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Happiness Challenge

Cortney posted this on her blog, and I’m going to take up the challenge because I think it’s a great idea to think about what makes us happy:

Post 10 things that are going right in your life right now. I don’t care how small. You’re happy with your cup of coffee. You saw a flock of geese flying over. ANYTHING. Things that make you happy. Things that make you smile. Go:

  1. Napping with my terriers
  2. Being married to David
  3. Running my own company
  4. Doing work that helps people understand themselves and each other with more compassion
  5. Bellydancing
  6. Cooking with my CSA vegetables
  7. Getting better at photography
  8. White chocolate mocha and breakfast empanadas at Fair Bean Coffee
  9. Remembering to meditate
  10. Having great friends

Let me know if you post a list on your blog!

Grammar-Related Health Issues

I know that I do not always spell perfectly. I know that I really don’t have a high horse on which to stand. But I can’t help it, crazy bad use of punctuation, really crappy grammar, and lame spelling makes me nuts.

I used to be especially fixated on misuse of punctuation marks. It’s rampant in Texas, but it happens everywhere, including our hotel in Belize:


What? Why emphasize “book activities” (<–see, right there it's correct because I'm quoting, see?) This makes my brain hurt. My favorite of all time was Rosie's Tamales on Oltorf St. in Austin. They had a big sign (for a couple of years) that said "NOW" Open. Even thinking about it gives me a headache. My latest obsession is apostrophes. People use them so artistically! For emphasis, just cause it looks cool, for anything except what they're intended for which is:

  1. To indicate the possessive:
    This is Shaun’s tea towel. (The tea towel belongs to Shaun)
  2. To create a contraction:
    That’s my tea towel. (That is my tea towel)

There is a tricky rule about using “it’s” that I often screw up. You must not the apostrophe for the possessive, but you do it for the contraction: “It’s a brand new day” (It is a brand new day).

So I know, lots of room to screw up, and as my editors (hi, Mom!) can tell you, I don’t always get it right either. But I’m not talking about your run of the mill its/it’s screw ups. It’s the artistic license with which people use those little marks that really grinds me down. My favorite local taco joint recently revamped their website, and while it was much improved, there were frequent references to “chili’s” on the menu. So I sent them an email:

Your new website is very nice, but you need to fix a spelling error on your menu. “chilies” (also can be spelled chiles or chilis) is plural, not possessive, so it’s incorrect to use an apostrophe (“chili’s” would mean “that which belongs to chili”).
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chilies

Love,
Your-friendly-neighborhood-know-it-all-who-loves-your-tacos

They didn’t respond.
I fear that I’m fighting a losing battle here. But I have run across a couple of sympathetic people on the web:

I am so glad that there are other people out there like me. Let me know if you have any grammatical pet peeves, and feel free to correct mine.

For Posterity

I decided it was time to post links to some of my favorite blog entries (not mine). I post links to websites I like occasionally, but it seems like all the brilliance of the daily blogs gets lost after a while. Here are a few of my very favorites:

Scott Adams – The Things I Say
The Dilbert guy.

Go Fug Yourself – Evan Rachel Fug
The first entry of GFY that I ever read, and possibly the funniest. David thought I was having a seizure.

Blue Meany – This entry… well, it’s kind of a big deal
Very funny lady who is currently serving in Iraq.

Eat My Blog – Zen and the Art of the Sober Drunk
Guide To Street-Preaching: Ministering to the Drunkard
Very funny guy I know, local stand-up

Okay, that was a great idea, but do you know how long it takes to dig through blogs you’ve been reading for two years to find your favorite posts? Note to self: bookmark them.

starting a blog for news and stuff

I’m starting a blog, which I’m going to attempt to feed into my home page, where I can post updates on my favorite subject, me! Or on stuff I’m thinking about, or stuff I’m doing. Won’t that be fun?