Could You Please Direct Me to the Vomitorium?
So, the other day I was, as per the usual, translating EI appeals. In this particular text, the claimant was dismissed because of his own misconduct. The interesting part? He was accused of doing voodoo rituals in the women's bathroom at work.
Now, this is funny in itself, but as I was looking up voodoo in the dictionary to find out if it took a capital "v" (it does not), I came across the following word of interest:
Vomitory - any of a series of large openings as in a stadium or theatre, through which large numbers of people are able to enter or leave. Also, vomitorium (Gage dictionary).
Of course this struck me as being wildly funny. I picture myself going to the Corel Centre and loudly demanding to know where the vomitorium is. Being a language geek, my first thought was to email this info to someone else who might appreciate it (i.e. a couple of the girls I work with).
The best part of this story is that then, Nicole (one of the girls in question), comes to my cube with her Oxford dictionary to give me the other definition of vomitorium.
Vomitorium - place in which, according to popular misconception, the ancient Romans are supposed to have vomited during feasts to make room for more food.
She also tells me that she has a story to go along with it. She then proceeds to tell me about a friend she has from Edmonton, who happens to be Mormon (she had no idea that I was) and who went on a mission. Anyway, as the story goes, he and another missionary went out to eat at some Chinese restaurant and gorged themselves on Chinese food. The only problem was that then they were invited to go to dinner at a member family's house later that day. Well, they were in Italy and apparently it would be very offensive for them to refuse food at the elaborate meal the family had prepared for them. Well, her friend held up ok, but apparently, the other missionary was the type of person who is very open to suggestion. Sounded like he was the type who watches commercials and immediately feels compelled to go out and make purchases. Anyway, I guess this guy was saying that he couldn't eat any more. Nicole's friend was telling him that he had no choice and unless he really wanted to offend these people, he would eat what he was given. Jokingly, it was mentioned that the only way out was to go puke up what he had already eaten to make room for more. Well, the next thing you know, the guy has excused himself from the table and there are horrible retching sounds coming from the bathroom. I think Nicole's friend had to come up with a cover story about food poisoning or the like.
Anyway, the interesting part of this story is that somehow in the course of the telling, I managed to deduce (I am not even quite sure how) that this friend of Nicole's was a guy who had dated a girl I know from church.
This is cool not only in a "it's a small world" sort of way, but also in that we discovered a mutal acquaintance through the word vomitorium. How often can ANYONE say that has ever happened to them!
As a point of interest, there is a band called Vomitory. For curiosity's sake, I took a listen to some samples of their stuff on Amazon. These guys are messed up! This is the kind of stuff I imagine some poor teenager listens to before going out and killing everyone in his high school. It is totally wacked.
Although, when you go to their web site, currently the main headline reads "Vomitory confirmed for Stonehenge." Of course you all know what this makes me think of. Oh yes. This is Spinal Tap.
Key Stonehenge Moments:
Nigel: In ancient times, hundreds of years before the dawn of history, an ancient race of people... the Druids. No one knows who they were or what they were doing...
David: I do not, for one, think that the problem was that the band was down. I think that the problem may have been, that there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being crushed by a dwarf. Alright? That tended to understate the hugeness of the object.
Ian: I really think you're just making much too big a thing out of it.
Derek: Making a big thing out of it would have been a good idea.
Ok. This stream of consciousness is over. Really. :o)
posted by Dish @ 10:40 PM
6 Comments:
wow
What did you really expect in terms of music from a band called Vomitory?!
Doesn't everyone find a mutual aquaintance every so often with the word 'vomitory'? It's probably not as unusual as one might think.
ya seriously! :P
I just have to point out that you never really know what to expect from a band's name. You can't know until you experience the music. For example, what were your first thoughts upon hearing the band name "Barenaked Ladies" (don't actually share them with me) if you hadn't previously heard their music. Even "The Darkness" does not necessarily give an accurate portrayal of the music behind the band name. really, this could be a blog entry all its own...
There were a few hockey games last year during the playoffs that I could have got good use out of the vomitorium at "Scotia Bank Place"!
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