My Favorite Word

One night, after I had gotten off work at the CCRA where I was employed on the afternoon shift, my friend and I decided to have a few drinks. We, the afternoon shift, were in the habit of going for drinks or something social after work since we all got off at 11pm when the night was still young (as were we).

We stopped by a co-workers house and had a few drinks and jam sessions downstairs and gossiped about office romances and who was the fattest on our floor and commenced about the usual talk that co-workers who become friends immerse themselves in.

Around 1:30am my friend and I left our co-workers house and were in a bit of a quandary. It was too late to hit the bars as they closed at 2am and it was too late to buy more alcohol as all the beer and wine stores were closed, so what were we to do? Neither of us felt like going home and since we enjoyed each other’s company so much, we decided to sit in the car and continue the meandering path of our conversation.

At 2:30am we were still sitting in the car talking when I suddenly blurted out “Do you know what my favorite word is? Recognize.” “And why is that?” he asked. “Well,” I replied, “recognize is so much more than just remembering someone or something. It’s more than just a ‘hey, I know you from somewhere’. To me, recognize is like a process that repeats itself in your very conscious. The word ‘recognize’ itself is made up of a prefix ‘re’ and a derivative of the word ‘cognizant’. I can just imagine my brain, neurons and synapses firing, assessing the features of a persons face and matching them up against every entry in the database that is my brain. Recognize, to me, is probably one of my favorite words. The very word itself hides its meaning right in it! There is no need for a description.” “How interesting.” He said, ‘Do you know what my favorite word is?” “No, what is it?” “Bludgeon.” “Why?” “No reason, I just like the way it sounds.”

I’ve since stopped sharing what my favorite word is.

Dennis Miller

I hate to go off on a rant here, but what is the purpose of using a blog as a work reference for freelance writing work?

To preface - I have finally realized my life long dream of criticizing peoples use of the English language and started CunningLinguists as a side business. What do I do you may be asking yourself with bated breath....well, simple - editing, writing, proofreading and translating, though my translating is limited right now to Italian to English (and vice versa) and ESLglish to English...

One of my clients gave me access to a site www.freelanceswitch.com where I have been applying for contracts and the one thing that has struck me regarding all of this is that not only do some of these potential clients want writing samples, they want your blog too.

Now, to me, my blog is something personal which as I stated on my other blog (Adventures in Tuscany)in January I hoped to use to keep in touch with family and friends. Yes, I'm cheap. But more seriously, I write about things that the average person wouldn't know or even care about. I'm using the blog so I don't have to write the same email out multiple times and then worry that I missed someone when I send it.

I write about packing and I write about things my daughter is doing and I write about Alessio and even sometimes my feelings. Do I really want someone using my thoughts and feelings against me to determine whether I'm worth writing the copy for their website, or worse, that I couldn't edit theirs?

I wonder, should I start another blog and write strictly about business related things and how much I love to be part of the team but also cherish those moments I can work alone? Should I write about my hatred of office politics only to follow it up with a later blog stating that I finally understand the 'big picture' so that those potential clients who might be worried about my ability to blend in (albeit only with the written word) can breathe a sigh of relief when I sign their NDA? What does one do in this situation?

Maybe I should Google it......