Christy Savaging Degeneration: Text Messages and the Subject of Borders

It is my opinion that text messages are quite possibly the greatest invention of this century. Or have they been around longer? I'm not sure. Perhaps my friend Eric can give me further insight on that. I think I received my first ever text message in 2003, it was from my sister and it said "Boo!". Quite frankly I was a little afraid of it because I didn't know what it was or what to do with it. The whole "fear of the unknown" thing.

I was sitting in the waiting room of my Dr's office last week, and other than myself, the receptionist (who is probably Scarlett Johansson's identical twin sister) was the only other person in the room. I heard a cell phone beep and I watched as she picked her phone up and read the text message, and her entire face lit up. Then she had a couple of phone call interactions and receptionists frequently do, then resumed to responding to her text. She was giggling to herself and had a special glow about her... I couldn't help but wondering what the message exchange was, or who it was from. It was a fun experience in people watching.

Of course this reminded me of a couple of friends I owed texts to so I got my phone out and probably had similar expressions to those of the receptionist. All of this got me thinking about how great texts are. I believe they are the most convenient form of communication in this day and age. They're instant, and depending on the urgency, you can either respond immediately or take your time. You don't have to deal with voice to voice interactions or potential awkwardness.

Each time I get a text I feel special... I love seeing the little envelope on my display, is it wrong to be so excited over that? I remember when I first got the internet (Prodigy) in 1991, nothing would make my heart skip like seeing the "NEW MAIL" flashing sign. Nothing so small has made me so giddy ever since.

Not all of my texts are happy, wonderful messages. I get some sad, scary, and otherwise upsetting news as well. But receiving this via text allows me to deal with what I need to in my own way, without the pressure of instant response.

The one drawback to texts, is it can disengage people, especially if they're in a crowd of friends. I am so guilty of this! I have been in situations with a few friends where we'll be sitting together, but each off in our own world texting other people to our hearts content, when we probably should have been enjoying the company of each other. Oh, and I also ought to try to not text while driving. Although I have learned that nothing makes a stop light go faster than trying to text someone during the wait.

The point of this post is: If you want to make my day and know my cell phone number, send me a text! If you don't have my number but want it, let me know and if I know you and like you, I'll send it along.

You want to know what's better than texts? Picture texts! (but PLEASE, no chain/spam texts! I'll delete them just like I do the chain/spam emails!)

Does this post make me officially pathetic for being an attention whore?

The key to any successful relationship

I took a communications class several years ago. This is one of those classes that I absorbed every ounce of what was taught, and realy, truly internalized it. This class was about not just communication, but using communication to overcome your fears, which will help you become the person that you want to be.

The simple, yet complex, definition of communiction is Meaning and Understanding. For true communication to take place, the conveyance of the ideas through intended word meanings or nonverbal gestures must be totally received and understood by the receiver. It is imperative that both receiver and sender in an interpersonal encounter have a common background of shared experiences between them for meaningful communication to take place. The greater the overlap in shared experiences, the more enhanced meaningful communication is.

Whose responsibility is it to ensure that meaningful communication takes place? My professor believed that it was as much as 90% the responsibility of the sender, and 10% of the receiver, to ensure they understood what was meant. Take for instance, if someone gives me directions on how to get somewhere, they say "Just get on the freeway, take the 3rd exit, take a right and drive on that road for a mile, it will be the white house on your left. Where I live, I have I:215 that comes before I:15. Which freeway were they talking about? It is the senders responsibiilty to say "Take I:15", but if they don't, it should be up to the receiver to clarify. So many mistakes in communication take place when assumptions are made.

It is NEVER a waste of time to ensure that Meaning and Understanding have taken place. Everything that we are or wish others to think of us is exhibited in our behavior, verbal as well as nonverbal. What we are, influences how others react to us.

Meanings are not in words. Meanings are in people and their experiences. Words are poor conveyors of meaning. Offense is never given, it is taken. If you are offended by something, it is okay and certainly in your right. However, realize that if you are offended, it's because you chose to be. Try to understand where the other person is coming from, and be slow to take offense.

I went to dinner last night with a friend and she and I talked for over 3 hours non stop, and a lot of these thoughts came to my mind. Just thought I'd put them out there.

Cheers and Happy Friday to everyone!