SO

SO i have not updated in some time, and I believe that this is my first post of 2010!!! If I were writing those dots under the exclamation points would be tiny little black hearts and there would still be three of them because I have some kind of strange compulsion to do that. I think it's because I once had a writing teacher who told us never to use exclamation points (writing teachers are always telling you never to do something that ruins you for the rest of your life like Eliot on scrubs)or at least to use them very sparingly, and so I think whenever I do use exclamation points I feel like if it's worth using one, another two should probably be there just for good measure. It shows I'm serious about my exclamation. The hearts, I don't know. Just thank god that I don't do that above the i's, ok? Take what you get and be thankful for it.

As a sidenote, which is essentially the point of this post- an homage to the glory of sidenotes, sidetracks, rabbit holes, and tangents - here are some other excellent teacher-inflicted emotional/academic baggages i have been saddled with/honored to carry:

Always using the comma after the last item in a series and before the and. It's optional, but you should always use it. I have no idea why, I have no idea why it's optional, and I don't even remember who told me this, but I always do this myself and judge people when they make the wrong choice.

Never begin a sentence with but - this is one that doesn't really count because I do this all the time in sympathy with the other teacher who followed the but-hater and whose policy i found more agreeable. When it makes sense, use it. When it doesn't, don't.

Don't end a sentence with a preposition. Just don't. It sometimes doesn't sound right to say "with whom are you going to the dance?" but it is STILL better than "who are you going to the dance with?". Awkward AND better? I think we have a clear winner.

The other one I like applies to formal writing only, but you would be surprised at the amount of formal writing in existence that clearly does not adhere to this pretty simple rule: formal writing should not contain first person or contractions. No can'ts. Just cannot. Pretty simple, yet effective.

Ok i'm getting a little tired of my grammar rant, and I also took a sidebar to speak to my brother who lives next door to me in his room, and he was showing me funny pictures from that devil website, /b/, and so naturally my attention has been shaken.

Let me just say, that I began this blog in the interests of two points: ONE - i really don't want to reply to my grandmother's email right now...which is like more than three days after she sent it. And after my grandfather forwarded me the email my good Australian cousin sent them. GREAT. TWO - i really like justin and i was going to tell him some neat and informative things about my life lately, but instead I have to go look at pictures from /b/. GREAT

also, the reread of GR is in pause while my copy is in transit for the re-renew from the library because my dad is a library rebel soldier. yea we'll have to talk about that one.