Ellipsis...

I threw out this word the other day and the person I was talking to didn't know what it was, but surely she knew how to use it...

It's this wee little thing called the ellipsis (...). Here's snippet I read on Wikipedia:

"The triple-dot punctuation mark is also called a suspension point, points of ellipsis, periods of ellipsis, or colloquially, dot-dot-dot."

Personally, I've never heard of any of these names, except for 'dot-dot-dot', which I reject on principle. I also personally reject the use of four dots. You have to stand for something...

While it may be true that only grammar nerds care what it's called, lots of people use 'em, and they can mean so many different things - here are a few fun uses:

The "suspenseful" ellipsis...

When you see this one, you're supposed to pause for a moment and wonder "Ooohhh... what's the afterthought trailing behind those little dots?" A period just wouldn't be appropriate here. Authors love to use this one.

The "stretch this sound out in your mind" ellipsis...

(See above "Ooohhh..."): Really hear that - ooooooohhhhhhh (it sounds like the 'oo' in goo and not the 'o' in poe).

Then there's the "ponder this" ellipsis...

Or, the "fill-in-the-blank" ellipsis, if you will. Those where right before they appear, you're given an ultimatum: "Would you rather..."

Never underestimate the "hesitation" ellipsis...

You're trying to give someone a hint without coming right out and saying what it is you want to say (I know you never do this, but bear with me here). Like, you're trying to end a conversation because you have something to do, but instead of saying "Hey, I gotta go," you say, "So, I'm about to run to the grocery..." and you wait. Hoping the other person will take that as a sign that you need to scram and not as a new topic of conversation. Oh yeah. You know what I'm talking about.

And I don't know if this next one really counts as an official usage of the lovely ellipsis. In fact, I'm not sure any of the ones I listed do, but oh well. Here's the last one - my favorite.

The "a hyphen just won't do here" ellipsis...

I use this all the time in emails. Sometimes I have two linked thoughts, but a hypen is just too abrupt, too jolting. There's supposed to be a sense of continuity, fluidity... you know, kind of like that. Like, I'm writing about something, and I'm ready to switch gears now, so anyways... oh yeah! Let me tell you about something else...

Kind of like that. And for those of you who weren't convinced before, now you know. I'm a nerd. And I don't mind. :)

(Note on picture at right: I decided to use this photo because it [along with the caption] is multi-dimensional. First note that there is, in fact, a National Punctuation Day. Fascinating. And there in the picture is its founder, who is really much hairier than he should be. But he does point out an interesting phenomenon - it's an epidemic even... why don't companies grammar check their signs?)

Musings on "I'm Gonna Get Fat!" - (with a little aside on Twitter)...

My friend Jay just inspired me with his recent blog post entitled "I'm Gonna Get Fat!" all about how he can't run for 3 whole months (doctor's orders) because of a minor hip injury.

My excuse for not running for 2 weeks now - I'm too busy.

Work is great, school is great, church is great, life is great - it's just that all of the really great things that go along with all of them are really sorta taking up lots & lots of time in my day, and I'm not managing to get it all done.  The problem is I have to figure out a way to find time to start running again because I'm still planning to run the St. Jude half marathon in December... at least that's what I'm told - right, Samina?

So then there's this whole other thing - it's Twitter.  Oh yeah, everybody's doing it.  Soon, people won't have to actually have conversations, they'll just "twitter."  I think we should do a few Twitter groups as some fall small groups at the church.  Honestly, I'm on it for fear of being ostracized by my peers, but I have some Twitter jitters, if you will.  What if I don't update my Twitter status regularly?  What if it kind of falls by the wayside like my blog does (oops)... will I fall out of grace with my followers?  Isn't that whole concept kind of freaky anyway - I have "followers".  The whole thing is just a little weird to me, and I'm not quite used to it yet.  I wouldn't say I'm Twitter bitter.  Maybe it just takes some getting used to...

I am a marathon runner...

