Who Do I Think I Am??

This one's about pet peeves.

DAY 2 PROMPT: "What is your biggest pet peeve/gripe/grievance/whatever you want to call it? Why does it bother you so much? Here is your chance to use your writing talent to vent about what ails you. Use it wisely."

Good evening folks...now here's a topic I can easily sink some teeth into. We all have pet peeves. Nobody is immune to them. In fact, I believe bitching is the United States' 3rd favorite national pasttime, behind baseball and sex. I myself have it ranked slightly higher.

On a typical day, I might spend approximately one hour or so whining, usually over something of merit (in my opinion). Be it work-related; be it over children or customers; be it how horrible the Buffalo Bills are; you name it, and I've attached a to it at some point. To say I have many pet peeves is like saying Donald Trump's got a little bit of money.

However, I'd never really given thought to ranking them, and I'm not even gonna attempt that. We'd be here for hours (surely past this entry's deadline), and the thought of waking up the next morning and re-reading this and editing that list over and over really has me a little annoyed. So, for the sake of finishing this little rant, I'll offer up to you the primary example of one of my very biggest (definitely in the top fifth percentile) pet peeves. In fact, I don't even have to tell you. I don't even need a sentence to show you...which is not only a testament to my gift as a writer, but how inane I think it is.

Ready?

LOL.

Seriously. I absolutely hate it when someone retorts with those three letters. I blame AOL for it. And I blame Instant Messaging and the rise in popularity of text messaging for its continuing of the decline of the English language. I understand that sometimes we have merely 140 "characters" to express ourselves and fully make our thoughts seem rational, and sure, typing "lol" saves a chunk of free space. But is it that hard to type out "laugh out loud"?

Furthermore, I always assumed that a laugh was a more physical, animated smile. So, why do we have to sound so redundant by adding "out loud", when, by definition, to laugh is "to express mirth, derision, etc., with inarticulate sounds and facial or bodily movements" and a laugh is "the act or sound of laughing" (Random House Webster's Dictionary, Fourth Edition)? A laugh is already audible. To me, using "lol" is like saying "Her red dress, which was red, was stunning". It makes one sound like the fact that they're laughing isn't convincing enough

And let's not forget what this little chat-room craze has spawned...now every three word expression seems to come with its own set of initials, because of society's selfish and instantly gratifying ways. It's gotten far out of control. Half the time I get a text from somebody who overpopulates the text field with these random letter/phrases, I can barely read them. "LOL@U" and "I cheez" and "tht sks" and the random elimination of vowels are problems. I would hate to be an English teacher these days, or be a foriegner trying to learn English as a second language (and you'll note that I didn't just call it ESL ).

Maybe it's the little old-fashionedness in me, but when I text people, I still use full sentences, and I don't have a problem getting out what I have to say in 140 characters or less. Yup, I'm that guy. So what. You'll have that. It's my peeve, and I'm entitled to it. Call it "The De-Englishatizing Of Society"...or call someone who cares.

MUSICAL BREAK:
I pulled out this classic because I think it's a precursor to the texting epidemic. This crew may not have invented the trend, but they surely abused it in their members' names and on pretty much every song title on their first album, where they basically substitued every "s" with a "z", among other odd grammatical licenses they took with their music. Still, a fun and catchy song nonetheless. And even though some of my friends have referred to me as "The Grammar Jedi" for the way I tend to occasionally try to police their foul ways, I'm not perfect. I know this...but I try, and that's what matters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ADgCeYJMN4&ob=av2e

VITAL STATS:

I stayed home from work today....the second time this summer I've become overwhelmed with exhaustion. At 7:30 I woke up, texted the other manager on duty and said I wasn't coming in. That was my last contact with the world until noon, when I was finally able to pull my head off the pillow. Made myself something to eat, and decided I couldn't waste the day...so in preparation for a party we're having Sunday to celebrate Jess the CWC's son's high school graduation, I weeded the last corner of our patio. Wrong move, sucka!! After two hours in nearly 90 degree sunshine, I could barely stand and my head was killing me. I showered and took another nap of nearly four hours. Yeesh.

Thanks to everyone who's supported my through the first day of this "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" , and feel free to check out some of the other writers too. We love the attention!

That's all I've got for today...obviously not much to speak of outside of the prompt. Gonna try and chill and see if this slightly dull pain in the back of my head goes away. CU2MRRW! GOODNIGHT NOW!!