Title of the Entry:
ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILYWritten by: The Man With A Soul Of Ten Thousand Orchids
"I should not be here!"
These were the words that I uttered unto myself ten months ago after I joined a texters' clan- my first time at that time.
I had my initial knowledge about texters' clan when Hannah, a friend of mine, shared about it. She described it: that it is a group of people interacting with each other through SMS; that there is a certain founder who organizes, leads, dictates(maybe) and design the clan; that in the later course of its existence they would have the so-called GEB or grand eyeball; and many more. But after all those denotations, here comes the connotation: fun.
At first, I never paid even an inch of attention to it because for me, it is SENSELESS- a mediocre material being created by people
na walang magawa sa buhay. I even tried to question these people(clanners or whatever you may call it) about who are they and are their purposes regarding the creation of a texters' clan clearly defined. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to throw these questions to the founder who invited me to join their clan last March, maybe, because I did not want to argue with her about the clan stuffs. I mean, is the clan thing worthy to argue with? "
Para clan lang," I told myself.
After going to the canteen, I dropped by the classroom where Hannah and her peers, who used to be my friends also, were staying. As I land my right foot on their territory, I saw them, facing each other with a cellphone at their hands and sharing gossips about people I didn't know- maybe their textmates.
I sitted near them and I became curious about a list of numbers that Sheryl was holding. "
Unsa na siya?," I asked her.
"
Ay, sa clan man ni. Apil beh!," Sheryl requested.
Sheryl was the name of the founder I was talking about earlier and was the one who invited to something which I am not fully aware of.
After a lot of convincing, I answered 'yes' to that deal in spite of my uncertainty about what would happen next. "
Basta, paghulat na lang na naay magwelcome
sa imo," Sheryl assured as she registered my number into her mini-list of numbers of the members of the Shy-Lee Cutie clan(SLCC).
Two hours passed. I received two, three, four and five messages. Sheryl was right. These were the messages from the people of the clan who welcomed me as their new family member.
Honestly speaking, I did not enjoy every message I received from the clan members and every reply I made to them simply because I found it really BORING. I don't love it. I even thought to myself of quitting from the clan and just concentrate on my studies. But despite of that reality I figured out, I still remained hooked to it.
That feeling remained even until they(the founders) conducted the first GEB of
our clan. I told them that it is just too soon to have a GEB. A week after the clan was founded, that is. I advised them that we should have it after a few weeks or something. But I did not made them change their decision. I did not join with Sheryl and Hannah, her co-founder, of going to Gaisano Mall Of Davao "to meet and greet new friends" because I was busy that time chasing our principal for my Certificate Of Good Moral.
I pretended for few days that it was really cool, yet I continued to reply to those strangers on my cellphone. I just credited everything to a maxim that goes like this: "this one shall too pass".
Change of HeartOne day, I visited my childhood friend Monalyn at their house who was also my clanmate. She was busy texting at that point but I did not mind. I told her of my intention that I would like to get the phone numbers of all the members of
our clan because my former sim became 'blacklisted' and that Smart Communications won't allow me to be registered in their Unlimited Texting Promo.
Monalyn did not hesitate to give me all of those numbers through business cards and they(the numbers) arrived unto my phonebook like whirlwind. These numbers are far more than of my actual list in the phonebook of my former sim.
I am not quite sure if I were excited that time or happy(with a fake smile) or I went gaga at that moment or otherwise. All I remembered was that I heeded Monalyn's advice of texting these people, including the person whom I love right now, and the responses were overwhelming.
I went home and got a piece of notebook and jotted down everything I learned from each of these clan people after our get-to-know session through SMS(i.e. their birthday, location, age, etc.). I acted like a founder of a clan of my own. As I inserted back my former sim in my cellphone, the spirit continued. I kept on texting these people, and my desire of having my cellphone loaded with credits(i.e. unlimited text) reached the intense level where I even skipped meals, slept late at night, missed doing my assignments and my regular session of voice lessons in my bedroom were left unattended. What a bad habit, you may think. I was just as childish as freshmen at that time which seemed like I forgot my values and principles in an instant. I desired more of it...more, more, more, more!
ConvincedI later joined the gang of going to the clan's GEB that took place in NCCC Mall Of Davao. I met those strangers on my cellphone and after on became my friends, I guessed. Hehe. That time, I was fully persuaded that joining a texter's clan is a good way of promoting friendships, inviting two people to deposit with each other's
Relationship Bank Account(RBA)- the idea being introduced by Sean Covey in "The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens" which I learned in my Social Orientation subject recently in college.
