The mistake I made (and others I will likely make in the future)

In grade 4 we received stars for our spelling tests based on how close we were to perfect. Something like a gold star for no mistakes, silver for 1, bronze for 2, etc. I have always been challenged by spelling (I really hated it when I'd ask how to spell something and be told to sound it out. If I knew how to spell it based on it's sound, I wouldn't be asking for help...). I was a good student aside from spelling and eventually my teacher granted me a special star for having only 4 mistakes because I did try and I think I may have been upset that I had very few spelling stars.

I'm also challenged by grammar. I've read several books on the subject (including the popular Eats, Shoots, and Leaves) and I've taken a couple of copy editing courses. Still I tend to apply the rules of the English language in my own unique way. I partly blame the school system, which to my recollection spent very little time on teaching grammar outside of what nouns, verbs, and pronouns were (useful knowledge for playing Ad Libs). The other part is me, I suppose. The rules just won't sink in. I've always had to have someone proof reading my school assignments. My mother when I was younger, my husband after we were married. He says I've improved since when he first read my work, but the typos and other mistakes I make can leave something to be desired (I also fear he's getting too fluent in Andrea-ese to pick up on my errors).

Despite my best efforts to spell-check and proof read my blog posts, errors slip in. I try. I really do. Even in my The Cure manuscript (which has been read by four or five people other than myself) I found errors in my last read-through. Oi. So, when I discovered the typo in my most resent blog post I let out a huge groan. How could I make such a blatant error and not catch it? Admittedly, I sometime forget to check my titles, but still. What, pray-tell is the ESP? E-S-P? Double Oi.

ESO. Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. My apologies.

I know I could have just changed my blog post title. I get about 3 or 4 page hits per post, so it's not as if many people saw my mistake. Still--ugh.

Ciao,

Andrea