I felt guilty today for looking at the guy’s phone next to me on the bus but I’ve been encouraged to listen in on people’s conversations because it serves as good stories. I couldn’t really see what he was texting but at one point he texted in all caps to a group conversation and then a word vertically,
L
I
K
E
T
H
I
S
like a youtube comment. I’ve never seen that before on a phone. People are so strange. I feel so old and old-fashioned.
On March 10, 2012, I received this text from an unknown number:
Hi
I had
Your Wrong number. I sent my number. [insert phone number] …. Why r u asking ? 11:15
Might lie down now
Puzzled but vastly intrigued and curious, I responded. I found out that morning that I was texting woman named Rosalinda, who spoke Spanish, and, I think, was also a pastor (when I asked who she was, she said, “I’m your father”). We conversed that morning, including a bit in Spanish, before she said she wanted to take a nap. And that was it.
What a surprise it was to wake up and turn on my phone to receive such a message. Every now and then I’ll get a wrong-number call, but oh so rarely does one ever get wrong-number texts. And in an age where people spend more time looking down at their phones than up at anyone they’re speaking to, getting words from an unknown source feels as spontaneous as someone randomly coming up to you on the street and saying hello. Sure, this may just be me and my love for words, and sure, no one talks to a person who dials the wrong number, but why not? Whatever happened to just being friendly? We’re told from a young age not to talk to strangers; think about all the people we ignore in our everyday lives. I have no idea where this is going and my mind is scattered at the moment, so everything I’m writing is a little incoherent, but…
What was the point? Oh yes. Words.
I’m going to use my blog for promotional purposes! Hurrah!
Here’s a short film/commercial I wrote and directed called Last Text, for an ICBC contest on young drivers and dangerous driving. If you like the film, please click the Like button, as there is a Viewers’ Choice award that goes to the film with the most number of Likes. I just submitted my film yesterday so I’ve got a lot of catching up to do!
Thanks and enjoy! Tell me what you think of it too!
aaron's random musings 