pet peeves

I have more of them than I'd like to admit, I think. But there are just some things that people do that I find particularly irksome.

I actually think this certain pet peeve of mine is the result of the largely Christian tendency to fake outrageous levels of kindness and politeness. I'm sure this is more than just a Christian thing, but since I'm surrounded by Christians at Houghton, Christians are the only ones I usually see doing this.

and it drives. me. crazy.

It's this weird habit some people have of thanking you in advance for doing something. "Thanks for getting back to me as soon as possible" just sounds bossy and arrogant. Wouldn't "please get back to me as soon as possible" get the same message across and be a whole lot less presumptuous? Saying "thank you" before someone even does anything only makes you seem like you're trying so hard to drip honey and flowers and rainbows that you're hoping no one can see that lack of authenticity that's really oozing out. Just say what you mean. I promise, I'll have so much more respect for you if you do.

Subtle inflections and word choice make more of a difference in the impressions we give people than we realize.

And in case you're thinking that I claim to be exempt from this weird, backfiring attempt at "impression management" or whatever you'd like to call it... I don't. I know I'm guilty of it sometimes, too. But I try to be mindful of how I say things. Just because things have the same basic meaning doesn't mean that they really mean the same thing. It's that whole 'house' versus 'home' thing.

Anyway.

fear and children's books

So I haven't updated since my first post because, frankly, I've been a little nervous about it. I've never put anything I've written out for people to read on any sort of a regular basis besides my facebook statuses, and that hardly counts. I mean, you really only have to be able to say something other than "goin to teh movies l8r, wanna come" or other some such nonsense, and voila! A facebook status that rises above the norm and makes you look like a genius next to about 95% of the general public. All that to say, I am just a little afraid that people will find their way to my page, read what I have written, and wonder why I bother.

Now that I've gotten that little self-conscious, revelatory tidbit out of the way...

One of the many things that has been on my list of life accomplishments for some time now is becoming a published children's book author. I'm not anticipating and/or desiring insane amounts of greatness and renown, but I love children's books, and I would love to be able to take my baby sister into a bookstore someday and find my book on a shelf somewhere. Plus, I have a billion ideas floating around in my brain for them... so now I just need to start getting them on paper. I already have an illustrator in mind (mommy!).

My latest idea involves a book of ridiculous poetry, a few poems of which I started mentally writing while I lather-rinse-repeated this morning. Maybe I'll leave a preview soon?

In other news, it snowed today in the Southern Tier. I love snow and winter, but I would kind of like to enjoy autumn first. I'm so conflicted.