Well, we just clicked!

Friend 1 (the too-nice-to-say-anything friend): Uhmmmm.....

Friend 2 (the couldn’t-care-less-about-what-I-say friend): ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?????

Friend 3 (the I’ll-lie-to-be-nice friend): That’s nice. *I think she needs psychiatric help*

Friend 4 (the I-was-born-with-rose-coloured-glasses friend): That is sooooooooooo sweeeeeeeeeeeet.

Friend 5 (the practical friend): You might want to give this a little thought before you jump to any conclusions.

Friend 6 (the lighten-up-an-awkward-situation-by-laughing-out-loud friend): HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You’re funny.

Friend 7 (the bitch-who’s-always-thinking-bad-stuff-about-you friend): *Oh my God. She is SO desperate*

So. I’m thinking that these are some of the few responses I would get if I were to ever tell my friends that I had fallen in love with someone over the Internet. And probably this is how some of you would respond too, if your friend was to tell you that. However, I do not know or understand why.

This is how I see it. You can never really know anybody. You can live with someone for 15 years and still not know him. You can be lied to, sweet-talked to and cheated on, even when you’ve met that somebody in person. So, what’s so different about e-love?

Yes, distance is a major concern. So, if you’re a 25 year old guy in Moscow, Russia who has a low paying job that cannot even afford you a ticket to Stalingrad, Russia, then you might want to rethink falling in love with that girl in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Though if you’re the optimistic kind, don’t let a mere couple of thousand dollars and a possible language conflict stop you!!! But what I’m trying to say is, if there is a possibility for the two people involved to meet sometime, then why not?

I think the Internet is a great way to meet people, especially a potential love interest. It’s so much easier to talk to someone online. You don’t feel shy. Nor do you feel “rejected” if someone doesn’t talk to you. You get an opportunity to think before you type, and hence avoid saying something stupid (though this doesn’t work all the time.) And if you think things aren’t going as planned, then a simple click on the ‘block’ button works wonders.

Personally, I’m absolutely open to the idea of possibly finding my mate online. What are the odds that I’m going to find my Mr. Right in my physical environment? So far, he hasn’t been in the cities I’ve lived in – either in Oman, Canada or India. Not that I’ve been looking all this while. (Okay, maybe I have.) But why should I limit my possibilities, when the possibilities are endless? I’m not saying that I'm going to go on a quest to find my perfect man online. But if it so happens that I do find him in cyberspace, then I’m not going to stop myself from pursuing it. I don’t see why I should.

In fact, I think relationships made online can sometimes be more real. If I like someone online, it must mean that I like him for who he is, at least to some extent. Maybe I’ve seen a picture or two, and I think he’s terribly cute. But how long am I going to just keep talking to a cute person if he has no personality AND I’m not getting any??? Jokes apart, I think it’s a great way to really get to know somebody without letting the whole “physical” aspect getting in the way. Not that getting physical is a bad thing. Oh no, it’s not. But I think couples these days find it easier to jump into bed together than have a decent conversation over a cup of coffee. Yeah, sometimes the smell of coffee distracts me too. But I’m hoping you get my point.

Of course, there are creeps on the Internet. Just as there are creeps in the real world. So, just use your brains. Face it. If you are naïve enough to fall for everything someone says online, then chances are that you will also fall for everything someone says to you in person. Aah. Body language, you say. So, when I meet someone in person, it would probably be easier for me to pick up signs that show he’s lying or he’s creepy. But I know girls who put up with their boyfriends’ swearing and sometimes, even hitting, for months on end; and that’s a hell of a lot of body language happening there!

What I'm trying to say is that there is no valid reason why healthy relationships can’t begin online. And so, I’m keeping my options open. Maybe that’s because I’m so ugly that no one will ever fall for me in person. Or maybe that’s because I’m not going to settle for second best just because ‘the one’ lives in a different time zone. It’s like saying that you’re only going to date men taller than 5 feet 10 inches. And then Tom cruises by. What are you going to do then? (Just for the record, I can’t stand Mr. Cruise, but apparently, he’s a hit with the ladies… oops… girls.)

The only obstacle I see could probably be of cross-continental proportions. But I love to travel. And what better way to do so than to find someone who will most gladly finance it for me?!?

Tin-tin-tin-tin. (In the Britannia biscuits tune - just because I said so.)

Coming up next:

"From e-love to e-lope."
Real stories. Real people. Virtually true.
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