I have a question:

do you smiley?

because I do. ALL the freaking time.
Here is a typical e-mail slash text message from me:

"hey :) (SMILEY) I hope you're doing great!!! :) (triple exclamation mark plus smiley) can't wait to see you soon! :) (that's THREE, count them- THREE smileys in one little tiny message)

Is this a problem? Are smileys making me seem silly and annoyingly cheerful? I'm trying to make sure people know that I'm being sincere....but it's possible that I'm just being obnoxious. I'm just not sure what is the proper etiquette with emoticons these days.

Because here's the thing- not only do I smiley...I also winky-face. You know, when I'm trying to be funny or sarcastic. I'll say "blah blah blah witty comment ;)". According to a conversation I recently had with my hometown small group, the winky-face is not only uncool, it's dangerous. Apparently sending the winky-face to boys is "flirting" with them. Not good. I winky-face boys all the time, I'm pretty sure. Now it seems that I have the reputation of being excessively perky AND a hussy. Great.

Here's another thing. Texting. Is it alright to use text-lingo, like "C U l8r"? I don't...I'm always pretty formal when I text for whatever reason, using appropriate punctuation and all. But what is the "cool" way to text? Is "LOL" officially nerdy now? (Side note- my friend Abby's mom would always write LOL after everything she sent to Abby. Like, "Hope you're having a nice day! LOL" or "Can you pick up milk on your way home? LOL." After confronting her mom about it, Abby's mother said, "Wait, doesn't that just mean "lots of love"? Parents + texting = hilarity) How many "haha"'s does one need to get the point across? Is it alright to use "Baha" if something is extraordinarily funny, or "tehehe" if something is only kinda funny, like enough for a giggle, or "mwahah" if you are doing an evil laugh, or is that just weird? How do you freaking make a joke WITHOUT the winky face and ensure that people know you're kidding but also that you aren't trying to pick them up???

Oh, what a complicated life...