Write more often
My friends (most notably tornpatchwork) have informed me that I don't update enough. I'll try to remedy this immediately. Can't have anyone starving for swankivy news. So I'll try to be better about telling y'all what's going on in everyday life besides just bitching when I'm mad about something or providing links to things I want you to pay attention to.
But, that said, sometime last week I finished WRITING a language test which is designed to test mistakes even accomplished writers make all the time. I mean, seriously--I have known editors, writers, and English geeks--including one HARVARD GRADUATE with a DOCTORATE IN ENGLISH--who make some of these mistakes. Um, so, you probably make them too. ::shrug:: (I wonder which mistakes *I* unknowingly make that are OTHER grammar geeks' pet peeves. . . . )
Anyway, I already got kicked in the face once by a guy who claimed my questions were occasionally ambiguous, though I had to laugh when this dude said, "I don't CARE what Chicago says!" ::eyeroll:: Oh really? The Chicago Manual of Style is not an authority while YOU are? Please. I know not everyone uses Chicago, but I do find it funny when people try to dissect my questions and hold them to the standards of MATHEMATICAL LOGIC and not grammar conventions. Language isn't logical, or "won't" wouldn't be a contraction for "will not," okay people?
This is the language test I made, with the actual interaction happening on HelloQuizzy. It's got an answer key and everything, so if you don't get a perfect score you'll be able to find out why.
The other important stuff is that I'm behind on my e-mail again (think "mails from January"), revising my novel Bad Fairy to be a trilogy (might talk about that more later today), and last week was Passover (and my dad's side of the family's Jewish), so I went to Sarasota. My grandma had had surgery on her knee and she's much better and all excited about being able to cook the dinner again, so she did. I just brought dessert. (Yum, caramel matzo crunch.) My youngest sister brought her boyfriend, and Dad was there with Connie, and my dad flew my Sister P in from California for a surprise. We didn't tell them she was coming, and she stayed out in the car while the rest of us went in. When the bell rang again we pretended we were surprised that Sister L was coming so early. But no! It was P! Heh. They were VERY surprised.
We had a Passover Seder and a good dinner. I actually ate asparagus, even though I'm really not a huge fan of it. My grandpa hid the Afikoman and I found it. (If you don't know that tradition, it's when the leader breaks a piece of matzo and hides it when no one's looking, and the kids are supposed to search for it. But we have no kids who aren't in their twenties or older, so . . . yeah, the younger generation had to search.) I never see my grandpa hide the stupid thing--he's very sneaky. But I'm always the one who finds it somehow. 'Cause I'm a jerk.
The celebration coincided with my grandparents' SIXTIETH anniversary. That's a long time! Know what else? It coincided with a Jewish holiday called Birkat Hachamah, which is something about a blessing for the sun and it's supposed to be in observance of the sun being in the same position it was when the world was created. I had never heard of it before but saw an article on it. Well, it happens every freaking 28 years. So this is the first time it's happened while I've been able to remember it. I mentioned it to my grandpa and he said he'd never heard of it. Weird. My grandpa's a retired cantor.
I also still have to draw a poster (in color) for the guy who won my 200 issues contest for Negative One. Oh, and I keep getting hits for the comic from StumbleUpon. Guess I got Stumbled recently. ::shrug::
I got a fortune cookie last week that says "Your co-workers take pleasure in your great sense of creativity." Really? I think I'll tape it to my monitor. (Also, you have to wonder if these things are trying to hint something to me. On the back where they sometimes try to teach you Chinese words, mine was "haircut.")
My other fortune cookie said "Endurance and persistence will be rewarded."
Guess I ought to get more query letters out there on my current publishing project, eh?
Because the fortune cookie says so.
But, that said, sometime last week I finished WRITING a language test which is designed to test mistakes even accomplished writers make all the time. I mean, seriously--I have known editors, writers, and English geeks--including one HARVARD GRADUATE with a DOCTORATE IN ENGLISH--who make some of these mistakes. Um, so, you probably make them too. ::shrug:: (I wonder which mistakes *I* unknowingly make that are OTHER grammar geeks' pet peeves. . . . )
Anyway, I already got kicked in the face once by a guy who claimed my questions were occasionally ambiguous, though I had to laugh when this dude said, "I don't CARE what Chicago says!" ::eyeroll:: Oh really? The Chicago Manual of Style is not an authority while YOU are? Please. I know not everyone uses Chicago, but I do find it funny when people try to dissect my questions and hold them to the standards of MATHEMATICAL LOGIC and not grammar conventions. Language isn't logical, or "won't" wouldn't be a contraction for "will not," okay people?
This is the language test I made, with the actual interaction happening on HelloQuizzy. It's got an answer key and everything, so if you don't get a perfect score you'll be able to find out why.
The other important stuff is that I'm behind on my e-mail again (think "mails from January"), revising my novel Bad Fairy to be a trilogy (might talk about that more later today), and last week was Passover (and my dad's side of the family's Jewish), so I went to Sarasota. My grandma had had surgery on her knee and she's much better and all excited about being able to cook the dinner again, so she did. I just brought dessert. (Yum, caramel matzo crunch.) My youngest sister brought her boyfriend, and Dad was there with Connie, and my dad flew my Sister P in from California for a surprise. We didn't tell them she was coming, and she stayed out in the car while the rest of us went in. When the bell rang again we pretended we were surprised that Sister L was coming so early. But no! It was P! Heh. They were VERY surprised.
We had a Passover Seder and a good dinner. I actually ate asparagus, even though I'm really not a huge fan of it. My grandpa hid the Afikoman and I found it. (If you don't know that tradition, it's when the leader breaks a piece of matzo and hides it when no one's looking, and the kids are supposed to search for it. But we have no kids who aren't in their twenties or older, so . . . yeah, the younger generation had to search.) I never see my grandpa hide the stupid thing--he's very sneaky. But I'm always the one who finds it somehow. 'Cause I'm a jerk.
The celebration coincided with my grandparents' SIXTIETH anniversary. That's a long time! Know what else? It coincided with a Jewish holiday called Birkat Hachamah, which is something about a blessing for the sun and it's supposed to be in observance of the sun being in the same position it was when the world was created. I had never heard of it before but saw an article on it. Well, it happens every freaking 28 years. So this is the first time it's happened while I've been able to remember it. I mentioned it to my grandpa and he said he'd never heard of it. Weird. My grandpa's a retired cantor.
I also still have to draw a poster (in color) for the guy who won my 200 issues contest for Negative One. Oh, and I keep getting hits for the comic from StumbleUpon. Guess I got Stumbled recently. ::shrug::
I got a fortune cookie last week that says "Your co-workers take pleasure in your great sense of creativity." Really? I think I'll tape it to my monitor. (Also, you have to wonder if these things are trying to hint something to me. On the back where they sometimes try to teach you Chinese words, mine was "haircut.")
My other fortune cookie said "Endurance and persistence will be rewarded."
Guess I ought to get more query letters out there on my current publishing project, eh?
Because the fortune cookie says so.