I just pre-registered to get on a list to pre-lease an apartment in the latest mixed-use development project in my city. I'm pre-excited about it.

Pre- anything? It pisses me off. It's nothing more than something conjured up by advertisers and marketing gurus to appeal to the narcissistic side of consumers by making them think that they are in early on some deal. It's preposterous.

Let's take a look at why. You put your name on a paper to pre-register for something, whether it's an event, a contest, sweepstakes, etc. Okay. Your name is on the paper. Now, let's suppose you want to simply "register" for an event, contest, sweepstakes, etc. the old-fashioned way. How is that done? Why, you put your name on a paper. I don't see a difference, but I'm a bit more pragmatic. I don't feel that I've taken advantage of anyone or somehow received some sort of special treatment by pre-registering...because simply by putting my name on the list, I've already registered.

Pre-lease is another one, and the same breakdown applies. If you sign a lease, you sign a lease. It makes no difference if the building is still in the design stages at the architect. Once you sign a document known as a "lease," you have signed a lease. How did one gain any advantage by signing it before someone else? Each party still has a signed lease.

My generation obviously is different from the one behind me, and of course, each generation will differ no matter which direction you go. We don't need to have any special treatment. Just treat us fairly. Heck, if you can knock a few bucks off of a purchase, that would be great. If you can let me sign up a few days early, that's cool too. But I don't need some hyphenated word to make me feel like I got over on someone just because I did anything "pre."