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sga_flashficTitle: Spam
Summary: What we have here is a failure to communicate.
Notes: This was mostly written on an airplane on very little sleep. Went over the time limit a little in editing and looking things up.
"The plant cuttings from M5S 527 have not done anything cool, but we think the second sample--the one from the nest that looked abandoned?--contains spam."
"I'm sorry--" Rodney usually knew what Dr. Miko was saying--her accent wasn't that thick, and she spoke fine idiomatic English--but this was new. "Spam?"
"Yes," she said very matter-of-factly and very clearly. "It might be something else, but it sure looks like spam."
"Okay, wait. Spam, like--spam?" She nodded, furrowing her eyebrows a little. "Spam like you would eat for lunch?"
Miko's eyes got very wide and she giggled uncomfortably, hiding her mouth. "Uh--I don't know."
"Spam, like spam, like--the luncheon meat, it comes in a can--" He subjected her to his singing voice. "Spam, spam, spam, spam, spammity spam. . ."
"OH!" Miko laughed again, this time seeming relieved. "No no no no! I see, spam like you would eat for lunch, hahaha, yes, no no no, sorry, my fault. Spam, like. . ." She made an odd gesture, pointing her finger and wiggling it as she moved her hand from right to left.
Rodney attempted to imitate her, even as he slowly began to realize that everyone in the lab was now watching their conversation. "Spam. . .wiggling spam. Swimming spam? With a tail? Little swimming--" He looked at the suddenly comical gesture he was making, then at Miko. "Sperm? Is that what you're saying? Sperm, like, spermatozoa?"
She nodded vigorously. "Yes! SPAM!"
It was at that point that even the non-native English speakers couldn't keep it together anymore, and the whole lab exploded in laughter and a smattering of applause. Miko just rolled her eyes in good-natured annoyance. "So, you want to take a look?"
While everyone was recovering their decorum, Rodney had the new experience of looking through a microscope at a sperm sample from an unknown nidificating mammal. Miko chattered away about chromosomes in an endearingly geeky way and he had the sudden impulse to reassure her that her English was just fine, but she already seemed to have put the whole spam thing behind her.
In any case, he never heard anyone make fun of Miko about the incident, even though for weeks afterwards, every time he was in the lab, somebody would say, "Hey, Rodney, what's for lunch?"
It really wasn't fair.
-end-
(Additional note: This is closely based on a conversation I once had with a friend whose first language was Japanese, except that I was saying "spam" and she was hearing "sperm." If she's out there, I apologize for mining our interactions for entertainment purposes. ;) )
Summary: What we have here is a failure to communicate.
Notes: This was mostly written on an airplane on very little sleep. Went over the time limit a little in editing and looking things up.
"The plant cuttings from M5S 527 have not done anything cool, but we think the second sample--the one from the nest that looked abandoned?--contains spam."
"I'm sorry--" Rodney usually knew what Dr. Miko was saying--her accent wasn't that thick, and she spoke fine idiomatic English--but this was new. "Spam?"
"Yes," she said very matter-of-factly and very clearly. "It might be something else, but it sure looks like spam."
"Okay, wait. Spam, like--spam?" She nodded, furrowing her eyebrows a little. "Spam like you would eat for lunch?"
Miko's eyes got very wide and she giggled uncomfortably, hiding her mouth. "Uh--I don't know."
"Spam, like spam, like--the luncheon meat, it comes in a can--" He subjected her to his singing voice. "Spam, spam, spam, spam, spammity spam. . ."
"OH!" Miko laughed again, this time seeming relieved. "No no no no! I see, spam like you would eat for lunch, hahaha, yes, no no no, sorry, my fault. Spam, like. . ." She made an odd gesture, pointing her finger and wiggling it as she moved her hand from right to left.
Rodney attempted to imitate her, even as he slowly began to realize that everyone in the lab was now watching their conversation. "Spam. . .wiggling spam. Swimming spam? With a tail? Little swimming--" He looked at the suddenly comical gesture he was making, then at Miko. "Sperm? Is that what you're saying? Sperm, like, spermatozoa?"
She nodded vigorously. "Yes! SPAM!"
