Spelling and Other Tragedies
Per last week’s post, I have been emailing back and forth with my mother’s friend’s step-son. I have never met him and have only had contact with him via email. Here comes the part where he’s asked me out and I am left with the quandary of whether to go or not.
He seems like a nice guy but am I being too judgmental because he can’t spell? I’m not talking about a few typos. This is a consistent disregard for spell check. In his first email to me he spelled people as “peope.” There are times when I have no idea what he’s saying to me because words are so misspelled.
I don’t mind if people are terrible writers or use the wrong form of “there” or “your.” It happens. But in the age of spell check, how can he not know that this entire thing is wrong: “is it just posted to the websight for the hispital?”
Even as I wrote that, Word corrected hospital for me and I had to go back and un-correct it.
This alone was a minor annoyance until I received an email from him today about our date.
“Thursday is probably better for me. I don’t really know where to go so you’ll have to pic a place! Plus I’ll have to meet you there because I have a DUI and can’t drink and drive. [State name removed]’s tough on DUI’s, they put a breathalizer in my car on my first offense and I was not extesm or anything. Hardly over the limit. It sucks but what can I do. Anyways let me know what’s best for you. That is as ling as you still want to hang with a crimminal!!!!! Talk to you soon!”
At least he used some apostrophes in this one.
We all make mistakes, some of which are DUIs. But is this the appropriate time/way to tell me? He seems just a little too cavalier about it, at least in my estimation.
I’m pretty sure that my life is actually a sitcom. I’m just straining to hear the laugh track.
Lesson learned: I’m not sure. Am I being too harsh and reading too much into email correspondence? Should I give my illiterate pen pal a second chance?
Looks like he’s typing these emails on his phone with auto-correct turned off, so I wouldn’t think much of it. And he might have just got a raw deal on the DUI, so no big deal. However I find his use of 5 exclamation marks after the word “crimminal” to be unforgivable.
I feel your pain. I swear that online dating has made it worse, I’m so fussy about guys and their spelling/grammar now. Here’s one I had to deal with recently – http://wp.me/pASE4-VT