A conversation between me & my hi5 friend almira, I found her on yahoo chat in the evening today
Adi: gottcha!
Almira: hey!
Adi: so, how have u been, i’m at the office right now, its 5:40pm here, whats the time at ur place
Almira: im pretty good. Just got my right knee bruised from playing volleyball. It’s 8:03pm here
Adi: in england by any chance??? sorry for the knee… is it bad???
Almira: im from the PHILIPPINES bot England.
Adi: yeah i know, ur profile says dream on in england
Almira: haha, i just wanna go there someday
Adi: me too, r u at home
Almira: yep. In our library, to be exact
Adi: r u a studious kinda girl
Almira: very much. School is my first priority
Adi: i love books, less of libraries, least of school, kind of never studied whatever was being taught at school
Almira: it’s like, u wanna learn but hates to listen?
Adi: no its not that, i wanna learn everything and at a quicker pace than what my teachers adopted… i was always studying my elder brother’s books in school, i just wanted to grow up real fast
Almira: i dont wanna grow up yet! That means more responsibility
Adi: that means independence, and u can always enjoy life even before, after or during growing-up…whatever i missed out, i’m catching now
Almira: how old r u
Almira: ?
Adi: just a little bit, say 10 yrs than u (and she’s is about 14)
Almira: oh
Almira: that’s why u’re ready for all those responsibility. I am not yet
Adi: u really believe what i say
Almira: why not? u arent lying, are oyU?
Almira: *you?
Adi: never caught it as a habit, but sometimes when i’m in a little mischevious mood, i do…not now…u r not regular with hi5 these days…(hi5 is a friendship club kinda site we bumped into each other)
Almira: Ive been busy with exams
Adi: what subjects u’ve, especially languages
Almira: literature, chemistry, computer, THE, grammar, anatomy, drafting, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and a lot more that i cant remember!
Almira: we dont have foreign languages
Almira: except english, of course
Adi: and what is your mother tongue, which standard or grade u r in, i hope i’m not irritating u with all these q’s
Almira: Filipino. But we Filipinos are really good in English so it’s never really a burden taking up that subject. It’s actually one of my favorites. I’m in 3rd year high school. Sort of 9th grade.
Adi: in the profile window four girls r there, r u the one with the cap…and is filipino a difficult language to learn,
Almira: I am the one with the cap. I guess it might be hard for others to understand our language because if u say a word in a different tempo, it changes the meaning of the word
Almira: And there are also these “revolutions” of meanings. For example, before, “gara” means pretty or cute. NOw “gara” means weird
Adi: okay, that means we both r gara, u pretty, me weird
Almira: I’ll accept that as a compliment! But hey, you’re not weird!
Adi: all aquarians are, what’s ur date of birth
Almira: July 26
Almira: Which makes me a Leo
Adi: acha, tell me one thing, i’m naturally curious to know, what ur name means in filipino, u know what it means in english
Almira: acha?
Adi: oh, sorry, acha in hindi – my mother tongue means okay…
Adi: or ‘well’, depending on usage
Almira: I dont know what it means in Filipino but I know what it means in English
Adi: so is it a nickname or a proper well thought of name by ur parents
Almira: Almira means Princess while Clarisa [my real name is ALmira Clarisa] means Famous
Almira: My full name is Almira Clarisa Santos
Almira: you?
Adi: ah, the princess, ur humble subject’s full name is Alok Saini and he comes from the State of New Delhi of the country of India
Almira: the meaning of your name, do you know?
Adi: yeah, Alok means light, more specifically the divine light kinda usage
Almira: oh
Adi: what it feels like connecting to someone so far apart, both physically & culturally… do u know someone from India
Almira: Im pretty used to it. I’ve got a friend there, His name is Avi
Adi: as i told u, i’m not much into chatting, i’m just learning the stuff
Almira: oh. What sports do u do?
Adi: i used to play cricket, although not a lot, apart from that, i play chess n carom n crosswords, mostly
Almira: i play volleyball, chess, table tennis, badminton, and taekwondo
Adi: so we r complete opposites in that regard, i’m an indoor person, u r an outdoor person…
Almira: swimming too, i forgot. I was able to play those because my dad taught me, not by my own will
Adi: but u do enjoy sports
Almira: i do, even if it is tiring.
Adi: what matters more is that u enjoy the game, hey how this picture of urs changed? there’s a cute puppy in its place
Almira: i changed it. I’ve been using that pic quite long so I tried something new.
Almira: I like dogs
Adi: i looooovvvvvve dogs
Almira: i hate cats
Almira: gtg
Almira: chat u some other time
Adi: absolutely, positively, but what is gtg, okay some other time, good night
I understood later, that gtg is got to go! Freakily ignorant I’m of the lingo of today’s generation!
This is the 25thof November, 7:23pm, and I adi, still all wonderous, all incredulous about modern technology is signing off. What a small world this has become?
Born in New Delhi, India in 1980 and is a retired pessimist (still) living in New Delhi. He has Haryanvi ancestors, a Punjabi girlfriend, friends all over the world, two (or more) yet to be born children, (many) memories of (many) pet dogs and no cats ever. He holds an honours degree in English Literature from the University of Delhi and creates advertisements for paying the bills. His interests are universal, and include: living, eating, sleeping and when not sleeping, daydreaming. Other abiding interests include reading, writing, street photography, newspaper editorials, watching the moon and planning trekking trips that never materialize.