Funny Phone Manners

It's kind of funny that when someone calls a phone number by mistake, we answer, "I think you have the wrong number." Don't we know that it was a wrong number? It just sounds more polite than saying, "You idiot. You called the wrong number."

And when someone needs to get off the phone, you'll hear, "I'd better let you go." This gives the impression that the other person is doing you a favor, but you weren't the one trying to end the call.

An Email Title That Gets My Attention

As a card-carrying member of several employment networking groups, I get a steady stream of emails that contain job leads. Every now and then, among the listings for every job imaginable outside of my field, I see emails with this title: "Success Story." I read every one.

I'm happy for the people who have found work, and I find hope in the fact that somebody is getting hired. Being somewhat analytical (ok, very analytical), I always mine the success stories for nuggets of wisdom. How did they find the job? Did they answer an ad or did they find the position through networking? From what I can gather, people are finding jobs through all sorts of avenues -- ads, networking and even applying to work for Uncle Sam. That just means job seekers should pursue multiple paths to employment. Some paths feel more productive than others, but you never know which one will lead you to the right job.

Cloud Stampede

The wind is a sky cowboy this morning. Its invisible lasso is driving all the clouds eastward, leaving the sunlight free to graze across the blue sky.

Tomorrow's Workers

I'm trying to picture today's teens in tomorrow's workplace. I fear that they will be unable to use an office phone and that their memos will read like text messages. If the brevity of text messaging spills over into their emails, that could be a good thing. However, if they send frequent updates about what they're doing, it may be difficult for them to distinguish between what's important and what's not worth mentioning.

A Useful Skill

My high school teachers may cringe at this, but I can honestly say that typing the right way was one of the most worthwhile things I learned as a teen. When I see people typing with two fingers, I'm grateful for the typing class, which I'm fairly certain was a required one.

At the time, the class didn't seem all that important. Sure, I knew I'd have to write papers in college, but I had no idea how useful typing would be in my everyday life years later. I can't really say that about algebra or trigonometry.

Word Games

If you have a last name that doesn't look the way it sounds, you've probably had to spell it out over the phone. When I do this, I usually include "s like Sam" to make sure the listener doesn't mistake it for an "f."

I have gotten into the habit of using the same words for "s" and "v": Sam and Victor. Just to make things interesting, I should come up with a few crazy words to see if I can crack up the person on the other end of the phone. Superman and Veronica? Spaghetti and volcano? Hmmm. Maybe I'll try that one.

A poetry teacher once led a creative exercise that challenged us to use words to represent letters. I still remember her example: naughty xylophones.

If you have used any funny, interesting or unusual words to spell out your name, please post them in a comment.

A Happy Day for Writers

I've often scoffed at the crazy things that have their own dedicated day in America. Today is different. It's National Punctuation Day.

My affinity for punctuation is hardly a secret. Here's why I think you should love it too.

When used properly, every comma, period and semicolon has a purpose. Each one helps us communicate ideas to someone else by clearing a pathway through the jungle of thought. Punctuation marks are the grease that keeps words flowing smoothly. They're the bouncers who let you into the hip club of someone else's ideas. Without them, we'd still be standing on the sidewalk wondering what we were missing.

For the Rest of Us, Writing Replaces a Super Memory

The other day, I read about a handful of people who've been identified as having "super" memories. They can recall minute details from nearly every day since their ages were in the single digits.

Although I'm glad I'm not one of those gifted people, I think it would be neat to be able to use that talent selectively. Who wouldn't want to remember more details of the good memories and fewer of the bad? Maybe the great memories can be reinforced by frequent recollection of them. That's where writing comes in. Writing allows us to express our thoughts and the emotions we had at the time. It also allows us to revisit those moments later, after some of the details have become overshadowed by others.

Life With a Soundtrack

Music makes life better.
It's the friend who distracts me while I'm waiting for an appointment or sitting in the dentist's chair.
It can shorten a long drive.
It can push me to walk longer or finish all the chores.
It can boost my mood.
It can stir up memories or burn new ones into my mind.
It emboldens me.
It can make me dance or help me relax.

I cannot imagine life without music.

Knock, Knock. Vote for Me.

This is the time of year to be prepared for a sales pitch when you open your door. Ding dong. It's a politician who wants to keep his job. Knock, knock. A couple of days later, it's the person who wants to take his job. Then it's a child selling something for school or sports or whatever.

All of this comes after a number of landscapers, roof repairmen and painters dropped off fliers because they were looking for work. That started after the mailings directed to new homeowners who might need a dentist, a vet or a handyman. Apartment life never looked so good.

