polish piece

english

okay this started off as a bit but then it just kept getting longer. so uh. the losers as canadians, I GUESS????

for my non-canadian friends: being canadian is basically just like being american (so either imagine the US if you're american, or imagine some random high school movie) there's just less billboards and if you're french you can buy alcohol while still in high school, but i was thinking about it, if anything would be notably different about the losers if they were canadian.

and then it struck me! they're french immersion students!

derry is now derry, ontario, a rural township 30 minutes from vankleek hill and about an hour from the quebec border. they have one k-8 school and one 9-13 school that sit side by side on a river. the town has a pretty strong francophone foundation, but in recent years english speakers have been moving up from southern ontario, and the town is now pretty evenly split french/english.

but thats not what we're here for!! so: losers!

bill, eddie, stanley, and richie have been in the same class every year since they were four on account of being french immersion students (schools will typically only have enough french immersion students for one or two classes, and with derry being a small town with a growing english population i think even families who spoke french at home would begin putting their children in the english stream)

when they were five stan started crying trying to color the northwest territories with a crayon on a map of canada assignment, bill lent him his color pencils which is how they became friends

richie could not spell saskatchewan to save his life, and fits "scasckatchawan" into the space on the map in horrible squished letters, stan is aghast at this, and richie realizes his opportunity to get a rise out of stan, so he does an even worse job than normal, this is how they become friends

eddie can't spell saskatchewan either but is embarrassed to admit it because he doesn't want to be grouped in with a dumbass like richie, he announces that he thinks the assignment is stupid, and richie immediately dares him to spell it. a friendgroup is born.

eddie, ben, beverly, and mike all have english as a first language, richie and stan learned both simultaneously, and bill has french as a first language

eddie's paternal grandparents immigrated from poland, and since they wanted frank to speak both polish and english, they decided not to bother with french, sonia met frank at an english university and moved up to derry with him when they got married, they speak english at home, and sonia never learned polish. the plan was to have frank teach eddie polish but he died before he could, so sonia puts eddie in french immersion so he'll still be bilingual

ben is from labrador and had to move to derry to live with his aunt. ben had been in french immersion when he was living in labrador, because arlene figured it would give him more opportunities, so he continued with it in derry

beverly's mom was from a french speaking part of quebec, but her dad never learned french. he puts her in french immersion since he can't teach her french himself.

mike speaks english at home but the only nearby catholic school was a french school closer to the quebec border, so he's the most fluent of the four. theres no catholic high school nearby so he ends up going to derry high with the rest of the losers where he takes advanced french

maggie and went are both quebecois, but went is from montreal and grew up speaking english, whereas maggie is from a small town north of quebec city and grew up speaking french. they're both french/english bilingual and speak both at home.

richie has grown fond of speaking in an unholy sort of "franglais" that mostly consists of english words with a godawful quebec accent, french swears, and incorrect verb conjugation he picked up from eddie

maggie is an angry ex-catholic who swears a lot (most french canadian swears are religion based and lowkey sacrilegious in nature) and has a pretty strong quebec accent. richie, does not, except for when he's swearing in french (or stressed or angry), this isn't even a bit on his part, he just emulated the way his mom said the words. his friends point out that he sounds like a very angry lumberjack when he says "tabarnak" and he bases an entire Voice on it

stan's parents both grew up in derry when it was a mainly french speaking community, but wanted to make sure stanley would fit in with his peers who were becoming more and more english, so he learns both from birth

bill's parents both immigrated from france and only speak french, bill is french french and is frequently confused by the differences between quebec french and france french. he starts speaking in a pretty distinctly french canadian way because of richie, and starts swearing like a french canadian (like a sailor), also because of richie, his parents are horrified.

when they're in high school richie won't stop making fun of bill for being french and bill's like??? you're french too??? and richie's like. no. i'm french canadian, you're actually french. eddie points out that richie's thing is worse.

richie uses pretty much exclusively french-canadian swears (of which there are many) because of maggie, his friends will sometimes say these things because he says them so frequently, but none of them have quebec accents, so it sounds horrible and awkward and richie mocks them relentlessly whenever this happens

every time one of the losers turn 18 they drive up to quebec so they can get a drink lol. even for the losers who don't want to drink they drive up to quebec, and make the birthday boy/girl show the bartender their ID and ask for like. an apple juice. it is very funny.

