Like sands through the hour glass…

Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 2:12 pm (Writing by Ear)
Tags:

What a drag when life interferes with blogging. Nothing bad, just general busy-ness — the incessant house projects coupled with Christmas decorating and shopping and quite a bit of work-work (the paying kind — of course a rush around the holidays). I wonder how we will get everything done (at a minimum, finish installing the kitchen floor, put the construction-disheviled rooms back in order, clean & decorate the house, send personal Christmas cards and client cards/gifts (gotta buy those first!), finish shopping, plan for an annual gift exchange with dear friends…and if possible, bake cookies. That last one is my favorite part, and I don’t like that I might not even have time for it this year.)

Usually, I like my weeks to go quickly, but for once, I wish time would sloooowwww doooowwwwn. I’d like to savor these precious pre-Christmas weeks before the long, cold dog months set in. Not much to like about Jan, Feb, and March in the ‘burgh — unless of course the Steelers stop playing in a fog (or bog) and make a decent playoff run. Even that doesn’t help Feb or March.

But for now, duty calls — or rather I must call it in the form of a conference call to dial into. I hope my beloved muse will return soon and give me the push I need for a more inspired (and inspiring) post. In the meantime, what’s new in your world? (I hope it includes homemade Christmas cookies.)

Sometimes it seems your ever-increasing list of
things to do can leave you feeling totally undone. 
                                    ~ Susan Mitchell and Catherine Christie
               I’d Kill for a Cookie

2 Comments

“WHAT?!”

Thursday, November 29, 2007 at 5:51 pm (Writing by Ear)
Tags: , ,

My husband and I have undoubtedly yelled that word to each other more often than any other. And more often than not, the answer we get back is an equally loud “I’M TALKING TO THE CAT!”

Our house is not large, but we never can seem to hear each other — only vague language-like muttering that we think may be a sign that one of us is trying to contact the other. Often, no. It’s just one of us talking to one of the cats in another room. (Other times, of course, it is my husband talking to me or I to him. However, I have the uncanny ability to focus intently on what I’m doing and tune out any background noi…I mean speech…even mid-conversation — sorry, honey — and he just plain can’t hear me when I speak normally. So, we exchange a lot of exasperated “WHAT?!”s, followed by a pointedly soft “you don’t have to yell” or maybe a helpful “look my way when you’re talking” or “I can’t hear you when the water’s running” or just a glance rich with meaning, usually “are you still talking about that dumb thing that happened to you today?”)

When Mike and I were first dating, I used to think it so strange that he would always acknowledge his cat as he walked by. C.C. never blinked one way or the other. I’m certain he never felt snubbed if he heard no “Hi C.C.” or happy if he did. But I easily fell into the same habit. One, because the cats (now plural) are so darn cute that they merit some fawning, and two, because I work alone all day, it beats talking to myself. I also think it’s true that if you don’t have kids, your pets take up that slack — I need something to mother, and the cats are so childlike. Why just a couple of weeks ago, Julius threw up on our bed (while we were sleeping in it), and C.C. peed on me yesterday from the sheer terror of having to be crated to go to the vet. They cry when they’re hungry, come for comfort when they’re lonely, snuggle on top of us to sleep, lash out in frustration if Dad gets them all worked up before bedtime, fight over toys or turf, bug the crap out of us when they want something…the only thing they won’t ever do is grow out of any of this. Or learn to take out the garbage.

But that’s OK. We love them anyway. Especially because no matter what we say to them, how loudly, how softly, or how many times we say it, they never, ever yell “WHAT??!!”

Lots of people talk to animals….
Not very many listen, though…. That’s the problem. 
                           ~ Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

5 Comments

Say it with me.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007 at 10:39 am (Hack for Hire)
Tags:

I’m rather unfussy as writers go. You’ll see my less-than-perfectly punctuated, grammatically liberal writing in my posts (I try to save all the analness for my paying jobs, plus there’s that “by ear” factor I’m quite fond of). And you won’t find me tsk-tsking over someone else’s casual writing.

But I have my limits — and I’m tired of cringing. Allow me to put on my writer’s hat (or, more appropriately, writer’s ear) for just a moment.

Say it with me:

  1. voilà (vwa-lah) — not “wala”

  2. verbiage (verb-ee-ej) — 3 syllables with an “e” sound in the middle; not “verbage” (as if there was a “nounage”) Damn, I was wrong about this one. All you people keep on saying “verbij” if you’re OK with it only being the second (and clearly more obnoxious) dictionary pronunciation…

  3. masonry (may-sun-ree) — 3 syllables, not “masonary” with 4

  4. realtor (real-ter) — 2 syllables, not “real-a-ter” with 3 (REALTOR® in all caps is a registered trademark, but that’s beside the point)

  5. nuclear (nuke-lee-er) — not “nuke-u-ler” (I know, I know, this one has been done to death)

That’s it, I’m done (for now). Just my small bit to clean up spoken English — 5 words at a time. If you have a pet word peeve, let me know, and I’ll cover it next time.

Now yinz all get back to work annat.

If writers wrote as carelessly as some people talk,
then adhasdh asdglaseuyt[bn[ pasdlgkhasdfasdf. 
                                                       ~ Lemony Snicket

3 Comments

« Older entries Newer entries »