Warning - Rant

Alright, I will hold my hands up. I am a spelling freak. Not only that, but I can be pretty finicky about grammar. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

What brings me to write this blog post?

Well, as part of my new job, I'm using the internet even more than before (less lolcats and general nerdiness being downloaded sadly) so I've been accessing a lot more websites than usual.

It has been an experience. Some of the grammar and spelling errors on all kinds of websites are unbelievable! Whatever about the old school dancing baby style graphics and broken links etc., I'm talking about basic grammar and spelling here.

Although spotting things like this on Facebook puts my teeth on edge, it's a social media site where people engage with each other, not a spelling bee.

But surely on a business site, you'd think there'd be someone there to proofread things before it was put on the site?

Personally it puts me off the page or company, one particular wedding supplier actually used a capital letter for each word, which completely put me off. Can you imagine if they made wedding videos?

'The Beautiful Morning Of June Sixth When David And Laura Became Man And Wife At The Church Of St. Paul.' 

It hurt to type that.

Luckily, the folk at the Oatmeal have put my irks into a fun cartoon. Full link here.

Yes, I know I'm a complete and utter nerd about this, but it grinds my gears! In short, try hitting F7 to check your spelling and grammar. Go on, it feels good! 

Shopping Madness!

I am channeling 'Old Mother Hubbard' as of late, so decided that grocery shopping must be done! Usually I have someone with me for grocery shopping, but today I was on my own-io so just rolled with it. And then the stress began! It's only when it's broken down into little pieces that I realised how much is involved with something as basic as going to buy food!Perhaps I hit the shop on a busy day or just when the trolley enthusiasts were out, but I'll relay my story anyway.

OK, bags in the car first of all, I never have enough freezer bags yet the house is falling down with 'Bags for Life' of all shapes and sizes as I never remember to bring one with me. Forget bags for life, I have bags for a lifetime, which I may just pass onto my kids (chances are the house will still be falling down with them!)

I don't know about you, but I can never remember which shop trollies take €1 or €2 coins, nine times out of ten I'm left hanging around outside like a vagrant waiting to exchange the right coin for the fistful of change I usually have! (And I almost always end up with a 'wonkey donkey' trolley that has one crazed wheel!)

I'm a big believer in lists, if I didn't write lists then things wouldn't get done! So I always write a list, otherwise I'd probably come out with only half of what I need and something random like a foot spa!
Also, I've noticed a definite increase in, what can only be described as 'Trolley Warriors'. Seriously though, these people are the kind that probably don't use their indicators in their cars. They are a law unto themselves up and down the aisles. Almost had a head on collision with one of them, open your eyes peeps!

I've also noticed more 'Squeezers', now I'll holds my hands up, I do squeeze food like bread, fruit, veg etc to check for freshness. But a new breed has come to the forefront, come forth the 'Sniffers'! I'm pretty sure one woman was attempting to inhale a lemon she was sniffing that hard, is this a new thing? Have I missed a newsletter?

Food Sniffers - Coming soon to a store near you!

 So after all the shopping is in the trolley, off to the cashier I trot. Which leads to what can only be described as the 'Cashier Mambo'. It's a bit like changing lanes on the motorway, one seems to be moving, then the moment you join it comes to a standstill.

When I experience shopping like this I can completely understand why online shopping has taken off. Yet when you've a friend or significant other with you, you can laugh off all these mad moments. Shopping is definitely a 'team sport', so make sure you've chosen a decent team member, or at least someone with lots of €1 and €2 coins!