Recently I have been noticing, much to the chagrin of my fiance, that my handwriting has degraded into a series of misguided lines and abrupt curves. Hardly legible, they do not even pass for fancy medical prescription script that, says her, "you should really think about learning cursive writing again."

First, the changes in my handwriting serve as a landmark -- a fork in the branch of evolution -- of how far I have departed from the days of papyrus and the days of writing on ruled paper. Gone are the days of asking: "May extra ballpen ka pa ba?" or "SHET!! Naputol ang lapis ko. Naimbyerna naman ako!" Having said that, I do relish writing with my nibbed fountain pen, but that's because I like watching the ink drain into the paper.

Second, hardly anyone, other than myself, is put through the agony of trying to decipher my code. I do however stumble to read my own handwriting which to me is more proof that I should have a Powerbook soon. But, alas, that's another topic.

Thirdly, I don't actually write cursive anymore. Since college I've used a form of print that, well, appears only when I write with my hand. It's a serif with some sans serif elements. Not too flowery, but not terribly readable either.

In fact, I seldom use my handwriting anymore. Hardly anyone I know does (witness the rush to create tablet-PCs; yes, the takeup is low and indeed handwriting recognition these days are left to powerful CPUs, not lazy adults) and sure enough this article galvanizes my point: cursive handwriting (or "dikit dikit") will go the way vinyls have gone: a half century from now we will probably have anthropologists collecting handwriting samples as a way to preserve this "dying art". No one says "Don't forget to write to me, okay?" It's more like: "Send me an email."

Cursive handwriters are an endangered species. My handwriting surely shows signs of it.