If my cat was any more of a bitch, she'd be a dog.

It's time for a Friday Brain Dump!

The topic this week: LDRs (aka Long Distance Relationships)

Having been in one for almost four years now, I can tell you DON'T EVER GET INVOLVED IN ONE. EVER. FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR SANITY PLEASE GOD JUST DON'T EVER DO IT EVER.

Most people (ie. friends/family) who know about my situation don't ask me too much about it. This is probably because if people who don't know about it ask me what it's like, I can't give them a simple answer. But that's okay, because I don't expect them to understand unless they've been in a long distance relationship before.

Even with the rising popularity of internet dating and matchmaking services, most people are still surprised and to some extent, bemused by the idea that my boyfriend lives and works in another continent in another hemisphere. I also know that when someone wishes me luck in that respect, in the back of their head they are thinking: "Well, that relationship is doomed." You'd think if I was able to handle one year - two years - three years in a LDR, the four horsemen of the apocalyptic break-up would have arrived by now. It's strange to think that had we been living together these past four years, nobody would question it.

The internet is still a mystifying concept to many people. It's okay to make friends on the internet, but somehow it's not okay to talk about them like they are "real" people. I believe the validity of these relationships - be they romantic or platonic - will not come about until society assimilates the internet as an "everyday service", like a telephone or a TV. Until then, people in long distance relationships like me will have to grin and bear the amused questions of intrigued strangers. Mind you, I didn't meet my boyfriend via a dating site. The relationships forged in those contexts will struggle the hardest for social acceptance.

I remember about a year ago, I was on a train with my boyfriend and a group of teenage girls asked how long we had been together. When I replied with three years, they were genuinely taken aback. One of the girls commented that she had never lasted more than a month in a relationship. It is this "disposable" approach to relationships that I believe is the biggest contributor to present attitudes towards LDRs. People sincerely believe they can't maintain a relationship longer than the alcohol-fueled social gathering during which it was conceived.