†
I DELIBERATELY RESISTED the urge to send SMS greetings last Christmas and New Year.
It does not mean that I did not want to send my best wishes to the people who have touched my life in one way or another.† Neither does it mean that I ignored those who made the effort to send me their messages of hope and prosperity for the coming year.
Truth is, I do appreciate a lot the SMS messages I received and I thank those who sent them from the bottom of my heart.† To most of them my “no reply” didn’t mean anything and may have simply shrugged it off.† For those who thought otherwise, my apologies.† The only explanation I can offer is the truth — that I waged a personal battle with my dependency and addiction on my techno-gadgets.
On one hand I feel victorious.† I did it.† I was able to resist the urge to use my techno-gadgets during the extended holidays (okay, just a little bit).
On the other hand, I feel guilty for not sending my SMS best wishes (as I’ve always done), and for not acknowledging those I received (as I’ve always done).†
As my feeble attempt at restitution, I am posting here all the SMS greetings I received for Christmas and New Year.
December 24, 2008
Burt Gabot:† “With today’s technology, Christmas SMSs are cliche, I guess keeping it simple’s best:† a wonderful and meaningful Christmas to you and your loved ones – Burt!”
Allen Rulloda:† “CHRISTMAS is abt loving, giving, 4giving n tnxgiving.† Bcoz of God’s love 2 us, Christ is given so dat we can b 4given&saved, Jn3:16 Merry Christmas! God Bless.”
Sheila:† “Merry Christmas to you and to ur family!† God bless!”
April:† _”.meri x’Mas pOh..‹”
Benedict Gomorera:† “Meri Xmas sir! May ur home filled with joy and laughter dis Xmas and throughout New year! Cheers!”
Malou Patdu:† “Meri xmas 2 u nd ur family.† Thank you for the gift of friendship.† God bless.”
Mark Obra:† “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and to your family.”
Sophie Castillo:† “May we feel the real meaning of Christmas and be a blessing to others always… Enjoy and God Bless you and your Family… Merry Christmas and a bountiful New Year…”
Syd Castillo:† “with atomic force and meteoric regards, my volcanic greetings are seismologically conveyed to send a catastrophic magnitude of† thunderous MERRY CHRISTMAS!”
Ray-An Gatchalian:† “I want to greet u and ur family a very merry christmas..† may you spend this season with much love and peace.. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!”
December 25, 2008
Cate Magallon-Abenoja:† “May your heart be filled with Days of Christmas thru out your lyf. May God’s graces be upon u & ur family always.† MERRY CHRISTMAS! Cate of Timberland Club”
Howard Manalastas:† “merry xmas po!† i hope ul hav a good one!”
Jolan Coronel:† “Merry Christmas and All d Best for d coming year…”
Clarissa Rivero:† “Merry Christmas to your family and a blessed new year, too.† Enjoy the holidays. X clarisa”
Tin Jean Jaquet:† “BLESSED MERRY CHRISTMAS TO U & UR FAMILY …”
Ramil Vargas:† “Merry Christmas!† Good health and peace to you and your family.”
Rolly and Muriel:† “Maraming salamat sa iyong mensahe 
sa dami ng kainan at regalo sana’y wag natin kalimutan ang 2nay n may bertdey.† Naway patuloy tayong patnubayan ng Poong maykapal.† Maligayang pasko sa iyo at inyong minamahal! P.S. Mahaba pala tlg pag Tagalog ”
Menea:† “Maligayang Pasko po!† Menea fr0m aig”
Richard Ali:† “CHRISTMAS is. a time to love | a time to celebr8 life | a time to give & forgive& | a time to say a prayer for 1 who touched our lives | Happy Holidays!
Jojit Balingit:† “Merry Christmas!!!”
Jayson Gungon:† “Wishing yˆu ‰nd yˆur f‰mily ‰ll thË bËst this Christm‰s.. MËrry Christm‰s & ‰ H‰pPy NËw Yˉr.”
Ket:† “May this beautiful day create within u a quiet place where God speaks His promises of peace & love! May u alwaysstay happy! MERRY CHRISTMAS to u nd ur family!”
