The last job I ever thought I’d have
I know I have a flare for the literary. I was a big reader as a kid, my nose always buried in some book. As an adult I’ve carried this tradition on, spending too much money at Barnes & Nobel every month. I figured that someday I’d write an article for a magazine or SciFi novel, but it was never at the top of my list. I thought that I’d end up working in computers somehow, probably with stuff on the internet.
I never thought I’d be editing other peoples work.
You see I have two faults as a writer. The first my grammar – it isn’t really up to my standards. I have a good persuasive and conversational tone, and can meld the two together with ease. But my skills in technical and “100% proper” grammar have never been my strong point. Not the basic stuff like you’re and your, or their, there, and they’re. More “advanced” stuff like use of – or; or my, penchant, for, comma, usage.
If the above paragraph doesn’t get me fired I don’t know what will.
The second fault I have is my spelling.
I had a teacher in the fourth and fifth grade named Mrs. Davidson, at Otter Lake Elementary School in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. I stayed in touch with her throughout the rest of my public education, and did some work with her classes for a college course later on. She was a great teacher to both my brothers and me, and she always gave me shit about one thing: I couldn’t spell to save my life.
I was in an English class of hers in 2003 helping out and observing for a large college honors report I was doing on power structures in the classroom. She chuckled and motioned for me to come over to her desk, giving me the dreaded two fingered summons.
You know. The kind every teacher can do. Raise their hand above their head, look right at you over their bifocals, put their pointer and middle fingers together and give you the “Come over and receive punishment” motion.
I pop up from my seat at the back of the classroom and walk over between the rows of students, reminiscing that I once led such a simple life of worksheets and crossword puzzles. I take a seat on the chair next to her, smiling. She hands me a spelling test and says softly, “Make sure you know how to spell the words before you tell the class.”
A grin and a chuckle later, she reminded me after first teaching me over 10 years ago that I still didn’t know how to spell worth a damn.
And she was right. One of the words was italicize. Z and not S? News to me.
So this brings me to today, a full 16 years after I first had spelling lessons given to me by Mrs. Davidson. I’m now working as a full time editor for WoW.com (formerly WoW Insider) and amongst other things, every day I correct people on spelling, grammar, and other subtle nuisances of the English language.
It’s absolutely the last job I ever thought I’d have.