You might not know it by reading my blog, but one of the reasons I have this thing is to improve my writing skills. Every now and then, when I have time away from bitching about shitty customer service and offending 90% of the population by implying they can’t think rationally, I puruse writing self-help sites and try to glean some wisdom from the gurus of the blogosphere.
The other day, I came across a tidbit that advises to let your blog posts “marinate” a bit before posting them. I know that, often, to meet my self-imposed goal of at least one post per day, I hastily rattle something off only to regret it later. Perhaps I should let things stew a bit and then review them before clicking the “Publish” button.
This reminds me of a deal my former office mate, Paul, and I once had to protect each other’s jobs.
Paul’s and my desks were separated by a thin cubicle partition. Luckily, we really liked each other and got along smashingly. Often, we’d find ourselves allied against our tyrannical boss, a maverick from the croporate world whose style and manner did not quite gel with the University environment.
Paul and I would frequently find ourselves frustrated to the point of irritation by her ill-conceived ideas and be driven to fire off poison-tounged responses to her emails. After a couple awkward callings-to-the-carpet, we decided to send any emails directed at her to each other first, then wait overnight and discuss the messages the next day. I can’t think of a single instance in which the unedited original was sent, and we both kept our jobs longer than she did.
