THE GOOD THING ABOUT TEXTING

[kampanaryo_spy]

My friends find it easy to read my text messages because regardless of language used, I write them with equal respect for spelling, sentence structure, and rules of grammar. It's also in texting that I get to practice Strunk and White’s foremost caveat: omit needless words. You see, when I send a text message and my cell phone says, “maximum message length reached; 2 messages will be sent,” I edit it without losing its gist, otherwise I let it go at two.

Until now I find it hard to understand text-speak. And my friends know that with me, messages in text-speak get automatically deleted, unread. (Same with forwarded messages, even how inspirational or hilarious they may be.) It's simple, I’d rather use my brain on other pursuits than on deciphering text messages that butcher spelling and grammar.

Yes, I’m harsh.

Fortunately, my friends get the cue and send me text messages in readable form. But wait, I’m rambling. My point here is to make known my appreciation for the power texting has bestowed upon the most neglected members of the alphabet: the Q, the X, and the Z.

Before, we only see the Q, the X, and the Z put to better use in Scrabble. But now, with texting, they are given a new lease on life. Get this: “where is she?” was written before as “wer sya?” now it’s written as “wer xa?”; “take care” morphed from “tik kir” to “ingats” to “ngats,” and finally, to “ngatz”; "yes" turned to "yiz" and "always" to "olwez."

And here’s the best of the lot: “ako” turned to “ak,” then now, “aq.”

But I’m puzzled: if texting is all about alphabet saving, then what’s there to gain for using “aq” instead of “ak?” And while we're at it, isn't "ak" easier on the eyes than "aq?"

A teacher from Science High answers me with “o2.” At first I thought she meant oxygen, but what’s an English teacher doing with science? Ahhh, she meant “oo.” The commerce graduate in me computed her net gain in terms of the number of times she pecked at the keypad just to have “2” instead of “o.” You have a keypad, so you do the math.

Texting does not only make people weird, it also warps the mind. Which brings me to my article that Inquirer printed years back, when cell phone technology was still new to Tagon-ons. (No, this was different from the one with centennial caller.) I was swapping texts with Duchess when after a while she said, “naa pa kay mag lu2 pa ako.” I fell off my chair: Did she really say that?

I showed the text message to my sister who read it, looked at me, and shrugged, "So?"

I was confused. Then she said, "magluto pa kuno siya."

Oh gosh! Me and my dirty mind.

[*imesh]

Ha ha ha!
lingawi ako k-spy! yaka-relate ako

[toyang]

K-spy,

Wahahahahahahahahahaha.... An labing isab ako... Na hala inaay pa kay mag "LU2" pa isab ako.....nan panihapon.

[fiona]

[kampanaryo_spy]

imesh, toyang, and fiona:

it feels good knowing i've put some smileys on your face.

[maruya]

K-spy,

Wahahahahahahahahahaha.... An labing isab ako... Na hala inaay pa kay mag "LU2" pa isab ako.....nan panihapon.

yang,

ay!ay! yang, taasi an IQ mo, gets mo sa dayon....... duda ko yang an mga bopolopok mag naa kon paga ono nato pagsabot kay siguro wa mamati nan ila klase sa algebra na law of exponent....

[kampanaryo_spy]

mar,

wa kaw gayud mo sispar----malakihi iton si toyang nan algebraic expression. magtiyaho gud si ma'am melit deliezo (si ma'am teri nan yadto na time adto na sa tandag high) kaniya kay mag panhituritit sa si toyang nan iya solution na with matching expanded notation. magkabad da lagi pag pasa nan iya papel.

[toyang]

Mars,

Kahin pa ni K-spy, " CORRECTED BY" kaw gayud.

[toyang]

K- spy,

Simbako Uroy!

[maruya]

K- spy,

Simbako Uroy!

yangto,

nanga sa "simbako Uroy! duda ko yang kon sa geometry pa an pagagamit ni k_spy na proof an reciprocal....(peace yang peace)

[maruya]

mar,

wa kaw gayud mo sispar----malakihi iton si toyang nan algebraic expression. magtiyaho gud si ma'am melit deliezo (si ma'am teri nan yadto na time adto na sa tandag high) kaniya kay mag panhituritit sa si toyang nan iya solution na with matching expanded notation. magkabad da lagi pag pasa nan iya papel.

aw amo? duda ko inin si toyang best in math

[kampanaryo_spy]

mar,

did you say theorems and proofs? hesus! mamah-mamah da iton ni toyang, di ba 'yang?

[toyang]

Mars,

Aduy yatis rag best in math. wish ko lang...anay amo day dayon kabantay ko naadi iton bagting nan bell
para mag recess na.

K-spy,

whoooy uno di magkabad pag pasa nan papel na gadali sa paglugwa kay maga recess na.

[maruya]

mar,

did you say theorems and proofs? hesus! mamah-mamah da iton ni toyang, di ba 'yang?

YESterday when i was young, kabulahan ni toyang na intugahan sa nan yaon na kahibawo.......kanaman baya inin si toyang wa mokuha nan kurso na engineering kay malakihi sa baya sa math..... di lamang si yangto magka

[maruya]

[quote="toyang"]Mars,

Aduy yatis rag best in math. wish ko lang...anay amo day dayon kabantay ko naadi iton bagting nan bell
para mag recess na.

sa ato pa baya yang ikaw an early bird na customer ni anhin antie vic sa canteen?