Punctuality Rules!

Living

Chappysmom

You might not remember, but before I started blogging about writing, I had a knitting blog called Chappysmom. Like any other knitting blog, I talked about lots of things–my knitting (of course), but also family, friends, vacations, books … and, my dog. The Chappy for whom the blog was named.…

Are You Doing What You Love?

We’ve all heard the platitudes. “Life is too short.” “Live the dream.” “Carpe Diem, Sieze the Day.” But have you really thought about what that means? One of my co-workers at my day job … a woman I’ve worked with for fourteen years … died on Saturday from a sudden…

Gold Star Cop Out

I talked the other day about DIPs (Delusionally Important People). You know the ones, the ones who think they can get away with whatever they like because they’re so special. Well, I am not the only one to find these folks annoying. Check out this column from Ruben Navarrette Jr…

Let’s Not Forget Civility

It’s been a while since we talked about manners or civility around here—and considering the blog’s subtitle is as much about manners as writing, that just seems wrong. Maybe the problem is that there seems to be so little civility in the world and I just don’t want the headache…

People Are Analog

Today, in the U.S., all televisions are officially switching from analog to digital transmission, forever turning the page on the tradition of television signals broadcast, for free, through the air.* In many ways, this is a seamless change–most people will never even notice–but the very IDEA is one that I…

Moral Lesson Part 2

Remember a couple weeks ago, when I told you about a duplicate order I had received in the mail? And used it as a springboard to discuss manners and the benefits of doing the Right Thing? Remember how I emailed them to let them know, and was irritated that they…

Criticism

Did anybody else read Copyblogger today? Brian Clark collected a fantastic group of quotes demonstrating how even the brightest people can lack foresight in matters of creativity, and reject things that would have made them (more?) famous, rich, or renowned. His point is that you shouldn’t make assumptions, but my…

Appreciation

Did you know that Monday is Blogger Appreciation Day? Well, it’s kind of unofficial, but here’s the idea: We’re in it together, blogging is about collaboration and together going further than we can by ourselves – so why not help another blogger today by shooting them a word of encouragement,…

Clutter

Jan left a comment on my post about getting started writing where she said, “I find that I am much more productive if I have projects and things ready to go (that includes a clean desk, nothing scatters my thinking more than a cluttered desk).” I agreed whole-heartedly and replied,…

Acknowledgement

Let me ask you two simple questions: When somebody pays you a compliment, do you thank them? If somebody sends you a gift, do you send a thank-you note? Thank-you phone call? Thank-you e-mail? Chances are, if your mother raised you well, your answer to these two questions was, “Yes.” Because…

Name and Address?

There’s a line in “You’ve Got Mail,” where Meg Ryan’s character protests, “Joe? Just call me Joe? As though you were one of those stupid 22 year old girls with no last name? Hi, I’m Kimberly. Hi, I’m Janice. Don’t they know you’re supposed to have a last name? It’s…

Homespun

As a knitter, I recently read a couple of articles about the upswing of making things by hand, and also an, um, unique competition for sock knitters, with great interest. “Handmade isn’t a fad… it’s a resurgence, one that is of a piece with the booming interest in organic food,”…

Perfection

Here’s a tricky question for you: Do you demand perfection? Of yourself? Of others? It’s a hard one, isn’t it? Personally, I feel that I’m about one, short step away from being a perfectionist–I know that perfection is impossible to achieve, and yet my standards of behavior are quite high.…

Respect

Let’s be clear: Civility and Civilization do not depend on knowing when to shake someone’s hand, or which fork to use at dinner. Decisions about whether the short version of “electronic mail” should be spelled with or without a hyphen are not earth-shaking. You don’t have to look down your…