-^-for posterity-^-

friday the 13th and all is well.

i woke up feeling fresh, worked in the office the whole morning and taught a beautiful class this afternoon. i’d say it’s all a hoax, if you ask me.

people here obviously do not believe in friday the 13th. as i said earlier, the number 1 is very lucky and the number 10 is not good luck at all. there are only two other numbers that have any significance, as i understand it.

the number 35 represents someone who is very good with the opposite sex. someone who has many girlfriends or boyfriends (though it is rarely used for girls and if it is it is usually used in a derogatory way) and who can talk to the opposite sex with grace and charm. the reason is this: 35 is the number that represents the goat and, in vietnamese, the word goat means someone who is very pimp-like. it is not taken as a compliment by all.

the number 70 is also interesting because it means you are double goat.

in english, the only slang we have for the word goat (that i can think of) is an ‘old goat.’ (now, i may have just made that up and it is a translation from a vietnamese word. if i did, i’ve been here too long and have ceased to think properly in english.) an old goat in vietnamese means someone who is old, disgusting and still tries to flirt with young girls.

goat in spanish is ‘cabra’ and a variation of the word is ‘cabron’. this is one of the worst insults you can heap on someone. as it was explained to me in spain (every spanish speaking country has a different interpretation of this word. i’ve been told that people have been killed for calling someone else a carbon in puerto rico. in spain it was quite common.), if you call someone a goat, you are implying that they allow their women to fool around on them. (once again, sexist. i think every culture has that in spades.) a goat, evidently, will allow his harem to trot around to other male goats and spend time with them. if you are a ‘cabron’, than you are a male who is not powerful in any sense. you are used by women. (the worst possible scenario in a misogynistic world.)

so, a goat is not a goat is not a goat. i would love to know if any of you all know a different use of the word ‘goat’.

oh, and good luck on friday the 13th (it’s just beginning for you all, i’ve survived).