Starry Wisdom

Entropic Words from Neilathotep

Saturday, August 9, 2008

The Art of the SMS

So, I taught my mom how to send text messages this week. You see, a year or so ago my mom called me when I was at a movie. More than once, because my mom is a bit weird like that (more on this below). After the third time my phone vibrated I sent her a quick text “Im at a movie, call you later”. And she somehow managed to eek out an “OK” as a response.

This year we were seeing a movie last weekend and while we were waiting for it to start, my mom had me show her how to send a SMS, not just reply from her phone. I will admit the interface on her phone is kinda kludgey, but we figured it out. Cut to Tuesday of this week, I am out to dinner with my brother and old friend, as I posted about earlier in the week. While driving home my mom manages to send the following to me:

“Neil did you get this” – 11:33PM

“Dont know how to get message” – 11:33PM

“Laundry” – 11:49PM

“Did you get my message” – 12:07AM

Well, it’s something at least. Then last night I was out again, this time meeting a friend from SF who was having a homecoming of sorts to Chicago (he just moved out West earlier this year) at his old hangout bar. I figured I might as well go, since I am in town and all. After a while we leave that bar and go to another, that some people I met last night didn’t want to go to, there was a third bar they wanted to go to which interested me a bunch more – I mean it’s called Hungry Brain! Eventually I did make it to Hungry Brain with Courtney and Joe (who had just arrived before we headed out), and we hung out there for a bit, because it was approaching 2AM last call time. But they have IPAs on tap, so I have to give them a lot of credit. And a brain motif, including a sculpture of a brain with an Jeigermeister IV.

hungry brain

Anyway, after last call there, the two people I was with call the other people to see what they are up to. I figured I needed to head out east anyhow, as my car was there, so when they said “People are going to blah blah at 4200 Clark, I figured that put me a bit closer to my car than I was at the time, so I was game for hanging out some more. We got there, and hung out, and no one else came, so we decided to call it night. Just then my mom SMSed me:

Mom: “Hi are you having fun”
Neil: “Yeah probably headed home soon”

Hey, she’s getting the hang of it. So we go outside and say goodbye to Joe, who lives in the neighborhood, and Courtney and I share a cab, as my car was on the way to her place. On the drive south I get two texts:

“How is it going?”
“I am getting good at this sort of it just takes me a long time”

Courtney asked me who I got a text from, as it was getting close to 3am. I told her my mom and she thought it was hilariously cute that a) my mom figured out SMSing and b) that even at almost 33 years of age, she was waiting up for me. Yes, that’s the other strange part about my mom. When I’m staying at my parents house, she can’t go to bed (not sleep, she was asleep on the couch when I got home) until I get home. Which I guess is endearing in a way, but also sort of weird.

posted by neil at 8:54 am
under adventure,rambling  

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