Abbrevs.

Yesterday was my dad's birthday. (Happy Birthday, Dad! The part of my soul that isn't near death loves my family, FYI.)

Funny I say FYI because I would like to discuss abbreviations today. As I was scanning my dad's birthday wishes yesterday, I came across this one: HBD. Really? Do we really have to use abbreviations for every flippin' word these days? (And I'm not talking about twitter because sometimes we have to get creative using the 140 character limit.) But, come on. I timed it. Writing out the words "Happy Birthday" takes approximately 3 more seconds than using the newfound abbreviation, HBD. You can't spend three extra seconds to wish someone you care about a happy birthday by spelling it out? If you can't spare a mere three seconds for this person, why are you wishing them a happy birthday anyway?

Some abbreviations have become widely used and are second nature to us such as FYI, ASAP & BTW. Some, not so much, however, I encourage you to know the right abbreviation for a word before you make an "educated" guess.

I have seen such abbreviations appear on my facebook and twitter feeds respectively: *$, meaning Starbucks and Dunkies for Dunkin Donuts. These top notch coffee extraordinaries already have other widely used abbreviations, Starbucks being SBUX and Dunkin Donuts is a simple...wait for it...DD. Perhaps you "visionaries" know this and were just trying to be "cute" or something, but honestly, it just makes you look corny. Maybe you think your abbreviation is better than the one EVERYONE ELSE uses, but apparently you are alone in your assumption. Please remove "trendsetter" from your bucket list. It's unachievable. Dunkies Dude, you even could have spared 5, glorious characters tweeting DD.  Think about it. Not cute or creative, just annoying.

Then, my favorite, you have the brainstormers who use a correct abbreviation, however for the WRONG WORD.  I have recently seen this headline come from a high-profile, entertainment news blog. "Khloe + Lamar Call From Robert's Colonic Apt???"

We are talking about the Kardashians, here. This is not surprising. What is surprising however, is the abbreviation for apartment (Apt.) being used instead of the abbreviation for appointment (Appt.). I am not a rocket scientist, but I am going to guess that Robert was at a colonic appointment, not a colonic apartment. *Shrugs*

Perhaps this blogger accidentally missed a "p" or perhaps he/she (I'm being nice doing this) really didn't know the proper abbreviation, but editing, spell checking and researching are all great tools, especially when you are in a professional environment. For all of your salary, 401K, benefits and paid vacation and sick days, these kind of mistakes should NOT happen!

In conclusion, LAZY!

Use it right or take an extra three seconds out of your day to spell it out! Rawr!