SMS

Tối thứ bảy của một đứa lười biếng sợ lạnh …

Có lẽ sau khi nó trả lời đến lần thứ hai mươi tám những cái tin nhắn, điện thoại và những lời nài nỉ, là nó không muốn đi đâu vào cái ngày lạnh như không còn có thể lạnh hơn được nữa này, thì xem ra những đứa bạn bền bỉ, kiên nhẫn của nó đã bỏ cuộc. Tối cuối tuần, đặc biệt là cuối tuần với biết bao nhiêu events: Greek Rush events đếm không xuể, Dance Shows and parties, Winterfest, vân vân và vân vân, vậy mà nó, một đứa không có gì làm cũng kiếm chuyện để ăn chơi và nghiễm nhiên được invitations đến tất cả các parties mà người khác chạy ngược chạy xuôi để kiếm vé, lại nằm nhà cuộn chăn.

Mấy tuần nay bận rộn nó phải bỏ quên chồng báo NY Times và những quyển tạp chí Scientific America, Times, Vogue nằm bám bụi, nó nghĩ chắc tụi nó cũng buồn lắm chứ. Thế là nó quyết định không làm gì nữa, tắt điện thoại, nhâm nhi cà phê và catch up với cái sự nghiệp văn chương sách vở của nó thôi.

As random as it seems, this is what I came across that triggers the urge to write.

Texts make even dating impersonal

Communication form too effortless to form lasting relationships

By Dan Solley
The Daily Gamecock

Published: Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Updated: Monday, October 19, 2009

The cellular telephone is arguably one of the greatest technologies that mankind has generated in recent times. It has created a form of interconnectedness never before seen; it gives one the ability to call for help at the drop of a dime, and it has given us Texts From Last Night — all incredible things. It’s hard to believe it, but there was a time when cell phones were not in existence, a time when we actually relied on landlines to get in touch.

I remember as a child, I had all my best friends’ phone numbers memorized. Not anymore. I remember always having a few quarters on me at all times, in case I had to make an unexpected phone call from a pay phone.

If I wanted to talk to someone on the other side of the classroom, I had to write it on a piece of paper and hope that everyone in the class would be faithful enough to pass the note to its intended recipient, without reading the confidential information found within.

This discrete form of communication has since been replaced by the infamous text message. Following that trend, as fourth-year political science student Robert Sinners put it:

“Unfortunately, the booty call has since been replaced by the booty text, and I don’t like it.”

As college students, we are expected to put forth extra effort in all that we do, but we have gotten so lazy in recent years.

I remember the prepubescent days of dating where it took several carefully crafted love letters on construction paper, hours of late night phone calls, and a parent-sponsored date to Pizza Hut before I could consider little Suzy my girlfriend. Now, a simple “u want 2 cum over?” sent at 3:30 a.m. is all it takes to engage in relations with the same Suzy, ten years later.

Our society has exchanged convenience for chivalry, rapidity for romance, and passion for promptness. The blame lies partly in the idiot guy who thinks an effortless “ ;) ” is all it takes to melt a woman’s heart.

At the same time, women need to quit answering these absurd texts and demand a greater level of respect before they succumb to the desires of potential lovers. It’s time to move away from the ease and instantaneous nature of text message dating. idk abt u, but i like the chase neway.

Somewhere in my pile of never-get-to-be-published articles, there is an article on the exact same issue. This made me smile, laugh out loud actually, about how fast my opinions on things alternate within a short period of time. I used to agree with this fourth-year law student, Dan whatever-his-name was. But that was probably on a day when I missed the traditional Christmas cards, or maybe when I was dying to have some excuses to handwrite a ten page letter to whomever.

I really never appreciate the “ease and instantaneous nature of text message.” I thought of them as overrated, I could live without the text messages about coming to lunches, or dinners, or parties. That’s about it. With a limit of 160 characters, there’s only so much you can say. I hated it when Brennan, my so-called American best friend, would not get online or give me a call so I could tell him what happened during the weekends. I wanted to give him the details that would cost me broken fingers for 100+ text messages. They are not that convenient, after all. I do miss having “my best friends’ phone numbers memorized” or having writing little notes and hoping that they would reach destination without falling into any unwanted hands. I also miss the long letters, cards and postcards that every summer I would go home, pull them out from the dusty corner, read them over and smiled at the memories.

Time passes and technologies do change things. Sometimes I can be skeptical and closed-minded about it, but for this moment, I cannot appreciate it more.

I appreciate the under a hundred character words that can be sent at any moment of a person’s life, any moments that my name, my face, or memories would come across their busy lives. I have a collection of these sentences that are short yet, as sweet as confectioner sugar. How much I wish I had more memory space in my phone to keep all these little messages that filled with thoughts:

“Good morning. Woke up yet? =) ”
“Nite nite, sleep tight *hugs*”
“Idk why I texted u. But how r u?”
[10 minutes prior to the meeting] “Can’t wait to see you, sweetie.” [5 minutes after saying goodbye] “:* I miss you already.”
“What are you doing? :*”
[picture attached] “I thought you would like to see this , he’s cute ;)”

Don’t they just make you smile? Because I do smile every single time I read them. Completely unexpected, totally heart-melting and extremely personal. I love the feelings when I can just pull out my phone on the spur of the moment, and text:

“I’m eating by myself, can you come? *puppy eyes*”
“Study break = Starbucks run! =)”
“Ugh, I’m drunk. My head hurts. Where r u?”
[picture attached] “This part of the library is sketchy. I feel like I’m gonna get murdered.”

Text messaging seems to be the only thing that can accommodate my super random personality.

There are moments in life that I can’t sit down for hours and write pages and pages long entries. There are moments in life between the back-to-back classes schedule that I do not have time for phone calls or even emails. There are times when I’m falling asleep next to the computer with my status brightly “available” on Skype, Y!M or Facebook.

Only in those busy moments that I realize how much I love these few grammatically incorrect sentences. Especially when I am by myself, thinking that I’m all alone and here it come an unexpected sweet and special (and international) text message.

After all, messages are messages, no matter how they look like or how they are sent and delivered. They exist for a reason. A soft vibration and someone knows that somewhere, there is a person who is thinking about her and makes an effort to tell her that she is, indeed, very much loved.

[az]