"I am craving for more...more friends!" I said.
I realized that all things, big or small alike, has its purpose. Having a clan, texter's clan to be precise, maybe, is one of stupid and ugly things ever effected in this world. It's money-wasting, time-wasting, destructive, and so on and so forth.
That's the negative.
There are two sides of the coin, always. Well, looking at the brighter side, being a part of a texters' clan gives you the chance to belong, regardless of your physical features, status of your wealth and lovelife, personality or character
nga dili na makaon ug iro or otherwise.
If you, too, don't want to go old without having a taste of what romancers call LOVE or being a bachelor or a bachelorette sooner in your life, this is your chance! You can actually make a man or a woman fall in love with your 'tc', 'muwahh', 'tsup', 'wabya', 'hugzz' or even a single 'wud?'. In a clan, there is wide variety of selection of the hottest(if you don't want hot, well, coolest) guys and gals in town. All you have to do is just pick the remote control and click the right button.
Sulit din ang unli.Pwede rin manawagan....kung walang load.If you've got a problem, this is the perfect material for counseling. Sometimes it is good to approach someone anonymous. Furthermore(and again), you can build a better foundation of friendship to somebody else in the clan and may eventually treat yourselves as
bhessie.
These are just but a few of the countless benefits you can get out of being in a texters' clan. This is also another way of resolving existing wars. At least, we've started peace in our own little way. Or better yet, we may be able to apply the system of organizing people.
Ayt?
From Goodness To JinxMay 31, 2006. Everything turned out to be fine. I admit: I forcefully invited everybody in the clan to be in the eyeball set by Sheryl by that date. I was rest assured that many would be going, though there were some refusals.
I went there dressed at the fifth floor of Gaisano South Citimall. Paulene was the first stranger I saw and had known. And everybody followed but only a few.
I believed that there were more than a dozen who went there, unlike the past GEBs I attended that there were only a handful. In fact, there were clanmates whom I hadn't known but been close to some in the clan and whom that hadn't attended GEBs in the past who were present at that time.
That GEB, which I assumed to be the grandest eyeball that will really make a mark in the texting history(or should I say, textography), struck to me like a bullshit. The founder wasn't knowledgeable at that point to organize US as one. Yes, we did not meet as one with a purpose. And that was not right.
I even recalled phrases that Sheryl had been murmuring long ago when we had a GEB. "
Mao ra man gihapon. Pag mag-GEB kita-kita ra gihapon."But then, it was no longer a '
kita-kita-ra-gihapon' thing. The responses were transcendent and, evidently, she was not ready to handle something like that.
That afternoon, they(I didn't consider myself with the group that time) had some karaoke and a whole lot of singing until their throats hurt. While they were yelling to the ugly tune and wrong lyrics ejaculated by the karaoke machine, I was shaking my head down in disappointment. Maybe, if I would attribute that 50% of it was a blessing because I had met new faces and new friends to depend(
siguro), it's still not enough.
I really blamed these reasons why I felt blue at that momentary occasion:
1. my favorite clanmates in the clan did not attend
2. 'Loitering' was the theme of the event. There were a lot who formed their own satellites in the clan. Apparently, there were tables at that place wherein they could '
kumpol-kumpol' all by themselves(they were, sociologically speaking,a sort of an aggregates or categories)
3. there were clanmates who went alone there and did not join the group; they remained alone...until we went home.
4. the founder came late
5. the index-finger-pointing habit of knowing who the hell went there was really terrible. Everything ended up into a '
kini sya' and '
kana sya' type of thing without letting everybody in the clan to, at least, talk for some time.
6. the founder kept on covering her face, as if she was shy. It was disgusting;she seemed not to be interested to see the whole clan.
I tried to defend my side by talking to Hannah about the matter. I told her that Sheryl must had cared enough for the whole clan because that was the only time that the half(I bet) of the clan's populace could be present. We should had blamed ourselves for being so neglectful. What should had appeared to be exciting, memorable, merry, friend-promoting, stress-minimizing, enjoying and lovely GEB turned into a downpour of thumbtacks from heavens.
