Nearly Employed

I don't know how some women do this. They stay home all day, every day, every week, while their husbands go to work. I found things to do to occupy my time for the few weeks that I was home unemployed, but now that the apartment is sparkling, I've baked cookies and bread with the cranberries from our wedding centerpieces, and I've done laundry twice in a week, I find there isn't much to do that will keep me interested.
I'll be working at a nuclear facility just outside of town this coming week, and I couldn't be more excited.
On that topic, I do have a bit of a rant. Please note the spelling of the word nuclear. N-U-C-L-E-A-R. Not N-U-C-U-L-A-R. I can't begin to tell you how many people are fascinated to hear that I'll be working in the "nucular" field and that it's a great company that I'll be working for. To me, this seems like a flaw with the American education system. The word nuclear is phonetically spelled; you sound it out exactly how it looks. Nuclear. Adding an extra "u" sound between the "c" and the "l" just makes me want to ignore the rest of what the person has to say. Though, I suppose it is a common enough mistake. Some notables utilizing this flawed pronunciation include my mother and former president Jimmy Carter (who, interestingly enough, was himself a nuclear engineer before becoming president).
I suppose I find things like this bother me quite a bit. I am a Yankee (northerner) living in Virginia, which in my opinion has one of the most offensive accents to my ears. My husband (who grew up in Wisconsin) and I find ourselves confused at the locals' pronunciation of some words. For example, it is nearly impossible to tell if the person standing next to you in the line at the bank is asking you for a pen or a pin; the two words sound nearly identical.
Also, the addition of syllables has begun to grate on me. I was taught mail was a one syllable word. The "a" and "i" form a diphthong, thereby creating a new vowel sound that only the two of them could make. I've heard my neighbor say she was going down to check her "MAY-ul". Honestly, is proper English pronunciation that difficult to grasp? After all, Virginians have been a part of the union since 1787 and have been speaking English since near 1607.
I apologize for the rant, but like I said, it is out of boredom that I rant. Life will be more interesting soon. Until next time.