Nighttime Rain

A gentle rain sounds best when it waits until the end of the day to fall. It washes away the day's rough spots and readies the mind for sleep. It is not like the strong, angry wailing of an obstinate toddler, but rather like a soft flow of tears brought on by a sad movie. It is cleansing, soothing, cathartic even. It lends a sense of peacefulness along with the reassurance that everything will look better tomorrow with a fresh mist of raindrops sprinkled over it all.

Let's Talk

Call it venting.
Call it getting things off your chest.
Sometimes people need to talk things through without any expectation of a plan of action growing out of it. It's up to the listener to decide whether the speaker is looking for suggestions or if he just wants to be heard.

How Many Writers Does it Take to Change a Light Bulb?

I had to replace three spent light bulbs the other day. These are the latest in a series of bulbs that appear to have been expertly timed to expire just months after we took ownership of the house.

I do believe that there is nothing that gives such immediate satisfaction for so little effort and so little time as changing a light bulb. I guess that's why there are so many jokes about how many people it takes to complete this simple task.

I was amused when I read the note on the back of the little halogen light bulb package. It said, "Do not touch lamp." OK, do you mean the bulb or the lamp it's going into? Be specific! And if I'm not supposed to touch the bulb, how am I supposed to get it into the puck light under the cabinet? Levitation? And why am I not supposed to touch the bulb? Will it deform my hand and leave me unable to type with both hands? I am not about to compromise my typing speed for the sake of a little bulb!

I thought for a minute and realized that what they meant was to avoid transferring oil from my skin onto the bulb. I stuck my hand into a plastic sandwich bag, grabbed the bulb and put it into the puck light.

I guess it takes only one writer to change a light bulb, but it will take her a bit longer than most people because she will dwell on how clearly the instructions are written on the bulb package.

Getting Ahead by Taking Criticism

No matter what field you're in, it can be difficult to accept criticism of your work. But sometimes that criticism is the very thing that pushes us to be better.

Ever since the current judging system was put in place, figure skaters have been obsessing over their score numbers, right down to the decimal point. After a competition, they want to know how they were judged on each element of a program and what they did wrong. They take that information and use it to make their next performance better. If they launched a jump from the wrong edge of the blade, they work on it. If a jump did not have enough complete rotations, you can bet they will try to improve that.

What a great example for those of us who are competing in a different type of arena: take the comments and criticisms and use them to make yourself unbeatable.

A Simple, Yet Powerful Gesture for Uncivil Times

With all the boorish outbursts making headlines lately in sports, politics and the music world, the power and civility of a lovely thank you note cannot be underestimated. (A good apology goes a long way, too.)

Thank you notes can help a job seeker stand out in a sea of candidates. They can also let a network contact know that his or her time was well spent with a job seeker. A thank you note assures the giver that a gift sent through the mail arrived safely. It also tells a wedding guest or baby shower guest that the time and money he or she spent on a gift is appreciated. And don't think that people won't notice if gifts for those major life events go unthanked. They'll notice. And they'll remember.

My friend, Nancy, writes the best thank you notes of anyone I know. In addition to thanking me for whatever I gave her at the time, she always reiterates how much she values our friendship. Reading a thank you note from her makes me feel good. That's what every thank you note should do for its recipient.

Taking the Long-Term View

Financial advisors have been telling their nervous clients to think long-term during this recession. While many of them are trying to keep investors from pulling out of the stock market, they do have a point. When you're focused on what you've lost or what's happened in the past, it's hard to look ahead.

Sometimes, taking the long-term view is helpful when making decisions -- financial or otherwise. Priorities surface when we measure tasks, concerns and opportunities against the yardstick of what matters most to us in the long run. Business managers talk about the return on investment, or what you can expect to get back from what you put in. In personal life, it's harder to measure because the payoff is full of intangibles like happiness. Even so, taking a long-term view can lend some clarity when making decisions today.

Companies Differ in Approaches to the Salary Issue

As a job seeker, I like to see how different employers address the salary issue when advertising a position. Lately, a lot of them are asking applicants to state what amount they want at the time of resume submission. Some even say they won't consider an application without this information. Some companies will give a salary range for the job. Others don't reveal the salary, but they don't ask what a candidate wants to earn either.

A few employers, however, are very specific, right down to dollars and cents. One employer stated the dollar amount that the candidate would be paid. Right next to that, it said, "Not a penny more."

I Must Really Be Stumped for a Blog Topic if I'm Writing About Football

It's fall and everyone seems to be in a frenzy about football. Around here, people are nuts for Ohio State. They have OSU flags in their yards, for Pete's sake. I don't think I've ever lived in a place more gung-ho about a college team. If I knew someone on the team, I might be able to get a little bit interested.

