Pointless

Have you ever had one of those classes that seems mostly pointless? One of those classes where you may engage in some interesting discussions, but all it is is talk? That feels like the only way it's furthering your education is because it fulfills a requirement, but requires no effort and almost no thought?

I hate these classes. They're such a waste of tuition money. And book money. And time. There are so many other things I could be doing--like the homework from my other classes. Or working. Or having a social life.

Instead I'm stuck in a stuffy room for two solid hours while my teacher talks at us. She thinks she's funny, but she's not. She's thinks she's my friend, but she's not. And she dresses terrible to boot. You'd think that a college professor would have the sense to dress nicer . . . or at least to dress in clothes that aren't stained . . .

It's a damn good thing there are only two more weeks of classes. I don't think I can stand much more.

The Parable of the Caulk

For the past few weeks at work, my co-workers and I have been busy re-caulking all the bathrooms in all the buildings of Heritage Halls. This isn't as easy as it might seem. In fact, it's the thing that I hate doing most at my job. I despise caulking. It's worse than lights, tub clogs, sink clogs, even toilet clogs. Why? Well, if caulk gets moldy and black, it cannot merely be caulked over, or the mold will simply work its way through the new layer. So in order to truly fix the bad caulk, you have to dig it out--which is a bloody pain in the arse. It requires an assortment of tools: screwdrivers, putty knives, chisels, razor blades . . . anything that will aid in ripping up the black caulk. And it never comes off easily or cleanly. I apologize to the custodial crew who had to clean up after our caulking storm hit.

Well, as I was doing this mind-numbing work for hours on end, I started applying this to my life and repentance. (I know, it's sad. It's proof that I was replacing so much caulk that I started thinking about it way more than is normal.) Surprisingly enough, the application is rather poignant to me.

We, as mere humans, are not perfect. Therefore, we will sin. It's just the way it goes; we can't get around it. When we sin, it's like our caulk is getting moldy. It is our responsibility to dig that nasty caulk out as soon as possible to keep the mold from spreading. And yes, it's hard. We're going to have to hack and scrape and cut that caulk to get it out, probably scraping and bruising ourselves in the process. But if we don't attack that spot quickly, before we know it that mold will have spread to the rest of the caulk and it will require much, much more time and energy to replace it.

We also can't just cover it up with a new bead of caulk, hiding the damage that has been done. The caulk will look pretty for a little while, but a new bead doesn't fix the problem, it only delays the inevitable. Eventually the disgusting grossness will eat through the new layer and show itself anew.

Bottom line, no matter how much you hate recaulking (and how disgusting it can be), it is a necessary evil. Repentance is the only way to get rid of the sin; otherwise it will just get blacker and blacker and more difficult to remove.

Procrastination

Why do something today when you can put it off until tomorrow, right?

Hence why I am writing a pointless blog instead of doing my editing homework. Who needs a style guide anyway, right? Who cares that I've been putting it off for nearly a week . . . that the members of my group were expecting me to get the stuff to them by last Friday . . . that I'm the only one who hasn't finished their part of the project . . . that they're all waiting on me in order to finish the project . . . that once I get started it really, honestly will not be that difficult to finish.

It's just that the getting started part is definitely the hardest.

Obviously.

Seeing as how I'm sitting at my computer (which I turned on with the intent to start my homework), surfing Facebook, thinking of more things I could write about.

I'm hungry. I wonder what's in the pantry.

I'm pathetic.

Contentment

The past year of my life has been a turbulent one.

A little over a year ago, I broke up with my four-year boyfriend. We had been together since we were sixteen. By the end, it had turned pretty bad. I guess that was to be expected. What sixteen-year-old can really, truly have her life planned out? Definitely not me. For a long time, I was angry. Angry at what he had done to me, angry at how thoroughly he had hurt me, and angry that no matter how hard I tried I still seemed to think about him way too often.

