A Trial of Patien'e.

[Adelina]

Here is an e'er'ise for you to try if you want to 'hallenge your mind, or are just bored. Pi'k a letter or two from your keyboard, and then try to type e'erything you need to type without using those letters. Go ahead, try it. It's ama'ing when you reali'e just how mu'h you use those stupid four letters on the lower left of the keyboard. They must all be on the same 'ir'uit, and apparently they share it with the "enter" button, whi'h is also on strike (fortunately, there's another one o'er to the right where the numbers li'e).

Probably owing to being raised by an English major, I am rather a sti'kler for spelling, and am also quite spe'ifi' about whi'h word I want to use as a des'riptor at a parti'ular point when writing. I like to be pre'ise when it 'omes to nuan'es of meaning. Ergo, this is getting 'ery irritating and annoying.

"But, adelina," you may well be saying, "why not just go out and buy a new keyboard?" Good question, my young apprenti'e. Be'ause, I ha'e a penny-pin'hing husband who is holding the budget hostage sin'e we just bought a house and are not sure what our monthly e'penses will look like yet. Or, be'ause he's a big pain in the butt. Maybe I'll get lu'ky, and his ne't sleepwalking ad'enture will take him to the nearby Wal-mart, straight to the ele'troni's department! The other night he put the laundry in the free'er in his sleep, so there 'ould be hope.