“IDK, my BFF Jill!” (aka L+L Lexicon vol. 1)

For as long as I can remember, most people have called me simply “LK.”

I don’t know if the letters just sound good together, or if it’s because my last name is hard to pronounce or what – but whether friends or family members, college professors, friends’ parents, or boyfriends, I have always answered mostly to my initials.

Perhaps THIS explains my affinity for acronyms, initials, and abbreviations. Despite my love for the written word, my desire to be a much better writer than I am, and the fact that I personally administer a grammar and punctuation assessment to at least 3 people every day, I adore acronyms, initials, and abbreviations. I realize it makes me sound like a ‘tween, but I use them constantly. In fact, when this Cingular commercial came out, I got about a zillion phone calls from various people letting me know it made them think of me.

I knew Linds and I would be besties forever when I discovered that she loves acronyms, initials, and abbreviations too.

In the event that you need to translate our conversation, I have compiled a handy-dandy little list that is probably missing quite a few things, but should get you well on your way to being able to decipher what the heck we are saying.

Terms we love:

PLU – People Like Us (I hesitate to spell this out. Because when you know, you know. You know?)
IDK - I don’t know (“idk, idk, I can’t decide…”)
IMY – I miss you
ILY - I love you
NBD - No big deal (or inbd which means it’s no big deal)
NP - No problem
B (fill in the blank) E - Best (whatever) Ever. (ie BPE = Best Party Ever. BGE = Best Girl Ever. BSE = Best Sandwich Ever. etc.)
DIY – Do it yourself (used as little as possible.)
Wigo - What Is Going On (this is a question. Like, “How are you? Wigo?” Thanks, Mer.)
Bestie – Best Friend (Note: this applies to a far larger group of people than could fall under the classic term “best friend.”)
Tots or Total - Totally (obvy.)

While I’m at it, here are some places I like to go:

If I say I’m going to Nordys - you can find me at Nordstrom
If I say I’m going to B-Reps – you can find me at Banana Republic
If I say I’m going to The ‘Mo – you can find me at Club Monaco

If I say I’m going to YoYo – you can find me at Yoforia (you can thank my seestah for that one.)
If I say I’m going to LuLu – you can find me at Lululemon
If I say I’m going to BCBG – you can find me at BCBG (Wait, that’s convenient…)

However, all abbreviations are NOT created equal. Please try to refrain from the following. We hate them.

LOL or, heaven forbid, ROTFL (this may be hard for some who are in the lol habit. As an email I received yesterday noted, “lol has gone from meaning “laugh out loud” to “I have nothing else to say.”)
u for “you”
c for “see” (these are just lazy. Come on.)
“8″ for anything. Gr8. L8er. Not okay.
(I once dated a full-grown man who sent me a text that read, “c u l8er.” The. End.)
TTYL
“K” for Ok or Okay. (This is kind of aggressive, no? FYI – if I simply type “K” I am at least marginally irritated.)

I hope this was helpful. Please cross your fingers that none of my correspondence to clients today involves any of the aforementioned, ok?

xx, L