is definitely the handwriting of a japanese girl.