It might sound weird, but my favorite thing to write are non native English speakers. There is something about the linguistic quirks that are delightful to me. Grammar tends to be simple, conjunctions are few and far between, and words aren't fancy. But the depth of ideas is fantastic, you arrive to the heart of a concept so quickly even if it's not in the way intended. It's like that one post where the person went to the dictionary to get the right words to apologize for their cat being in everyones stuff when guests came over and coming out with "Sorry, the cat is inevitable."

It's something thats challenging to replicate as a native speaker. In a lot of ways it strips English down to the essentials of the language, and you have to take a step back and think about how someone who didn't grow up speaking this absolutely batshit language would approach it.

I don't know, it's just something I enjoy a lot.

I see posts sometimes saying not to correct people’s grammar and pronunciation especially if theyre a non-native speaker, and I wholeheartedly agree, but sometimes they say stuff like “English is a fucked up language and none of the rules make any sense” and stuff like that, and thats a really common sentiment among English speakers and stuff and you see it in conversations about other topics too, yeah, idk about that though

English isn’t some outlier language. As languages go.... I mean.... it’s a language, lol. It’s not hard or easy. It just is what it is. It might be hard for a speaker of Mongolian but easy for a speaker of German, because English is related to German and a lot of the grammar and especially vocabulary is extremely similar. Learning English might also just be hard for one speaker and easy for another, even if they both are coming from the same other language, just cause some people learn languages easier than others. it happens. 

English’s spelling got to where it is for all sorts of historical reasons... basically just a mix of native Germanic influence, early French/Norman loanwords, and borrowings from Latin and Ancient Greek for “sophisticated” words, but that last thing isn’t unique to English and exists in every European language so actually those words are often some of the easiest to remember for learners who come from European languages. English’s spelling isn’t even thaaat bad. like, sure, if you hear a word you won’t necessarily know how to spell it, though you can probably think of a handful of the most likely ways, but if you see a word written there’s usually only a couple ways to pronounce it. and yeah, i know, it should be exactly 1-to-1, only one way to write something and only one way to pronounce what was written, but English is hardly the only language with this problem. With French, you can know exactly how to pronounce something that was written, but you have countless options of how to spell something that you hear. With Chinese, you literally won’t have a clue how to write something you hear or pronounce something you see unless you just learn it. Sure, there are clues with radicals in Chinese characters, but they’re only clues, not guides. 

But you know what? None of that is all that important at the end of the day. It would be nice if writing was super clear right from the get-go, but it doesn’t seem to be that big of a barrier to learning, because people do it all the time. Like I said with Chinese, it’s incredibly daunting to have to learn a character for each word, some of them with very little information in the way of meaning or pronunciation... but... people do it, and have done it for thousands of years. If kids can grow up learning to read and write in Chinese, then it must not be as impossible as you would think, you know? With English too, like, clearly it gets the job done well enough that we’re able to communicate. It’s not that big of a problem. And it’s definitely not without rules and things that are extremely common vs completely unheard of, like, it’s something we just get a feel for. And like, okay, so there’s plenty of words that could be simplified, or words where you just kinda have to learn that it’s pronounced a certain way cause you’d never guess it on your own, something like “laugh” for example. But... think of it like Chinese characters, you know? We see that word and know how to pronounce it because we’ve learned it. It’s not that different from the concept of a character that you are supposed to recognize and know how to pronounce. And we do. 

