pointed remarks, followed by a smile

Here is a receipt I ... received (the most appropriate word, certainly) after buying petrol on the way home from Manila on Sunday night. I draw your attention to the circled text:

A friend once recited a quote (I forget by whom and I couldn’t find it on the web) that went something like “Exclamation marks are great. Everybody should use at least one or two in their lifetime.”

That sums up how I feel. However, I have compromised over the last couple of years, and on more than just exclamation marks. Never in my life before the Philippines did I commit to paper or screen a single smiley face. Not one. That has all changed. The Philippines is smiley heaven or hell (depending on where you stand). The most common of my transgressions is the txt-based u-with-umlaut (ü). But I have at times strayed into :) or :-) territory.

All this would fine if every incidence had been oh-so-ironic – but I can’t claim even that. (Though – and it’s a small concession – I have NEVER used the =P style of smiley in non-ironic form).

I argue that without my Filipino exclamation marks and smileys, the potential for misunderstanding is simply too great. Dry humour doesn’t always translate, at least not in written form. More than once I’ve found myself backtracking after sending emails I thought were quite humorous. Example:

Workmate: I met D on Saturday. She’s cool :)

Me: Yeah – pity she has such a loser boyfriend.

Workmate: Oh, that’s so harsh!

Now, read that again with appropriate smiley:

Workmate: I met D on Saturday. She’s cool :)

Me: Yeah – pity she has such a loser boyfriend ;-)

Workmate:Teehee! You have a very sophisiticated dry sense of humour, which is appreciated by many and is quite sexy to some!

See?? Sure, that last line is pure speculation, but, when you think about it, it's one of only 2 or 3 possible responses. Three little cunningly ordered characters and the initial, HORRIBLE mix-up would have been completely avoided.

And given the limitations of txt as a medium of communication … well, I’m sure that – even if it hasn’t been documented – there have been incidents that, due to a lack of a well-placed smiley, have almost caused world wars. And, similarly, wars have been averted because of smileys. There is a rumour that Stanislav Petrov actually based his fateful decision on a smiley. It’s true, I swear.

Unless it is ABSOLUTELY necessary, though, I avoid exclamation marks! Especially multiple ones!!!

Oh, the irony.

:-)