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Et voilà!

I’m kind of a stickler for spelling and to a lesser extent, grammar.  And I definitely have some spelling pet peeves.

Loose?  As in you lost something?  NO.  It’s “lose.” One O.  One.  Yes, I know why you might think there are two O‘s in “lose.”  I’m sorry that English is a weird language and breaks pretty much all of its own rules.  But you went to school for a reason.  Please remember that there is only one O in “lose.”  So things happen and you lose your pen.  But your dog runs loose in the yard.  There’s a difference.

Definately?  NO.  Definitely.  It’s kind of like infinite, but more defined.  Just…remember how to spell the word properly.

There/their/they’re?  Really??  And also it’s/its?

Why are these things?  I know you went to school.  You may have even had to pay for it.  Why didn’t you even remotely try and get your money’s worth of education?

Those are only a few of my spelling pet peeves.  The loose/lose example probably bothers me the most.  But there’s one misspelling that’s quickly making its way up to the top of the list, that being “walla.”  Don’t know what that is?  That’s because it’s not spelled anywhere close to how it’s supposed to be spelled.  The people I’ve seen use that word really meant “voilà.”  As in, the interjection you might say when presenting something.  It’s used something like “tada!”  (Obtw, I would be willing to accept “voilà” without the accent, since accents can sometimes be a pain to include when you’re typing.)

Why does “walla” bother me so much?  I’m not entirely sure.  Maybe it has to do with the fact that it’s not even pronounced “walla.”  Do you see that V in front of voilà?  It’s not a silent V.  It’s not even a weird V that you pronounce like a W.  It’s pronounced like a V.  Merriam-Webster says that it’s pronounced like \vwä-ˈlä\.  I’m sure that’s very clear to you now.

Maybe you’re arguing that since the word is French in origin and the French do all kinds of weird and funny things to their spelling but still pronounce things the same way, spelling “voilà” as “walla” shouldn’t matter.  And I say to you pbblblblt (this is my spelling approximation of blowing a raspberry)!  I think we should respect other cultures and their weird spelling rules and spell words like they meant those words to be spelled.  And I mean it especially for our own English words.

LEARN TO SPELL.  IT’S NOT REALLY THAT DIFFICULT.  AND WHILE YOU’RE AT IT, YOU MIGHT AS WELL READ MORE.  AND DO YOUR MATH HOMEWORK.  DID YOU KNOW THAT HAVING A PAGE FULL OF CALCULATIONS CAN BE VERY SATISFYING TO LOOK AT AND RELAXING TO PRODUCE?  JUST…MAKE YOUR EDUCATION COUNT FOR SOMETHING, OK?

On workmanship

As you know, the house has undergone rather extensive repairs after the great waterfall incident of one-three.  It might have sounded better if we were still in one of the zero years.  The “great waterfall incident of one-three” doesn’t sound nearly as good as the “great waterfall incident of aught-three.”  Oh well.

Anyway, extensive repairs.  The house is livable again.  I moved back in over the weekend.  Yaris is both happy and sad as I expected.  But she did score a new Kong toy in the ordeal and she gets to enjoy peanut butter without toast now.

Having had all these repairs done to the house, I have come to know intimately how nice it is to have tradesmen who know what they’re doing.  Like actually know what they’re doing.  Not just talk big and then do a half-ass job.  Half-assery is one of my pet peeves.  Especially if I am paying for a good job and get a half-assed results in return.

Now, I realize that licensed, good contractors and tradesmen are relatively expensive to hire and maintain.  But they take pride in their work and it shows in the outcome.  You don’t have to deal with broken shoddy craftsmanship, broken phone lines, and poor wiring.  These are things that I’m dealing with now.  And it annoys me. 

I’m not expecting things to be perfect, by any means.  But I expect broken and/or chipped tiles to be replaced before they’re cemented and grouted.  You should be checking the tile as you’re laying each piece.  If it’s chipped, you don’t use it.  Or you cut away the damaged part and use the good part.  You don’t lay chipped tile. 

I expect the grouting to be complete and without gaps.  If holes are found in the grout, I expect it to be fixed. 

I expect things like the phone line to be intact after the job is done.  Our phone lines were touched because they had to replace a bunch of drywall.  If you have to disconnect the phone lines to do your work, fine.  You should mark the wires so you know how to put them back.  And phone lines aren’t hard to wire.  There are two wires.  TWO.  WIRES.

I expect things to be done with minimal complaining.  You bid for the job and you got it.  If you realize that you’ve underbid, you don’t leave the job half finished.  If a change order is necessary, then you talk to the client about a change order.  If I should not be required to babysit your every move to make sure the job is completed as agreed.

And as for things like electrical and plumbing, it’s probably better to have a licensed tradesman do the job.  They know the code and the proper technique.  A general contractor may be able to complete the job, but there’s a good chance that they’ll do it wrong.  And then you have a major problem on your hands.

And contracts people.  Contracts.  Don’t hire anyone without a proper contract.  It protects you and it protects them.

And why has all this been a problem?  Because my parents decided that price was more important that workmanship.  They had their reasons.  I’m not sure if they’re regretting it now.  You think everything has been completed and you can stop worrying about the house, but no.  Because the job was poorly completed and possibly more things are wrong.