And the bigger thing is just.... writing has nothing to do with language. At all. Countless people learn languages without ever learning to read or write them, even their own native languages. I know that seems like an obvious thing to point out, but bear with me. If we remove the conversation of writing entirely.... then is English actually that hard of a language? Like, it may be hard for a specific person, and it depends on where youre coming from and how you’re learning it but... doesn’t that apply to learning any language? Is there really anything uniquely difficult about English, in terms of the actual spoken language? We have a ton of vowels, and related words often change vowels based on position of stress... like “unite” (juˈnaɪt) vs “unity” (ˈjuːnɪti), but that’s not that uncommon, that happens in so many languages it would take too much time to list them all. Changing the vowel when you make something a plural, like “man” to “men” and “goose” to “geese” happens in literally every Germanic language. The fact that English’s vocabulary seems to be like mostly words of Latin/French origin and native Germanic words aren’t as common... that’s something that is found literally everywhere... about 60% of Korean words are of Chinese origin, for instance, and while English and Latin are in the same language family (Indo-European), Korean and Chinese are not. This is just something that happens in languages, especially one that was at one point on the bottom end of a stark difference in power and status. Nowadays plenty of languages obviously have a huge number of English loanwords. I obviously wish that wasn’t the case, but all I’m saying is that that’s just something that happens when two languages come in contact. So what is really unique about English at all?

I would say... nothing, lol. There’s nothing unique about English. It’s just another one of the thousands upon thousands of languages in the world. I understand the impulse of like... hearing nationalists say that English is the best language ever and wanting to challenge that by saying actually it’s the worst and it’s a nightmare language... refuting the idea of English being an exceptional language by asserting that it’s an exception in the other direction...  but I think the more radical and correct thing to do is to remove the notion of there being exceptional languages in the first place. Anything you can say in one language, you can say in another. Languages are tools, not products. 

Anyway this has nothing to do with correcting someone’s grammar or pronunciation or even spelling, it’s just that a post talking about that is what got me thinking about this. I’m on board completely with the sentiment of that post though. 

About "Men are x" posts

I really hate the posts that say "white men x" "gay men x" "lesbians x" and then get mad when someone says not all y do x. They say "if you have to point that out then you are part of the problem" or that you are normalizing the behavior. Guess what?? There is an implied "all" in the beginning of those statements (at least from my native american english perspective) I have never heard a case in a sentence where the absence of a quantifier implied anything other than all. If you said "cheerleaders love burritos" that means all, not some. Of course people will read a sentence with no explicit qualifier as "all". So when you say "white men hate women" you are implicitly saying ALL white men. You are creating a stereotype and shaming the people who question it into being complicit in its propogation. No, white men aren't evil. Men arent all abusive. When you say "Men are manipulative and avoid responsibility" you are saying EVERY man. White, black cis, trans, disabled, immigrants, whatever. There is social context here saying you probably are just implying white american men that were born here. That social context is normal, and just part of communication, but can be unclear to people who don't get that context- non-native speakers, socially handicapped people, etc.

Do not insult and belittle people for dissagreeing with broad overgeneralized statements like "all white men do x bad thing"- yes, in some cases it could be internalized/learned tolerance of a bad thing coming out. But just saying that there are good white men on a post saying there aren't ANY is a clarification. It means that a white man reading your post isn't going to feel alienated or hurt by your post, because guess what? Whether you tend to imply "all" or not, that's how it's read. I don't care what people think of me, or if they call me a dumbass. I know I am kind and I do the right thing as much as I can. I know I'm not perfect and I have internalised sexism, racism, homophobia, and transphobia. It is impossible to deny, all of us do to varying degrees. When I see posts attacking white men, you are saying I'm worthless. That I am unloveable. That I am probably emotionally manipulative, overdependent on women, and I only got where I am because I'm a white guy. Andall of it isn't true. This applies to everybody, but it specifically hurts me as a trans man. My experience growing up seen as a female is thrown out. As soon as I identify as a man, I am the enemy to all minorities. Lesbians on here make countless posts about hoe much they hate men. Do I think that their dislike of men is invalid? No. I'm sure many men have hurt them, in more ways than straight women are hurt. I still think it is unfair. I am not saying that this is straight male oppression or whatever, and yes I know it isn't as bad as minorities have it. I still see messages on my dash talking about how awful all men are, and you know what that does? It makes me resent who I assume the OP is, for being unfair. Someone judges me without knowing me, tells me I am innately bad because of my identity's assumed traits. It is not an unfamiliar situation to anyone.

