Friday, April 1, 2011

The red pen rises



Necklace: Anthro
Shirt: JCPenney
Belt: Target
Jeans: American Eagle
Flats: Target



I have a problem. It's embarrassing and I can't help it but admitting I have a problem is nine tenths of the law.

I love proofreading.



OK I SAID IT. Phew, it feels good to get that off my shoulders. No judgment zone! & I'm totally serious, this is no April Fool's joke. My golden age was in college, when friends would call or message me in the middle of the night, pleading to have me read their papers. I was there, armed with a red pencil and a flat surface, ready and willing to take on the challenge, from the short one page response papers to the fifty page theses. I removed comma splices. I altered dependent clauses. The passive voice feared me.



It's been a long few years since the final paper was proofread (get it?) and my red pencils and pens have been so lonely. So can you blame me when a college student came up to me tonight while I was at work and asked kindly if I'd proofread his paper? It's only four pages and it's just for an English 102 class, and it's my first paper with this professor and I want to make a good impression. It took all I had not to leap over my desk and hug him. I relished. I basked. I beamed. And then it was over, and now I'm yearning for another paper to read, another grant application to edit, just one more article to check for correct use of semicolons.

Watch for me next week on Intervention.

7 comments:

  1. ooh, i need a good proofreader like you in my life! i'm so horrible at writing and i use passive tense wayy more than i should. :)

    and that anthro necklace is beautiful!

    cute & little

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  2. Kileen I will proofread anything for you anytime! & thank you, I love this necklace :)

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  3. Hahaha. I love that! "Passive voice feared me!"

    hearts, laura♥
    the blog of worldly delights

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  4. hahah i love it. i probably should be proofread more often. i just finished my last college english course though... unless you'll proofread lab reports haha! i really like your necklace! xoxo

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  5. Haha thanks Laura! Other things that fear me: nothing.

    Lydeeloo: I'll proofread anything you throw at me! Thank you, I'm a big fan of that necklace :)

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  6. That really is a great necklace. :)

    I can totally relate to your love of proofreading. I worked as a tutor in the university writing center for 3 years and it was one of the best jobs I ever had. Of course that's been 8 years ago (please don't judge my grammar).
    Now in my everyday life / job I rarely ever even have the opportunity to write, and I can feel my skills slipping into oblivion. When there was a time when I could happily whip a paper into shape in no time flat. Awkward wording, run-ons, fragments, poor grammar, lack of structure: bring them all on. I loved the challenge. I knew APA and MLA format like the back of my hand. Now, I'm rusty, lazy.
    But, man it's fun to dust off that part of my brain...sigh.

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  7. Aww Elle! It really stinks that you don't get to stretch those brain muscles much anymore. I bet if you went to the public library and sat at a table with a sign next to you saying "free proofreading" you'd get a ton of requests!

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