I have some other observations about the show that I will share in another post, but right now what I wanted to mention was the show's hilarious debate about whomever vs. whoever.

The clip is only about a minute long, but it addresses pretty much every common misconception about the usage of these words. The dialogue is very quick, so you might have to watch it more than once. What is so funny about this is how true it is — people actually think these things are correct.



My favorite is the theory that whomever is the more formal version of whoever. Also the idea that the whole thing is made up to confuse and frustrate people. I've actually known people who believed these things!

Labels: grammar and spelling

A week ago I mentioned that Michael and I woke up early Christmas morning and watched several hours of The Office. We started watching this show a couple of weeks ago, when we discovered we could get it streaming on our TV via Netflix and Xbox Live, and we've already watched up through the fourth season. (They're in the middle of the fifth right now, so it's not yet available through Netflix.)

This show reminds me a lot of what it was like to really work in an office. I worked as a technical writer in an office for about ten months after graduation before transitioning to freelancing full time. It wasn't for very long, but my experiences there were rather, er, memorable.

The boss, Michael Scott, has toned down and become more of a sympathetic character since the first season, but early on he really reminded me of my boss at that job. It actually made it difficult to watch sometimes, because it brought back so many memories.

Mostly, though, The Office reminds me of all the fun parts of working in an office. The pranks they play on one another are hysterical. For instance, in one episode there was a squeaky desk chair in the office, and everyone kept switching chairs with their neighbors when they weren't looking. This was funny partly because it was so darn realistic — that kind of thing happens all of the time in an office! The show even manages to make all the usual office drama, such as crazy coworkers and office feuds, seem appealing.

I think part of the reason why I love this show so much is because I don't get to experience any of this anymore. I'm not saying that I don't like being a freelance writer; I love the relaxed environment and flexible hours of working from home. However, there is definitely a social aspect to working in an office that I miss.

Labels: working from home

With my stunning failure in 2008 in mind, I've somewhat changed the focus of my New Year's resolutions this year. Of course, I do this mostly for fun, but this is what I would like to accomplish this year:

1. Finish my website updates. Yes, this was on last year's list, but I'd really like to get my website updated so I'm keeping this resolution.

2. Finish my 2008 NaNoWriMo novel. Right now I'm not going to worry about revising or any of that — my goal is simply to finish it.

3. Focus more on work that I enjoy. For the most part I like my work, but periodically I get burnt out on the work I don't like, and then it all feels tedious. This year I want to weed out the work I don't enjoy so that I have more time for the good stuff.

4. Replace Movie Night with reading once a week. I really don't watch that much TV, but Michael and I like to watch movies in the evenings. However, I'm finding that I no longer read as much as I would like to, so this resolution has to do with making more time for it (and making sure I'm able to update Livre du Jour more often!).

And that's it. You'll notice that they are less ambitious than last year, and that (with the exception of #4) they are all work-related rather than personal. I only have one personal New Year's resolution this year, and that is regarding my horse, so I'll blog about that on my Pony Tales Blog.

What are your New Year's resolutions for 2009? Feel free to leave a link in the comments if you have already posted them on your own blog!

Labels: goals

In the midst of a disappointing holiday season for the publishing industry, this article appeared in the New York Times: Turning Page, E-Books Start to Take Hold.

I think this is interesting for several reasons. For one, it's hard to believe that ebooks have been around for as long as they have — my awareness of ebooks has developed mostly in the last five years or so, and I have to admit I am a fan, though I don't often sit at my computer and read.

I have never seen Amazon's Kindle in person, though at one time I really wanted one. I have seen Sony's Reader, though, and I have to say if I were going to spend that kind of money on an ebook reader, the Sony would be the way I'd go — partly because I want the one I've had a chance to handle and play with, and partly because I think Amazon is turning into an evil corporation. Just look how many times in this article the author notes that Amazon won't report the Kindle's sales data!

I also was interested to learn that you can download ebook readers for the iPhone. Since eventually I want one, I will have to look into that some more. I might be able to have my phone, music, and my digital library all in one place!

As you may know, I self-published my own short ebook, How to Restring a Strung Doll, for collectors of vintage dolls. I've sold well over 200 copies now, and thinking back to when I first started selling, I think I have definitely seen an increase in sales — although, considering the nature of my ebook, that is probably due to more successful marketing rather than ebook readers gaining in popularity.

As much as I love ebooks, though, I can't say that I think they will ever overtake regular books in popularity — at least not those of us who really love to read. There is just something so comforting about the feel of a book in one's hand!

What about you? What are your experiences with the ebook industry, either as a reader or a writer? What do you think the future holds for ebooks?

Labels: publishing

I've probably mentioned it before, but Judy Blume is one of my writing heroes. I love her books — both her juvenile and young adult books, and her adult novels — and I have tons of respect for her courage in addressing subjects that were rather taboo back then (and still are sometimes today).

I was excited to see in the headlines yesterday Judy Blume's interview on NPR. She talks about what got her into writing — and surprisingly, she didn't always want to be a writer, but started out doing wall hangings for children's rooms at first. She also discusses what it was that drew her to write so much about the 9-12 age group, and laughs about finding out from NPR that she was turning 70.

I had no idea Judy Blume was 70, but her enthusiasm at that age only makes me look up to her more. I hope I still love writing that much at age 70!

Labels: writers in the media

I've been doing everything a bit late this holiday season, so I'm just now reviewing my 2008 New Year's resolutions and deciding what to put on my list for 2009.

(For the record, I don't really take this too seriously — obviously, because of how many resolutions I promptly forget about and neglect to meet each year — but it's still a fun New Year's tradition.)

My resolutions for 2008 were as follows:

1. Spend the first hour of every workday on my own projects
2. Finish and launch my website updates
3. Increase my annual income by a third
4. Pay off 75 percent of my credit card debt
5. Keep in touch with my friends better
6. Get pregnant

And here are the results:

1. Sometimes
2. Nope
3. No way
4. Not even close
5. Nope
6. No

Hmmm. Maybe I should make different sorts of resolutions for 2009...

Labels: goals

We had a pretty good Christmas here. We ended up busier than expected, so I didn't get as much of my work done as I'd hoped, but we had fun.

Since Michael's family moved to Denver earlier this year, we decided to split the holidays between our families: Christmas Eve with my folks, and Christmas Day with Michael's parents, his brother, and his brother's family (who all share a house — yikes!).

We were expecting not to be at my parents' house very late Christmas Eve, which was why I thought I would have time to work. However, my mom got tipsy and didn't kick us out at 9:30 after all, and we ended up getting home around 11:30 instead.

Michael was feeling tired and a little ill (probably from too much food), so we laid down and fell asleep by accident. At 3:30 am we both found ourselves wide awake, so we watched episodes of The Office (more on that later) until 7:30 am. Then we went back to bed for three more hours.

On Christmas Day we stopped by the barn around mid-afternoon to drop off stockings and treats for the horses. Then we continued on to Michael's family's house, bearing gifts for the kids. I was especially proud of the big present we had for my two younger nephews: a used kids table that I sanded, repainted, and decorated with the boys' handprints and names. I had a little help from Michael and my mom, but it still took the better part of four days to finish!



We spent most of Christmas Day with Michael's family, finally arriving home around midnight that night — and once again, I was way too tired to work!

How was your Christmas? If you've posted on your blog about your own holiday celebrations, please feel free to include a link in the comments!

Labels: holidays