Poor Spelling Pays Off

Since this blog was initially a writer's blog instead of a personal blog, I decided I'd better add some thoughts on writing now and again.

One of my co-workers sent me an article titled, "The Price of Typos" by Virginia Heffernan. It was printed in The New York Times. In a quick summary, she writes about how spelling errors in the publishing world are becoming more and more common, and editors and authors can both take the blame. But what really stood out to me was her beginning insights to the benefits of poor spelling. And let's be honest--I'm one of the worst spellers in the world. My mom used to ask me, "For one who reads so much, how can you spell so poorly?" I used to ask myself the same question. Fortunately, Ms. Heffernan seems to have an answer (although I didn't agree with everything she wrote). She says:

"Bad spellers, of course, can be sublime writers and good spellers punctilious duds.... A writer with a mind that doesn't register how words are spelled tends to see through the words he encounters--straight to the things, characters, ideas, images and emotions they conjure. A good speller, by contrast--the kind who never fail to clock the idiosyncratic orthography of "algorithm" or "Albert Pujols"--tends to see language as a system. Good spellers are often drawn to poetry and wordplay, while bad spellers, from who language is a conduit and not an end in itself, can excel at representation and reportage."

So there you have it--perhaps being a bad speller is a blessing! I definitely have more of a writer's mind than an editor's, despite my current working position, and I definitely see words for their use in the whole rather than their individual meaning. Words seem to constantly flow into my mind when I write, and I try getting them onto the page as quickly as they come without stopping to worry about spelling. Even when I read, I don't focus on the actual type on the page--I'm too wrapped up in how the words are being used to portray a scene, character, etc. As much as editing can have its moments of pleasure, I'd rather avoid the technical and let someone else worry about it.

After all, I am a writer.

(Now I'm sure all my spelling errors will stand out from this point on.)

True Love

"True love blooms when we care more about another person than about ourselves."

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Married Life

Richard and I have been married for almost 4 weeks now! We're completely moved in and settled into our new apartment, which we LOVE. Duplicate wedding gifts have been returned and other household essentials have been bought with gift cards. I put the kitchen together on Sunday (including drooling over my new Kitchenaid as I took it out of the box), and we even found a new couch and chair from ksl.com a week or two ago, which we're already breaking in. And my favorite part addition to the apartment? Our two new bookcases!!! They're both set up and full of all our books (aka mostly my books, although Richard did have a few to contribute to our library-in-progress). I'll have to post pictures as soon as I remember to take some...

I'm still waiting to get my DVD of photos from our wedding photographer, but as soon as I do, I'll be sure to post my favorites. Sadly, no one seems to have taken pictures of the wedding day except for the photographer and my aunt (life saver!) My aunt even presented us with an album full of her pictures when we returned from our honeymoon. I've posted a few on facebook, so I guess look there if you're interested in wedding photos until I get the professional ones (which I'll post here...someday).

We just returned from our first ward party, and I'm pretty excited about our ward. It seems to have a good blend of young married couples, well-established families, and elderly couples. And everyone seems so friendly! I'm sure they'll put us to work in no time.

In summary, married life is AMAZING. I feel so blessed not only to be married, but to be married to Richard, who is nothing short of perfect. Our first week back to real life, he got up early and made me lunches for work, including writing "Allison Mathews" on the paper bag. He has been a big help putting are apartment together (he makes our bed almost every day!) and being patient with my picky organizing and decorating wants. Perhaps he still doesn't understand why I needed new silverware and real glasses rather than the miss-match forks and spoons and plastic cups, but he has happily gone with the flow and let me do what I want. And I love him even more everyday =)

I'm still in Limbo between being Allison Morgan and Allison Mathews. As hard as I try to introduce myself as Allison Mathews, I'm still technically Allison Morgan until our marriage license arrives in the mail and I can legally change my name. Meanwhile, I have to keep signing with my maiden name since that's what it says on all the cards but practice getting used to being "Sister Mathews" or "Richard's wife"--both GREAT titles =) And practicing my new signature is like learning cursive all over again. How in the world do you go from a cursive "w" to a cursive "s"? But one positive: I now get to cross a "t"!

Well, this is beginning to sound more like one of my journal entries or a rambling voice message more than anything else. What good is a blog if there aren't any pictures? So here are a few from the Utah open-house (sorry there aren't very many, but I wasn't the one behind the camera):

The YUMMY food Richard's mom, sister, and sister-in-law prepared for us.

The guest book table with pictures from our wedding

A few nieces and nephews enjoying the ipad. I'm sure that was the highlight of the party.

Richard and I greeting guests. It was fun meeting so many of Richard's old mission companions and friends from past wards.

Gift opening! All the nieces and nephews wanted a turn "helping" us unwrap our gifts. It may have been close to chaos by the end, but it was a lot of fun. It feels good being an aunt =)