It can be tough living in Browns territory. Some of the cashiers at the grocery store don't want to touch the environment-friendly Steelers bags that my husband bought. Seriously. I actually encountered a male cashier who intentionally used all the generic bags in order to avoid dealing with the Steelers ones.

How To Write a Headline Better Than This One

What makes a person read beyond a headline? Is it the topic that's of interest or the way the headline is written? I think it's a little bit of both.

I must confess that I will read the first few sentences of a sports story if the headline makes me curious. Anyone who knows me is aware of my minimal interest in any sport beyond figure skating, which is a sport, by the way. That's a blog topic for another day. My point is, if a headline on a sports story is good, even I might read the first few paragraphs of the story.

Headline writing is harder than people think. The writer has to get his point across in very few words or lose the reader's attention forever. Short verbs are really good for this, which explains the popularity of words like "mulls," "nixes" and "hikes" in news headlines.

So, how do you write a good headline? Think about how you would describe the plot of a movie to someone who hasn't seen it. You'd just give a summary, right? Take that summary and boil it down even more. Let's say there was a new character limit on Twitter and you had to make your description even shorter. Strip the description down to the bare bones. Leave out the details. Just give the important stuff. There's your headline.

If you get stuck, start with a subject and a verb and build from there.

Remembering 9/11

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, I was sitting at my desk at work. As I edited a mayor's letter for an economic resource guide we were working on for Jersey City, N.J., I got a call from one of my writers. Her voice sounded fearful and I didn't know why. When she explained what she was seeing on TV, I couldn't believe what she was describing.

Meanwhile, the people in Jersey City were watching the horrific events unfold across the Hudson River. The twin towers had been the focal point of the New York City skyline that Jersey City residents saw from across the water every day. Now these seemingly indestructible buildings, these symbols of American wealth and power, were burning and collapsing with human beings inside.

The days immediately after 9/11 were strange. Everything seemed quieter. While my rational side told me my building would not be attacked, I felt grateful to be working in a first-floor office anyway.

Three days after the attacks, I wanted to back out of the dinner plans my husband and I had made with friends. Although I didn't know anyone who perished in the attacks of 9/11, I was saddened, outraged and frightened by the events. I didn't feel like going out. We went anyway, and the restaurant hostess invited everyone outside for a candlelit tribute to the attack victims.

In the weeks that followed, I looked through the layout for the Jersey City guide. I asked the artist to remove any photos of the World Trade Center and replace them with something else. I reworded a sentence that talked about the explosive growth of business in Jersey City. It didn't seem right to use the word "explosive" when talking about a place so close to one of the attack sites.

Today, when I see images of the twin towers in old movies or TV shows, it's still hard to believe the towers aren't there anymore. And harder yet to imagine the loss that victims' loved ones must still be feeling years later.

Cool Things That Happened Before My Time

While I fully appreciate the modern conveniences that are part of life in the present day, I think it's fun to wonder what it would have been like to live during a different time. Here are some things that would have been cool to witness or experience firsthand:

• Watching one of Shakespeare's plays being performed for the first time
• Riding in an original Ford Model T
• Seeing one of the first movies to have sound added
• Buying an "Extra, Extra" edition of a newspaper from a newsboy
• Attending a formal ball while wearing an amazing gown
• Rejoicing in the news that World War II was over

Please feel free to add to my list by making a comment.

Crawling Through More Smoke (2009)

Yesterday, I wrote about my experience with a firefighters' training exercise that took place in a smoke-filled garage. I see a lot of similarities between that garage and the transition to my next job.

I can't see what's ahead, and there are lots of obstacles in the way.
I know everything will work out, but it's still scary sometimes.
It's hard to maneuver through the haze of uncertainty, but there is solid ground beneath me.
I don't know when I'll emerge from this transitional place, but I do feel that there are many people helping me to find my way to the exit.

Crawling Through the Smoke

When I wrote a feature story once about local firefighters, I gained a real appreciation of the dangers that come with the job. This is the part of the story that didn't get into print.

The fearless, burly men had enjoyed piling heavy gear on me, a skinny girl who said she was game for a training drill. They had filled a storage garage with non-toxic smoke and placed obstacles on the floor. The assignment was to rescue the dummy inside the garage.

As instructed, I dropped to the floor and started to crawl while gripping the pant leg of the firefighter on the floor ahead of me. Darkness and smoke enveloped me and made me feel disoriented. My senses were useless to me, except for the sense of touch. Even that didn't tell me much. I knew the building was small and that I wasn't really in danger, but I was scared anyway. I hadn't crawled very far when I told the firefighter I was ready to get out.

