Snippet Of My Life Episode 20 – Extreme Idol, Extreme Sport, Extreme Spanish Verb

Extreme Spanish Verb

Extreme Idol

So Adam Lambert didn’t win the title.  On the next day, I briefly joined the countless of fans reading through hundreds of comments easily found in the Internet.  It was as though we all need a global support group, to hear that common voice.  Majority of the younger audience these days probably won’t appreciate the vocal powerhouse of Freddy Mercury or Axl Rose, the mighty guitar skill of Slash and Brain May.  So get over it.  We all love Poker Face more.  It would have been nice for Adam’s career had he gained the title.  Then again, I think it is the American Idol franchise’s loss more than anything else. 

I love the franchise.  And due to the time difference, by the time we get to watch the result shows in Singapore, there bound to be someone around us who can’t contain the emotion and broadcasts the result.  To some, it’s no big deal.  To others, the anticipation throughout the day, the excitement of spending an hour or two in front of a TV to wait for that very nail biting moment is gone, utterly spoilt.  So I have developed this natural defence system.  On the day of the result show, I would avoid visiting Facebook and even CNN.  On the season finale, I would take leave if I could.  And if I couldn’t, like this year, I would not read any text messages sent to my phone.  Call me if you need to contact me.  I would not watch the tiny television inside the lift and I would listen to my music throughout the day if possible.  For two consecutive years, Cynthia – rather sad really as she too is a fan of American Idol – knew the result prior to the finale because someone sent her a text message.  Throw that phone away, just for a day.

Extreme Sport

Unlike American Idol, my new interest F1 is usually broadcast live on a Saturday and Sunday afternoon or evening.  I love watching F1.  Such an extreme sport.  To win a race, the car constructor has to do a fabulous job in constantly evolving the car throughout the season, the engineer has to closely monitor the car’s condition, traffic condition ahead and behind, weather condition, competitors’  lapping performance, and decide on the pit stop strategy, the driver has to perform and take care of the car during the race, and the team has to adapt to the different circuit challenges as they tour the world for the race.  Accidents may happen, safety car may come out, mistake can happen anytime, anywhere that some teams may be able to take advantage of while others cannot.  And it is a flawless execution of the entire team, from qualifying round to the actual race, that has a higher chance of a podium celebration.  F1 is not just some cars going round and round in circle.  These are the meanest machinery on Earth that can go beyond a speed of 300 km per hour.  It’s an extreme sport with rule of the game changes every year.

Extreme Spanish Verb

If day one of my Spanish Class was to start with Spanish Verbs, I would have quited long ago.  In Spanish, the verb ir means to go.  In English, we have the verb forms goes, going, went, and gone for the verb ‘go’.  What about its Spanish equivalent?  To conjugate the verb ir, we need two pages of text (see picture above).  Those highlighted in red are without any pattern.  You have to exercise brutal memorization for that one irregular verb.  And these conjugations are not often found in the dictionaries.  You have to know their model form.  Ir is one of the hardest verb to remember, I reckon.

Below is a straightforward regular verb vivir side-by-side with the English equivalent – to go – in four simple tenses.

  • (I) live, (you) live, (he/she) lives, (we) live, (you [plural]) live, (they) live / vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven
  • (I) lived, (you) lived, (he/she) lived, (we) lived, (you [p]) lived, (they) lived / viví, viviste, vivió, vivimos, vivisteis, vivieron
  • (I’ll) live, (you’ll) live, (he/she’ll) lives, (we’ll) live, (you’ll [p]) live, (they’ll) live / viviré, vivirás, vivirá, viviremos, viviréis, vivirán
  • (I’ve) lived, (you’ve) lived, (he/she has) lived, (we’ve) lived, (you’ve [p]) lived, (they’ve) lived / he vivido, has vivido, ha vivido, hemos vivido, habéis vivido, han vivido

That covers 25% of the verb conjugation for ‘to live’ in Spanish.  In case if you wonder, that is not the most amazing thing I have observed today.  In today’s class, our teacher Natalia played an audio clip on several repeats and Cynthia was able to pick up major sentences while I was staring into space.  That, is extreme Spanish, from me to you for me.  (OK, you have to be an American Idol fan to get this).

I look forward to Adam Lambert’s upcoming release that goes without saying, my anticipation does come with hopes and fears.  I look forward to a good F1 season though the memory of the last season has hardly faded and now we do it all over again.  I may still watch the next season of American Idol and most likely, I will drill deep into the land of extreme Spanish Verbs, this weekend, and do what I best in doing: extreme memorization.

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