I’m on my way to achieving at least one of my goals.
GOALS VS. OBJECTIVES
But before I talk about that, I wanted to address a point my fiancee brought up about “goals” and “objectives.” She says “goals” are supposed to be generalized while “objectives” are supposed to be specific. Perhaps that’s because she works in an education environment and that’s how they use those two terms. Of course, if I did that, how could I tell you all about SMART goals? So I went to another authority, the dictionary. Merriam-Webster’s definitions of goals and objectives both say about the same thing: the end/something toward which effort is directed.
DECISIONS, DECISIONS
As I promised, I did pick up a copy of The Elements of Style, so that I could re-read it. And I didn’t wait until the weekend, instead picking it up on New Year’s Day. It actually ended up being a harder task than I anticipated. My running late to a New Year’s luncheon didn’t help any, but here were some of the “problems” I had at the Borders at Windward Mall:
First, another grammar book I enjoyed, Eats, Shoots & Leaves (by Lynne Truss, $25) jumped out at me as I wandered the shelves. “Maybe I should get it?” I suggested to my cousin. But then I reasoned that I had already publicly committed to buying The Elements of Style. By the way, that internal struggle took 15 minutes to settle. In the end, I think the only reason I decided not to buy the Truss book is that I didn’t want to spend $25. I guess it’s good to be parsimonious.
With that issue behind me, I had to choose between multiple copies of The Elements of Style (all of them by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White).
There was the paperback for $9.95. But I’m not a big fan of paperbacks, preferring hardcover books instead. And, I had just seen a paperback on Amazon for $3, so it seemed a bit of a premium to pay just to not have to wait.
Then there was the hardcover version of the paperback for $15.95. It was the exact same book, with the same cover design, just being sold for $6 more for the hardcover. It still didn’t “call” to me.
Next up was an illustrated hardcover for $16. Now this was more like it! I thought this might be the one, until…
My eyes caught a look at the unassuming black hardcover near it. The 50th anniversary edition cost $19.95, but as soon as I saw it, I grabbed it and secured it under my arms. I had a winner and I wasn’t going to risk anyone else taking it. And perhaps I’m not as frugal as I thought I was.
CHAPTER 1
I just finished reading Chapter 1 last night. Not that the book is long: 105 pages, including the index. But the material can be quite dense. And if you’re still with me after a post like this, you must really be interested in what I write, or a nerd.
Whatever the reason, you might appreciate this: I hid two “easter eggs” of sorts, one each in yesterday’s and today’s posts. First, I referred to Strunk as William Strunk Jr. today. Second, in writing about my Where’s George? addiction, I included this line:
Only by putting it back into circulation and getting it into others’s hands can we increase our chances that someone else will log the bill and we will increase our George Scores.
These are not mistakes. In fact, I deliberately put them there so someone would comment. In the case of “Strunk Jr.,” we need only look at the part of Rule 3 that says, “Although…Jr., has commonly been regarded as parenthetic, logic suggests that it is, in fact, restrictive and therefore not in need of a comma.” In the case of “others’s,” Rule 1 is absolutely clear, “Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding ‘s. Follow this rule whatever the final consonant.”
Now wasn’t that fun? Honestly, I think these two particular examples are more a matter of personal preference and less so a rule. But if someone chooses to follow them as stated, they definitely aren’t wrong. I can’t wait to get back to the reading.
Mahalo!
[...] http://capsun.org/2009/01/05/revisiting-my-first-goal-for-2009/ Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Crayon Box SurveyIn the spotlightBTT X2 and a day lateMommies who think – Mommies Who Drink [...]