It felt good to leave the building and see sunlight again. When the firefighters cleared the smoke out of the garage, I took another look inside. Now devoid of smoke and filled with light, the building looked like a completely different place. It seemed so harmless that I felt embarrassed about the fear I had felt moments earlier.

Years later, that memory remains vivid. I hope I never need to get through a real fire, but if I do, I'll try to remember to crawl and feel my way out.

A Battle That Never Ends

In adults, creativity can get shoved aside by its pushy, loudmouthed sibling, practicality. The two carry on a battle inside our heads. On one side of the head, a girl in a flowered dress paints the air with a palette that's constantly changing color. On the other side is her older brother, who carries a to-do list and wears work boots and overalls.

Creativity says, "Use your hands and your mind to create beautiful things."
Practicality says, "Use your hands and your mind to do things that have tangible value."

And the rest of the brain tries to find a compromise between the two.

Our Trip With Fay

About this time last year, our vacation trip had an uninvited guest: Tropical Storm Fay. We had planned our Walt Disney World trip months earlier, only to question whether we would be going at all.

Every time we checked The Weather Channel, the forecasters predicted rain. We had two choices: stay or go. We bought rain parkas and went ahead with our plans. All of our flights went fine, but the first three days of our trip were very rainy. We had to let our shoes and socks dry out each night. The parkas did a fairly good job of protecting everything else.

For three days, the crowds at Walt Disney World were lighter than I had ever seen them. Some attractions were closed and a parade had to be called off because of the weather. Rain in Disney World is like snow in the South -- they don't know what to do with it. I remember walking on curbs because the walkways were flooded with several inches of water. There isn't a lot of shelter at Disney World either. This is something you don't realize until you're looking for a roof to stand under for a few minutes while deciding where to go next.

On the fourth day, the skies cleared up, the rain stopped and the temperature started to climb. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, yet we'll probably remember those rainy days for a long time.

Don't Bet on Me in an Eating Contest

I've always been a slow eater and I can't explain why. Put me at a table with just about anyone and I'll usually finish last. Waitresses have tried to pull plates out from under me before I was finished. They've also asked about dessert when I'm barely halfway through dinner. In their defense, though, my husband's plate is usually nearly empty when they are asking.

Poor hubby has probably wasted hours of his life waiting for me to finish a meal. He grew up in a large family where eating slowly may have cost a person part of his portion. Dawdle too long and the sibling nearby might scoop up a few bites.

I've heard that it's a good thing to eat slowly because it gives your brain time to realize your stomach is full. I guess that's one advantage of eating slowly.

Words I Would Like an Excuse to Use

I think I wrote about one plane (actually just a little ultralight) crash when I was a reporter, but I can't remember if I got to use the word "fuselage." There's something cool about the word. Too bad there aren't more opportunities to use it. I'm not hoping for any crashes, but that seems to be the only time the word "fuselage" gets used. Hey, I just got to use it twice now.

Here's another good one: "scofflaw." How often can you use that? I saw it in a news story yesterday and my eyes widened at the sight of it. I quietly wished I had written the story. Is that considered word usage envy?

A Rematch of Sorts

I just heard that American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert tweeted about his album's release date.

First, I have to say that I love that we can still call it an album even though it's really a CD or an mp3 file.

Second, it will be interesting to see how many albums fan favorite Lambert sells compared to AI winner Kris Allen. Both albums are reportedly due out in November.

My money's on Lambert. I think he is the more talented of the two.
People voted with their phones. Let's see how they vote with their hard-earned cash.

In Praise of the Pen

I had to smile at a network contact's recent observation: "Writers like pens."

I was glad to know that others share my affinity for what may seem like outdated instruments in these keyboard-centric times. Although I write faster by typing on a keyboard than by putting pen to paper, I still like pens.

Over the years, friends have given me high-quality pens as gifts. My definition of a high-quality pen is one that you refill with ink instead of just tossing the whole pen when the ink's gone. While these pens look shiny and pretty on my desk, they don't always measure up to the cheap ones. For one thing, the metal of a more expensive pen can make it heavy to hold.

For me, the true test of a good pen is how easily it glides across the page. The ideal pen is lightweight and drops ink in a smooth, non-globby, non-skipping way that doesn't impede the flow of words.

When I was reporting, I found a pen that met my standards. It was a cheap Office Plus pen that I bought by the box at a local office supply store. Nothing could fly across my reporter's notebook like those babies. And believe me, when you're taking notes, you need a fast pen. You could miss a good quote while waiting for the pen to catch up.

Although I'm not taking notes for a living right now, I still use pens every day. Most people do; they just don't think much about them...unless they're writers.

Something to Ponder

You know you're an adult when the super-sweet cereals you loved as a kid don't appeal to you anymore.