DAY 71 - GRAMMAR NAZI -- yes, I believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Oxford Comma

Among some of the great jobs I’ve had, one of the favorite projects I was able to work on was the Franklin Covey Style Guide. This is a 532-page Style Guide for business and technical communication, and includes document design (including sample business letters and resumes) and instruction on grammar, punctuation, and word choice. I was fortunate to be able to work with quite a few PhDs as Subject Matter Experts and contributors to the project. My job, back in the day, was to make sure it was perfect – I mean, you can’t have a book about grammar and punctuation that doesn’t properly use grammar and punctuation. So I got good at using grammar and punctuation well.  
   But that was 15 years ago, and I’m not quite the Grammar Nazi I once was. Oh, I still cringe when I see published errors – especially on television and billboards (in print, it is unforgivable). And there have been occasions when I have wanted to pull over to the side of the freeway, grab a can of spray paint, and climb the ladder to fix a typo on a billboard. Sure, there are times when I intentionally throw traditional grammar and punctuation to the wind – sometimes for emphasis. Other times because it more closely mimics everyday speech. And sometimes because I don’t want to sound stuck up – (or is it:  up is not the stuck to which I want to sound???)
   I was reminded of this earlier today as I was hunting for a particular videoclip for a training I am writing – and I stumbled upon a hysterical snippet from “The Big Bang Theory” television show (which I adore!) It reminded me how properly using grammar is nowadays often viewed as pretentious. As the daughter of a 3^rd generation Newspaper Editor, correct grammar and punctuation were highly-prized in our home – Dad was incredibly well-spoken, and word games like Scrabble and Boggle were frequently played.
   Although I occasionally use “u” instead of “you” when texting, I’m typically one of those people that spells out complete words and writes complete sentences. I even use commands when dictating to Siri, so that certain words are Capitalized – and dashes and commas are inserted. That’s probably also why I don’t use Twitter – the abbreviationalization necessary to squeeze everything into a Tweet literally would drive me figuratively crazy. Besides, I would seriously struggle with condensing my far-too-verbose thoughts down to a mere 140 letters. Obviously, whoever invented Twitter was NOT an English major.

   And now that I’m back in the dating scene, I have to admit that someone that can write well certainly makes a great first impression on me. Sure, having a nice photo helps, but having a well-written profile can be quite a turn-on.  I will admit that I have BLOCKED a few people from all future contact for having incredibly poorly-written personal descriptions – full of bad spelling, poor grammar, and lousy punctuation (if punctuated at all). I mean, what if I fell in love with someone that didn’t know the difference between they’re, there, and their?  A girl has to have standards, you know. 

   There is beauty in the English Language. I love words – the beauty behind their meanings, the lyrical quality of their sounds, the visual appeal of carefully scrivened phrases. I have long dreamed of having a wall in my home that was completely covered with words and phrases that I love. And if my refrigerator had any magnetic properties, it would be plastered with my myriad of Magnetic Poetry sets. And for now, I will continue to write and write and write. Blogging. A novel. My journal. A note to a friend. Sometimes grammatically correct. Typically properly punctuated. Always correctly spelled. Frequently funny. Perhaps poignant. Invariably from the heart.
   


CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS SNIPPET
from "The Big Bang Theory" about GRAMMAR



DAY 22 -- 21-DAYS TO MAKE A HABIT

I was fortunate enough to start my now-20-year Training Career at Franklin Covey. It was fabulous to work for a Training Company (especially the best in the business), because I got to attend the trainings all the time. I still use the stuff I learned in 7 Habits, Principle-Centered Leadership, etc., in both my personal and professional life.

   One of Stephen Covey’s leading principles is that it takes 21-days to MAKE or BREAK a habit. I love this principle, teach it frequently, and I use it constantly in my personal life. To change something “forever” seems too daunting most of the time to me – but for 21 days???  Heck, even I can do that.

   It’s how I approach diets or healthy-eating choices. Sure I can give up Diet Coke for 21 days. I can probably give up chocolate for 21 days. It’s an easy, one-bite-at-a-time approach to Eating that Elephant – or facing any big goal. And the best part is:  It Works!

   I’ve now done this blogging thing for 21-days straight. And I’m pretty proud of myself for that accomplishment. I sat down and read through the past 21 blog posts this morning – and I like seeing that I am 21-steps farther down the path of this 83-day Journey. I'm happy that I set a goal and accomplished it. And, to quote Kelly Olsen, “Nothing succeeds like success.” – so now I’m energized to keep going.