I also realized that, because I was with one person during my crucial finding-myself years, I never fully found out who I was without him. So this past year I have been doing some exploring, making some big changes to see what I really like and don't like; who I truly am and what I want for myself.

And finally, after a year of tears and heartbreak and frustrations, I've come to a point where I am content. While I don't have myself fully figured out yet, I'm happy with where I am and with the progress I've made. The anger has completely gone; I cannot fully describe how light and happy that makes me feel.

Bottom line, life is good. Life is amazing. So full of possibility and promise. I'm a blank slate, ready to let the Lord work on me and make of me what He wants me to be. I am a strong woman, an independent woman, who is fully capable of being successful with or without someone by her side. I am going to live life to its fullest, enjoying every moment of it. Life is too short to waste.

My Nerdiness Revealed: Editing

I am a nerd. There really is no question about it. I think the fact that my blog name is a Shakespeare quote is evidence enough. But I'm not a nerd in the LARPing, WOWing, Dungeons and Dragons sense, thank heavens. No, I'm rather particular about where my nerdiness focuses. So this series is about those things that I'm most passionate about, which is where my nerdiness is revealed.

My first passion is editing. I have always loved books and really good writing, but it wasn't until college that I realized just how much I love grammar and words. I especially enjoy the ability to look at a written work, see the things that need to be fixed, fix them, and help the author look good. It's extremely satisfying, and the thought of doing it for a living is extremely exciting.

I think the thing that makes me the most nerdy about editing is the fact that I absolutely love The Chicago Manual of Style (that's the big orange book in the picture). It is truly the editor's Bible and never leaves my side when I'm doing anything editing related. It's chock-full of rules and guidelines for things such as hyphenation (in fact, I'm itching to look up chock-full to see if it's hyphenated, two words, or one word, but I'll refrain), semi-colons, abbreviations, capitalization, etc. If there is any kind of doubt about how to write anything, there's something in Chicago that will help. It makes me happy.

You want to know just how much I love grammar? I have a favorite punctuation mark. Yes, it's true. You want to know what it is? An em-dash. I love the em-dash. It's so versatile, so fun, so full of voice and style. An em-dash is a dash the length of the letter m in whichever typeface you're using. It can be used parenthetically, to show an interruption, or to show an abrupt change of subject. You may wonder why this post is so lacking in them; it's because this program doesn't have the ability to make them. They would only show up as two hyphens, which is not correct. Geez, I'm sad.

There is a slight downside, though, and that is just that often people are afraid that they'll say something wrong around me. For example, recently I put together a book for my mom's Mother's Day present, and when my dad emailed me his portion of it, he said, "Don't be too harsh on me, Ms. Editor." And in fact, I didn't change a single thing. See? I can restrain myself. (Well, that and my dad is a really good writer so I didn't need to change anything anyway.) The flip side (hyphen, no hyphen? Must see Chicago . . . ) is that anytime I make a mistake in speech (which happens a lot), I get hammered for it, because I'm the English major/editing minor. But despite all that, there is honestly nothing else I would rather be doing. I feel so at home in my editing field that I know for sure it's the right place for me.

The hard part now is finding a job . . .

Atonement

This is my proudest moment as a poet. I'm not a poet, so the fact that I wrote a decent sonnet is something for me to be proud of. Don't judge me too harshly, please.

The pain envelopes my pierced soul, a shroud
that puts all joy beyond my reach and makes
me tremble, cold, beneath the darkening cloud
of sin that hangs within me. Satan takes
my hand; he wants to claim me as his own.
Yet I resist, for in my heart I know
that I am not yet lost, not yet alone.
Oh Savior, hear my plea, to thee I go!
And then, a light shines brightly in my mind;
the mist is gone, my eyes see clearly now.
My Lord, my God, Redeemer of mankind,
has saved me, though unworthy, from my wo.
The tongue, inadequate, cannot express
the joy that comes through Him who felt the press.