A time for everything

Tonight has been about as far from best as it could get without moving into tragic. Actually, it started last night while talking to a friend.

This weekend is shaping up to be pretty craptastic, which sparked a conversation where I apparently shared more than I meant to and in hindsight probably should have. It happens to me frequently (seriously, the archive here will give you an idea of what i mean in about 2 posts). While I was slightly concerned at the time, I thought it would work itself out.

But I ended up seeing this friend and could tell that something had changed – a new distance existed between us. (which, to be completely fair, I was probably helping to create)

Well it became overwhelming as my attempts to leave were thwarted by insane Fri. traffic. So I turned to the only place where I figured I could safely scream into the void – Twitter.

Unexpectedly, a friend responded with kindness. Equally unexpected was the obnoxious response from someone I’m not entirely sure follows me. My handle there, as here, is EnglishNerd, and this random person opted to call me out on my sentence construction. (and called my name ironic because of the tweet’s awkwardness, as though being a nerd about English automatically demands perfection)

What an unhelpful douche. I could see commenting on a thoughtfully written blog piece about the awkward phrasing but not on a tweet. Especially one that is written for the emotion instead of the content.

Yes, clear language conveys intended meaning most effectively, but the decision to respond to someone’s writing with a criticism should be balanced by the context of the writing. Tweets do not equal formal writing or necessitate clear communication. They function more as overheard bits of information. Plus the condescension served only to annoy me further. And then post a rant here, so perhaps it wasn’t all bad.

There is a time for everything, but occassionally it takes some thoughtfulness and compassion to see when the time comes.