June Results!

The month of June was the perfect month for the Word Challenge. With all the changes that took place in June (new job + moving), the task of looking up the word of the day, learning it and then trying to use it in conversation wasn't as easy as I first thought it would be. With just about any other challenge on this years list I would have been set up to fail, but the "ease" of a conversational challenge and the busyness of this month made for an interesting month.

I downloaded Dictionary.com's word of the day notification on my iPod touch months ago. I set up an RSS feed pulling in the word of the day years ago, but they just pilled up and I never got around to learning anything new. This month, I erased everything and started fresh. "One day at a time". But as the days got busier, and my interactions with people became less frequent it became difficult to use often times, obscure words. Not to mention I wasn't going to foist these words upon my friends willy-nilly.

With much lucubration I had to figure out a way to make this work. If I could, I could be Wordsworth. What's that popular saying? "A proper word a day makes the ladies say: you are the coolest guy I've ever met." Something to that effect.

Challenge Result: PASSED


Analysis:

I'm calling this one a pass, but there definitely were some hiccups and some disappointments. There were times when the word of the day would have fit perfectly with the conversation at hand (Eisegesis), but then I'd forget how to pronounce it. One stipulation I set for myself was to learn these words and use them in a manner that made sense and say it properly. I wouldn't fail necessarily if I didn't use ALL the words in every day conversation as long as I was learning them, using most of them and on a daily basis. They days I couldn't use them in person I'd communicate them electronically, which in an age of "lollicopters and Ben ROFLisbergers" I suppose I was still accomplishing the goal, even if it felt like a shortcut.

Though there were days were the words didn't flow as naturally in conversation, I consider this a challenge because I did learn each of these words, and attempt to use them naturally. Even if it was just answering the Question of the Month "What's today's word?" The point of this blog is to live life with new experiences, to grow, to learn and to share. I haven't retained every word this month, but I have learned a few new ones, and that's the goal.

Credit: Rob Peterson

Towards the end of the challenge, I was getting off of the freeway and I rolled down my window to use sirocco on a homeless man. It was hot out, no cyclone, but still, there was definitely an oppressive wind. I wasn't going to just use this man for my challenge, I provided him with an avocado recently purchased at a Farmer's Market. Before I could impress him with my vocabulary he shocked me with , "this is perfect! I'm a vegetarian so I'm glad you gave me this".

Favorites:

Pecksniffian - Another great word I can use on all you troglodytes.
Catarrh - Even though everyone thought I was saying guitar, walking around Griffith Park talking about my "catarrh problem" with Jen Glen was a hoot.
Catawampus - No explanation needed.


P.S. Sub Challenge: FAILED

No one called me out on using certain four letter words like dude! The closest anyone got to calling me out was Miss Victoria Riley using it in an email. You know I have to read words out loud! I do believe I cut down on useless words like "stuff and thing" but no one won a free taco. I guess its hard to go social when its just the four of us. :)


I know a few people attempted to play along this month, how did it go?