Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Actually is getting to me...

It's been a long time since I've been able to add anything new here. My job, which I feel lucky to still have, takes up much of my time as does school. I'm finishing a bachelor's degree in Business Administration. After a long career as a student, I am now attending University of Phoenix. U of Phx is my fifth college; it could be stated that I've majored in transfer and registration, much like the character Howie from that show "Fall Guy" with Lee Majors playing a stunt man. I have been working hard at getting good grades, and have a 3.85 GPA, which I've come to terms with after completing my associates with a 3.95 GPA. So, my free time is in short supply.

"Well," you may say, "taking classes online is easy." Au contraire, mon ami! Let me firmly assert that taking classes over the Internet is more difficult, more work, and requires more effort than attending classes in a traditional university environment. The classes are shorter, the workload heavier, and class is open seven days a week. You get out what you put in, as the cliche goes. As I mentioned previously, I have experienced classes at five different colleges and universities, so trust me when I tell you my opinion is based on experience.

You may be asking at this point what this has to do with fish, dogs, or guns. The answer is nothing. I am just explaining the long pause between posts, but I have another reason: I am getting increasingly irritated with the spoken English language, and the overuse and misuse of certain words. I think this is because I spend so much time writing for school. I have to generate 3000 words or more of original content each week, and everything must be written well. No small task, to be sure.

Mark Twain had this advice: "Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very"; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be."

Perhaps in his day, the word "very" was in popular misuse. I have come to the conclusion that one word in particular that should be deleted from the English language is "actually". If one were to follow Mark Twain's advice, but substitute "actually" for "very", it would have the same effect. Here's an example: If I were to say, "I actually spoke to him earlier today, and he said he actually didn't know," it is easy to see that the word "actually" is not necessary at all. I find myself cringing each time I hear it in casual conversation.

My father wrote a newspaper column for many years, and in the beginning of his writing career was given the tip that after he had finished his final draft, he should go through and delete every word that ended in "ly". If he did this, his writing would improve, be easier to read, and appear more intelligent.

Actually, I think this is really good advice, and is actually very good to follow. Fortunately, he got the advice early in his tenure as a columnist, so he actually got off to a really good start.

See what I mean?

The next post (I promise!) will be about Fish, Dogs, and Guns!