circa 1998

We started a chapter of a retreat seminar in Ateneo way back during my second year in college. (This was circa 1998, just about the time that mobile phones became the staple that it is today.) Back then when we say we're going to have a phone brigade, we do mean a phone "brigade." To organize a meeting would entail a "brigade" of people spending hours on the phone (landline) talking to another "brigade" of people about the meetings (Yes, we had beepers back then, but it was just more fun this way). That's how we got to know each other. We knew who had their own lines in their rooms, who had funny-sounding maids, loud-barking dogs, or cute-sounding sisters. A phonecall that was merely to inform a person of the particulars of the meeting will last for 30 minutes because of idle banter exchanged in between the "conversation." That's why we had a lot of people doing the phone brigade, sometimes the time's not enough, and you wouldn't want to be calling at an ill time. From the call it'd be easy to guess who were interested in going and those who were annoyed that you called.

We observed that as mobile phones became the norm, our ritual became less and less efficient. Now they simply text the details of the meeting, and sometimes, without even knowing the person they are texting.

As we continually strive for efficiency we sometimes lose those conversations in between.

The ease by which we can reach someone blinds us as to whether or not we should "call" at all.