Monday, May 11, 2009

Holy bugs, Splatman!

It's been over a month since I've written? Egad! What's been going on with me?...oh yeah. All that stuff. It's been so very long, my dears. What do I update you on? My daily goings-on? Politics (bleh!)? The way I feel about the term "my bad?" Or maybe speculations about why the words "spinal nervousa" pop into my head for no reason, and I don't think that's even a real condition? How about a literary festival that I'm going to today? YES! That's it! We have a topic sentence for the second paragraph!

Later today I'm journeying to the French Quarter to attend the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival. It's a shabang that spotlights gay and lesbian literature, so naturally there's a drag show at some point tonight but I will regretably miss that performance. Because! I am going to see a play! Hooraaaaaaaaaay! It's a mystery called Hand Over Fist and there's a Q&A thing with the playwrite after the show, which I think will be bitchin'. I do so love the theater. Good theater, bad theater, men dressed as Liza Minelli theater, and the list goes on and on. I will let you know how it goes.

In other news, I'm halfway through my edits in the 3rd revision of the book. My agent, Sarah, (may I call her Sarah? Yes, thank you) wants me to give the manuscript one more tummy tuck before sending it out the door. Sometimes I'm happy with the way the edits are going and sometimes I think, "Dear Lord, I want to write SOMETHING ELSE!"

In other big news, which I will save for another post because the children want breakfast and I need to get my ass off the computer, is that I've been substitute teaching. Well, I don't know if I'd really call it "teaching." It's been more like babysitting. But I'm getting some good experience, and it's made my resume look a little more like what a teacher's resume should look like. You know, with teaching experience.

So why don't I like the term "my bad?" The first time I heard it, I think it was in 1994, and I thought, "What an ignorant thing to say." And I still think that. How can someone misuse a perfectly good adjective such as "bad?" It's adjective abuse I tell you! What's next? Adverb abuse? Is my son going to come home one day and say, "Sorry, my badly." Honestly, people, where will it stop? If adjectives are up for grabs why not superlatives, or hyperboles? Quick! Someone hide the gerunds!! It's a language free for all!

Dramatically yours and glad to be back,
Geepers

13 comments:

Embee Breedlove said...

WE'VE MISSED YOU! I keep thinking about calling you, and then I keep being really stupid busy. In fact, this weekend is the first weekend that I'm not working in, like, two months or something. It also happens to be our anniversary. So still busy! But in a different way. I'm glad things have been busy for you in some good ways - like teaching! Very interesting! At least you're (probably) taller than (most of) your students.

The only time I find the phrase "my bad" acceptable is when my attorneys write it in emails, in which case I find it freaking hilarious.

Christy said...

Yay! I've been checking and checking and checking and checking. I'm so glad you're blogging again!

Tom said...

I second Christy: Yay! I just thought I'd check in today, and wouldn't you know it, you went through with your threat to blog again!

I hate "my bad," especially when people older than 29 say it. (Yeah, I had to choose some kind of cutoff date, if a little randomly.) I agree with Melissa, though, when certain types of people use it it's hilarious.

My dislike of the phrase was not helped at all by the fact that I once worked with someone my age who would say that to clients when he screwed up. It made him sound like an oversized teenager, and it made the office sound...stupid overall, I guess.

I'm also with Melissa on the "stupid busy" thing. This weekend is the Indy 500, and for some crazy reason the drag strip has decided that on the two days when the Race is NOT going on they are going to have drag racing. What the HELL??? says I, don't these people have other lives???! 'parently not, says my brother.

Genevieve said...

Mel & Tom- I was thinking the other day that if i heard James Lipton say "my bad" I would fall over in hysterics.

Mel, Tom, & Christy- It's good to be back (says while slipping on a pair of Blues Bros. style sunglasses, and folds hands behind my head).

Genevieve said...

ps- major blog entry coming after my job hunt today! This is a genuine threat!

Tom said...

Agh! You're such a blog-tease! (Is that acceptable lingo?)

Anonymous said...

So what the hell is a gerund, anyway?

"My bad" - only slightly more annoying than "ginormous" and "fantabulous". I think my brain is bleeding now.

Genevieve said...

Anon - A gerund is a noun that ends in "ing," like "running" as used in the sentence, "Running is a good form of exercise, and an excellent way to break your knees."

The only time "ginormous" is funny is when my friend Jason calls himself "jaynormous."

Tom - I most certainly am a blog tease!...wait, no, scratch that.

Tom said...

I don't mind "ginormous" at all. I guess because it seems to me like it's just goofiness for its own sake, while "my bad" - somehow people seem to think that's actually a real phrase, like you pick it up in English II in fifth grade or something. "Ginormous" also doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is - a deliberate exaggeration, whereas "my bad" seems like its trying to be far more hip or cool.

I could be wrong about all this, and your mileage my vary, but that's my take on the whole thing. I also think "sh*t ton" is funny, but only when one particular friend of mine says it. It must be her tone or attitude or something. Otherwise, that's verging into "my bad" territory, or maybe into "ginormous" territory for some of you.

I've started inventing different exclamations of excellence, because I've gotten sick of how often I personally use "awesome" or "fantastic." I may have used "fantabulous" on occaion, but I think I more than likely went for "fabtastic" or "stupendiffic" or something like that.

Oh, and my word verifictation? "Pubia." Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong.

Tom said...

Today on the phone, my 68-year-old mother made a mistake while speaking to me, went, "Oops!" and then said - and I quote directly here: "My bad."

I was so stunned I couldn't even laugh. I honestly didn't even know she knew the phrase. Holy crap.

Genevieve said...

Tom, that is majorly fucked up.

Tom said...

Isn't it, though? I thought maybe I was overreacting. I told a friend of mine, and he said, "Did you just sit there in stunned silence?" So, no, not overreacting. It's just weird.

Cher said...

Welcome back!