STOP: Grammar Time

Me don’t thinks people knows how to yous that grammar thing no more.  And they don’t care none neither.

 Think the above sentences are funny?  They’re not funny to me.  They’re real.  Every day my inboxes are flooded with emails from well-meaning individuals who have no idea how to effectively communicate in writing.  What’s even scarier?  They don’t care.  Scarier still?  When I hunt them down to have the conversation in person because I don’t understand their email I sometimes still can’t understand the message they’re trying to communicate.

I’ve been noticing this trend over the past couple of years so it seems it’s not specific to one particular geographic location, workplace, or any other factor I can really put my finger on.  I’ve discussed it with some grammar-minded friends and every time we talk about it we wind up scratching our heads.  Why is this happening?

 Occasionally when I’ve gone off on tangents about this people have asked why I think grammar and spelling are so important.  People have openly told me that it’s not important to them.  And I’ve actually been told “there’s not time to worry about grammar, Stevie”.  Well this is just preposterous.  Here are some of the reasons I think grammar is important:

1. Using proper grammar and spelling allows the recipient of a message to quickly comprehend what’s being said.  There’s no going back and trying to figure out what the message is supposed to mean.  That’s a waste of time.
2. Using proper grammar and spelling establishes that the communicator does, in fact, know what he or she is talking about.  Here’s what I mean: if you received a message telling you that Jupiter was no longer considered a planet and the message was full of spelling and grammatical errors, would you be inclined to believe it was true?  If you received the same message but in perfect English (or whatever language you prefer) with no errors, would that message sound more credible?  Of course it would.
3. Written communication from an individual is his or her brand.  When something is put into writing or even spoken, it becomes a reflection of you.  I, for one, want my personal “brand” to be as strong and reputable as possible.   

So what gives?  Why the disintegration of good communication?  I have a few theories.

At first I thought maybe it was a generational thing.  Being on the cusp of Gen X and Gen Y (the Millennials) I have a lot of insight into both.  The Millennials are very different in communication style.  They grew up in an age of social networking, so the MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, texting and IM styles are engrained in their communication.  People don’t write the same way in those venues as they do in more formal communications.  But who says that’s “OK”? 

So maybe it’s about education.  Have the school systems gotten that bad?  It seems to me that the level of grammar we see today would NOT have been acceptable in even sixth grade 15 years ago.  Maybe we should pay our educators more…. That’s a whole different can of worms. 

Is it the employers we should blame?  How can we promote people who do not have a solid grasp of basic language?  “Because they can effectively get the job done without being effective communicators, Stevie.”  That’s just scary. 

I am FAR from perfect with regard to grammar and spelling.  But I think it is really important to at least TRY.  I want my communication to be a positive reflection of who I am.  Am I alone?  Does anyone else care?  Am I blowing it out of proportion?  Am I crazy?  Or is it a problem beyond hope?

Shower Leftovers

Today I co-hosted a baby shower.  We split up the tasks according to our areas of expertise, which basically meant my roommate and I came up with food and drinks, and our friend Marci was in charge of decorations.

I have been to a plethora of showers as I’m sure you have too.  I have a pretty prescribed definition of things that happen at a shower and what the shower should look like.  In my opinion it was lovely.  Here are some pictures.

Now here is the question: what on earth do I do with all these leftovers??!!  Evidently I served vegetables for a hundred hungry soldiers and only a dozen lovely ladies ladies snacked on them.  So I blanched and froze a bunch of carrots and cauliflower, I set aside a tray for a veggie pizza tomorrow night, but here’s what I have left:
Mushrooms
Pea Pods
A MILLION cherry tomatoes

Can someone please clue me in on what to do with the leftovers?  I can’t handle the thought of zillions of expensive veggies rotting in my fridge….

Thanks for any ideas you can provide.

No Soup for You!

It was a rough week.  Work was hard, I was super tired and I am just so glad it’s Friday.  I got home from work today, plopped down on the couch and flipped the TV to my favorite channel for mindless viewing: the Cooking Channel.  You can imagine my surprise when I tuned in to channel 456 and instead of the Cooking Channel I was watching some lame Helen Hunt movie.  Thinking they must have reprogramed things, I turned to the search function.  I searched for Chuck’s Day Off, my favorite food show.  Nothing.  NOWHERE.  In a panic, I Googled it.  I typed in “Cooking Channel” and with a sinking feeling I clicked the “search” button.  There was the headline I didn’t want to see.  AT&T U-verse had cut HGTV, Food Network and Cooking Channel.
How could this happen?? Thanksgiving is coming up AND I still haven’t decided on a menu for the baby shower I’m hosting on Sunday.  I need inspiration from celebrity chefs!  YES I know I can refer to my cookbooks, magazines or take a cooking class, but it’s just not the same.  I like having someone chopping, sautéing, braising or frying in the background while I’m writing, doing the dishes or even while I’m preparing a meal.  It has become a habit.  And it has come to an abrupt end.  I now have to say my farewells.

Rachael, I’ll miss your cute kitchen and the way everything you cook is totally bad for you.

So long Giada.  I think you’re boring when you’re baking, but your Italian Cuisine is wonderful.  And you’re completely adorable.

And Chuck… What can I say?  I’ll miss you the most.  I’ll miss your weird French Canadian accent, your food tattoos and your appreciation for the freshest ingredients.  You will no longer be on my DVR, you won’t be there to try to make me like seafood, and I’ll never again happily watch you cook for your friends and family.

Disappointed?  What an understatement.  I have an empty space in my heart.  I hope all the food blogs out there are ready for me because here I come….