Gripe

I'm increasingly irritated with word processing programs that only allow for one language setting; I'm a Canadian writing Canadian English, but most of my sources, primary and critical, are American. Which means that, whatever the setting, half my documents are always criss-crossed with angry red zig-zags.

I also seem to be categorically incapable of writing "neighbourhood" American-fashion on my first try. I guess it's just as well that I do have the program nagging at me about my mis-spellings, or I'd be getting the quotations wrong all the time, writing about "colour" and "neighbourhoods" where the author writes about "color" and "neighborhoods." (I also no longer have the slightest idea whether, as a Canadian, I ought to be writing "grey" or "gray," but that doesn't come up as often.)

Plus, I don't know if this is something I am doing wrong, but it seems like no matter how many times I tell my programs that my default is Canadian English, the program changes its mind and defaults to American again a few documents later. It's one of those low-grade irritants that pops up on a regular basis, and it's not going to drive me to the brink of madness or anything, but it makes me roll my eyes every time.