They’re/there/their to/two/too, the ups and downs of the English language

I don't mean to be a word snob here I mean, I'm not the best with the English language. However, certain things catch my eye. Such as the improper use of there, they're, and their. That's a pet peeve of mine and it shouldn't be since I can't seem to master punctuation, I throw in random commas, have run on sentences, have incomplete sentences, etc. etc. etc. So by no means am I judging harshly (I'm still judging). I have a lot of sympathy for fellow punctuationally challenged individuals, but not as much for people who can't get the right word.

My sister bugs me a lot with her there/their/they're usage, but I let it slide because she's my sister (not to mention older sister) and I love her. Even the time that she used two different forms in the same sentence, but swapped them (i.e. There coming to pick up they're mail). With the way my brain works I struggle when reading this (I really struggled just writing it) because I read it the way it is meant so "There coming" totally confuses me and "they're mail" I'm reading as "they are mail" which makes no sense. So I have to read it more than once. If she just did this occasionally I wouldn't have a problem because some days I write "right" rather than "write". But she's an habitual offender. But again, she's my sister and I love her, so I let it slide most times. Strangers however are fair game.

At work I deal with a lot of strangers. People calling from companies trying to get references or employment verifications. I received one this morning and I rarely look at the facsimile but for some reason this morning one part seemed to stand out to me. It read, "Department: PERSONAL". What does that mean? Secretly I know that she probably meant to write personnel, since I deal with personnel. But I don't really get personal with the personnel, though some Human Resource professionals do, even then though, we aren't a personal department. I prefer to think that the woman thought that the department I work for within the company should be kept personal, and that's why she choose to use that word. It seems more interesting when she's really just trying to keep all the information a secret rather than admitting to the fact that the woman just made a mistake, or worse, just doesn't know which is the right one in the first place.

I realize that this may open me up for personal criticism but I couldn't help myself, I have a voice and an opinion and sometimes I feel that it needs to be heard.