No, you're not alone. I'm a little slow at times but eventually I'll "decode" the abbreviations myself w/o having to ask. 
Weird... mu previous post didn't post. I would never have guessed that one.
We have 2 new ones at work:
T4YLS = thanks for your life story
DYWAI = don't you worry about it
My favorite of all time though is ROTFLMBO = rolling on the floor laughing my butt off
: )
Being not of the "text generation", I'm usually the last one to figure out the shorthand!
I text all the time and I spell out my words. The only time I shorten words is if I run out of room and just need space for a letter or two.
Online in chats I will use brb and lol, but that's pretty much it. I think I use more shorthand on CC, but it is almost always cake related terms.
I'm a member of a dating website, and it annoys the crap out of me that people can't even take the time there to spell out simple words. If someone has ne1, 4, u, or 2 in the 'profile' I skip right over them. I figure if you can't use real words to 'sell' yourself, you don't have too much to offer me. I'm not the best speller, but I also pass on people that can't spell words that you learn in elementary school.
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