Share a Load

As someone who loves texting and receiving text messages, there’s nothing I hate more than when my friends or text-mates run out of load. In this hi-tech world where load credits are sent and shared easily, there is no excuse not to send a text message or two to a friend who needs to get cheered up or be greeted from time to time.

Let me tell you why I love texting so much and how I share load with a friend to make sure my text messages won’t stop coming.

First, I love texting because I feel it is more intimate than talking with someone on the phone. In some cases, I even prefer it over face-to-face conversation. A text message to me is intimate because no one else around me can know about it. It’s secret, sacrosanct and special. It’s not even about what was said or what’s in the text message. For me it’s the exclusivity; it’s the idea that that text message was for me and for me alone.

Second, I appreciate getting a text message because it was sent with effort, with intention. It took that person who sent me the message time to sit down, compose a message in his head and key in the words – letter by letter – and spend a peso just to text me. Sometimes my friends don’t bother sitting down at all but continue walking or crossing the street while texting just so they could me send me their message on time. That’s dangerous and ill-advised, I know, but I appreciate the effort.

Third, a text message is worth a peso. No, one peso doesn’t amount to anything much these days but that’s a peso for each text message. I receive more than a hundred text messages each day and so that means my text-mates spend more than a hundred pesos each day just to converse with me, as I do with them. This is why I sometimes consider text messaging more intimate than face-to-face communication. People spend time and money to send a text message. It’s of value.

And this is why I send or share load when I can. I’m not desperate. I just love texting so much that I won’t mind sharing text credits with my friends, as they do with me. Here is how I do it, at least on my network – Globe.

To share a load, I simply text how much load I would like to purchase and share to this number: 2 + 917 + my friend’s cell phone number. That’s all. Then I get a message confirming the reload has been successful. If you want to try this to send load for the first time, you will get a text message that will ask for a 4-digit PIN. This will protect your phone against unauthorized loading. On the second time you share a load this way, Globe will ask you to include the 4-digit PIN after you’ve texted the amount to share. For example, 5 (for five pesos, for instance) + 1234 (your PIN).

There are three other ways to give your friends load. One, if you’re online, I have to include this site, Morbie, to buy load for your friend. The site will send the load to the number you keyed in instantaneously. Payment is via PayPal or credit card. Like us on Facebook when you have the time!

Two, go to a loading store, ask to be loaded as you usually do, but instead of giving your number to be loaded, give your friend’s name.

Three, buy a prepaid card, scratch to reveal the user ID and password, then send the ID and password to your friend so that he or she can use them to top up his or her cell phone.