A lot can happen over a coffee

It was about quarter past ten in the morning yesterday. I was preparing coffee and suddenly my cell phone began to beep. The screen read "1 message recieved" when I picked it up. Upon clicking the 'Show' button, the following text displayed on the screen:

[Exactly the same text. No editing has been done to retain the "flavor" of the scenario. All the smileys are also part of the text message]

Arbit phone number: Hey, hw u bn? Hws work? Sorry cudn reply 2 u d oder day.. 2 much work :( me taken an off on mon :) yippee.. Gt a lonnnng weekend.. Hehee :) coll was so much fun.

A very beautiful example of SMS English. Microsoft Word's spell check would crash if by chance this text was fed as input to it.

Just see how the change in emotions has been superbly illustrated in the string - 2 much work :( me taken an off on mon :) yippee.. Gt a lonnnng weekend.. Hehee :).

Lonnnng weekend- whoa! Surely he/she means it. It should definitely be a long weekend.

Okay cool. I thought this was one of my college mates who was feeling nostalgic and had changed his number as the number was not present in my contacts list.

So I replied:
Myself: May I know who is this?

Arbit phone number: Huh? Who are you?

What the..!

I replied back:
Myself: You are the one who messaged me about your long weekends and college days. I think it is better if you disclose yourself first.

I did not know what I actually meant by that but sometimes arbit dialogues work well. I got a reply.

Arbit phone number: Oh crap!! M really sorry.. Dis is Katrina.. Twas by mis.. Btw u don hv 2 b so rude.. Nyway sorry.

[I would not like to disclose the actual name of the lady because of the fear of any unwanted repercussions. So, when I was thinking of an alternative arbit name, Katrina was the first one that struck me. Well…]

I am about to reply back and suddenly a new message arrives:

Katrina: Why? U feeling sorry now?

What the… again!

I replied:
Myself: I was not trying to be rude. I am not feeling sorry either. Suppose someone messages you and asks "who are you" what would you say? And can you please tell me who you "really" are?

I thought that someone was trying to play a prank on me and thats why I suspected something fishy. So i wanted to confirm. And also there is a philosophical angle to this. We all do not know who we "really" are and what is the real "purpose" of life. Anyways, let me not delve on that now.

Katrina replies back:
Katrina: I asked u hu u r coz i din knw dat i sent u d msg.. Nt my mis either.. N wot do u mean, hu i realy m.. I told u my name.. Din i? N m also sorry.. U cud put across in a betta manner.. Nyway, chill scene.. M Katrina.

It would take some effort to understand the above dialogue but anyways, I called the number. No answer. This confirmed me that it was some jobless friend of mine who wanted to bug me. So I sent a message:

Myself: Is it that hard to recieve my call?

Then suddenly, my phone is ringing and it is Katrina who is calling!

I answer the phone and ask - "Hello, who is this?"

A lady in a 'yo' Bangalore accent (The typical accent that the ladies sauntering around in Brigade Road use) replies - "Dude. I told you. I am Katrina. Please do not make a big deal out of this. I sent that message to you by mistake. Sorry. Ok?"

I replied - "Ok. I thought someone was trying to play a prank on me. Cool. Bye."

By this time, my coffee was ready and I before I could take a sip, my phone beeps indicating a new SMS. Its her.

Katrina: It isn 2 hard 2 pick ur cal.. Jus dat i din c.. Or may b i wantd 2 save ur currency.. Lol ;) D hv a great day :)

I typed quickly and hit the 'SEND' button:

Myself: Hi lady. One rupee is not going to make me bankrupt. Anyways thanks for showing so much concern. :)

Katrina: You are welcome :)

Game over. I pick up the cup of hot coffee and take a sip.

It is rightly said, a lot can happen over a coffee. :)


P.S: I hate 'SMS English'.

P.P.S: A survey which I did recently among a few of my friends reveals that ladies use SMS English more than the men.

P.P.P.S: I hope the Cafe Coffee Day guys will not sue me for using their slogan as the title of the post.

P.P.P.P.S: Thanks to her anyways. I wanted something to write about and her message arrived like a silver lining.

'Phinal' P.S: Maybe I should call her back again? ;)