So please. Know that it isn't men, women, gays, lesbians, black people, immigrants, etc.

Yes there are some men that do x. Maybe a large amount. Possibly a majority. Then say that. A majority. Then, you are not attacking your allies, and you will maybe not look as radical and people will agree with you more and be more willing to share that message. I'm not saying you shouldn't say men are abusers- because many men are. I agree that there are many things that are institutionalized and shared within identities that need to change. By saying some, you are also implying that it isn't unfixable, that it isn't innate, and it can't be assumed. You are also not guilting your allies- I know I'm not the kind of guy you are talking about, but you are saying that I am by default.

Again, I'm not saying that this is oppression or reverse racism or anything like that. I'm saying blanket statements like that cause exclusion. People will eventually believe, after reading all men are bad over and over, that they are bad and can't be fixed. Some could have the mentality, after being so fatigued, that " If I can't change it, why bother? I'll just be bad if everyone treats me like I am."

And thats how this propogates the cycle. It's how radicals form. This kind of talking does hurt people.

How One 30-Year-Old Built $40,000/Year Passive Income in a Few Years

When Brady Hanna turned 30, he decided it was time to start building passive income. That was six years ago. Today, he has 12 doors, which gross him around $7,700/month. Granted, thats not all profit. His net profit in a given year? Around $40,000. Thats higher than the median personal income in the United States! Heres exactly what hes done over the last few years, to build that portfolio. In the Beginning I had stumbled across BiggerPockets and started absorbing as much information as possible. I asked questions on the forums and started listening to the podcasts every chance I could, Brady explained to me. How seriously did he take his real estate investing education? I installed a Bluetooth speaker in my shower and bathroom, so I could listen to the podcast when I was taking a shower and getting around in the morning.Over the years, I have listened to every podcast multiple times and get fired up every time I hear a new episode. Thats dedication. For my first property, I wanted to follow all of the things I had learned and was looking for properties that hit the 2% Rule. Now, its worth mentioning that not everyone agrees with following the 2% Rule. I have my own bones to pick with it, but thats another story. Or article. Whatever. Brady located a move-in-ready duplex for sale in Grandview, MO (which is south of Kansas City). Estimating gross rents at $1,100/month, he paid $55,000 for it. To finance it, Brady secured a loan from a local community bank, using money saved from his 9-5 job for the down payment. I put down a 20% down payment and was off and running.

Early Lessons in Property Management I thought I was smarter than the system and figured I would self-manage to save the property managers fees. Any time you catch a case of the smug and think youre beating the system, thats a good time to pause for some good ol fashioned self-reflection. Not that I would ever discourage anyone from managing their own rentalsif theyre prepared to put in the time and learn the skills necessary to do it. Brady advertised the units for rent, then promptly left town for two days for a trade show through his day job. Over those two busy workdays, he received no fewer than 60 phone calls from prospective renters. After the first week of driving out to the property multiple times for showings, I saw a property management company off the side of the highway and quickly pulled over, walked in, and hired them on the spot. Does it strike you that he skipped an important step there? It should. I didnt vet this property management company. I just assumed that since they were close to my rental property, they would do a good job. If youve ever wondered about the first sign that a property management company needs replacing, pay attention here. Communication was a struggle. It was like pulling teeth just getting information out of them and trying to stay in the loop about what was going on with the property. Thats the sound of foreshadowing, for all you non-English majors. Related: Sorry, But Passive Income is a Myth for Most Investors. Heres Why. Property #2, Property #3 After a few months of collecting rents, Brady decided that being a landlord was everything he thought it would be. I took out a $50,000 home equity line of credit (HELOC) against my personal residence, using my local bank. I used $36,000 to buy a single-family property through a short sale in South Kansas City. The property needed $7,000 in repairs. If youve ever bought a property with cash, you know how much easier it is to negotiate a good deal. Better yet, Brady avoided paying hefty hard money loan fees to buy and renovate the property. He knocked out the repairs quickly and rented the house for $850/month. From there, it was simple to secure a long-term mortgage, which he used to pay back his HELOC. House #3 I bought off an online auction website for $23,000 cash (again, using my HELOC). I put $27,000 into the property over a matter of three months. I thought, man, this rental business thing is easy! All Chickens Come Home to Roost If there was ever a cue for something to go wrong, that must be it. Around this time, I started running into a lot of problems with my property management company. Not exactly a plot twist, is it? His out-to-lunch property manager was starting to cost him serious money. A tenant at his original property, the duplex, skipped town in the middle of the night. That left him with two vacant units (out of four), as his most recent property was still under renovation. He called the owner of the property management company and fired them. Armed with firsthand experience that he needed to do a better job screening property managers, he went back to the drawing board. I asked for recommendations on BiggerPockets for a reputable property manager. I interviewed a couple candidates and hired our new property manager a few weeks later and havent turned back. The new company filled his vacant unit in the duplex, then rented his newly-finished single-family for $875. From there, it was a simple matter of getting a mortgage on the property and paying off his HELOC once again.

