I'm sick. Also, after many writing courses, a minor in English, and an obsession with both spell check AND dictionary.com, I have only just now learned that "it's" only needs an apostrophe when you are trying to say "it is" and NEVER when you are trying to say "something that belongs to it".
Why is this labeled as confusing? I always thought, holy crap, who in the world could possibly remember this, use the apostrophe only when you mean "it is" or sometimes in certain cases when you are trying to make something a possessive? These rules are asinine! I might be the only person alive who cares enough to memorize these rules - obviously, since all these other people are writing sentences using "its" with NO apostrophe when they are trying to say something belongs to the infamous "it". Stupid morons.
Well, sorry, stupid morons. Now I am stupid too. It's really embarrasing, having an entire education geared around the English language and not using its benefits to my full advantage. Wouldn't that have been cool, if I had thought of an actually good sentence there instead of that sucky one? I think it would have been cool.
I just spelled advantage with two v's. I think it looks better that way. Want to start a revvolution?
Did you notice up there, where I called all the correctly punctuating people stupid morons, and then it turned out they were right, but then I didn't take it back? I did that on purpose. I am so rude.
I'm really pretty sick. I think I need to end this post right here, but I still haven't told you the thing I was writing about in the first place. So without further adieu, here it is, a quote from a relatively popular blog out there, a quote which very aptly sums up why SOME people are so successful at blogging and OTHER people are great writers but never become blogging celebrities.
"I spent four hours arranging cookbooks on my new midget cookbook shelves, which are all of two feet wide and two feet high."
I won't link to this site, because I am not trying to make fun of its (aha!) author. Instead, I am merely making an observation that anyone who has the time to spend FOUR HOURS arranging cookbooks is going to be a much better blogger than I am. In fact, I believe that if I ever reach a point in my life where I have at least FOUR HOURS per day to absolutely squander doing useless tasks, I had better be writing something that's going to be published.
FOUR HOURS. Rearranging COOKBOOKS. I feel even sicker now.
I actually recite that little rule in my head whenever I write "its." I am a pathetic little being.
Four hours to rearrange cookbooks. wow. Somebody needs to sort out their priorities.
Get better soon, 'cause I tagged you over at my place. Well, that and because it totally sucks being sick and I don't want that for you. There, that sounds a little more caring. :D mk
Posted by: markira | December 08, 2006 at 07:05 PM
I can see that now I am going to spend the next 4 hours fretting over someone spending 4 hours rearranging cookbooks, she could borrow Eli for 10 minutes, he'd do the job for her in a flash! Get better, and do it quickly if you please!
Posted by: Helen | December 08, 2006 at 07:27 PM
OUr entire house is also sick...which is the only time I have 4 spare hours and I prefer to spend those getting well, hehehe! It and It's and Its happens to be one of the few rules I could remember and follow. I break most all rules regularly!
Posted by: Jerri Ann | December 08, 2006 at 07:47 PM
mise en place: everything in it's right place.
i hear that every day.
Posted by: regan | December 08, 2006 at 07:53 PM
I had to get my abbreviations down when I started teaching my class of 6 year olds in January this year -- I didn't want to be the one responsible for a lifetime of its and it's and its' (hahaha) confusion!!
:)
Feel better!
Posted by: alyndabear | December 10, 2006 at 02:29 AM
When people mix those up, this little song from Homestar Runner pops into my head:
Oh, if you want it to be possesive,
It's just 'ITS.'
But, if it's supposed to be a contraction
Then it's 'I-T-apostrophe-S.'
Scalawag.
Mwa ha. Love it. Anyway, back when I was I child, I used to spend hours on dark winter nights reorganizing my parents' CDs. Can you tell that they severely restricted TV viewing, and that they wouldn't buy me books? If I didn't get myself to the library, I was really screwed. Hence the organizing.
Posted by: Teacher A | December 10, 2006 at 07:28 PM
I can't get past this 4 hours spent on arranging cookbooks. How many cookbooks does this person have, anyway? I only own 3 cookbooks myself. 22 seconds is more than sufficient for my own cookbook arrangement needs.
Posted by: Allison | December 11, 2006 at 10:21 AM
Allison, I ALSO only own three cookbooks! And two of them are for desserts!
Although I can spend an hour rearranging all the stuff in my freezer, because that's where dinner comes from when you don't own any cookbooks.
Posted by: Susan | December 11, 2006 at 10:05 PM