I took this picture (can you see me?) when I was in St. Louis this weekend visiting the St. Louis Bascilica. I know if I send this picture to her, she’ll make it her desktop picture (Mac term). Or in the Windows land, they call it wallpaper. Regardless, my mom always has her own terminology. This one, she creatively called it the “curtain.” After so many years of teasing her creative misusage of certain terminology, I finally have a general observation. She would learn the term, then she forgets it, but still retained the concept in her head. She would then creatively recall the term, usually something close to the original concept, but an entirely different word. Nonetheless, often very amusing. Here’re a few pairs of her creative errors:

Stella Maris (a motel/vacation lodging own by the Catholic church in Penang)
Mom’s version:
Sheila Majid (a Malaysian singer)

100 Plus(pronounced “Hundred Plus”, a sports drink)
Mom’s version:
Code-10 (a brand of hair styling product)
Note: You can imagine how I reacted to that when I heard her telling me: “There’s an open can of Code-10 in the fridge, it’s cold, you can finish it.”

KTM (Keretapi Tanah Melayu, our train system in Malaysia)
Mom’s version:
RTM (Radio & Television of Malaysia)

MIA (Malaysian Institute of Art)
Mom’s version:
MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress)

I love my mom. I find myself doing the same thing as I’m getting older. I’m sure the gene is in me.