My plans, good plans for the clan was put into waste. One of my proposals that there should be a set of officers for the clan was destroyed. Aye, it could had been a remedy that time for a harmonious flow of the GEB, that each of the officer could had helped in organizing the clusters into a bunch. But that proposal was no more a use.
I was riding in a jeep to home as I found myself reflecting of what I did that day. "Was it worth it?" That dire question echoed and echoed in my mind until I reached home.
I couldn't bear it anymore. The next day, I texted the founder. I quitted.
Lull I received tons of violent reactions from my fellow ex-clanmates last June 1, 2006- the very day when I voluntarily exit from the clan. Someone even teased me to be PAMATI at that.
As i said my goodbye that same day, I asked everybody in the clan as to who would still be pursuing to text me even I don't belong to them. Many responded to that request of mine and I am happy.
That very day,also, I forgot everything that had happened the day before, that the past had passed, and the issue should be totally out. Good thing it was for me because I was able to concentrate on my studies as I entered the portals of a tertiary school, without any thoughts of a clan. Sheryl and I and the other gang, both the seen and the unseen, were still good friends. The spirit of the clan was still there because those clanmates-turned-textmates acquaintances of mine remained loyal by sending me quotes, many of them talking about love.
Anyway, I did mention of my favorite clanmates. They also followed me, I mean, they too quitted from the said clan. And they were Sheila and Sheena. We became no longer a stranger to each other. We met last June 24, 2006 and even jammed last
Kadayawan in Davao, together with Hannah, Monalyn and the others. That was really unforgettable for me. And I am proud to reiterate that we are friends at its closest... and at its best.
On the other hand, there were still a few who insisted that the SLCC clan's existing, despite the fact that it was already been 'killed' by the founder.
Back In ActionIt was just last semestral break, which gives way to the commemoration of our departed loved ones, that Diana, a schoolmate of mine two years ago, texted me as if she missed me
kuno. Currently studying in UP, she shares her experiences about her scholarly experiences in that school and everything under the sun, the moon, the stars, the clouds and the wide wide sky our minds could discuss about.
Believe me, she is a good textmate. Definitely, she is a must-have in your textmates list. She is a writer by nature, and she applies it in the art of texting. In addition, she also joined the clan I 'cursed' before. I don't know if she enjoyed it. Maybe she does.
She shared to me that she was joining a clan, not the SLCC, but a clan with a different name and dignity. And she invited me.
I should had collapsed after she said that. In my thoughts, the trauma to me as a clanmate before was still there. At first, I refused. But later in an evening, I gave in.
The next morning, nobody texted me. Well, I did not bother nor cared if I were included in the clan or something. Normally, if you were already part of the clan, then, there would be somebody who would, at least, exert effort using his thumbs to welcome you. But I did not receive such messages. By that afternoon, I warmed up the idea to her about my registration to the clan. She replied that I would wait first. In my thoughts, maybe she forgot it and, at that moment, she was still working my registration to the founder.
I waited. Seconds...minutes....hours passed. But no reply from Diana. Except only for this:
WELCOME!
I received a couple of versions of these. But that does not matter. What a warm welcome! I fell in love with this stuff in an instant...again. The feeling when I first joined in a clan resurrected. The excitement. The thrill. The entertainment. The fun. Right at that moment came the newly established and perfectly repaired clan system supposed to be in a clan. My wish came true!Interacting through GMs(group messages) and PMs(private messages) and organized through its clan rules and the working officers, the clan became an effective tool for world change or making-the-world-a-better-place-to-live-in stuff.
And that is the DavAnGeLs Texters Clan.
Expectations So FarI tell you. I am almost two months old here in the clan. I have been to several clan GEBs, sent hundreds of GMs and thousand of PMs and went online several times to the clan's webpage and the clan's Friendster account(which sets DavAnGeLs different from the other clans) and I can say that I am proud to belong in this clan, despite the negative views of these from other people towards this.
I expect that our clan will continue to metamorphose to something better through the initiatives shared by each of the members.I am not a prophet or a fortune teller here. But I could see from the present that somehow, someday, this clan would stay longer until we graduate from our courses, get our jobs in big companies, build our own families, retire from our professions and, even, buried six feet under the ground.
This is not a fraternity nor a sorority. But in such a way, it is. We practice certain brotherhood and sisterhood that either Sigma Rho or Alpha Phi can't show. This is no ordinary herd or flock. This is a family- one BIG happy family.
