6/02/2008

I'm Worried About My Mind

Lately, I've been making SO MANY mistakes when I write. I send a lot of e-mails for work, and of course, my second job -- reading and commenting on blogs -- entails a lot of writing. (ha!) I have always, since I learned how to write, been a good speller, mostly good with grammar... but lately? I don't know what's going on. It's stuff like writing "there" instead of "their", or just now, in an e-mail I wrote, "I'll contact them to see if you they have sliding scale rent available." Ummm.. you they? What is up with that? (And just now? I went to add a comma after 'wrote'. I added it, then wrote the rest of the post, and when I checked, it was a period. As in, "I wrote. 'I'll contact..." Very frustrating. And a teensy bit frightening.)

I used to be one of those spelling and grammar Nazis - I would literally get offended if someone used "your" instead of "you're", and I'd feel all superior. Thank the powers that be I got over that fairly young -- I figured the connection being made through the writing was more important than crap like that. It can still be jarring to me - like recently, I saw "intensive purposes" being used for "intents and purposes", and I notice it, but I don't judge. I let it go. So I'm not being hard on myself about it - if I catch an error in a comment I've made, I don't comment right after it and correct myself - but it's on my mind.

It concerns me. It's happening a good bit. I have to double- and triple-check everything I write.

Is it because I'm 42? That seems young for this kinda thing.

Hmmm.....

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I attribute it to improved typing speed as we become more and more apt at typing. Or I guess apt isn't the word. Maybe experienced? I find my fingers can go so fast now sometimes they're typing things before I even know what they are. I frequently type the entirely wrong word. It is scary, but I think it's OK. I don't think it's our brains.

I hope.

Cap'n Franko said...

I'm afraid I'm still a bit of a grammar nazi even though I'm 60! Thanks for your kind comments on my post about LIFEisGood 2008 and for your recommendation of Doug Woodward's Wherever Water Flows. I'll hafta grab thatn and give it a read. And thanks for the help you gave my wife, Ronnie, about drum circles.

We'll see you at Live&Learn, right?

Anonymous said...

I don't know, but I'll tell you the same thing has been happening to me and I'm 42 too. Glad to hear I'm not the only one!

Undercover Mother said...

I am a grammar Nazi, but lately, I have begun to stammer when I am frustrated or tired. I'm 42 and am convinced that it's entropy.

Alex Polikowsky said...

So it probabaly is because we are 42. I have been so bad about it lately.
I just don't proof read and hit the send key too fast.
I used to excuse it that English was my second language ( but I know better) now I will just say "I am 42"-BWG

Anonymous said...

Interestingly enough, I was speaking with a friend on the phone yesterday. She's not a blogger, but is experiencing the exact same thing... and SHE'S 42!!

Do you think we need to volunteer for a study?

(Which said four, then fotpr and fotr before I finally got "for" right.)