I am peevish today. Perhaps it is because I am so close to the end of the semester and I really want to have 3 weeks off.
Perhaps I am PMS-ing.
Perhaps I am just in a foul mood.
I have a general pet peeve in the form of people who have terrible grammar. I hate when people say “irregardless”. It makes my skin not only crawl, but fall off and die.
I hate it even more when people pretend that they have excellent grammar by screwing up ‘well’ and ‘good’. I am going to give you all a lesson.
Example 1:
Katrina: How are you doing today?
Dan: I am doing well.
Example 2:
Katrina: How are you today?
Dan: I am good.
Example 3:
Katrina: How are you doing today?
Dan: I am doing good.
Example 4:
Katrina: How are you today?
Dan: I am well.
Which of those examples are correct? If you said 1 and 2, you get a cookie.
If you said 3 or 4, you don’t get a cookie.
Here’s why. Well is an adverb. Adverbs describe verbs. Good is an adjective. Adjectives describe nouns.
So, if you say “I am” you are describing yourself. You are a noun, oddly enough! When you describe yourself, you want to use an adjective. So, you use ‘good’. I am good is the correct sentence.
If you are talking about how you are doing, you are talking about an action, or a verb, not yourself. You want to use an adverb to describe that. So, you use ‘well’. I am doing well is the correct sentence.
Saying ‘I am well’ just makes me think you are trying to impress me with your use of well instead of good, because everyone thinks good is automatically wrong. It’s right in that context, so I immediately judge you.
Saying ‘I am doing good’ just makes me think you don’t understand grammar. I immediately judge you.
Ok, class dismissed. Go out and use grammar effectively!
I guess I was hoping for a miracle, or a fairy tale ending. Something so beautiful, heart-felt and funny only happens in chick flicks, and those always end well.
Not so much this time.
Randy Pausch died last night. It’s nothing we didn’t see coming, and yet, I still didn’t see it coming.
I’m going to go check out his book now.
Edit: (because I’m too ashamed to blog 3 times in one day, especially when I have a paper to write and a collection to develop.)
I just read his book in oh, 2 hours. Very easy read, poor choice to do it at work. In a library. Out in public. I was that person tilting her head back, and snorting quietly to avoid slipping into the loud grunts of crying. And I don’t even KNOW these people!
So, yea. Go read it. Preferably with tissues, and in the privacy of your own home.
Pittgirl just discussed his death, and she put it very well: he gave us perspective. Death is something we will all encounter and he did it so well. Is that something to aspire to? Dying well? Yes. Yes it is. But more importantly, he LIVED well, even when he was dying. So many things I agree with: we are raising children with a false sense of self esteem. Self esteem comes from being challenged and rising to the occasion, not from a pat on the head and a generic trophy. We are becoming more selfish: we need to attempt, in life and in death, to think of the people around us, especially the ones closest to us. We need to have fun, in everything we do. We need to challenge ourselves in these things and more, every minute of every day for the rest of our lives. Even when we’re dying.
In the end, the biggest thing I can think of to say, and also the smallest: Bear is simply not allowed to die on me. Hear me? You are not allowed to die, and that’s final.
