Sometimes I get too wrapped up in my world of punctuation and grammar, and I have a hard time deciphering what people are saying. This became a real problem today in emails I was trading.
Three o'clock rolled around, and I started emailing people in the search for AN ad that plays tomorrow. First on the list is an associate of mine I only deal with maybe three times a month.
“Hey dude, anything new for that car dealership?” I asked him
To which he promptly emailed back:
“I like you...are waitin!”
I instantly shot back from my computer, aghast at this man's admission! He likes me? Why? How? Like a friend? Is he coming on to me? What the hell is that about? He must mean he likes my promptness and professionalism. Yeah, that must be it.
So I called in a coworker to help me assess the situation. His eyebrows raised after reading the email and was equally confused. He agreed that it was out-of-line and weird. But I couldn't settle for just one opinion, so I sent it to my office neighbour Ashley to take account of as well.
She was just confused as to why I had even bothered to forward the email to her.
“What's the big deal?” she asked.
“He said he likes me Ashley! What do I even say to that?”
“Ohhh, no Jake. What he meant to say was 'I, like you, are waiting.'” She replied “He forgot a comma.”
What a relief! Things were about to get really awkward between myself and this guy. I was on the verge of giving the client to someone else so I wouldn't be hit on by this dude.
So in the end, I got the info I needed, and figured out I wasn't BEING hit on. The moral of the story is that I guess I need to ease up on my cavalier Grammar Nazi attitude. As evidenced today, not everyone is a pro at punctuation.
So to those of you who just don't give a damn:
You did good. You did real good.
7 comments:
Jake, this happens to me as well from time to time. Emails are a terrible cancer on society. I had to stop using sarcasm in emails because it's so hard to convey tone. But I have had a very similar situation confound me happen to me in an email. The difference was my friend who neglected punctuation is gay. I've know him forever but I hastily called him up and said "What the fuck is that supposed to me mother fucker".
Punctuation, she is a fickle bitch
Of course, you meant to write "searching for AN ad" and "wasn't BEING hit on". . .
Steven H.
The your/you're, there/their/they're and to/too/two get me all kinds of pissed off. I have physically walked to the person who hath grievously erred and lectured - at length - about how to differentiate between the above.
"I, like you, are waiting" is still WRONG.
It should be: I, like you, AM waiting. If you take out the "like you" it would read "I am waiting" and not "I are waiting."
Yet another reason I like you!
Johnathan and I like to play a game in the car that involves moving the commas in sentences around. Yeah we're total nerd but it's hilarious.
Example 'Let's eat Grandma!' or, 'Let's eat, Grandma!' or 'The Panda eats, shoots and, leaves.' or 'The Panda eats shoots and leaves.'
*sigh* I know Chelsea. But one battle at a time.
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