...or at least, that's what I'm telling people these days. I've been wanting to get into better shape lately, and just yesterday the opportunity presented itself to run the St. Jude half-marathon in December. Of course, I've never intended in my life to run a marathon - or a half of one, as it were - but what it comes down to is that I want to know whether or not I can do it. So, with that, I have started my training, beginning yesterday with a 2.7 mile run/walk. There were times I didn't think I'd make it through, but I did, and despite the pain this morning, I'm encouraged.

I've also just finished reading Christine Caine's new book, Run to Win, which is all about finishing strong, with lots of great allusions to running a marathon. I think I may just read it again to let it sink in a little bit.

School starts in 2 weeks, and I'm pumped!! This is bound to be one of the most trying few months - starting grad school & training for a half-marathon - but I am excited! :)

Hitting the Books, Part 2

I got my acceptance letter into grad school!!! Yay!! :) I can't wait to get started - even if I am a little intimidated by the level of French coursework I'll be doing. And for those of you who can't understand why someone such as myself would subject herself to this depth of foreign language study, I have only one response for you -

Le cœur a ses raisons, que la raison ne connaît point...

And that's a fact. :)

I Cook with Wine

You know, my blog posts are usually little rants, but really, I'm a pretty happy girl. I don't have a whole lot to gripe about, so I find humor in complaining about little insignificant, totally inconsequential things. That has nothing to do with the rest of this blog - I just thought I'd throw that out there.

This weekend I'm looking forward to seeing my little brother tie the knot with a real gem of a girl. We (me and my entire family) absolutely adore her, and it's truly exciting to see them getting married. :)

But immediately folllowing the nuptial festivities, hubby and I are headed out to sunny California - San Francisco, to be exact - and I

could not be more thrilled. I've been to France, Spain, Uganda; but I've never been west of Austin, Texas, and it's about time.

And, yes, J.B., I do cook with wine. I do even put it in the food... on occasion. :) Here's a random tip for wine and/or culinary novices: you should never cook with a wine that you wouldn't drink by itself. See you when I get back!

Sound the alarm

Sorry, friends.  It has been two months since my last entry, and the truth is I don't have a good reason for it except that:

*the GRE stressed me out beyond all imagination

*I started a new job

*I've been getting ready to go out of town

*I planted a garden

-and-

*I started running (in place of vegging)

Basically, life happened, but never fear - I'm back yet again.  And I have something to get off my chest.

I must be insane, and I know I'm not the only one.  Day in and day out, I make the most vain attempt at manipulating myself, and though it fails time and time again, still I try.  It's like I'm trying to trick my own self, which unless there were two of me in the same brain (I hear that happens to some people), this is a completely impossible feat, and so far, that has proven true many times over again.  But I'll do it again today.  And you may be asking yourself (all 4 of you - my readership has grown [exponentially!]), what on earth is she talking about?!  Well, dear friends, it's....

My alarm clock.

That's right.  I set my alarm clock 7 or so minutes fast with the intention that when I wake up in the morning and see the time on the clock, I'll really think it's later than it is, which should motivate me to not hit the snooze button and move a little faster in the morning.  Then, as I'm walking out the door, I would look at a different clock in the house and realize, oh, silly me, it's not 7:56, it's 7:49!  And I would be able to proceed leisurely to work.  In theory (perhaps the one mentioned above about having two people share one brain), this could work.  But there are a couple of problems with this - namely that I'm not manipulated by my self, which I think is a good sign, even if it doesn't get me out of bed on time.

The gravest problem associated with this habit is that it forces me to do complicated math in the morning.  In case we haven't met, I don't function well in the morning.  The thinking mechanism in my brain is not generally engaged until I'm awake for at least an hour to an hour and a half.  So, when I look at my alarm clock after being jolted from the most restful sleep I've ever had (the last hour or so of sleep always is the best for me, which is unfortunate because by definition - being the last one - it has to end every single morning), I look at my clock, which says "6:36," and I have to then figure out how to subtract 7 from 36.  Math is not my forte - I'm a lover of the humanities - so this can be a slightly arduous task when fully alert.  At God's hour in the morning, it's extremely challenging, but I have to do it because I know that the clock's time isn't right, and I can't be duped into just believing it.  I know it's not.  Because I set it that way.

