I recently saw a graphic posted on Facebook with the following one-liner: "Sadly, the days of people using proper English are went." I found it cleverly drives home the point that many people have become far too lazy to check their IMs and text messages for punctuation and grammar before sending them off. We all have at least one friend or relative who does this, and maybe we're guilty of it ourselves at times. As a writer/editor/proofreader by trade, my writing is usually impeccable. If I happen to notice a misspelling on my part after the text was sent, I'm quick to write the word correctly with an asterisk next to it, letting the recipient know it was done accidentally. I realize that this is to be expected from someone who writes for a living, and that others may not be such sticklers for grammar and spelling when having casual conversations with friends and family. But I just can't help it when people are too sloppy, peppering the conversation w...

I know several people who have 9 to 5 jobs but still do things on the side that they get paid for. For example, my friend Vicky bakes cakes for a few extra bucks, and my friend John supplements his income by fixing computers. What I wonder is if they enjoy doing these things so much that they'd do them for free. In my case, my true passion is writing. I manage this blog on the side to augment my salary as a full-time copywriter. I don't earn much from the ads, but it's something. I love writing so much that I would do it for free if I had to. In fact, I have written content for several websites in the past and not gotten a single cent for it. People who are willing to do something for free probably consider it a hobby or passion of theirs. If they can get paid for it, then that's icing on the cake. I'm fortunate in that my favorite pastime, writing, also happens to be my trade. I can understand why people might be unwilling to do the work for free, thoug...