Pick Apart {of Me}

I know it's Wednesday only, but I felt like answering a Thursday question today.

Q [from Jennie]:

I have a question to be added to your Thursday posts' list.

Why do you put brackets around your titles? You don't do it all the time, but probably half of the time, so you must have a reason for it. So, why? What does it mean? (By brackets, I mean { }. I don't know what those are called.)

A [from me]:

Hi, Jennie! Who are you? There wasn't a link accompanying your name, so I don't have any idea who you are. Which is a lot like making you anonymous, only kind of worse, because I have a bit of a hint. If you are from Mesa and I have met you, you could be a few people. Jennie my neighbor, Jennie my aunt, Jennie who takes pictures, Jennie the mother of my best friend, Jennie from the block.

In regards to your question...WRONG! There is not really any rhyme or reason to my use of {these things}.

First off, let's figure out what they're called. According to the most reliable source on the internet, {these} may be referred to as 1} squiggly brackets, 2} squigglies, 3} curly brackets, or 4} braces. I feel silly using the term "squiggly" in my daily discourse, and braces make me think of how I need to see the dentist, so for our intents and purposes, let's call them "curly brackets."

Secondly, my inspiration: {Frolic!} A simple "if, then" statement should suffice. If someone does it... and I like it... then I do it. Queen of mimicry, that's me. Never had an original thought in my head.

You are right about one thing, though: I don't use curly brackets all the time in my titles. Only sometimes. I never know when I am going to use them. Sometimes my titles just look like they need a little...something extra. So I hug them with curly brackets, and go along my merry way. It's not something I give any major thought. If it happens, it happens. If not, fine. {I suppose that makes me sound very spontaneous and full-of-life. Actually, most days, the use of curly brackets in my titles is the most adventurous thing that happens to me. Everybody should move to a country where they're legally forced to be lazy.}

However, since you're probably looking for a little more closure in your life, and I don't take the challenge "ask-me-anything" lightly, I've broken it down for you.

Here is a list of recent posts that have been titled with the use of curly brackets:

{A Lesson in Self-Assertion}
{I Put the Ab in Abnormal}
{Flip My Flop}
{The Dog Ate My Blog Post}
{Communism at its Finest}
{Life Lessons and Muffin Tops}

Here is a list of recent posts that have been freely titled:

The Saga of Steve vs. Ned--This is Mostly Speculation
I Wonder How Many Angels Had to Die in the Making of This Bed?
There's no Such Thing as Edward and Bella
And Then I Was Faced With My Day of Reckoning
I Turned 22 And All I Got Was Adult Acne.

So maybe I use the brackets with shorter titles, or titles that are not quite long enough to be my life history.

I don't know.

But thank you, Mystery Jennie, whoever you are. For caring. For reading. I hope I answered you enough.

And if you have any more questions, anyone....please. Don't hesitate to ask.