So, why not change it, you ask?  Why leave the time the way it is?  This is an excellent question, but I just can't.  And the reason is that somehow I've been programmed to do this to myself.  It could be a cultural phenomenon - one about which some anthropologist should conduct a study.  And that researcher should pay me to be one of his studied subjects.  And I could get money for my silly problems.  That's why.  Yeah.  That's one of my most favorite rationalizations.  And I'm sticking with it.  Thanks.

The end. :)

GRE Woes, Part 2

And now for a little Quantitative Analysis - 

If A is 25 km east of B, which is 12 km north of C, and D is 31 km south of A, what is the cost of tea in China?

Yep.  That's what it feels like to read these questions.  I mean, honestly... what do they want from me?  I keep coming back to my theory that they're after my cash... just a hunch...

GRE Woes, Part 1: ALACRITY is to LIVELINESS as THE GRE is to ENORMOUS PAIN

This is going to be a quick one - the GRE is awful. I have no idea what this test is supposed to prove exactly, but it's the worst exam ever. I have yet to figure out exactly what knowing the analogous relationship between 'saturnine' and 'spartan' have to do with anything at all, but I'm pretty sure there is a direct corelation to my cash. I'm apparently in the wrong business - I should have invented a way to make money off of something purported as "necessary" - like a Grad School entrance exam.

Ode to Blogging

I never fully grasped the responsibility that blogging carried with it until now. I actually had a couple of people in the same week ask me when I was going to write a new entry, which was the first time I realized that I have readership. I mean, they are few - in fact, they are two - but it's my humble debut... as a blogger, mind you. That was kind of fun. Thanks for reading.

So anyways, I think it's about time someone invented the cure for the cold virus. I'm done with all of these weird homeopathic remedies like Zicam. I don't want to put a gooey Q-tip in my nose. Sorry, just doesn't do it for me. Besides it kind of burns & stings a little, and I don't think that's such a great alternative to itchiness. If you have the cure for the common (rather, not-so-common) cold, let me know, and I'll help you get it on the market. Don't worry - I'll give you a share of the royalties involved. It's just about time. We've been to the moon, we can travel to the deepest depths of the ocean, but the cure for a little pesky cold does not seem to be on the horizon.

Speaking of horizons (nice segue, right? ;) ), I was watching this program on UFOs last night - wait, before you say anything, just hear me out - and I listened in awe as the "expert" commentators and narrator described documents (located in fire houses around the country, as well as in police manuals and handbooks of government agencies, such as the CIA and FBI) that outline what to do in the event of a UFO landing or crash. There are apparently elaborate plans on how to handle a situation such as that, which is fascinating. I don't give a hoot about a UFO; what really sparks my curiosity stems from an observation that Buddy made while we were watching this program. He looked at me and said, "It's amazing that there are these detailed guidelines for what to do if we're invaded by aliens, but everyone scratched their heads when Hurricane Katrina hit, as though there was no plan at all." And you know what? He's right.

Life at 26: Day 2

Most days I don't even consider how old I am unless someone asks, but birthdays have a way of suddenly bringing the subject to one's attention, which is unfortunate.

I'm still questioning whether I was ever 25, let alone whether or not I am, in fact, now 26. I don't feel 26... some say I don't look 26, so am I really that old? Not that it's old as in elderly, but I almost tell people I'm younger than I am when they ask - not because I want to lie about my age, which is silly - but because I really believe it. "So, Stacie, how old are you?" "Twenty-tw-- uh, twenty-fo-- I mean, twenty-six." It's weird, but it happens sometimes.

And I now have more of my twenties behind me than in front of me. 30 is around the corner, and I'm still not convinced it's all true. My sister and I have devised a way to keep me in denial (which also aids in my forgetting my age at times)... since my 21st birthday, we've decided that I'm having "Annual 20th Birthdays." So, yesterday, I celebrated my 6th annual 20th birthday, which just sounds better!

All of that said, I just know this is going to be a great year! My life is on the move, and there's some momentum building, which is really exiting. I suppose the only way to live a really long time but never get a year older is to go to Heaven, so I should just stop resisting and keep aging for now. :)

It's National Pistachio Day!

