I have developed yet another Pet Peeve. I KNOW! But I can’t seem to help it.
I download huge numbers of free books from the Kindle Unlimited Book Store. I’m really grateful to get them there because I’m a voracious reader and I simply cannot afford to buy lots of books anymore, have no place to put paperbacks; though, sometimes, I try to stuff JUST ONE MORE into a bookshelf.
The upside is that they are free. The downside is that I end up deleting so many of them – some after reading only a few pages – because of the lack of editing. I have done a bit of writing, though I’ve never had anything published. I’m a bit offbeat about my punctuation, wanting to write as I talk, showing emphasis by commas, semicolons, bold text, parenthetical phrases, quotes, dashes, etc. It is almost like sprinkling seasonings into a dish while I’m cooking. Each of us has our own style, rules or no rules.
But I have very little patience with those who don’t proofread. Misspellings, poor grammar, wrong use of words, etc. becomes so distracting and annoying that I just don’t want to continue. The delete button is a very handy tool on my Kindle, but I would really prefer to be able to finish the book before I use it.
Puns – BoredPanda.com – Migle Miliute and Gabija Saveiskyte
Hahahahahahah! I love puns. My dad was quite a punster. He was also sarcastic. He was so much fun. He taught me the importance of being able to stand back sometimes, try to see the humor in any given situation, and to be able to laugh at myself. I do that a LOT these days. :0)
He would say something and wait. He was waiting to see if I ‘got’ the pun or not. It took me awhile, and I still do better seeing one in writing than hearing one, but I truly admire the wit and humor involved.
His sarcasm was a bit more difficult to deal with. He would look at me and say, “pretty skirt.” That meant he thought my skirt was too short, too tight, too SOMETHING and that he thought I should change. I still have a bit of trouble accepting a compliment, even though I’m now older than dirt, because I’m unconsciously looking for the criticism behind it.
Indian Hills Signs – Vince, The Sign Guy
Sigh. Snort, Smirk, Groan, Smile, Laugh. I do them ALL when I see the Indian Hills Signs. I would really love to meet Vince. He would be a challenge to talk with. I would imagine he has a very busy mind.
Unknown – sorry about the spelling error.
Plagiarizing is theft, pure and simple. So is showing art work without attribution, implying it’s your own work. Both are odious. It shows so much about the plagiarizer or thief. I guess it’s done because of lack of confidence in a person’s own ability or worth. It’s the lazy way, the fast way, like people are now using AI to write things for them.
It’s much better to write drivel and have people scoff or create artwork that has people holding their nose than to act as if YOU are the person behind the ideas, words, or art.
I’m of several minds about getting older. It may be ‘multiple personalities,’ or dementia, or a combination of both, but I’m split mentally and emotionally so many ways I feel I’m in a ‘sliced-and-diced’ commercial for fancy knives.
One big part of me – the part I’m encouraging – is embracing life, living life to the fullest, finding joy, taking my time to enjoy things, choosing to do things that bring me happiness and peace, learning new things, trying to develop new skills, trying to be as healthy as possible so that my life is the best quality possible.
Another part of me – one I’m kind of hiding from – is having to step up in areas where I feel totally inept, such as figuring out what is wrong with something and trying to fix it, programming new technical things, handling things my husband has always done, but needs help with or total takeover from now. I’m having to really PUSH myself since this is becoming the new normal – that I am an adult and supposedly able to handle much more than I ever have. My main goal at this point is to try to remain calm in each situation that comes up, figure out what I need to do, how to try to work with my husband, how to keep priorities straight, figure out who to call if things go south, etc. I want to cover up my head, escape, ignore – but that’s not possible.
SO – how to deal with my getting older, having changing needs, and helping my husband deal with HIS changing body, abilities, personality, and ego – how to go forward?
My dad told me something that he lived by and has helped me a lot – to try to stand back and see the humor in a given situation. Many times you have to work really hard to see it, but usually, it’s there. That helps in keeping your cool, keeping priorities straight, and taking things one step at a time.
Take a deep breath. And another one. Maybe take a walk around the yard, do a session of yoga stretches, use weights to bop around with some nice music and exercise videos.
Stay busy. Don’t let things overwhelm you. Have projects that will change your focus for a while, using your energies on something you can look at afterwards that makes you feel more in control.
Do things that bring you joy. For me, that’s spending time in my art room, listening to music, reading, writing this blog, searching for good things that make you smile, walking outside, getting a massage, visiting with a friend.
Try to be a good communicator. Letting others who care about you know how you feel and really listening to what they are saying, as well as to the person/people who may be a challenge.
We will all face this kind of thing at some point. What do YOU do to handle it?
I love phrases for which there are no opposites, like this one. “Losing my mind,” is another one that comes to mind. Word games, plays on words, puns, sarcasm – they all make our language a delightful surprise, bring a smile to our faces and lighten our moods. :0)
I really feel lucky to have grown up speaking English. I tried to learn Spanish when I was in school. I even was lucky enough to stay in Mexico City with a family who was a part of my dad’s community club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The girl had spent a month or so in our home, and this particular family wanted to return the favor – so I was the beneficiary. I got so I could understand if people spoke very slowly, and I could reply, if haltingly, kind of like a young child, but that was the best I could do.
I don’t know how someone learns English. There are so many quirky things about it. Very few rules that aren’t broken randomly. A whole different language when you throw in phrases and slang, puns, jokes, homonyms, etc.
I threw the ball through the window. Are you through? is just one example of why it’s probably impossible to really learn English well unless you grown up with it as your first, if only, language.
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