Building a Portfolio and an Evolving Strategy Brady has used the same strategy to finance the next seven properties in his portfolio: buy and renovate with cash from his HELOC and savings, rent it out, get a mortgage. Or not get a mortgage, if he can help it. Ive taken the income from the rentals and just put it all back into the business, paying down principal on the houses.I now have a total of 12 units, and only have debt on three properties, using this technique. When I asked Brady what hes changed over the last few years, as hes accrued experience, he didnt hesitate. Originally, I invested in B- and C class neighborhoods. They are not in war zones and have relatively low crime; theyre working class neighborhoods. But as my portfolio has grown, Ive been focusing on B+ neighborhoods, as they are less transient and there is less turnover. Why? Because turnovers are ROI-killers, which is why tenant retention is so important for landlords. Related: 3 Real Estate Investing Strategies That Arent So Passive (& 4 That Are) Landlord Cash Cushions I asked Brady what advice and takeaways he would offer for other rental investors. I highly recommend having a reserve fund in place, as you never know when a bad month or couple months is going to hit your portfolio. All too true. It turns out Brady hasnt just paid off most of his mortgage debt, but hes also set aside strong cash reserves. A recent example? He had not one, not two, but three furnaces fail in November. At an average replacement cost of $2,000 apiece, that would have been a desperate blow to someone without a liquid cash cushion. Heres another example: One of our rental properties had a small undetectable leak behind the sink for an extended period of time, causing mold to build up behind the wall. We ended up letting the tenants out of the lease, hiring a mold remediation company who also found asbestos behind the wall, hiring an asbestos abatement company, and then rebuilding the kitchen wall. That set of repairs, which started with a tiny leak, cost Brady$10,800 and four months of lost rents. Final Advice: Network! Brady explained that as the Kansas City real estate market has heated up, hes had to increasingly rely on his network to find deals, rather than the MLS. Go on Facebook, and search for investor groups in your area.In Kansas City alone, there are over five local real estate investor groups that I have joined where people are posting deals all the time at a discount. Network with fellow investors at meetup groups, REI clubs, and talk to people you know about real estate, because you never know where your next deal is going to come from! You know what they sayyour net worth is directly correlated to your network. Grow your network in the real estate industry, and your opportunities will grow right alongside it. What Comes Next In the meantime, Brady is in no rush to retire from his day job. I plan on retiring from my full-time job when I am 50 years old. I enjoy what I do at my job but want to retire when I am still young enough to enjoy being active in my retirement. Any financial targets before then, Brady? I am looking to build a passive income of at least $10,000/month so that I can use my abilities to help others. I plan to take a year off working, spending time with my family, church, fishing, golfing, and working out. Once I am going stir-crazy, I plan on helping others invest in real estate and focus on larger scale real estate investments while spending time helping out in my church. I dont know about you, but I think Bradys onto something here, with this whole invest-in-rentals-and-retire-young, strategy. Were republishing this article to help out our newer readers.

Whats your strategy for building passive income? How are you planning to reach financial independence? Any tips or tidbits to share? Weigh in below! https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/zero-to-40000-year-passive-income-in-a-few-years