Friendspeak

Did you ever notice how friends have a way of talking all their own. Kind of like a system of code. When I was a "tween" (we didn't call that age group tween back then, we just called it awkward), my best friend Zalia and I developed a code and even aliases. Our aliases were rats we had drawn and named Looc and Rellik, which is Cool and Killer spelled backwards. Cool and Killer being typical adjectives used by teens in the 80s. Our code involved backwards talk, too. Of course, we could only speak this code in writing since talking backwards all the time was much too confusing, even for two smart 13-year-old blondes.

My friendspeak today is not that complicated and it varies from friend to friend. With Wondertwin, our friendspeak often involves making things up and discussing them as if they are real. For instance, Wondertwin just called to ask if she could swing by my place to change clothes between work and an event tonight. This wasn't presented in the form of a question, rather it was told to me as if it was her plan and that changing involved more than clothes, but a transformation into a glamazon. My response was of course to approve said stopover but with the condition that she provide a turn on the runway before she left. It was agreed.

My oldest friend Libba (oldest as in friends for the longest time not geriatric) and I don't find it unusual at all just to breathe at each other on line. No need to fill the time actually speaking, just being in touch with each other is all that's necessary. Our conversations also usually involve ranting in spectacular fashion about everyday annoyances. Listening in on our conversations would sound a little like heavy breathing crazy women.

I've noticed young women today also seem to have friendspeak. Only its called texting. Anyone else over 40 annoyed by this whole new "non-language?" I'm actually proud of the level of my verbal skills and the broad range of my vocabulary. Now its cool to speak to each other in abbreviations. Maybe that's my problem, while I'm not overly talkative, I do believe in being well spoken, witty and sharp. What's witty about LOL? What's interesting about BFF? In addition be being annoyed with today's friendspeak, I'm really afraid the younger generation will all be aflicted with carpal tunnel by the time they're 40 and will be unable to work and support my generation's social security needs.

As if! Social security probably won't even be in the cultural vernacular by the time I'm 70. Bummer!