Hop on over to Get Paid to Write Online and read my guest post.
I’m still on vacation, hopefully with a cozy camping spot, but I wanted to share some of my more intriguing finds this past week.
Here are some more things that make my head explode:
Rules that make no sense whatsoever. It came from daughter’s bank, to which she requested a student loan deferment. The note read: “We have reviewed your application for FINANCIAL HARDSHIP forbearance. However, we are unable to grant your request for the reasons listed below:
” – The required payment for subsequent forbearance not made. Please remit $993.20 and request the forbearance again.”
Um, if it’s a financial hardship request, wouldn’t it stand to reason that there isn’t $993.20 to spare?
Empty promises. I’m not one who gets excited when a client who had to be pestered for payment comes back with apologies and promises of much more work. So repeating the apology and handing me “tons” of work isn’t going to fly, I’m afraid. As much as I’d love to believe there’s been some change in behavior, I need to see evidence. And since I’m not one to work for free or the threat of free, I’m going to expect payment upfront, which to me is not a problem. I’ve proven my trust. The client hasn’t. Therefore, my rules are the ones I’m willing to follow.
Wanting everything for bargain rates. There are a few contacts I’ve made over the past few months that I’ve scratched off my marketing lists. These are companies or clients who were happy to talk about how I can help, but were so concerned about the cost that price or allusion to it was the third word in nearly ever sentence. I understand budgets. I get that sometimes it’s tough to spend money during a tight economy. And yes, I’m willing to help you afford me. However, I’m not willing to give you all my ideas and let you do them in-house. So please stop asking.
Using words that aren’t words. I don’t mind words you’ve made up, like once I heard a foreign woman say she was “enthusiasmic” – and I loved it, because it just fits, doesn’t it? And I’ve been known to use “persniferous” to mean someone who’s perturbed and annoying at the same time. No, not those words. I’m talking about words like “supposably” instead of “supposedly.” Yes, I agree that “supposably” makes more sense, but it’s not a word. Nor is the phrase “a whole nother” a real phrase. It’s “another” or “an entirely different.” Nother? What the heck is a “nother?”
What things are making you go “boom”?
8 responses to “More Head-exploding Things”
I have a four month old kitten, Tessa, arrived yesterday, so the world is, once again, and beautiful and fascinating place as I watch the world through her eyes as she learns.
As of the other day, my mother is married to a 70 year old. Still trying to get my head around it 😉
Haha – love it. How about 'irregardless'?
I don't mind made up words, but there's a time and a place for it.
Seeing Job ads with netspeak or whatever, drives me insane. "R U a writer?" I don't care what you state the pay rate is. It doesn't show that you can be trustworthy. At least make an effort to sound like a professional.
"A whole nuther" is funny to me too. It would make sense to say "a whole other" and that's what they are actually saying, but are keeping the "an" intead of changing to "a" because of the word in the middle. It's not hard to understand when you break it down, but people don't normally think about all that detail like we writers do 😉
I'm with you on the rules that don't make sense too. I'm a much better rule-follower when I understand WHY.
And I still don't get why the weekend is only 2 days while the work week is 5 days. That REALLY doesn't make sense 😉 Have a wonderful trip!
I may be guilty of having said "a whole nother" but realized back in high school when I tried to write it out I realized it should be "a whole other."
It bugs me when smart people say "acrost the street." In college a fellow student asked me how to spell "acrost" and he wouldn't believe it wasn't a word even after I pulled out a dictionary to prove it.
Still, the biggest thing making my head explode is the ever-increasing mis-use and abuse of "gifted" and "gifting." I may be a gifted knitter, but I didn't gift my handmade items as gifts. I gave them as gifts. The recipients were no more "gifted" after opening the gifts than they were before I gave them. I wasn't gifting gifts – I was giving gifts.
Yeah. That one really makes me want to tear my hair out – while my head is exploding.
Tech hell is making my head explode… changed hosts and moving the sites was okay, and the email has been, well you don't want to know… just about through it I think.
Going to the circus tomorrow… should help.
I once accidentally told somebody I was "strengthy" when I meant to say "strong." I still use that one because it makes me giggle. I think I mentioned "learnings" in a comment a few posts ago…so here's another one that raises my neck hairs: "incentify" (instead of "incentivize"). I hear that one a lot when I work on healthcare projects.