Dyk Raymundo:† “Hope u all had a wonderful, nd a blessed merry Christmas. ¸”
December 30, 2008
Bambit Hidalgo:† “><(((:-> ><(((:-> ><(((:-> ><(((:-> ><(((:-> ><(((:-> ><(((:-> ><(((:-> † Eight Golden fishes to wish you Prosperity, Wealth, Good Health, Peace, Luck, Longevity, Long Lasting Love & Hapiness.† To you and your family a wonderfully blessed New Year! – Rey, Bambit, Keech, Via & Alex”
December 31, 2008
Mark Obra:††”Greet n me mamaya busy n mga telco… Sir Happy New Year to you and to your family… Bang… boom… plok…”
Sophie Castillo:††”My family sends the warm greetings of joy, love & peace!† Let JEsus, JOseph & MARy continue 2 reign in our hearts in 2009!† HAPPY NEW YEAR PO.”
Cate Magallon-Abenoja:††”All the best of the coming year & beyond to you and your loved ones.† Blessings to all of us.† Happy New Year!† CATE of Timberland Club”
Howard Manalastas:††”happy new year!”
Jozel Santos:††”Buong litson sana ang aking ipadadala, mayroong hamon de bola pang kasama, subalit kalusugan mo ang aking inaalala, kayat isang taimtim na pagbati na lang ang ipauubaya! libre na, cholesterol free pa.† Isang maligaya at malusog na bagong taon ang dasal ko para sa iyo at iyong mga mahal sa buhay, kaibigan!”
Ford Ordonez:††”Happy New Yeat to everyone from Ordonez Family.”
Jayson Gungon:††”May the good Lordshowers blessings, good health, wisdom ur entire family dis coming year through…happy new year..”
Rodel Gallega:† “Happy New Year! – rodel and ana”
Rio Jara:††”Prayer is my gift to u and ur family wrapped with faith, hope and sent with love.† May God bless u & ur family this year & beyond! Hav a bountiful NEW YEAR!!!”
Richard Ali:† “Ystrday s a mem0ry. 2morw s a visi0n. live well 2day andmake evry yestrday a joyful mem0ry nd evry 2m0row a visi0n full of hope.hapi new year 2 u nd ur family. ¸”
Kuyang Bong Renales:††”Hapi new year!”
Jojit Balingit:††”Wishing u all d TIMELESS TREASURES of d world.. the LOVE OF GOD, the WARMTH of Home, the LOVE of Family & the COMPANY of GOOD FRIENDS.† Happy New year!”
Gines Cipriano:††”In spite of the ups & downs in our life this year, there is still a lot of blessings to thank for.† May the New year ahead be filled with God’s blessings.† Merry New Year to you & to your family!”
Justin & Eden:††”HAPPY† NEW YEAR!”
Liezel Gerada:† “Many people will walk in and out of ur lyf, but only true friends will leave footprints in ur heart.† Happy New Year.”
January 1, 2009
Ray-An Gatchalian:† “Happy New Year to you and your family..† More blessings to come..† Wishing you all the best in coming year.”
Dharl:† “A blessing bcomes a blessing when spoken.† So I declare that YOUA RE blessed w/a loving family, good health, faith, favor, promotion&provision.† A BLESSED 2009 to ‹!”
Boom and Thrina:† “Let this looming global crisis be but another challenge for us to conquer and defeat!† It all starts in our minds.† May you have a positive outlook this year! And may you win all your goals and aspirations from hereon forward!† Have a Blessed and Prosperous New Year!”
Ket:† “Wishing u d fun of Living, d joy of Loving, d wonder of Sharing, d gift of Faith & d serenity of a Contented heart.† Have a great 2009! =)
-o0o-
AT LEAST five people sent me obscenely naughty SMS greetings.† You know who you are guys.† I decided not to include your messages in this post for obvious reasons.† It doesn’t mean I resent them, though.† In fact, I enjoyed them a lot and I actually featured (some of) them on a separate blog post, LOL.† Believe me, I can’t wish for anything less for you than your obscene wishes for me. 
There are a few other messages that might have been inadvertently deleted by my pamangkins who borrowed my iPhone and Treo [ I swear it wasn't me 
]. †To those whose messages I lost, please forgive me.
Happy New Year!
