Full Words Or Abbreviations?

When I was just starting my blog I wrote this blog post and I am re-posting it here because until now (from nine years ago) I still receive text messages like this.  A friend at FB recently posted this question: “Do you text using full words or abbreviations?”

A decade has passed and yet texting the shortest way possible is still the name of the game. My goodness, maybe this is one reason why  some kids nowadays could not even spell words correctly. I know, the trend now is using  your cellphone instead of a landline phone. with a cellphone, you can go anywhere with it.

I don’t buy the alibi of some that they are just saving on time. Misspelling a three letter word, condensing it  to just one is just a no, no for me.  Why is just spelled plain Y. It’s won’t take a minute of your time to text the full word right? I love reading text in full words and full sentence too. And I text that way.

Some prefer calls which is more expensive than sending a text message. Some big companies here like Globe and Smart Communications have included free calls on the same network as long as you are paying a fixed online subscription but they charge additional ones when you have exceeded your limit in a month.

Texting is for everyone. A janitor on the street, a vendor in the market, a student  and almost everyone else has cellphones. Of course, they are not those lovely gadgets that you see every six months in the market. You can buy a cellphone at a low price of P500.00 pesos and you can take low resolutions pictures too (they are almost blurred when you enlarge them). You can use call and text cards or what they call e-loads.

Ten Things I Hate About Texting

Sure, texting is a tad way to reach people that easily – as long as the signal is okay, you have enough load (if you are using a prepaid account) and you are busy  to  call the person you want to talk too. Texting can make or break your day depending on how creative or imaginative the other texter is or how annoying sometimes when you receive a text message which is not to your liking.  Herein are some of the things I really hate about texting: 

1.  Hu U – receiving a text with a message like this is not just annoying,it defies good manners. You can ask politely enough without resorting to a three-letter question which you can’t even qualify if it is Tagalog or not.

2. K – How much does it take texting the whole word “okey” or okay” than just plainly sending K? Are you trying to be in or what?

3. Dito na me – who me? This is even more unacceptable than the K word, if there’s such a thing. Either you speak straight Tagalog or plain simple English.

4. Wer na u? – same thing as number three. It is obnoxious.

5. Receiving chain texts, like a prayer,  asking you to send them to at least 10 or 15 people, otherwise something happens if you don’t. Receiving grace from above is unconditional.Goodness, are you playing God?  I could appreciate just a short and simple prayer or a nice quote than having this one in my message inbox.

6. Too much abbreviated words – it’s beginning to look like English is a mangled language. It’s okay to substitute 4 for “for” or d for “the” but deliberately misspelling the word even if there is just one letter to insert to correct it is plain laziness for me.

7. Kol me, kol kita – another abused term in texting. You just have to add another letter to correct it to “call”. Have they never learned that  they allow 160 characters  in one “send” and it  costs  one peso just the same?

8. Just like in No. 5, receiving texts from people whom you don’t know from Eve and asking you to send the same message to your network of friends. Unless it is a “quotable quote” again and the receiver would even thank you back for forwarding it, why should you?

9.  Just plain guessing about your number and when you politely respond, they would text you back, “pwede ba kitang ka-text mate” or something to that effect.

10. Receiving an unknown call or texts in the middle of the night when you are about to sleep only to inform you there is such and such on such and such  a date. Can’t it wait till tomorrow? I need to have my beauty rest. hehe..

Honestly, I  always do the texting the old-fashioned way, full words, Tagalog  if Tagalog  and English when I’m in the mood. I like receiving inspirational messages first thing in the morning , because sometimes I do it too, send quotes to my close friends as my good deed for the day.  I remember now, I have these two or three former office mates and a fellow carpool rider before, the usual thing is, you ask how the person is after a few months of not hearing from him/her but these people start the night or day just forwarding annoying chain texts which I never bother to forward anyway. How about just saying, kumusta ka na or how are you? Don’t you think it would make the recipient more responsive to your text?

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It’s Our 120th Philippine Independence Day

Today is our 120th Philippine Independence Day. I used to blog about celebrating it too by watching programs on television and listening to news on how Independence Day was celebrated outside Metro Manila.  Today though, I am not inspired to write about it.

Short of ranting again, for the last six months three Catholic priests were slain  and I am sad that this is happening. Why  are they targeting our priests? These are excerpts of a message from the clergy of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan in our province in Pangasinan.

They are killing our flock. They are killing us the shepherds. They are killing our faith. They are cursing our Church. They are killing God again as they did in Calvary.

Killing is the solution. Killing is the language. Killing is the way. Killing is the answer. Killing is encouraged. Killing is their job. Killers are rewarded. Killers boast of their murders.

They kill in the streets. They kill inside homes. They kill in tricycles and jeeps. They kill in plazas. They kill in the malls. They kill in the chapels. The nation is a killing field. They kill everywhere. They are happy to kill. But we are not a nation of killers.

Are you still clapping? Are you still laughing? You still find it funny? You still think “Dapat lang”? Are you still saying “Pagbigyan natin”? Are you still saying our people feel safer now? Are you still saying this is the best government we ever had? Is this the change you want? Are these the changes you dream of? Are you still saying “There are some good things happening! Focus on the good”? If they curse us again for speaking up, we will not be surprised.

Are you afraid to talk? You think silence is a virtue? You think we your shepherds should sow unity by being like the monkeys who see and speak and hear no evil? You think we can be the next target if we speak? Do you still care? Where is your faith? You talk in whispers. You are afraid to be heard? Have we become numb and dumb?

And then we hear DND Secretary Lorenzana blaming the past administration about China.The Dept. of National Defense  is supposed to be non-political but he just divided the nation with his  words. This administration is the one kowtowing to China  giving  up our islands in West Philippine Sea and  even our poor fishermen are being harassed by the Chinese in our Philippine waters.  Malacanang says they don’t want war. Who says we do? We don’t but we can file diplomatic protests like  what Ex-Pres. Aquino did before and we won but it is being ignored  by the present administration.

What is there to celebrate? Our forebears risked their lives  for  our independence  more than a hundred years ago.  Should we not be proud of what they did?  But it seems some of us tend to forget the sacrifice, standing up to foreign powers to gain our independence.

 

And here’s VP Leni Robredo looking more presidential while she leads the flag raising ceremony at the Jose Rizal shrine in Luneta. Standing still despite the rains. Kahit mabasa sa ulan.

(Photo by Philippine Star)

 

 

 

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