To be or not to be...

The quotation above is probably the most famous one from Shakespeare. It occurs in his play "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" and expresses Hamlet's questioning of his own existence. In short, he's wondering if life is worth continuing.

This blog is wondering the same thing. To be or not to be? Keep going the same way or change into something else?

If anyone has any input on this, it would certainly be appreciated. Thanks for reading and keeping in touch!

Move the needle

To move the needle is to change something, usually in a positive way. The needle in this case is the indicator which measures something. In the photo here, you can see that the needle is at 120.

We often use this expression in business. For example:

"Our efforts to move the needle with regard to getting new customers in Asia didn't have any effect until we hired a local sales rep to help us."

"The last marketing campaign really moved the needle. Our new sign-ups rose by 18%."

Epic!

Epic can be a noun or an adjective. As a noun, it refers to a long story or poem, usually containing a lot of adventure.

As an an adjective, it can have two meanings. When it describes a story or film, it gives you the sense of an epic: long and full of adventure. But it has also come to mean "really great or amazing." Below you can see some examples:

Advertisement: "Warship II continues the epic tale of the battleship Armageddon and its courageous crew members. Don't miss this thrilling continuation of a story you'll never forget!"

***
You: How was your trip to Paris?

Your friend: Epic! We found this great neighbourhood on Saturday and spent the whole night there!

***
This image comes from Etsy, and you can find the item here.

English in Asia

I'm writing from Kuala Lumpur, my first stop on this first trip to Asia.

One of the most striking things here, at least for me as a business traveler, is the high level of English.

I realize that there are a lot of cultural and historical reasons for this, not least of which is the current status of SE Asia as an important emerging market. Nonetheless, it's impressive, especially coming from Barcelona, where English is still a growth area.

What I would point out is that in places where English is important for tourism, it's almost like clothing or personal style. It creates a first impression which lingers.

I've been surprised here by the very idiomatic use of English in speaking, but especially in signage, websites, menus and advertising.

At least on that one level, it makes a traveler feel welcome and able to understand.

Any port in a storm

Any port in a storm is an expression that needs a little explanation. A port is where ships can come in from the sea. So if you imagine being on a ship in a big storm, you can see that finding a port would be good. But we use this expression when we choose something simply because it's necessary. We wouldn't choose it under normal circumstances, only in an emergency, or when no other option is available. This expression is sometimes used humorously. Take a look at the examples and see if you can pick out the the one that the speaker intends to be funny.

You: I really need to use a bathroom.
Your friend: Uh, there really isn't any decent place to stop along here.
You: What about that gas station we just passed?
Your friend: Didn't that look kind of dirty?
You: At this point, it's any port in a storm.


Bob: Did I just see you dancing with James?
Alison: Well, yes.
Bob: Wow.
Alison: I know. But my feeling right now is, any port in a storm!

Like hell

Like hell is an expression which changes depending on how it's used.

If you use it after a verb, it works like an extreme adverb. A few examples:

When the crew saw the bear, they ran like hell. (They ran really fast)

"I closed the door on my finger this morning... It hurt like hell!" (It hurt a lot)

We tried like hell to prevent the highway expansion, but we failed in the end. (We tried really hard)

On the other had, if you use like hell alone, it's an exclamation which means "no way" or "absolutely not." Here we go:

You to your colleague: "Bob's going to tell our boss that we're not going to the offsite because we don't believe in offsites."

Bob to you and your colleague: "Like hell!" (No way, I would never do that.)

Though at the end of a sentence

When you hear or read though at the end of a sentence, it means however. It indicates that there's a contradiction or condition relating to what has already been said. Here are a few examples:

You: Did your mom like the restaurant?

Your friend: Well, I'm not sure. She didn't seem to like the menu, and she had a hard time deciding what to order.

You: Oh. That's too bad.

Your friend: She finished everything, though!

***

Dear Bob,

Thanks for sending the presentation. I think it looks good in general, and I like the images you've added. We shouldn't be overconfident, though. What would you think about getting Janice's opinion before we meet with the client?

***

Your boyfriend: It's going to rain.

You: Yeah, I know.

Your boyfriend: I still want to go the park, though. What about you?

***

P.S. A warm thank you to Pal, who suggested a post about this!