It was at that point that even the non-native English speakers couldn't keep it together anymore, and the whole lab exploded in laughter and a smattering of applause. Miko just rolled her eyes in good-natured annoyance. "So, you want to take a look?"
While everyone was recovering their decorum, Rodney had the new experience of looking through a microscope at a sperm sample from an unknown nidificating mammal. Miko chattered away about chromosomes in an endearingly geeky way and he had the sudden impulse to reassure her that her English was just fine, but she already seemed to have put the whole spam thing behind her.
In any case, he never heard anyone make fun of Miko about the incident, even though for weeks afterwards, every time he was in the lab, somebody would say, "Hey, Rodney, what's for lunch?"
It really wasn't fair.
-end-
(Additional note: This is closely based on a conversation I once had with a friend whose first language was Japanese, except that I was saying "spam" and she was hearing "sperm." If she's out there, I apologize for mining our interactions for entertainment purposes. ;) )
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 01:37 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 01:52 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 01:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 01:52 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 01:47 am (UTC)It's also doubly eerie because Dr. "Miko" has a name quite similar to mine... *cues eerie music*
Great job!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 01:54 am (UTC)Eerie indeed. Apparently Dr. Miko is the name of the Japanese scientist in "Letters from Pegasus," though we never hear it in the episode.
Thank you!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 01:55 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 02:12 am (UTC)B
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 02:19 am (UTC)*dies*
And oh I love them making fun of Rodney and not Miko. Heeeee!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-08 01:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 02:29 am (UTC)Hee!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 03:08 am (UTC)OMG -- that is too funny! As someone who has been an anime fan for... um. A long time... this is hysterical! Even more funny than Isao Sasaki singing "here we go am in am" instead of "arm in arm"...
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-08 01:50 am (UTC)I was once told of a set of instructions, translated from Japanese to English, for operating, I believe, an office phone system. One of the steps was "hang up the phone," except that the translator thought the best way to say this was "hook the phone."
Which would have been fine, but as you probably know, Japanese has no "hu" phoneme. The syllable tends, therefore, to be rendered as the "fu" phoneme.
Hilarity ensues [tm].
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-08 03:09 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 03:14 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 03:28 am (UTC)now every time somebody asks what's for lunch (not too often, but it does happen) I'm going to start giggling... and they're going to want to know why :)
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 04:10 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 05:16 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-08 01:51 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 05:19 am (UTC)I made my boyfriend read this. (huge backstory with family joke and Spam not important here) he is also a huge fan of the show, he hooked me on it...but he doesn't do fanfic, especially slash lol.
He laughed so hard. Totally loved it. Consider yourself complimented! (He's...a lot like Rodney actually, genius and all lol)
I adored this.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-08 01:52 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 05:54 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 05:55 am (UTC)Oh that was funny... I spent a good 5 minutes laughing hysterically.
I should mention that English is not my first language and that such things have actually happened to me in real life, some just as embarassing as this... :D
Thanks for sharing.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-08 02:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 07:03 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 07:45 am (UTC)Hee! <3
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 07:52 am (UTC)Thank you! although my family may think i'm coming unhinged but what else is new :opp
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-08 02:47 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 11:44 am (UTC)Miko's eyes got very wide and she giggled uncomfortably, hiding her mouth. "Uh--I don't know."
----
Rodney attempted to imitate her, even as he slowly began to realize that everyone in the lab was now watching their conversation. "Spam. . .wiggling spam. Swimming spam? With a tail? Little swimming--" He looked at the suddenly comical gesture he was making, then at Miko. "Sperm? Is that what you're saying? Sperm, like, spermatozoa?"
haha. This fic is hilarious!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 02:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 09:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-08 06:08 am (UTC)...though I wonder if Miko isn't supposed to be her first name. Beckett in Siege mentions a Dr. Kusanagi. ^_-
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-08 08:13 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-09 02:26 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-10 01:36 pm (UTC):D
Date: 2005-04-12 02:23 am (UTC)-Great job!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-08-24 04:44 pm (UTC)and of course one of my coworkers is nearby and wants VERY BADLY to know what I'm howling about.
*doesn't care* *laughs more*