The Second Time Around

This post’s title could refer to different situations. Lots of events are better the second time around. For the purposes of this post, set aside every dirty scenario that your warped mind came up with and focus on the basic building blocks of every sentence you have ever read or spoken.

English 101: The Second Time Around

I am forcing myself to try and relearn the valuable grammar and style lessons that managed to be pushed out of my memory to make space for something mindless, like movie quotes. As I trudge through The Elements of Style, I realize every word I write does not tell. If nothing else, Strunk and White declare that writing should be concise and clear; leave out superlatives. Hmmm. It is going to take effort to put this lesson into practice. I don’t know if you have noticed, but my writing is often unnecessarily wordy (take <– that sentence, for example).

To make light of my trepidation, I want to share with you some of my favorite passages from The Elements of Style. Believe it. Mr. Strunk has quite a biting sense of humor.

Comment about Nauseous and Nauseated
“The first means ’sickening to contemplate’; the second means ’sick at the stomach.’ Do not, therefore, say, ‘I feel nauseous,’ unless you are sure you have that effect on others.” (80)

Comment about Flammable
“An oddity, chiefly useful in saving lives. The common word meaning ‘combustible’ is inflammable. But some people are thrown off by the in- and think inflammable means ‘not combustible.’ For this reason, trucks carrying gasoline or explosives are now marked FLAMMABLE. Unless you are operating such a truck and hence are concerned with the safety of children and illiterates, use inflammable.” (71)

You’ve been cordially…unaccepted?

About this time of year, every year, colleges and universities across the country send letters to thousands of undergraduate and graduate student applicants. Some letters bring hearty congratulations: you have been accepted. Other letters softly break bad news: you are not the right fit.

Recently, I racked in a few of these letters myself. Two of the three letters brought good tidings. Hurray me. I am not going to lie, acceptance letters mean a lot—warm, fuzzy, positive feelings abound when these letters are opened. Letters of rejection, however, can be heart breakers.

Can you imagine what it feels like to read a letter that declares your acceptance at a top local university? What if this school were also your number one choice? Feels pretty amazing, right? Now, pretend that this happy turn of events turns into a nightmare and this dream university revokes your acceptance. Big bummer. Definitely bad news, bears. Real bad.

Well, this incident actually happened to about 29,000 students recently. Ishk! Apparently, UC San Diego mistakenly sent acceptance emails to 29,000 applicants who were actually not accepted. Oh my. The university then had to send another email apologizing for the error. Click the link to read the full story: UCSD’s Mistake.

Wow. I feel sorry for those 29,000 applicants. I can only imagine how disheartening that must have been. Poor form UCSD…poor form.

San Diego a la Ron Burgundy

Grad school research. Tuition. Debt. Classes. Essays….

My head is filled with all kinds of grad school concerns. Not to mention my attempts to work on increasing my GRE score. Lots to do in not so much time.

Blah, blah… I am not going to waste this post by filling it with these trivialities. However, my research for programs in mass media and communication has motivated me to make this post. Now, in an effort to minimize the financial burden of further schooling, I am looking at a program in San Diego–land of the constantly moderate outdoor climate.

Given my chosen field of study and my interest in San Diego, my wandering mind ran head on into Ron Burgundy [Will Ferrell]. Ron, the dopey anchorman, and the rest of his news team gang flout their popularity as San Diego’s news leaders… despite their lack of smarts. Please enjoy the following compilation of antics from Anchorman.

Suffice it to say that I hope I can bring a bit more grace and dignity to San Diego than Mr. Burgundy =D