You just gotta love those silly little lesser-known - no, obscure - holidays like "National Pistachio Day." Personally, I think these holidays are great and should be celebrated. In fact, this one in particular is dear to me because 1) I love pistachios, and 2) because.

Why are pistachios so special, you might ask? It's actually quite simple - because they're green AND they taste good. Since when does food that's green - save, maybe the avocado, which arguably deserves its own holiday - cause such a craving at times that it would make one break down & pay $3.50 for a bag of approximately 20 of the little shelled bits of delightfulness? None other than the little green nut we honor on this day, the 26th of February. Pricey, yet hard to resist. Good for you, but maybe not if you have too much. Dare I go so far as to say that pistachios may be wine's crunchy, edible counterpart...

So enjoy what is left of National Pistachio Day, and please feel free to send me a bag in honor of this very special holiday. Thanks.

Reunion...

Let's go ahead & get the word out - I'm hopelessly sentimental and nostalgic. I enjoy things like a quick note to say "hi" from a friend or family member, or a phone call from someone I didn't think ever thought of me. And the thing about me & friendships is once I've developed a bond with someone, it can hardly be broken. I will keep friendships across oceans and continents because I can't imagine just letting a friend go. So, that said...

Today is a diamond among rocks, a rose among thorns -- a happy day amidst a week of incredible stress and anxiety. Today I found my friend Bill. That's not actually his name - his name is Guilherme, which is "William" in Portuguese, so when he was an exchange student during my high school years, we called him "Bill." My B-F-F and I have looked for him for years, intermittently searching the Internet - trying to find a trace of this friend we once had. Well, today I'm so happy to say, we found him! I love the Internet, and I love email - two of the most incredible inventions of our time. Ahhh.. what a great day...

Free Rice

I just found the coolest website for the nerdiest among us - freerice.com. It's a fun word game where you have to guess the meaning & for every right answer, this organization will donate 20 grains of rice to hungry people around the world. You should check it out!

Spasticity

Anybody know what's up with the design of those little kiddie drink packs? You know - the kind that you're supposed to poke a hole in with your straw & drink them down until you've sucked every bit out of them? I love them & hate them all at the same time. Why? you might ask... well, I'll tell you. It's because I'm scared of the little hole. That's right. I'm scared of it. I'm afraid everytime I attempt to punch my straw through that the juice inside is going to squirt out in geyser fashion and get all over me. It's a completely irrational fear - I guess that would make it a phobia. Foilpouchaphobia. Yeah! And don't laugh - you know you're scared, too. And just now when I was trying to punch my straw into one of these beastly little lemonade pouches, I punched straight through to the back of it, and it really did spill. A little. Whatever. Look, whoever thought up these little baggie drinks thought they were doing something for mankind. Well, they should have just left box drinks well enough alone, that's what I think.

Oh yeah

I actually got a break--a real live break--and it was awesome! On my whole week and a couple of days off of work I cleaned up a bit, shopped a bit, slept a lot, had loads of fun, and managed to even do some reading. And I checked my email like twice. It was amazing. A couple of times I had to really put forth some effort to prevent myself from feeling tempted to check email--it can get bad sometimes--but all in all, I did awesome.

Really, truly the only sort of bad thing that happened on the break was that my dog (a Chihuahua who is all of 5 lbs.) went flying off the sofa & landed on her back leg, which began to swell & appeared broken. She let out the most blood-curdling scream, and we rushed her to the emergency vet, fearing the worst. That was Christmas Eve. Turns out, though, after a 2.5 hour wait at the PetMed, and a hefty bill (the amount of which I'd rather not mention), we found out that it's not broken (*sigh of relief*) and she's getting around on it pretty well now. I also found out through all that that my dog is a little manipulative and had learned how to play on my weaknesses. I saw her on Saturday walking out of the kitchen and into the bedroom, and as she turned the corner, I noticed that she was walking on her hind leg again. Being filled with joy and excitement over her speedy recovery, I scooped her up & kissed her little face, telling her how awesome it was that she was feeling better & I was so happy to see her paw healing. Then I put her down & she was no longer able to walk on that hind leg. I'm pretty sure now that she was just trying to get some sympathy cheese out of me--and it worked. Crazy little dog...