Things I do not understand:

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The word “sigh”
What about the combination of the letters S-I-G-H makes people think of the actual act of sighing? When I sigh, I don’t say “Siiiiiiigh.” I don’t understand. I am perplexed.

“Dilemma” vs. “dilemna”
A few years ago, my dad asked me how I spelled the word “dilemma.”

“D-I-L-E-M-M-A.”

He and my mom looked at each other flabbergasted, shaking their heads, saying, “No! It is not a double M! It has an N: D-I-L-E-M-N-A.” Dilemna. Really? A silent N? Both of my parents agreed that as children, this was the way they had learned to spell the word – although I have yet to find a dictionary or source that validates or explains historically the “mn” spelling.

A quick internet investigation proved that my parents are not delusional (even though we Parsons kids definitely accused them of being such) – it seems as if an entire generation was taught to spell this word in a way that is no longer recognized as legitimate. Why? If it works for “solemn” or “condemn,” why not “dilemna”?

Computer storage
I have no idea what a KB or an MB or a GB is. I don’t know what’s the biggest. I don’t know how much space I have left on my Macbook, and I don’t know how to check. I don’t know how to conserve room. I don’t know what to get rid of. I have no concept of how big a Word document or a picture or an mp3 is. I might be ready to explode, but I won’t know until it’s too late. The same is true when it comes to guacamole.

Buy one get one free
Why can’t I just… get one free?

But one thing I DO understand:
It’s raining! Its raaaaaaaiiining in Nashville!!! Let’s sing the “Doxology.”

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7 Comments

  1. MB on September 5, 2008 at 9:00 AM

    You make me laugh.

  2. Marijke on September 5, 2008 at 10:30 AM

    because it has an A after the MN?

    That’s why.

  3. Tad on September 5, 2008 at 1:42 PM

    KB=Kilobyte, MB=Megabyte (1024 KB), GB= Gigabyte (1024 MB) the unit of measure for memory space.

    How about the spelling of “center” (USA) and “centre” (UK)?

  4. erin on September 5, 2008 at 2:35 PM

    things i do not understand: FAX machines. ok, just one thing. my fantastical brain understands everything else.

  5. Annibelle on September 5, 2008 at 3:19 PM

    I take it you’ve had yourselves a dry summer?

    BTW, it was lovely to finally meet you and hang out in the land of wonder (aka Anthropologie)

  6. Anonymous on September 5, 2008 at 5:04 PM

    Simplifying what tad said,
    Kilo means a thousand
    Mega means a million
    Giga means a billion

    Each is 1000 times the smaller one.

  7. breepick on September 5, 2008 at 9:07 PM

    “The same is true when it comes to guacamole.” LOL!! Wha?!?! Bwah ha ha ha!!!

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