Here a phone, there a phone, everywhere a cellphone

I fought long and valiantly against it, but I have finally joined the ranks of the bephoned. Basically, my parents (also known as "landlords") decided it was time for me to have my own phone, rather than borrowing my mother's when I went to the dentist and doctor and library and . . . . . . .

I'm not planning on being a phonehead. I hate the people who walk around with phones glued to their ears and talk at the top of their voices wherever they are. I really hate it when they come up to the register and cutting table and can't be bothered to pause their conversation long enough to speak to me in words instead of gestures. My phone will probably spend much of its time in my purse or on the counter, and will frequently be off, since it's more of an emergency aid.

To keep costs down, I went with a TracFone -- no contract, no monthly bills. I got a really good deal on the M376g (upper right) --- less than $35 total for a camera phone, and it came with double minutes for life and free shipping. I ordered it Tuesday night and got it today! After I activated it and got my number I had to buy some airtime (always useful ;p), and then I emailed my family with my number. I still have to put everyone's numbers in the phonebook -- all 3 million and 6 of them. (I don't really have that many relatives, it just feels that way. But I do have 6 siblings and numerous nieces, nephews, and assorted other relatives.)


Now I'm just waiting for the calls to come rolling in. :o)

Ok, so I'm a grammar nerd . . .

Very little irritates me as much as misspelled words and misplaced punctuation. In school I was known as "the walking dictionary" by my classmates because I usually knew (or could figure out) the correct spelling of obscure words. It just came naturally -- in my family, you were considered strange if you didn't read the dictionary and encyclopedia for fun.

I have always hated reading things with poor grammar. In college I had classes where we had to read each others' papers. Some of them had so many errors I could only get through by editing as I read. One was so bad that I was convinced the guy turned in his first typed draft without proofreading. Grrrrrr.

Even online, typos (such as "int he") don't bother me nearly as much as misspellings. A lot of people misspell "definite" and "separate" these days, usually as "definate" and "seperate", and it drives me crazy!!! I want to reach into the internet and make those people spell it right!

Signs and publications are the worst offenders. Several years ago I was reading an article about needles, and they misspelled "needle"!! I used to love Better Homes and Gardens magazine, but I finally got fed up when they would print articles with poor grammar.

A few years ago I came across a book which struck a chord with me : "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation", by Lynne Truss. This morning I was introduced to two great blogs on the subject. The first is The Grammar Vandal, whose author carries a sharpie and stick-on commas to fix broken signs. :o) The other is The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks. Both are good for a giggle, even if you're not an unredeemed grammar nerd.